LANCASHIRE FAMILY HISTORY AND HERALDRY SOCIETY

Rossendale Branch Newsletter January 2007

Happy New Year to all our Members.

The latest members list from Pip Cowling shows that 98 society members have an interest in the Rossendale area; so don't forget that your subscriptions are now due for 2007.

Haslingden Roots and Rossendale Branch

Family History Research Evenings

Held at Haslingden Library on Tuesday evenings will resume on January 9th 6.30 - 8.30.

Please note that there is no admittance to the library after 7.30pm.

Because of the volume of interest we will not attempt to research families from outside our area. First time visitors are asked to check whether we have the relevant material by contacting one of the email addresses given below.

Rita Hirst rossendale@lfhhs.org.uk or Jackie Ramsbottom jax@grane92.freeserve.co.uk

Rossendale Miscellany News

Notes and Queries Things have been fairly quiet during the Christmas break, several of you promised articles for the Rossendale Ancestry section, which have not materialised. I have been asked about Mount Zion Chapel at Edgeside, Barcrofts, Rileys, Staples, and Cockerills.

Information on Chapels can be obtained from our website by clicking on the "Churches" section. If the information you want is not there, then let me know and I will see whether anyone else can supply it. If you are willing to do occasional register checks at Rawtenstall library, please contact me.

Newchurch in Rossendale - Registers.

BTs prior to 1723

Last month I told you about the transcript work being undertaken by Craig Thornber, for the Lancashire Parish Register Society. He tells me that when volume 45 (covering Newchurch in Rossendale from 1653 - 1723) was produced in 1912, the Bishop's Transcripts were probably not consulted and so the records for 20 years prior to 1653 were missed. Apparently the Record Office copy of this volume has a note attached, advising users that that the volume is deficient because of damage to the registers and advises researchers to use the Bishop's Transcripts, as none of work in this volume was collated with the BTs which do survive for most of this period.

Mr Thornber has started to check these early missing entries at Preston. He says "They are not in bad condition but the writing is very small and in Secretary Hand. It took two days to transcribe four of the twenty years which survive between 1606 and 1640. A transcript of these years will have only limited value; As there are frequent gaps in the record, there is no way of knowing whether a child being baptised, or a couple marrying lived for long after the event. For example, after the first three BTs covering 1606 to 1608, there is a gap until 1616. However, I think they should be transcribed and made available in due course."

I think we will all agree with that. Any and every scrap of information can be useful.

Anyone interested in Secretary hand script can find examples on the internet. Lower case letters are fairly recognisable with practice but capital letters are difficult to identify and there are several ways of writing each one.

Project Work -

St. James' Church, Haslingden - Burials.

Because the Haslingden registers are held at Rawtenstall and therefore, not readily available at our Tuesday night research sessions, we have started to index the burials. If you would like to help with this work, please contact Jackie Ramsbottom, our Project Organiser. Arrangements can be made for you to do transcription work at either Rawtenstall or Haslingden.

Executive News-

from your Chairman

Welcome to this the third of my summaries. I hope all the members of the Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society, whether they live in Lancashire or outside the county are finding them helpful and informative.

Since my last summary, a number of things have happened in the Society. One of the most important was the members' meeting at Astley Hall, Chorley. We looked at our society and asked the question "Where are we going?.". After this extremely helpful meeting, I pulled together a small group to look at the subjects which had been discussed. We hope to put some challenging proposals to the Executive at our next meeting in February. The Branch representatives will take the proposals back to their branches for consideration at the Branch AGMs. They will then be discussed at the Society AGM in May 2007.. I hope that you will take an interest looking at these plans.

Society Dinner

The Society Dinner, organised by the Blackburn & Darwen branch was a great success. Peter Park spoke informatively and amusingly on "A different look at the records." The Whitehall Hotel, provided an excellent meal. The Hyndburn branch was asked to organise the Society Dinner for 2007. I would like to encourage members to attend if at all possible.

At the November Executive Meeting following items were discussed and decisions taken:

1. We were informed by the Blackburn & Darwen Branch, that they had received a grant towards their expenses concerning the work they are doing on the Lancashire BMD.

2.The new and updated Fiche Catalogue is now on the Society website,

3. Pip Cowling our Membership Secretary informed us that we have had an increase in new members. This is great news.

The new membership form which was in your November copy of "Lancashire" makes provision for UK members to pay by credit card. Overseas members have had this facility for some time but the possibility of using Paypal or Genfair is now being considered.

4.The Strait's committee will soon be start work on fitting out the Centre so we can use it to a greater capacity.

5.The Society has been approached by the British Library to ask if our website can be preserved for posterity The Executive agreed this request and complimented Fred Moor for his unstinting work on the website this request is a great testimony to his work. Thank you for your support as members and please, if you have any comments you can contact me at:- chairman@lffhs.org.uk

Membership Secretary

As a Stop Press, which is also reported elsewhere in "Lancashire", we have sadly had to accept the resignation of Pip Cowling as the Society Membership Secretary, this is due to family circumstances. Pip, in the three years she has been Membership Secretary has input greatly into the Society. She has been willing to travel to attend Committee Meetings, here in Lancashire, even though she travels from Bradford in Yorkshire. We are sorry to see her go, but understand the reasons.

So we as a Society are looking for a new Membership Secretary, to take over from the AGM in May, Help will be given to acquaint any volunteer with the system in use and Pip will be available for a while, to give advice. Any interested person please contact Pip Cowling at:- membership@lfhhs.org.uk

Exhibitions & Fairs

In my other roll as Exhibitions and Fairs Co-ordinator, I wish to bring to your attention the Fairs that the Society will be attending in 2007, so far, they are:-

Pudsey, - Saturday 10th March

Stockport- Sunday 1st April

York - Saturday 30th June

Southport- Saturday 25th August

If any member of the Society wishes to help at any of these Fairs, they will be most welcome, just contact me at:-
exhibitions@lfhhs.org.uk

Thank You

Stephen John Ward

Chairman LFH&HS