Genealogy Chat

Can someone tell me please why the years 1861 to 1865 Marriages have so far got so few entries. Needless to say I have a marriage that i'd like to find in 1865! Sue.

Hi Sue, I've only been transcribing for a month or so and have only done deaths but if you go to FreeBMD website click on their main page and towards the bottom there is an icon that says information the answer to your question will probably be there, there are also graphs that show the progress of the transcribing done so far. Sorry I couldn't answer your question but hope the info site helps. Gen

Thanks Geneveive - i'll nip off and have a look. S.

Sue, what names are you looking for and where? I have some 1837 credits I need to use before they expire.

Found it Dec qtr 1841 Thomas Coman Uckfield 7 766 Frances Pomfrey Uckfield 7 766 I have email the info as well

Hello Carol - thank you so much for finding this for me. I have e.mailed you also. Sue.

Hi Sue; I might be wrong but ...... I am sure that I saw on the Transcribers list a few weeks ago that the data has not be transcribed from year 1837 onwards, in sequence. (Does that make sense?). It may have been something to do with the quality of the material that it wasn't readable or wasn't suitable for scanning but I believe that all the stuff that hasn't been transcribed has now been scanned and that the project is running a little ahead of the projected completion time. Another thing to consider is that perhaps some of these entries were hand written and quite a few would-be transcribers don't have the confidence to have a go at these entries so there may be a shortage of willing hands (and plenty of patience) to do these years. I could not have even entertained the idea when I first started transcribing 12 months ago but probably would now. Hope this helps a bit. Sonja :)

Actually, this thread has reminded me of a question I had. The estimated completion date is given as 2006 - but it this for records up to 1901 or 1984? It seems a little ambitious for the latter!

The marriages for 1861 - 1865 are hand written documents and not as easy to read as the typed ones. Therefore people, being the creatures that we are, go for the easy options. As far as I can see on the list of what has been allocated to sydicates, no one has voluntered to rund a syndicate for these. Fancy a job? Nesta

Thanks for all the replies - Carol has very kindly sent me two pages from 1837 - they are handwritten and quite frankly how anyone makes head or tail of some of the entries I don't know. I can certainly see why the easy ones are done first for Free BMD. A big thankyou to all the transcribers - Sue.

Those handwritten ones are a bit of a nightmare aren`t they. I cheated and sent you the page, so you could decypher it for yourself. That way, I dont have to worry about transcribing it wrong. Coward, thats me. I always thought that the early ones were hand written and later ones typed, but I have been extracting for a one name study, and found something like 1839 to be typed, then 1840 handwritten then back to typed again. Seems it is a bit hit or miss. When I started years ago, I used to go to London, the only place you could look at the indices, and after about 4 or 5 hours, I was totally shattered after lugging those great big books about. Thank goodness for fiche. Saying that, has anyone come across those handwritten copperplate ones on fiche, where all you have got is the heavy down strokes. A transcribers nightmare.

I'm currently working on 1841 deaths, the handwriting is awful, took me about an hour to understand what surname I was looking at, all I knew was that it was somewhere between E and V !! Want to make a good job of it, so will take time otherwise all you'll get is a load of *'s. Val

Valerie You must be in the same syndicate as me, Brian's, as i have been doing 1841 deaths too. After about 60 pages in the last month i am still waiting for a typed page. George

Hi Valerie/George I'm also transcribing 1841 deaths for Brian's lot. Since I started transcribing a few months ago, I've never had a typed page, but assume they must be easier. Terry on the Rock