GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L Archives

From: "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>
Subject: [GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES] 500 Years Of London History To Launch Online – 77 Million Names
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2008 07:09:11 -0700

The following announcement was written by ancestry.co.UK:
Ancestry™ chosen to host City of London’s historical ‘London records’-
largest collection in existence

The most comprehensive collection of historical London records, covering 500
years of the city’s history, is to be made available online for the first
time. Following a lengthy tendering process, Ancestry has secured the
exclusive online rights to digitize and host key records from London
Metropolitan Archives (LMA) and Guildhall Library Manuscripts.

LMA’s historical record collection, which is owned and managed by the City
of London, is considered to be of international importance, particularly
given London’s prominence at the centre of the British Empire for almost 300
years from the mid-1700s.

As the City of London’s official partner, Ancestry will be responsible for
providing global access to The LMA Collection. Original images of all
historical records will be available on Ancestry.co.UK, the UK’s leading
family and social history website, and more than 77 million names searchable
using key information such as name, date and place.

Dating from the early 16th Century through to 2006, the collection details
the lives of both princes and paupers. Included are parish records, school
records, electoral registers, wills, lists of workhouse labourers from the
Poor Law ledgers and a comprehensive list of those granted ‘Freedom of the
City’.

The collection will take several years to index and image. Until now, those
wishing to view records have had to visit LMA or the Guildhall Library, both
based in Central London. Collection records have featured on Who do you
think you are? episodes about the family histories’ of Patsy Kensit, Barbara
Windsor and Stephen Fry.

Online access to LMA records has long been anticipated by family history
enthusiasts in the UK and internationally: it will allow millions of people
with ancestors who lived in or passed through London at some point in time
to trace their roots, whether it be to the City’s slums or its more affluent
boroughs.

The first records will launch on Ancestry.co.UK in early 2009, with the
following prioritised for launch in the coming year:
Parish records – records from more than 10,000 Greater London parish
registers of baptisms, marriages and burials dating from the 1530s to the
20th Century

Poor Law documents - relating to the administration of poor relief,
including workhouse registers from 1834 onwards

London school admissions – records from 843 individual London schools dating
from the early Victorian times through to 1911, providing admission and
personal details for millions of London students

Josh Hanna, Senior Vice President of Ancestry, International comments:
“Ancestry is thrilled to be selected as the City of London’s official
partner in hosting The LMA Collection, especially as these records have such
broad appeal and significance to so many around the world.

“In advance of participating in the tender process, we asked our members in
the UK and elsewhere what they wanted and their overwhelming response was
for the LMA records - even more so than for the 20th Century censuses.”

Dr Deborah Jenkins, Assistant Director of the City of London’s Department of
Libraries, Archives and Guildhall Art Library, comments: “It has always been
the City of London’s goal to make these important collections available to
the wider public through digitisation and so we are delighted to announce
Ancestry as our official partner in bringing 500 years of London’s history
online.”

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/09/500-years-of-lo.html

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