Old Photos of Clovelly in Devon (click to enlarge)
Old Photos of Clovelly in Devon (click to enlarge)
These pictures of Clovelly in North Devon probably date from the 1950’s or 1960’s.
(From my grandpa’s collection of slides – see this post for more information.)
Another family history researcher recently sent me a transcript of a marriage settlement involving my Dando line. As these documents can be a little confusing I decided to search for a useful online guide and came across the following link among the Learning Resources at FamilySearch:
My household questionnaire for the 2011 England and Wales Census arrived this week and, after thumbing through it, I decided to put down a few of my thoughts, from a genealogical point of view that is.
This is your chance to be part of history. Many family historians appreciate the invaluable information contained within the 19th and early 20th century censuses, which are currently available to them. Although these records may contain only basic information they do help us to locate our ancestors and glimpse at their lifestyles via their addresses and occupations.
Turning to the new 2011 census, whilst it does supply a great deal more detail for the future genealogist, I was surprised and dismayed to find that middle names are to be omitted, although full dates of birth are required. Again, a specific place of birth is not requested, only the country. I began to worry for our descendants that they’ll have a difficult time tracking down ancestors with common names who were born in England or Wales, etc.
Of course, by then, who knows what other sources will become available to support the particulars they find on us in the census? For instance, might they have access to old household bills in the same way that we can view old telephone and street directories now, or will this type of material still be viewed as confidential in 100 years or so?
What about our personal musings on Twitter, Facebook and the like? And of course, our websites and blogs? The Internet Archive is busy recording much of what it finds online by means of its ‘Wayback Machine‘. The ‘Machine’ has already captured my own family history site twice. Imagine how our descendants might feel if they search for their ancestors, to find all our efforts pop up on their screens (assuming screens are still in use at that stage) after we, and our websites, are long gone!
We have a choice of whether to complete the 2011 census online or post back our paper questionnaires. In trying to decide which method to choose I endeavoured to find out what would become of our paper questionnaires. Apparently, they are to be destroyed after they have been scanned. However, images of the actual questionnaires are to be securely stored on microfilm and kept confidential for the usual 100 years. Therefore, if you like the idea of your descendants seeing your own hand (albeit printed) and signature, then you might want to use the old-fashioned method and put pen to paper.
You could copy or scan your questionnaire before sending it back and keep it in your family archive. Then perhaps some of those who come after you won’t have to wait 100 years to discover that you had gas central heating!
Old photograph of Trafalgar Square, London (click to enlarge)
This photograph was most likely taken by my gran, Ivy Alice Hibbitt, nee Dando, probably some time during the 1960’s. She would sometimes visit London with friends.
(From my grandpa’s collection of slides – see this post for more information.)
My parents recently produced two boxes of colour slides, which had been stored away in their house for a number of years. The slides consisted of photos taken by my paternal grandparents, Charles George Hibbitt and Ivy Alice (nee Dando), ranging from the 1930’s to the early 1970’s, including family pictures and places they visited. My grandpa enjoyed photography and from time to time he’d convert the bathroom into a temporary dark room.
Grandpa’s Old Slides
Eager to view these images I set about scanning them with my Epson Perfection V200 Photo scanner, which has a slide scanning facility, and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the results. The software allows for colour restoration and backlight correction as well as other fine-tuning features. Even the darkest of slides rendered a viewable picture.
My Old Epson Perfection V200 Photo Scanner
The slide scanning feature of my Epson Scanner
Epson Scan Software
Amongst the assortment of photographs, there are images of 1950’s London, the ‘new’ M1 motorway, cruising on the Norfolk Broads and boating in Devon.
This got me thinking what a privilege it is to have this informal family collection of pictures, which are in colour, dating back to this time. We also have informal black and white photographs dating back further. If I could, I’d say a big thank you to my late grandparents for this legacy.
I’ll be posting some of these images in due course so watch this space!
[Update 2025: Nowadays I have an Epson Perfection V370 Photo scanner which operates in a similar way.]
