Author Topic: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?  (Read 14067 times)

Offline jillruss

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #18 on: Wednesday 12 April 17 16:17 BST (UK) »
Like you, I remain sceptical - but hopeful! The Berkshire archivist retired recently (2015/16) so I was hopeful that his successor may have had a different slant on things.

If only they'd realise that many people (like me) have Berkshire ancestors but don't live anywhere near their Archives office - and their research service is very expensive. I've used it twice and both times without any success to show for it. (I know, not necessarily their fault).

How I'd dearly love to see those digitised originals!
HELP!!!

 BATHSHEBA BOOTHROYD bn c. 1802 W. Yorks.

Baptism nowhere to be found. Possibly in a nonconformist church near ALMONDBURY or HUDDERSFIELD.

Offline smudwhisk

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #19 on: Wednesday 12 April 17 16:38 BST (UK) »
I may be wrong but I believe when the BRO Archivist who retired he was replaced by his long term deputy who held the same view as him on the digitisation of their records. :-\

That said, he could have changed his mind but I'd be very surprised personally from what I've heard in recent years.  Perhaps the Diocese have said they'd like them digitised. ;D  Well we can live in hope.  Sadly I suspect the big FindMyPast fanfare will turn out to be only more transcripts. :-X  Although I'll be very happy to be proven wrong.

I have three separate direct lines who originated from Berkshire, and possibly a fourth, and live no where near Reading so I'm in the same situation.  Its a bit too far and expensive for a day trip and, unlike other Record Offices, BRO apparently charge per photograph for a self photography permit rather than the usual daily charge.  Would make things very expensive as I'd really like to get copies of a number of Wills aside from viewing the original registers. ::)
(KENT) Lingwell, Rayment (BUCKS) Read, Hutchins (SRY) Costin, Westbrook (DOR) Gibbs, Goreing (DUR) Green (ESX) Rudland, Malden, Rouse, Boosey (FIFE) Foulis, Russell (NFK) Johnson, Farthing, Purdy, Barsham (GLOS) Collett, Morris, Freebury, May, Kirkman (HERTS) Winchester, Linford (NORTHANTS) Bird, Brimley, Chater, Wilford, Read, Chapman, Jeys, Marston, Lumley (WILTS) Arden, Whatley, Batson, Gleed, Greenhill (SOM) Coombs, Watkins (RUT) Stafford (BERKS) Sansom, Angel, Young, Stratton, Weeks, Day

Offline SmallTownGirl

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #20 on: Wednesday 12 April 17 16:50 BST (UK) »
I did follow up the reply I got from the Archivist back in May 2016 with ...

> There are no plans to digitise Berkshire parish records.
Not even, "there are no plans at the moment but we haven't set a timetable", just a straight "no plans".

Such a disappointing response.


To which he replied ....

Thank you for your reply. Berkshire parish records may well be digitised one day, but not in the foreseeable future. Sufficient demand, a provider, and the agreement of the church authorities would be needed. Berkshire’s relatively small population in the past does not make digitisation commercially attractive to potential providers.

I am sorry to disappoint you.


And I countered with ...

Disappointed indeed.

> Sufficient demand ....
How much is "sufficient", please?


And his reply dated 20 Jun 2016 was ....

I am afraid that the question of sufficient demand is very difficult for us to answer.  I think you would have to contact the online providers and ask.

I am sure that at some point, someone will be interested in digitising our parish registers.  All we can say for certain at the moment is that no proposal has been made.

I am sorry if this is disappointing.


______________


At that point I gave up  :'(

STG





Always looking for GOODWINS in Berkshire :)

Offline jillruss

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #21 on: Wednesday 12 April 17 17:19 BST (UK) »
Doesn't sound too hopeful, does it?

However, on the positive side (I'm trying!  ;D), that was nearly a year ago and he seemed to make a thing of the 'supply and demand' angle, so perhaps FindMyPast have made him an offer he couldn't refuse.... and made it 'commercially attractive'! Who knows?  :-\
HELP!!!

 BATHSHEBA BOOTHROYD bn c. 1802 W. Yorks.

Baptism nowhere to be found. Possibly in a nonconformist church near ALMONDBURY or HUDDERSFIELD.


Offline LizzieL

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #22 on: Wednesday 12 April 17 17:25 BST (UK) »
That is disappointing.
I have so many brickwalls with my Berkshire ancestors, I have almost given up researching them.

On the other hand, it leaves me more time for researching OH's - his lot came from Essex. It's a pity more counties didn't do the same as the ERO. A year's sub for SEAX is a bit pricey, but I'm finding it's worth it for the bmd records and several wills I have found already. Also the ERO staff are very helpful and respond very quickly by email if I have a query.
Berks / Oxon: Eltham, Annetts, Wiltshire (surname not county), Hawkins, Pembroke, Partridge
Dorset / Hants: Derham, Stride, Purkiss, Sibley
Yorkshire: Pottage, Carr, Blackburn, Depledge
Sussex: Goodyer, Christopher, Trevatt
Lanark: Scott (soldier went to Jersey CI)
Jersey: Fowler, Huelin, Scott

Offline Sloe Gin

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #23 on: Saturday 15 April 17 01:25 BST (UK) »
The CDs produced by the BFHS are very good, and I like that we can buy individual parishes rather than expensive bundles of several parishes.

However the Berkshire Marriages CD in many cases omits the names of witnesses, even in the section where they claim full details are given.  I have checked a few marriages of which I have had sight of the full entries and noted the names of witnesses, but no witnesses appear on the CD.

This is hugely disappointing, as we all know that witnesses can be valuable clues.  I do hope they will be added to later editions.  In the meantime I feel it should be made clearer that witnesses are not included for every parish featured.
UK census content is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk  Transcriptions are my own.

Offline smudwhisk

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #24 on: Saturday 15 April 17 01:31 BST (UK) »
A report on the WDYTYA Magazine website suggests that the other five counties mentioned by FindMyPast will only add to existing collections, suggesting that it will be transcripts only. See http://www.rootschat.com/links/01jx0/.  Family History Societies for Warwickshire, Berkshire and Somerset definitely already have data on the site.  I'm not aware of any for Buckinghamshire but may just have missed it.  It could of course be just how they've worded it and others may not agree with my interpretation, but unfortunately I suspect this may be the case but only time will tell.
(KENT) Lingwell, Rayment (BUCKS) Read, Hutchins (SRY) Costin, Westbrook (DOR) Gibbs, Goreing (DUR) Green (ESX) Rudland, Malden, Rouse, Boosey (FIFE) Foulis, Russell (NFK) Johnson, Farthing, Purdy, Barsham (GLOS) Collett, Morris, Freebury, May, Kirkman (HERTS) Winchester, Linford (NORTHANTS) Bird, Brimley, Chater, Wilford, Read, Chapman, Jeys, Marston, Lumley (WILTS) Arden, Whatley, Batson, Gleed, Greenhill (SOM) Coombs, Watkins (RUT) Stafford (BERKS) Sansom, Angel, Young, Stratton, Weeks, Day

Offline LizzieL

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #25 on: Saturday 15 April 17 10:57 BST (UK) »
I have a couple who I suspect married in Berkshire but I don't know where. They baptised a string of children in Steventon but were not married there. The husband was not baptised in Steventon, I don't know about the wife as I don't know her maiden name. I have checked the Oxfordshire records on Ancestry and no sign of a marriage there, but a tentative baptism for the husband in Bampton, Oxon (right name / likely time frame - nothing more concrete than that). It would be very costly to buy CDs for a large number of parishes just on the off chance that I found them, whereas searching an on-line index and downloading a record (assuming I found them) for a couple of pounds worth of credits would be much better value.
Berks / Oxon: Eltham, Annetts, Wiltshire (surname not county), Hawkins, Pembroke, Partridge
Dorset / Hants: Derham, Stride, Purkiss, Sibley
Yorkshire: Pottage, Carr, Blackburn, Depledge
Sussex: Goodyer, Christopher, Trevatt
Lanark: Scott (soldier went to Jersey CI)
Jersey: Fowler, Huelin, Scott

Offline jillruss

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Re: Berkshire Parish Registers Coming Online?
« Reply #26 on: Saturday 15 April 17 11:21 BST (UK) »
Couldn't agree more, LizzieL - its that flexibility that I'm hoping will locate quite a few missing marriages and baptisms for me in Berks and Bucks.

I agree that the CDs produced by Berks FHS are good ( and a darn sight more than most FHSs come up with) but there's nothing like seeing the originals especially to make sure you've got all information available, as Sloe Gin says. They've just updated their burial and baptism CDs but most of the new stuff is for more recent years and the parishes I'm interested in are not included.

I have bought individual parish CDs from them as well but they do seem to have slowed down in issuing them, presumably because of lack of volunteers. Unfortunately, I've enquired and most volunteer work needs to be done in situ.

As for Bucks FHS - no, Smudwisk, I agree - I think the only Bucks items on FindMyPast are marriage transcriptions and I'm pretty sure these were commercially available rather than supplied by the FHS. Bucks name searches are brilliant - and reasonably priced - and they've issued CDs for a few of the parishes in South Bucks where my branches mostly came from: Hambleden, Little Marlow, Eton. I snap these up as soon as they're issued but the production of these also seems to have slowed down somewhat. Volunteer shortages again, perhaps.

I'm not in any way having a go at the FHSs -both Berks and Bucks FHSs are great. I'm way up here in sunny but chilly Yorkshire, so little chance of getting to their respective Archives and, anyway, I've found from visiting my own local Archives that, however much you prepare before going, there's always something you forget, leave behind etc and have to go back again! I couldn't do that on a special journey to Berks or Bucks!!

No doubt we'll find out on the first Friday in May (assuming their 'once a month' follows a pattern) whether the next PRs to be released are originals or transcriptions, and I think that may establish the way of it.

Jill
HELP!!!

 BATHSHEBA BOOTHROYD bn c. 1802 W. Yorks.

Baptism nowhere to be found. Possibly in a nonconformist church near ALMONDBURY or HUDDERSFIELD.