FAQS. Have you ever wondered about . .
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Online Parish Clerks - an article by Julia Mosman (pdf)
Cornish Parishes - a short history, and explanation
Parish
Codes - as used by the Cornwall Records Office
Regnal Years - for
example, in the fortieth year of George III. Change of
Calendar in 1752 - and how it affects your family records
Common
Naming Patterns, 1750 -1875 - that might help move your research forward
Websites with data available
by parish, non-commercial
The sites below have data either listed or
searchable by parish.
Cornish Cemeteries -
a personal website, created and maintained by Christine Uphill; has
many transcriptions of various cemetery records.
Cornish
Onine Census Project - an almost-completed set of transcriptions of
the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 Censuses; transcribed, checked
and verified by volunteers worldwide.
A Cornish Sourcebook
- a compilation of a variety of historical facts, at
http://cornovia.org.uk/.
Cornwall BMD Database -
A compilation of birth, marriage, and death records from dedicated transcribers, for
a wide assortment of parishes.
GenUKI - Cornwall
- information county-wide and by parish, maintained by Ian Argall; VERY
helpful, an almost-essential starting point for Cornish genealogy.
Gleanings in Graveyards by Horatio Edward Norfolk. Unusual epitaphs
from several Cornish cemeteries.
The National Archives
- if a surname, parish, or even county is entered, all results associated with those search
parameters are returned. The summaries of the documents are free, copies of
the originals are fee-based, some being available immediately,
others can be ordered from the CRO.
Old Cornwall Society - established 1927, a group of individuals trying to save
historic cultural records, stories, and memorabilia. Website has puzzles,
maps, and many interesting sections.
West
Briton/Cornwall Advertiser - searchable 1800s newspaper transcriptions;
updated weekly; includes BMDs, News, Coroners' Inquests, & Court Sessions
West
Penwith Resources - covering the western parishes of Cornwall
in depth, with maps, history, and much more - good for all Cornish researchers
for background details.
Websites with
general Cornish information, non-commercial
The sites below have been selected as a broad representation
of what is available to researchers; however, the list is far from comprehensive.
Many worthwhile sites have not been included; please use this merely as a
guide, and explore on your own. All sites in this section provide some
information at no cost, although some might have commercial sections too.
Bible Christian Magazine - being compiled by Rita Bone Kopp and
Graham Warmington. A good reference resource if your ancestors were
Bible Christians, or for background information.
BBC Photographs
- photographs of Cornwall - a variety of unusual photographs, including modern
mines (underground)
Cornish
Mailing List - plus searchable archives of the discussion list for all
things Cornish, including genealogy
Cornish-Gen
Mailing List - more specialised, includes searchable archives of the discussion list for Cornish genealogy
Other Cornish
Mailing Lists include those for individual parishes or related clusters,
some are more active than others.
Online Cornwall Maps - a variety of maps, from ancient times to modern, which are sizeable.
Cornwall Cam -
photographs of Cornwall, updated daily. A personal site maintained by Charles
Winpenny; unique compositions, great atmosphere, interesting subjects that
are not standard. After 3 days, most photographs are removed. CDs of former
photos are available for purchase, but site is totally free of charge.
Historical Directories -
maintained by the University of Leicester, a selection of 23 different Cornish
directories covering 1830-1910. Directories have descriptions of towns and
parishes, as well as lists of commercial ventures, institutions, and
inhabitants - all of which may aid in locating ancestors. The directories
are downloadable, or can be viewed online. Included is the Post Office directory
of 1856.
Stone
and Quarry Men of The West Country - an extensive, personal website of
references to men who worked with stone or as miners, this is an extremely worthwhile site.
Victoria County History Project
- founded in 1899 and originally dedicated to Queen Victoria, the VCH is
an encyclopaedic record of England's places and people from earliest
times to the present day.
Vision of Britain - an extensive and easy-to-use website, from which
much historical data about Cornwall is available. Topics include
Population, Life and Death, Work and Poverty, Housing and Roots and
Religion. Developed and maintained by the University of Portsmouth and
others.
West Country
Photographs - views of Cornwall, and parts of Devon, by Simon
Lewis; professional photographs of many Cornish sites and views.
Commercial / Fee-based sites relating to Cornish research:
Some of these sites provide basic information at no
cost, but charges apply for details or copies. Many more such sites can be
found by using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo.
Ambra Books - old, rare, and hard-to-find books, run by Ivor
Cornish. Large stock, and will search for specific titles.Archive CDs - books placed on CD; issued at low cost
(the UK branch closed in 2007, but others still exist).
Belerion Books/CDs -
books placed on CD; issued at low cost; has a variety of books for
sale.
Cornwall Family History
Society - Most information is available for a small fee, such as
results from the searchable database here.
Cornwall
Legacy - transcriptions of various items available on CDs.
Francis Frith Collection - viewable old photos, for free, available for purchase.
Old Maps - from the
late 1800s, searchable by county and town. Use the link 'Start your Search'
which is almost in the centre of the home page.
Other OPC Schemes
Since we started this scheme in January 2001, other counties
have adopted the idea, either from scratch or in conjunction with an
earlier, similar scheme.
Devon Online Parish Clerks and One-Place Studies
Dorset Online
Parish Clerks
Essex Online Parish
Clerks
Hampshire Online Parish Clerks
Kent Online
Parish Clerks
- now asking for donations, which goes against the original OPC concept.
Lancashire
Online Parish Clerks
Somerset Online Parish
Clerks
Sussex
Online Parish Clerks
Warwickshire Online Parish Clerks - est. Jan, 2006
Wiltshire
Online Parish Clerks - a re-formed group, appreciative of offers of help
Other Counties/Areas with useful websites
Cheshire Parish
Register Project
Forest of Dean Transcription Project - many Parish Register
transcriptions for parts of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire are free to
view online.
Leicestershire
Genealogical Resources
Monmouthshire Family History - a comprehensive set of online
transcriptions. It claims to be an OPC scheme on one landing page, but it
isn't as it has no OPCs.
There are signs of similar schemes being started in
Cambridgeshire, Surrey and North and West Ridings of Yorkshire but currently
there is no mention of any county coordinators or web sites.
Individuals who are willing act as OPCs for specific parishes ONLY
Gloucestershire, Winchcombe - Rob White
Berkshire parishes. Currently John Slann is willing to field enquiries for the county, but would welcome contact from anyone who is interested in helping him form a Berkshire OPC group.
Worcestershire, Kidderminster, St George - Mattie Underhill
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