Ancestry.com- Shaking Your Family Tree, June 10, 1999

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Shaking Your Family Tree

June 10, 1999

Shaking Your Family Tree, by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

Finding 19th Century British Ancestors

by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

British research is much easier with the release of the 1881 British Census and National Index on CD-ROM. This 25-CD set, which includes approximately 30 million names, is produced by the Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The first CD contains the viewer software and an electronic version of a user's manual (about 90 pages if you decide to print it). The next eight discs hold the index to all the data, while the remaining 16 discs contain the census data itself, consisting of census records from England, Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and the Royal Navy. It does not include any Irish records.

The transcription and indexing of this census was a cooperative effort of the Federation of Family History Societies; British Genealogical Record Users Committee; Her Majesty's Stationery Office; the Public Record Office in London; the General Register Office, Scotland; and the Genealogical Society of Utah.

The software included with the 1881 British Census and National Index discs requires Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0. The hardware required includes a Pentium processor, 8 megabytes of memory (with 16 megabytes strongly recommended), a CD-ROM drive, 25 megabytes of available hard disc space, and a VGA monitor capable of at least 256 colors.

Installation instructions are a bit fuzzy. Follow the first four steps listed under Installing and then simply pick any Disc No. 1s for any area of the actual censuses and add it as a resource file to the list.

With 25 discs, you can spend a lot of time switching discs, but the process is remarkably easy. Insert Index disc 1, type in a name, when prompted, take that disc out, and put in another disc, and so on. This set actually contains two separate products (besides the software): the 1881 British census and the 1881 index. The census is the transcribed version of the actual census records, while the index is just that -- an index to all the names contained within the 1881 British census.

From the index you can find individuals by last name, first name(s), relationship to head of household, calculated year of birth, census place (the parish where the census was enumerated), and the county and parish of birth, or country, if the person was born outside the British Isles. The transcribed census records show the address of the dwelling or building, the location of the house, including the town or parish, county, and country, and the full source citation showing how to find the family in the original census.

Each individual's record includes basically such information as full name, marital status, age, sex and full birthplace. You also can learn the relationship to the head of the house and his or her occupation. Another option is one that allows you to see neighboring families of any particular family. If the person has a disability, this is also listed. Keep in mind that these are transcribed records, not the originals, and careful genealogists will check the microfilm copies of the original documents. The software includes some clever search options and information can be copied and exported in rich text format. It's a bargain.

North American residents can order ($33 postpaid) the 1881 British Census and National Index on CD-ROM online from: http://www.familysearch.com or from: Salt Lake Distribution Center, 1999 W. 1700 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. Questions may be sent via e-mail to: fhdfhsup@ldschurch.org.

(c) 1999, Los Angeles Times Syndicate

Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter

Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page
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June 10, 1999
	Finding 19th Century British Ancestors by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.
British research is much easier with the release of the 1881 British Census and National Index on CD-ROM. This 25-CD set, which includes approximately 30 million names, is produced by the Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first CD contains the viewer software and an electronic version of a user's manual (about 90 pages if you decide to print it). The next eight discs hold the index to all the data, while the remaining 16 discs contain the census data itself, consisting of census records from England, Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and the Royal Navy. It does not include any Irish records. The transcription and indexing of this census was a cooperative effort of the Federation of Family History Societies; British Genealogical Record Users Committee; Her Majesty's Stationery Office; the Public Record Office in London; the General Register Office, Scotland; and the Genealogical Society of Utah. The software included with the 1881 British Census and National Index discs requires Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0. The hardware required includes a Pentium processor, 8 megabytes of memory (with 16 megabytes strongly recommended), a CD-ROM drive, 25 megabytes of available hard disc space, and a VGA monitor capable of at least 256 colors. Installation instructions are a bit fuzzy. Follow the first four steps listed under Installing and then simply pick any Disc No. 1s for any area of the actual censuses and add it as a resource file to the list. With 25 discs, you can spend a lot of time switching discs, but the process is remarkably easy. Insert Index disc 1, type in a name, when prompted, take that disc out, and put in another disc, and so on. This set actually contains two separate products (besides the software): the 1881 British census and the 1881 index. The census is the transcribed version of the actual census records, while the index is just that -- an index to all the names contained within the 1881 British census. From the index you can find individuals by last name, first name(s), relationship to head of household, calculated year of birth, census place (the parish where the census was enumerated), and the county and parish of birth, or country, if the person was born outside the British Isles. The transcribed census records show the address of the dwelling or building, the location of the house, including the town or parish, county, and country, and the full source citation showing how to find the family in the original census. Each individual's record includes basically such information as full name, marital status, age, sex and full birthplace. You also can learn the relationship to the head of the house and his or her occupation. Another option is one that allows you to see neighboring families of any particular family. If the person has a disability, this is also listed. Keep in mind that these are transcribed records, not the originals, and careful genealogists will check the microfilm copies of the original documents. The software includes some clever search options and information can be copied and exported in rich text format. It's a bargain. North American residents can order ($33 postpaid) the 1881 British Census and National Index on CD-ROM online from: http://www.familysearch.com or from: Salt Lake Distribution Center, 1999 W. 1700 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. Questions may be sent via e-mail to: fhdfhsup@ldschurch.org. (c) 1999, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page
Copyright 1998, 1999, Ancestry.com Inc. and its subsidiaries. Terms and Conditions \| Privacy Statement