October 2008 Archives

A census has been undertaken in the UK every 10 years since 1841 with the exception of 1941 when it was clearly impossible to conduct a census under wartime conditions. These censuses record who was living in every house in the country on census day. The information in the 1841 census was elementary but a fairly stable pattern emerged from 1851 onwards. These give the name of each person, their sex, age, marital status, their occupation, their place of birth and whether Welsh speaking or not. The "head" of each household is identified and the relationship of each household member to the head, e.g. son, daughter, mother, servant etc.

The information recorded on the census forms are confidential and are not released for 100 years. The latest census information that is currently available is therefore that in the 1901 Census. Local Census information is available at your local Archive office and the Archive offices in the area are given below.

The most common format in which the census records are to be found is on microfiches. To look at these you will need a microfiche reader and the archive offices have these. The Gwynedd Family History Society also has some of the Census records and has microfiche readers. The Society's library is open on the third Saturday afternoon of each month and is therefore accessible to those who are working during the week who are unable to visit the public records offices which are open during normal office hours.

Some are also available on CD discs and it is also possible to subscribe to internet services to get census information on line. I shall cover these sources in future blogs.

The census information is collected and recorded for each county but you must remember that they are the counties that existed before the local government reorganisation in 1974. Locally the counties were Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire with the old Denbighshire on the boundary. It's important to remember that Caernarvonshire was spelt with a "v" in the old records so if you are using a search facility you must use this spelling. If you use Caernarfonshire you'll come up with a blank.

Each county is divided into parishes and the results are recorded for each parish. The old county of Caernarvonshire had 71 parishes and these are outlined on the map shown. The name of the parish does not always coincide with the name of the town or villages within the parish. You must therefore know the parish in which the town or village in which you're interested was situated. Even a town such as Caernarfon is not listed as it was in the Parish of Llanbeblig and it is Llanbeblig that is listed and not Caernarfon. If you are new to searching these records then you will be given guidance when you go to the public records offices or the Gwynedd Family History library. Once you have gained an understanding of the structure of the counties and the parishes in the area where your ancestors lived then you'll find it much easier to search the Census records.

Gwynedd Archive Service
Caernarfon Record Office The Caernarfon Record Office is based at Victoria Dock, Caernarfon Telephone: 01286 679095 Fax: 01286 679637
e-mail: archives.caernarfon@gwynedd.gov.uk
Opening Hours: Monday: Closed.
Tuesday-Friday: 9:30-12:30; 13:30-17:00 (Wednesday 13:30-19:00)

Introductory courses: 8 November
As it happens the Caernarfon Records Office is holding two introductory courses, one in Welsh and one in English, to give people an understanding of what is available at the local archives office. Booking through the above telephone or email contacts is essential.
Welsh course: 10.00 - 12 noon English course: 2.00 pm - 4.00 pm

Meirionnydd Record Office
The Record Office and the Library are at the same location in Dolgellau. Access to the Record Office is through the Library on Ffordd y Bala, DOLGELLAU
Telephone: 01341 424682 Fax: 01341 424683
e-mail: archives.dolgellau@gwynedd.gov.uk
Opening Hours: Wednesday: Closed.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9:30-1:00; 14:00-17:00

Anglesey Archive Service: Llangefni Records Office
The record office is located on the first floor of Shire Hall, Glanhwfa Road, Llangefni
Telephone: 01248 752080 Email: archives@anglesey.gov.uk
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 9am-1pm; 2-5pm (except public holidays, (including St David's Day) and the first week in November). Afternoons only, every second Tuesday, starting 13/12/05

Conwy Archive Service
Records Office based at: The Old Board School, Lloyd Street, Llandudno
Telephone or fax the service on (01492) 860882
email: archifau.archives@conwy.gov.uk

Open to the public every Monday to Thursday from 10 am to 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

The Gwynedd-Liverpool Connections Exhibition continues at the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in the centre of Bangor until 25 October. The opening hours are Monday to Friday, 12.30 to 16.30, and Saturdays 10.30 to 16.30.

The GFH Society meetings for the next 4 weeks are:

Bangor, 4 November (first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: David Kent, "Welsh Highland Railway Update"

Caernarfon, 30 October (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Mair Lloyd Evans, "Cae'r Gors cyn Kate"

Dolgellau, 13 Tachwedd (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel Brian Paul, "Bywyd Samuel Holland"

Llandudno, 10 November (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn (please note new meeting place):
Neil Sutton, "Mercy Ships".

Llangefni, 20 November (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: David Price "J J Dodd, A Victorian Painter"

Pwllheli, 17 October (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod:
Margaret Dunn, "Dyddio hen dai yn Eryri"

Saturday was a very exciting day. Just before 10.00 am I had a phone call from my son-in-law, Séamus, to say that my daughter Ceri had just given birth to a baby boy and that my granddaughter Cara had a little brother. As this was about three weeks early this was a total surprise. The nurse who comes every day to clean and redress my open wound, which I've had since my mid-July operation, arrived soon afterwards and we then decided that we would go to see my new grandson in Hope Hospital, Salford. As I've not yet started driving we went by train, had about an hour in the hospital, and returned to Bangor by 8.00 pm. I was exhausted but very pleased that I'd made the effort to see Seán James on the first day of his life and to know that both he and his mother Ceri were both well.

Last time I wrote about the useful information that can be found in the Memorial Inscriptions publications prepared by the Gwynedd FHS. These publications record what is written on the gravestones in the churchyards and cemeteries in the area. Other Family History Societies also have similar publications for their areas but as the transcribing work is undertaken by volunteers the amount of Memorial Inscriptions completed will vary considerably between societies. I'm pleased to say that the Gwynedd Society members have been very busy and a very high percentage of the churchyards and cemeteries have been recorded and the inscriptions published.

You can find a complete list of the Memorial Inscriptions that have been published for Gwynedd on the Society's website, www.gwyneddfhs.org. You will find the list of the names of those churchyards and cemeteries where the Inscriptions that have been prepared together with the price if you wish to purchase. These are grouped under the names of the old pre1974 counties of Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire and also a few in the old county of Denbighshire which became part of the new administrative county of Gwynedd in 1974. You can therefore check whether the cemetery in which you are interested has been recorded. As members are continuing with the recording of cemeteries these lists are updated regularly.

Other publications listed are a number Indexes of Marriages, Baptisms, Census and Burials for the three counties which can also be purchased. There is also a list of over 500 of the 800 books in the Society's library. These can be borrowed by members for the cost of postage and packaging both ways. There are also details of the GenFair system which enables people to pay for publications, memberships etc.

The website also contains the names and addresses of the Society's officers and their telephone numbers and email addresses where relevant. There are also details of membership rates and a means to apply for membership.

There is also a facility for members, or any non-member, to send messages and questions about their family history to try to get answers. Unfortunately, because of a spate of spam messages, this facility is not currently available but it is hoped that the problems will be resolved in the near future.

Other Family History societies also have similar websites and one way of finding them is to put the name into the search facility. I will however be giving details of how you can access these and other sources of information through websites in future blogs.

Next Society open afternoon: Saturday 17 October, 2.00 - 5.00 pm
Yr Aelwyd, Church Street, Caernarfon, LL55 1SW

Gwynedd Archives will be closed for stock-taking between 13 and 17 October

The Gwynedd-Liverpool Connections Exhibition continues at the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in the centre of Bangor until 25 October. The opening hours are Monday to Friday, 12.30 to 16.30, and Saturdays 10.30 to 16.30.

The GFH Society meetings for the next 4 weeks are:

Bangor, 4 November (first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: David Kent, "Welsh Highland Railway Update"

Caernarfon, 30 October (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Mair Lloyd Evans, "Cae'r Gors cyn Kate"

Dolgellau, 9 October (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel Mari Emlyn, "Llythyrau O M Edwards"

Llandudno, 13 October (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn (please note new meeting place):
Angel Brabin, "Poison is a woman's weapon".

Llangefni, 16 October (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Peter Brindley "Aspects of Bangor"

Pwllheli, 17 October (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod:
Margaret Dunn, "Dyddio hen dai yn Eryri"