RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Oxfordshire => Topic started by: cuffie81 on Thursday 16 February 17 23:32 GMT (UK)
-
The OFHS recordset of burials for St Clement, Oxford 1858 - 1883 appear to be missing on Ancestry.
If I search for a year in this range for 'Oxford', without any other search filters, I don't see any burials whatsoever for St Clement. However, they do list a recordset for 1858 - 1883. If I browse the images in the recordset it just shows burials from 1883 - 1938, despite the fact the page title states 1858 - 1883.
I'm not sure if I'm doing something stupid or if Ancestry has messed something up. Would someone mind double checking for me, before I get in touch with Ancestry?
Thanks.
-
Hi cuffie
It's the same for me too, your not doing anything stupid ;D
claire
-
Thanks for checking Claire. I'll get in touch with Ancestry and see if they can sort it.
-
Might be better to contact OFHS about it as there may be a reason why they are missing. There are a couple of parishes where later registers aren't available and it turned out that they hadn't been deposited by the parish with the Records Office. In any case, knowing Ancestry's attitude to missing data sets (never their fault), if there is no reason for the omission there is probably more chance OFHS may have more chance of getting the problem fixed.
-
Thanks for checking Claire. I'll get in touch with Ancestry and see if they can sort it.
Don't hold your breath on that getting sorted. They have done nothing at all for over a year now. >:(
I have informed Ancestry on many occasions of lumps of records being missing for other parish records, even though I have the transcripts on CD.
Steve. :)
-
I'm not sure if I'm doing something stupid or if Ancestry has messed something up. Would someone mind double checking for me, before I get in touch with Ancestry?
Having spent close to two hours in our local library yesterday searching and browsing for an 1882 burial, I'm convinced it's an Ancestry error. I have the OFHS transcripts for St Clement's and there's no gap in the burial records - that's how I knew this burial happened in the first place! If you're doing something stupid, then so am I :o
As I'm sure you know, OFHS and OHC (Oxfordshire History Centre) worked together to scan all the available registers and they are all supposed to be viewable on Ancestry. However Ancestry don't get any money from me so it would be pointless for me to complain.
Good luck, and let us know when (if) you get a response.
Carol
-
Don't hold your breath on that getting sorted. They have done nothing at all for over a year now. >:(
I have informed Ancestry on many occasions of lumps of records being missing for other parish records, even though I have the transcripts on CD.
Hence my suggestion to contact OFHS rather than Ancestry.
-
Well, with all this praise of Ancestry's competence I'll raise the issue with them and no doubt it'll all be sorted within the hour. ;D
Raising the issue with OFHS is a good point and I will do so, although I think I'll first try sending Wendy (Iffley) a PM to see if she can look into it. And if I don't hear anything I'll contact OFHS directly.
Like Carol I have the OFHS transcripts on CD, which makes it all a bit frustrating as I know there are a number of burials in this time period for my ancestors and relations.
I'm sure I read that the scans are viewable at the OHC but does anyone know if this is just via Ancestry or do they have their own system?
-
Cuffie -
The OFHS recordset of burials for St Clement, Oxford 1858 - 1883 appear to be missing on Ancestry.
If I search for a year in this range for 'Oxford', without any other search filters, I don't see any burials whatsoever for St Clement. However, they do list a recordset for 1858 - 1883. If I browse the images in the recordset it just shows burials from 1883 - 1938, despite the fact the page title states 1858 - 1883.
I'm not sure if I'm doing something stupid or if Ancestry has messed something up. Would someone mind double checking for me, before I get in touch with Ancestry?
Thanks.
Thanks for your report - and to others who've checked the situation.
Firstly - yes, the register exists (ie it hasn't gone missing since it was transcribed) and it's on our list as having been scanned. Shelfmark is BOD198_B_53.
Possibilities are that Ancestry has loaded an incorrect set of scans against those dates - or it could be that the scanning firm scanned a different register twice, and that register not at all. We carried out checks, and I would hope not. I have the original scans here, so can look at what is there for BOD198_B_53. However, I can't do so for a couple of hours for technical reasons. Sorry!
Wendy
OFHS help desk
-
Thanks for your help on this Wendy, it's much appreciated.
-
cuffie81
How great to get such a prompt reply.
Claire :)
-
Cuffie and all -
The OFHS recordset of burials for St Clement, Oxford 1858 - 1883 appear to be missing on Ancestry.
Mysterious indeed!
Shelfmark BOD198_B_51 relates to 1840-1858
Shelfmark BOD198_B_52 isn't on the master scanning list
Shelfmark BOD198_B_53 relates to 1883-1938
So did B_52 sit lonesome on the shelf while its neighbours were picked for scanning?
I need to talk to the archivists at Oxfordshire History Centre next. If it has missed being scanned, we can rectify this.
In answer to an earlier query - the images on view at OHC are the same as on Ancestry. You would be allowed to call up the register to photograph entries, but that's not the ideal final answer to the situation.
On behalf of OFHS, thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we will continue to investigate.
Wendy
OFHS HelpDesk
-
In answer to an earlier query - the images on view at OHC are the same as on Ancestry. You would be allowed to call up the register to photograph entries, but that's not the ideal final answer to the situation.
All these positive developments while I was sleeping! I had intended to contact OFHS today.
The images on view at OHC are in fact more extensive than those on Ancestry - at least they were when I visited OHC last June. One of the archivists kindly helped me view the scans and I was able to find baptisms from the 1950s, for example. Ancestry have imposed their usual date restrictions so they aren't showing baptisms after 1915 and marriages and burials have other cut-off dates.
The moral is - when in doubt, ask OFHS; which I am about to do on a separate issue.
Carol
-
CarolA -
In answer to an earlier query - the images on view at OHC are the same as on Ancestry. You would be allowed to call up the register to photograph entries, but that's not the ideal final answer to the situation.
All these positive developments while I was sleeping! I had intended to contact OFHS today.
The images on view at OHC are in fact more extensive than those on Ancestry - at least they were when I visited OHC last June. One of the archivists kindly helped me view the scans and I was able to find baptisms from the 1950s, for example. Ancestry have imposed their usual date restrictions so they aren't showing baptisms after 1915 and marriages and burials have other cut-off dates.
The moral is - when in doubt, ask OFHS; which I am about to do on a separate issue.
Carol
You are indeed right with regard to the full date range of the scans; I was answering with regard to the topic of this thread - ie the missing nineteenth century burials.
Glad you appreciated OFHS's work in generating the scans and the viewer!
Wendy
OFHS helpdesk
-
The work's certainly appreciated Wendy, no doubt about that ;D
Just wish I could get there more often, and maybe even meet some of you. Unfortunately the bank account is still recovering from the last trip ::)
Carol
-
Carol -
The work's certainly appreciated Wendy, no doubt about that ;D
Just wish I could get there more often, and maybe even meet some of you. Unfortunately the bank account is still recovering from the last trip ::)
Carol
Yes, it would have been good to meet - but I realise time when visiting is precious! At least you can picture the History Centre, which it would be difficult to do without a visit! To others reading this - it's in a converted modern church, built in the 1930s for the Morris car workers.
Wendy
-
To others reading this - it's in a converted modern church, built in the 1930s for the Morris car workers.
Even better than that, my parents were married there and I was baptised there!
I'm going to PM you now about another parish.
Carol
-
Wendy, thank you again for looking into this. I really hadn't expected you or anyone else to spend their weekend looking into it but I'm grateful never the less.
As for the scans I have found they've been great quality, so all credit to everyone at OFHS and OHC. Credit is due for the OFHS transcripts too. They were very useful prior to the scans and transcripts on Ancestry, and the OFHS transcripts are still proving more reliable than Ancestry's.
Re. viewing scans at the OHC, I had presumed the images were the same, it was how the images are viewed I was curious about. By the sounds of it OHC has their own viewer and doesn't rely on Ancestry for viewing the images. My thinking was that if certain scans do exist but they're not available on Ancestry (for whatever reason) I could always take a trip to the OHC (which isn't too far for me).
-
cuffie81 -
Wendy, thank you again for looking into this. I really hadn't expected you or anyone else to spend their weekend looking into it but I'm grateful never the less.
You're welcome! OFHS doesn't stop for weekends - there's transcribing, checking of transcripts, posting out of books and CDs, planning for WDYTYA in Birmingham in April ...
As for the scans I have found they've been great quality, so all credit to everyone at OFHS and OHC. Credit is due for the OFHS transcripts too. They were very useful prior to the scans and transcripts on Ancestry, and the OFHS transcripts are still proving more reliable than Ancestry's.
Thank you. It's worth mentioning that many OFHS CDs cover the twentieth century, beyond the Ancestry cut-off dates. For those parishes that aren't yet transcribed that far, volunteers are working with the scans to add transcribed data to the CDs. For instance, a volunteer has just finished transcribing Kidlington baptisms for the 20th century, and is starting on marriages. Anyone can join in, from anywhere in the world!
Re. viewing scans at the OHC, I had presumed the images were the same, it was how the images are viewed I was curious about. By the sounds of it OHC has their own viewer and doesn't rely on Ancestry for viewing the images. My thinking was that if certain scans do exist but they're not available on Ancestry (for whatever reason) I could always take a trip to the OHC (which isn't too far for me).
Let's start with some history! The whole scanning project took over a year, with 180 registers being checked out of OHC every fortnight and taken securely to the scanning facility.
After that OFHS had to consider how the scans could best be put on the internet, and then consider, with our legal advisors, the contract we would have to sign. Having signed a contract with Ancestry, and handed over the scans (should have photographed that moment in the Society's history!) there was then over a year before they went live on Ancestry, while Ancestry indexed them all.
One of OFHS's objectives is to make records available, and another is to preserve the records. We were therefore keen to make the scans available at OHC, such that the original registers would no longer be used, during the period before they were on the web. Alan Simpson, who has authored our Search Services, devised a viewing program, and it is that which you will have used.
Currently you can use it to view registers with records nearer to the present day than the Ancestry cutoff dates, in the registers we scanned, which were all those held at OHC at the time.
However - it gets better!! Registers have been deposited at OHC since the first scanning, and a second scanning has been carried out.
The computers at OHC are shortly to be replaced, with a new way of viewing the scans incorporated - and this will include the scans from the second pass.
Wendy
OFHS HelpDesk