Genealogy Chat

see below.

Did any of your ancestors work for H.M. Customs? Are you able to get to the Family Records Centre (FRC) on Myddelton Street, London, on a Tuesday afternoon? If your answer was “yes” to both questions, then you may be interested in a talk being given at the FRC on June 27th. The following information comes from http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/frc/extra/talks.htm: “Plucking the Goose: Tracing Your Ancestors in HM Customs Service The Customs and Excise Service did not merge until 1909. In this first of two talks we will guide you through sources for tracing Customs Officers using records held at The National Archives and elsewhere. The second part, covering Excisemen, will follow in late August.” The talk will take place at 2:00 pm in the Meetings Room on the first floor of the FRC. Tickets are free, however, spaces are limited. Tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the talk and cannot be booked in advance. This topic is of considerable interest to me, as my great-great-grandfather was working as a Customs Officer during the 1841 and 1851 censuses. Unfortunately, I can’t get to the FRC easily as I live in Canada. If anyone is planning to go, perhaps they could send me a message - I’d like to hear about the talk and also find out if there are any resources that are accessible to researchers abroad - e.g., either online or in published books. For those who are interested, the NA has a Web page describing their relevant holdings at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/guide/trade/customs.htm. Hopefully, someone will find this useful. Tim

Hi Tim I'm not going, but my best friend is planning to. As she doesn't have internet access, nor lives close by, the process would be pretty cumbersome, but I'm interested in the details too, so may be able to pass something on. With luck, they'll produce handouts.

Hi Phoenix - I e-mailed the chap who's giving the talk (James Cronan from the NA) to see if there was a PowerPoint file or any handouts that he could send me digitally, but I haven't had a reply as yet. If I do get anything, though, I'll certainly let you know. Tim

Yes my gr gr grandad worked in customs but I can't go to the FRC as other plans

I've been doing research on Customs at Cowes, Isle of Wight, including a very interesting visit to the National Archives at Kew yesterday. If you need any information, please contact me and I'll see what I can do.