Next 3 English counties: preparing for loading

We are preparing the next counties for loading onto the website during March. Depending on the speed of the data load and any problems found, we anticipate they should be available in 2-3 weeks.

At a minimum we will load the 2 remaining Ridings of Yorkshire and Durham. We may be able to get one or two others in at the same time if all goes well.

Tags: , , , ,

57 Responses to “Next 3 English counties: preparing for loading”

  1. Alison Says:

    Excellent. News.
    Your hard work is very much appreciated by all I am sure.

    Personally I cannot wait to spend more money with the advent of the Channel Islands and the military. Can’t come quick enough for me. Then I pray my brick wall may finally be demolished.

  2. Ian Thirlwell Says:

    Fingers and everything else are crossed. Looking forward to Durham.

  3. Ian Thirlwell Says:

    Hmm. What happened to the end of this week or early next that was blogged when I put my previous comment up? Ah well, at least they are coming.

  4. Rob Lindsey Says:

    This census won’t be much use to me until the Welsh counties become available, but I get a little more excited every time new counties come online - yay! Keep up the good work.

  5. iantester Says:

    @Ian - sorry about that - slight over enthusiasm resulting in reading the wrong date off the project chart, corrected asap. However, much better news than the 4-6 weeks we were estimating recently.

  6. Brian Rollings Says:

    When is the earliest date the Welsh counties will be available, and why leave them to the last.

    Many thousands of English people left England in the early 1900’s for Wales to work in the docks and other heavy industries.

  7. iantester Says:

    @Brian; please see our earlier post for the explanation for the order of scanning. Our best estimate for Wales is early summer, we will firm this up as we make progress into the records.

  8. Joan Says:

    I see you say Durham and Yorkshire will be avaliable during March, what about Northumberland and Cumberland?

  9. rebecca Says:

    great news about Durham, but i also wont be able to complete my tasks until the welsh census is also available……… words can not describe my disapointment when i realised every county that my ancestors lived in(and i still do) werent ready while the bloody press had the time and energy to search centraql london for the where abouts of david Beckhams ancestors!! somehow it didnt feel fair………. butplease keep up the hard work as i really cant wait to see them!!!

  10. ATH Says:

    Do you know when a subscription service, for the 1911 census, will start on findmypast?

  11. ath Says:

    I left a message earlier but it’s disappeared… if it returns this will be a duplicate… sorry!
    Do you know when the subscription service, for the 1911 census, will start on findmypast?
    Thanks

  12. E Hamby Says:

    Really looking forward to Durham, hope Cumberland will come on shortly as well any idea when?

  13. Phil Says:

    Any ideas when the damaged volumes for Doncaster will be ready?

  14. Philip Thomas Says:

    Like Rob Lindsey, I am eagerly awaiting the Welsh counties, although as my wife’s family come from Co Durham, we have something to look forward to in the near future. Many thanks for your hard work.

  15. Becky Says:

    Cant wait till east and north riding are uploaded it will definately fill in some gaps, i just hope northumberland gets uploaded soon though thats the one i really want to see, to hopefully find the name of grandads father as he was a illegitimate child.

  16. Roz Says:

    Excellent news about Yorkshire and Durham - but I’m longing for Northumberland too!

  17. Maureen Smith Says:

    Hurrayn for North Yorkshire, really looking forward to it.

  18. Paul J. Says:

    I am also desperately awaiting Wales transcriptions, Carmarthenshire especially! I have some major mysteries that need solving with my Welsh ancestry and the 1911 census is going to be the key that unlocks the code! I know that the estimate is summer time for Wales, and that you are all working so hard for us all, but please,please,please, could you give me some Carmarthenshire data sets to search thorugh in my easter holidays!

  19. Paul Says:

    I know what’s going to happen here!
    Durham will be uploaded and ready for use just as I go on holiday on 20th March. My wife reckons I’ll be like a bear with a sore head until we get back. Can’t understand why she’s not looking forward to the time away!!!

  20. iantester Says:

    @Paul: We’re aiming for a few days before you go - if all goes well, you should have enough time to get deeply enough into it to miss the plane ;-)

  21. Clare Says:

    This is wonderful news , you have truely made me happy knowing Durham will be made available within the next few weeks. Its where all my ancestors are located.

  22. SJ Says:

    I am so excited!! Thank You :)

  23. Jan Says:

    Wow, the rest of Yorkshire. With so many Yorkshire ancestors - I can’t wait! Hope the upload goes well. :)

  24. who Says:

    you haVE BEEN CRAP

  25. Paul J. Says:

    With regards to current and future census data, I have often wondered why genealogical websites have not made more use of postal directories which are freely available in the public domain. Why cant somebody scan and upload all of the UK’s Kellys postal directories, starting with 10 year increments from the years 1911,1921,1931,1941, etc, to compliment the existing census data and upload them? Each bound volume of a local postal directory is not usually too large and surely would not cost much in time and money to achieve while the benefits to genealogists would be immense. The Historical directories website attempted this but it was never completed, so maybe this is something that findmypast could take on as their next major project?

  26. Julia Says:

    … can’t wait for wales, Flintshire especially … need to solve the mystery of my Gt Grandparents who lied about their ages at their wedding, which turned out to be bigamous and reported in the Chester Chronicle after my Gt Grandmother had been imprisoned for a month for stealing a bottle of whisky & a bottle of rum … My Grandmother was subsequently adopted and never spoke about her past. The 1911 Census should record my Gt Grandparents, just married with a young child, a few years before the scandal broke … and hopefully a clue to their birth locations which will lead me to their birth certificates :-). Keep up the good work.

  27. iantester Says:

    @who: but at least we can type…

    @Paul: we have some Kelly’s available on findmypast.com but by no means a complete set. I’ll pass your comments on to our acquisitions team, they are always looking for new data.

  28. Rob from Northumberland Says:

    Great news about Durham.

    Hopefully Northumberland will along soon!

  29. Adam Says:

    Looking forward to Durham. My fathers mothers family comes from this area. I am particularly interested in it as I am not sure where my great grandfather originally came from. This is the area where my family tree is weekest as I do not even know the name of my great grandfathers mother so. I look forward to very much to seeing their census return. I only hope my great grandparents were living together that night. As they had a son in November 1911 it is likely they were but who knows. Please can you let us know how everything is going, are you on still on track for a couple of days before the 20th March ie a weeks time.

  30. iantester Says:

    @Adam - all looking OK so far but the weekend dataload is the crunch point….

  31. Durham researcher Says:

    @ian - so it’s looking likely to be added this weekend? Fantastic if it is :)

  32. iantester Says:

    @Durham - sadly not, still a few extra hoops to jump through before it will be live on the site - it’s a complex process!

  33. Clare Says:

    Will Durham be up and running by next week then?

  34. iantester Says:

    @Clare: I’d prefer not to name an exact date until the next stages are complete.

    I am sensing some pent-up demand for Durham!

    Rest assured we will get it out as quickly as possible (but that has to be balanced with as perfectly as possible). Not long now…

  35. Gash Says:

    Would it be highly selfish of me to suggest that if you stop the weekend data load crunch by shutting down the site for a day would you get the Durham upload done any quicker??? i’m sure all them southerners have got their ancestors by now, let us northerners have a crack at the whip.

    I Know, I know, i’m terrible for even thinking it!! :)

  36. Clare Says:

    @Ian Thank you for your reply. Yes you are right there is a demand for Durham. As soon as Durham is made available it will be the icing on the cake. Not just for myself but for my 93 year old Nanna, who has been waiting along time for this. Her father was killed during The Great War and unfortuantly she never knew him. After various attempts to locate his service records which we havent found. This census is extremely important for my nanna to have something which actually records her father. So I am chuffed to pieces. Keep up the good work its very much appreciated.

  37. mark Says:

    Gash,

    I speak as one of the “southerners” who has NOT got all his ancestors. Once you get into it you will see how expensive it can get at 30 credits a pop for an image. Like most I am waiting for the subscription option to start and then this “southerner” can look for more of his ancestors.

    Mark

  38. Lisa Says:

    @ mark

    Are you doing the other members of household trick? I’ve found everything I want that way names wise and managed to add over 100 names to my tree that way. Although i will probably still get a subscription so I can see the children per marriage figures, and track down some missing marriages for my pesky Hampson/Thompson lot who didn’t think unusual first or middle names would be a good idea!!

    I’m so excited for the impending Yorkshire data as my Grandfather and his brother were illegitimate and their mother was sent to live with her uncle when she was 2 after her father became widowed (and apart from one of her brothers also moving out the family home to marry, all the other siblings stayed with their father in 1891 and 1901). So it’ll be interesting to see what she’s doing 2 years before her first illegitimate is born.

  39. Andy W Says:

    Gash….

    Lots of us “Southerners”, happen to have parents or grandparents who came from the north you know!.

    I am frankly drooling to get my mitts on the North Yorkshire returns, as there are a lot of unanswered questions about my family in Whitby around that time.

    @iantester….Thank your co-workers from me, for getting this info to us, (is that enough of a grovel ian?), but am still on tenterhooks, looking forward to the delayed “extra” info sheets, which will I hope give me some more background on the various areas, where my ancestors lived.

    Please let us know if even more grovelling will speed up the process, and if so, how much?……

  40. Jill H Says:

    Eagerly waiting for Durham & Northumberland - was hoping they’d be on before the GRO certificate prices go up in April!

  41. Adam Says:

    Gash, I am another Southerner who has all his southern ancestors. I would just love to see the Durham census as this this happens to have ancestors on that I know very little about. I also thank Ian and all your co workers.

  42. C. Says:

    Ian, you said the weekend data load was the crunch point. Any update on how it went, please?

    C.

  43. Mark S. Says:

    Just to add a bit of balance to those waiting (im)patiently for Durham, I’m beating the drum for East Yorkshire! My grandfather will be on the 1911 census (already got grandma, she was living in West Yorkshire). Like Paul I go away on holiday at the weekend, so fingers crossed that iantester and his great gang got through the weekend with flying colours :-)

  44. Clare Says:

    update please… Everyone is now impatiently awaiting news on the last remaining counties.

  45. iantester Says:

    Good news - the weekend dataload went well - we are starting to load it onto the live site now. Should be available to most users within 24 hours. Check the county dropdown on the search form which will change as the data goes live.

  46. Durham researcher Says:

    Thanks Ian for the update, that’s great news :)

  47. C. Says:

    Thanks Ian, much appreciated!

  48. Gash Says:

    I’m on nights and paid me £50 ready to get the first twenty durham ancestors, come on!!!!:)

    Or i won’t be sleeping tomorrow!! :(

    Thanks Ian & the gang!!

  49. Gash Says:

    How’s Yorkshire coming on Ian?

  50. MikeC Says:

    Found our first ancestors in Durham at 8.30 this morning 17/3/09. Excellent project management, beating the date given to users, thank you.

  51. C. Says:

    Ahhgh! Durham online BUT my Grandma STILL isn’t there! I’m starting to think she didn’t actually exist and I am a figment of my own imagination!

    Ian, thank you for Durham arriving so promptly, as promised. Keep up the good work….maybe Grandma lied and was born in Wales!

  52. Clare Says:

    Thanks alot for all your hard work and input. I have just found my great grandmother and grandfather in Durham. Best news ever

  53. Durham researcher Says:

    Having checked several times during the night (slept with laptop !?!?) was able to find my Durham ancestors at 8.45 this morning. Still working through them, plenty to find. Well done on getting this released :D

  54. linda Says:

    have looked for rellies in durham but not there they lived in heworth gateshead does that meen they will come under northumberland as i allways believed heworth and gateshead were durham ?

  55. Anna Says:

    You say early summer for the Welsh counties. Does this mean June or later? I like others are waiting for Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan and hope they aren ‘t too far away!

  56. iantester Says:

    @Anna - we can’t give an exact date for these counties yet!

  57. Jennifer Says:

    Please, when oh when is Cumberland going on line?

Leave a Reply