Projects

From time to time, both at Society Meetings and in the pages of the Society Journal, reports are issued on the progress of the many and various projects undertaken by the Society.

This Web-Site also provides an opportunity to report on progress, and equally importantly to appeal for more volunteers to help with the projects. The menu on the left of this page takes you to pages giving further details about individual projects including tables giving progress reports.

The four most important questions to be answered are probably:-

1    What Projects have the B&A FHS tackled over the years?
2    Who gets involved with the projects?
3    Where and how do they get involved?
4    What stage have the various projects reached?

Leaving the 'What' until later, some explanation of 'Who' might be beneficial at this point.

Who helps?

At one extreme, a Society Project could be something undertaken by an individual member of the Society, almost outside the aegis of the Society, who has tackled a project simply because he or she could see an immediate need for something to be done.  Very much in this category is the sterling work of Jane Baker, who has produced many indexes and finding aids, almost single-handedly.

Next in the spectrum are the 'married couple Projects', and examples which immediately spring to mind include Gordon and Barbara Faulkner's Indexes to the Bristol Royal Infirmary In-Patients Records and Apprenticeship Books (the latter in partnership with Margaret McGregor of the BRO), and Ken and Megan Edwards Indexes to Ships' Crews Lists and Tithe Apportionments.

In the middle of the spectrum are the 'team projects' which involve small or large groups of Society members, working on projects which have usually been selected, and are directed, by the Society Committee.  Such projects are probably the most common, as you will be able to determine for yourself from the list provided below.  However, there are occasions when projects are instigated by other agencies, such as the personnel of the Bristol Record Office, or some national institution.

At the other end of the spectrum are projects which, in theory, involve the whole Society, and the most obvious example of this type of Project is the Members' Interests.

Where and How do they help?

The various projects also differ widely in terms of the methods and procedures adopted.  Some require the volunteers to visit archive depositories such as the Bristol Record Office or the Bristol Reference Library, or indeed other such places, where they carry out the transcription of the records.  The resulting transcripts are then distributed to other members of the Society (or even some of the same members) for sorting alphabetically.  The exact method by which this stage is achieved has changed dramatically over the years.  In the 'good old days', it was achieved manually, that is literally sorting by hand many thousands of strips of paper into alphabetical order, and then typing all the information again in the new order. Before all you hi-tech readers gasp incredulously, please remember that many of these projects were started well before computers were as generally available and powerful as they are today.  The current procedure is quite different.  The transcripts are distributed to computer owners, who type in the data, which is then printed out in the original chronological order.  The typed 'transcripts' are then taken back to the Record Office and compared with the original source.  This method maintains a check on the accuracy both of the original transcriber and of the computer key-board operator.  The corrections are then transferred from the corrected printout to the computerised data, and the data are then sorted alphabetically, and the resulting indexes are published, in paper form, or on microfiche, or, more recently still, on CDROM.

In the case of some other projects, where the original records are available on microfiche, then either these microfiche themselves, or print-out from them, are distributed to volunteers thus enabling them to work at home.  This has the added advantage of allowing computer owners to type directly from the copies of the original records onto their computers, thus removing the transcription stage completely.

Yet another sort of project may require the volunteers to leave the comforts of home, and even the relative comforts of the Record Office, to work 'in the field'.  Since the most obvious example is the Monumental Inscriptions Project, it might be more accurate to say 'in the graveyard, churchyard or cemetery'.

What stage has been reached?

As might be expected in a Society which is more than 25 years old, the various projects are all at different stages.  Some of the Society Projects have already been completed, whilst others are still ongoing.  There is even the odd example of a project which we all thought was finished, but which, for a variety of reasons, we have been forced to resurrect.  The most sensible way to provide answers to this question is on an individual basis, as each project is dealt with in slightly more detail in turn.

How can I help?

One thing is sure, progress on any given project will always be faster with more volunteers, and so the Society is always looking for fresh transcribers and typists.  If you have been considering helping with one of the Society projects, either by transcribing at the BRO, or by undertaking the typing onto computer at home, but have not yet got around to volunteering, either because of the gardening, or the grand-children, or some other worthy pastime, please act now!  Please e-mail or write to the Project Co-ordinator. 

Bristol & Gloucestershire Parish Register Transcriptions

We have completed a pilot project to transcribe the parish registers for the Bristol and Gloucestershire dioceses and make them available online. The project is a joint undertaking with Gloucestershire Record Office, Bristol Record Office and Gloucestershire Family History Society.  Unfortunately the lottery bid to fund the project was rejected, consequently the project is now on hold and we will not be needing further volunteers for the moment.  

What projects have been or are being undertaken?

The easiest way to answer this question is simply to list as many of the projects as possible, noting that the length of the list is entirely dependent on the power of memory, which must be conceded is extremely fallible.  If any Project has been over-looked, then apologies are proffered to the relevant Project Organiser, and it is hoped that a suitable e-mail will be swiftly sent in this direction with the information necessary to make amends for the omission.

Some attempt has been made to list the projects approximately chronologically, based on what evidence could be gleaned from a brief skim through all 104 Issues of the Society Journal.  However, it is difficult to be precise in such matters, and so if someone has evidence to the contrary, then please by all means inform us of our errors, but please employ a spirit of leniency and clemency.

The Avon Monumental Inscriptions Index

The 1754 - 1837 Marriage Index for Avon

The 1851 Census Index for Avon

The Bristol & Avon Strays Index

The B&AFHS Members' Interests

The 1841, 1861 and 1871 Census Indexes for Bristol

The 1881 Census Index for Avon

The Apprenticeship Books Index

The Bristol Royal Infirmary In-Patients Index

The Baptism Index for the Parish of Bath Walcot St.Swithins

The 1891 Census Index for (most of) Avon

The Bristol Burgess Books Index

Bristol Administration Bonds Index

The Baptism Index for the Diocese of Bristol

The Burial Index for the Diocese of Bristol

Ships' Crews Lists Index

Tithe Apportionments Index

Return to Bristol & Avon FHS Home Page