A challenge for 2017 - become a transcriber for FreeREG

[Andrew Tarr]

I transcribed for several years for FreeReg, and latterly did so on my Mac. I used the Mac speadsheet and then "exported" it to Excel before sending it on to the co-ordinator, who uploaded it for me.

Transcribers do their own uploading via the website Members page.  As the WinREG output is only a CSV (comma-separated variables) file your process via Excel should be simple, provided the 'header' rows are correct.

[clairec666]

I think the WinREG file is basically a spreadsheet and can be edited with any spreadsheet program. Surely there must be an easy way for Mac users to transcribe, otherwise FreeREG are missing out on a whole chunk of transcribers!

[Andrew Tarr]

I think the WinREG file is basically a spreadsheet and can be edited with any spreadsheet program. Surely there must be an easy way for Mac users to transcribe, otherwise FreeREG are missing out on a whole chunk of transcribers!

It's certainly editable with Excel, though it's not the standard (.XLS) file but .CSV, as I said above, with the first 4 rows reserved for ownership and identification details.

[coombs]

I have considered transcribing for FreeREG, especially for pre 1783 Finchingfield as no records before then have been transcribed for the village. I have many rellies from that Essex village and have scoured them on SEAX many times.

[StanleysChesterton]

I applied 1-2 years ago, I only wanted to do places I was familiar with as I wasn't confident at places I'd never heard of.

They had no room for me; they were seeking people who already had originals/copies that they could transcribe and/or people who were "advanced".  They are not in a position to give you originals to transcribe as that's been withdrawn from them. You have to have access yourself already.

I'm on their mailing list where they mail each other for "help", I look at the attachments and think "ooh er missus ... you'd be out of your depth with that lot".

[bevj]

They had no room for me; they were seeking people who already had originals/copies that they could transcribe and/or people who were "advanced".  They are not in a position to give you originals to transcribe as that's been withdrawn from them. You have to have access yourself already.

I think this depends very much on the area you want to work with.
I have been transcribing for some years, in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdon and now Scotland, and have always been provided with registers to transcribe.  At no time have I ever been told to find my own.
If you are interested in transcribing, please do inquire. It's quite true that you look at some of the older records and think 'Blimey I'll never be able to do that!' but you find you can, and the support of other transcribers for solving problems is excellent.
I love it.
Bev

[Cas (stallc)]

I did transcribe for FreeBMD back in early to mid 2000, enjoyed it, though some were well worth more than a squint🤓 Those that continue, hats off.  Between work and family commitments no longer do. Also my eyesight is not what it was in my forties..

Admire the folk that continued, or those that take it up, I felt I payed back a little bit to FreeBMD, for all I gained.

Just to add my reason for stopping my girl got ill and died of cancer and her 2 young girls came to me to raise, so no time.. 

It is rewarding, give back, pay forward with how you can

Cas

[clairec666]

I've got a lot of respect for people who transcribe for FreeBMD. I've made good use of that website over the years so I should really give something back by transcribing myself, but to be honest transcribing pages of unconnected names and numbers seems really boring. With parish registers, you can follow naming trends and occupations, and laugh at some of the annotations in the margins. At 16 baptisms/burials per page it's easy to do in small chunks.

If anyone's interested in transcribing Essex records, you can check out the images on SEAX to see what the handwriting's like, before you choose a parish to transcribe.

Coombs - you must have seen how lovely the handwriting is on the Foulness records, but I see that somebody else has already transcribed them for FreeREG!

[3sillydogs]

Jan if your PC won't run that particular application, why not try for one of the others?

I have been indexing and arbitrating (which can induce much mirth when you see some of the interpretations of handwriting) for about 2 years and really enjoy it. It's a way for me to give back for all the help I receive.

Have also done graves for Billion Graves, which is online transcribing no programme to download.