Records

We are so very lucky, with English ancestors, to have available to use the Parish Registers carefully maintained by the priests and clerks since the mid 1500s if we are so lucky in our particular parishes. Having to keep these records and enforcing them with strict laws resulted in a truly remarkable set of records pertaining to our ancestors. I decided, once I found that transcription was my niche, to work on Parish Registers for the remainder of my days and at 65 years one can not tell whether that will be a long time or a short one or somewhere in between. Probably in another five years most of the records will be digitized as microfilm becomes harder to purchase. But for the moment I am working away at my 2000 sheets of fiche slowly but surely and I intend to purchase more in the next couple of years probably doubling this amount.


I continue working on the Upper Clatford records and will complete to the end of 1812 when I will switch over to Abbotts Ann. I will come back and complete Upper Clatford to the beginning of the 1st World War eventually (and I have the marriages up to 1970) but for the moment I feel that I want to have a look at Abbotts Ann. Something I have promised myself for a while to do. I have a number of family lines there and I may yet find a solution to the Charles Blake family. I am curious and as I develop my thesis for the Blake one name study which does appear to be going to come to fruition finding the ancestors of Charles Blake is a desired happening. I think I have been contacted by more than 20 of his descendants over the years. His family was very large and in that he is a contemporary of my Thomas Blake (b 1709 Andover) whose descendants are also in the will of John Blake I have a nagging interest in him myself.

I wrote to the original holder of the Blake one name Study and have not yet heard back from him as to his interest or lack of interest in the project that he originally headed. He would actually be far superior to me in running the Blake one name study as he has years and years of collected data plus a long history in genealogy both of which I lack. My own interest only goes back really to 2003 when I began (interest kindled in 2001 when I traveled to England but it took two years to smolder away in my brain before it leapt into flame). Once one is besot with genealogy there is really no escape. It tends to dominate your every hour and quite consume your mind - however it is a healthy addiction.

Back to transcription and learning more about the Blake family. I have managed to reduce my workload considerably from one years ago with external items in which I was involved. There are still a couple more that I will eventually eliminate but gradually my results and work is involved only with my families. Mind you that ends up in involving a lot of people who are also related to me.