From: RufHay(a)aol.com
To: POWYS-L(a)rootsweb.com
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 12:12:23 EST
Subject: [POWYS] BMD indexes on-line
Hello Listers
You may be interested to know that the BMD indexes are going to be
available
on-line from 8 December on:
www.1837online.com
There is a minimum charge of £5 allowing you to look at, print, or
download
up to 50 pages. Though not operational yet, the site is open as regards
explaining what it intends to offer. BTW I heard about this on the GLA
list,
& have no axe to grind - just thought it might be useful for those who
can't
easily get to the FRC & such places.
I think you have 45 days to spend your £5 credit - but people should
check
that with the info on-site. I got on to it without problems just before
I
wrote my last. Has possiblilities I think.
Best regards, Ruth
FROM THE SITE:
About the records
Civil registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England & Wales
commenced, albeit slightly haphazardly, on 1st July 1837, the year Queen
Victoria ascended to the throne in the United Kingdom. Whilst civil
registration takes place in local registration districts, the local
registers are collated and an A to Z index to the whole country's Births,
Marriages and Deaths produced. These are the indexes to Births, Marriages
and Deaths known familiarly as "BMD". Initially, entries in the indexes
were recorded by hand in writing that can seem unfamiliar to the
untrained modern eye. An example is shown here. The text evolves as the
years pass by, from handwritten documents to typewritten documents,
computer printed documents to the records currently available in a
computerised database.
You may see a page that is blank altogether. These pages appear in the
original paper indexes, for instance at the end of volumes. If you come
across such a page, please report it to us using the "report image fault"
button in the image window and we will delete it. Similarly, some images
may be poorly scanned. Again, please report these and we will review
whether or not they can be replaced. Some images may contain just a small
amount of information. These are not errors, just the way the original
indexes were compiled. Finally, some images may have hand-written
additions to the main index entries - sometimes referred to as
interlineations. Again, these are faithful reproductions of the original
indexes and the work of a registrar adding changed, late or omitted
entries.
Please note that this is a full set of the publicly available records for
England and Wales. There are no known omissions. These indexes do not
cover Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
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