Genealogy Chat

No census was ever intended to be a Public document. The various censuses were taken by the Government with a view to forward planning and NOTHING ELSE! Personally, I am fervently grateful that they decided NOT to throw them away immediately the statisticians had finished with them. I daily thank all those hoarders of the past, who held onto 'useless' piles of paper rather than chucking them out. You only have to look at the A2A catalogue to see the vast numbers of documents dating back to the year 809 which have been lovingly held onto and then handed over, centuries later, to someone who could look after them properly. There was an Act of Parliament passed in, I think, 1975, to cover the correct preservation and storage of public records, and this is why most Churches handed over their Parish Registers to Records Offices. But the census has never been a public document - and anyway, by 1975, the damage to the 1911 had long been done. Yes, I too have this mental picture when everyone is clamouring for the 1911 to be released early - lets say tomorrow - we all line up outside the warehouse and attempt to peel sodden pieces of paper from the wood-piles they have presumably turned into. Sadly for us, family history records are not top of the Government's priority list - and neither should they be. Olde Crone

PS The absolute last thing any sane Family History Society would want is custody of documents requiring conservation. However keen current membership might be, they could not guarantee long term funding of storage at the appropriate temperature and humidity levels.

I strongly believe that Lottery grants should be given for preservation, transcription and putting online. It's as much a part of our heritage as buildings and art works.

You pays your money, you takes your choice. Our council ask us what is important. Do you seriously image that leisure and culture come top of the list? Local councils are looking to save money by reducing staff in record offices. Local record offices usually have a hard enough task cataloguing accessions, let alone getting conservation done. When it comes to the National Archives, the volume of documents in their care vastly exceeds the quantity that any local record office has to deal with. It is extremely unlikely that TNA would be storing records in such a way that they would further deteriorate, but to remedy the damage already incurred may well be beyond their budget. I 've been looking at records recently that have been notified for conservation three and more years ago. If we want more to be done, then we have to pay for it.

Thanks Chris. I didn't see anything on the news (mental note: watch more TV). Though I find it hard to believe that TNA keep anything in damp, rat-infested warehouses when there is still space in their state-of-the-art strongrooms. It's more probable that the damage was done during WW1, when apparently the storage area flooded and the government was too caught up in the biggest conflict Europe had ever seen to rescue paperwork.

Are you just talking about the 1911 census, or more general records? Is there a link?

Hi Ted, I agree with you, i wrote off to the archives to see if they could give me some infromation from the 1911 census as i had read somewhere that under special cercumstanses they do give out info, but they wrote back to say the info was private and i would have to wait for 1911/ 1912 for the census to appear. By the time they have got around to digging out these documents they wont be in any fit state to read them. These people know the conditions of the archives and still leave the papers to rot away even more. I think i will write to a FH magazine i buy and see if they cant get up a campain( wrong Spelling )to get them moved, they got the war records moved as they were going to be thrown away. Will have to make sure they are not sent to india Madeline

What records are you talking about? Kept where, by whom?

hi all, did anyone see that piece on the news the other day showing the state of some of precious records are kept, kept in unsuitable conditions , wet, dirty, and it terrible condition, short of space etc, short of cash to look after them, all the usual excuses, even talk of having to get rid of a lot of them. HOW DARE THEY? BXXXdy disgraceful. Allthey have to do with them is give them away to FAMILY HISTORY SOCs who would look after them, but you can bet your life they would want paying befoe they would hand them over. i wonder what the chances are of getting a good, complete copy of the 1911 census, if and when it ever comes out? I should think by then it will be £1 a sheet to view plus more to print off copies. i wonder where the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT comes into this. They however THEY are! hold public records which we, the public are allowed to see, and from the looks of it they wont be available for us. THATS MY MOAN FOR TODAY, NOW ITS BACK TO BED TO RECOVER. TED.