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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Essex => Topic started by: geno500 on Tuesday 26 June 12 18:59 BST (UK)
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Has any body had trouble ordering documents at Chelmsford Records,you used to put the document ref number in then you put your readers ticket number and the date you would be there so that when you arrived and booked in the documents were brought up to you,now all you get is the page for paying a sub to look at records online.
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I think I've read somewhere on SEAX that if the images are on-line they will not bring out the originals anymore. (for obvious reasons)
So, it may be that what you're trying to order is only available to view as an image on their web-site.
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You will NOT have to pay to view the documents on a computer if you are at the ERO Chelmsford.
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Thanks for the posts but it seems that they have changed the way you log in to order documents,also the Records are putting into force a ruling that the records have to be 100 years old before they can be produced so records I viewed last year are now no longer available for instance a school admission book from 1909,wait you say 1909 is more than a hundred years,you are right but the book covers 1909 to 1922 so it's no go so it would seem we have been marching forward with our quest for our family history with records being digitised and on line but we have set backs like this prior to this ruling SEAX used a 40 year cut of,I also think they are a little sheepish about this ruling as online you seem to be able to order the records,I went there this morning and used one of there computers to order records and it put up that this admission book was to fragile to view as happens with old records sometime when I questioned this as I had seen the book last year and it was fine,the whole sorry story comes out,they did look at the record for me after I had given them certain details and did supply me with a detail that I wanted,the other Admission books were a search and hope expedition so I could not see them.strangely I looked at Electoral Registers for 1930 with no problemso the whole thing is a mess,it would seem if you wanted a record from 1912 and the records covered until 1950 you will have to wait to 2050 to view them ,crazy.
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I can only think that some jobsworth busybody has paid a visit to the ERO and opened up their silly rules and regulations book.....
>:(
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I think it all comes down to the type of records you want to look at - school log books sometimes give information on children misbehaving (possibly even criminally?) and admission books sometimes say where a child has gone after leaving the school which can be a problem if they've gone to Borstal or similar.
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I can see what you are saying but if you want a tree that is just compiled of census and freebmd and other subscription sites then it is fine,I suppose, but this ruling puts a end to fleshing out info on people who were around in the early 20th cent and it applies to all record centres,they said I could see the record but she would have to stand by me and make sure I did not go past 1912,all the people I was looking up were dead ,thats what we do look for dead people,I suspect there will be some very angry people around,what about all the fiche going up to say 1945 on marriages and baptisms where say fathers name unknown on a marriage cert or only womens name on baptism there still on show at Chelmsford,it is as I said a mess.
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I have just spoken to a person at the ERO who assures me that there is no payment for looking at original documents if you visit them, you only get charged a subscription if you go on line to do so. I hope this person is correct as I hope to visit soon
regards
Louisa Maud
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of course there is no charge for looking at original documents,what I said was that they have changed the way you can order them from the comfort of your home,it is the easiest way saves alot of time,but you need a readers card,so you can put that number in when ordering documents,they are free but you need to apply at the records you need some forms of documents like a utility bill or council tax bill something like that ,you will have to have one if you want to see original records,keep a look out on the SEAX web site because they will be closing the centre for one day once again,they did it two weeks ago,I said I thought it was for changing light bulbs but it seems one of the large plate windows which make up one side of the records has a crack in it,so they closed the records for a day to get it changed,but it did not happen as they brought the wrong glass.
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Perhaps I miss understood the original query
Hope they aren't due to close the day I am intending to travel there
Louisa Maud
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Hi going back to what I was saying about the stupid idea that certain records will have to be 100 years old instead of the 40 year cut off that records centres used before,I have to say that this morning using my free subscription to Ancestry,I looked up a ancestor who was in the army and found his medical records it seems he had a abscess on his penis and was invalided out in 1917,I am so shocked I will have to report Ancestry for breaching rules that have been handed down from above,they will have to look at all the records and remove anything like that,I am absolutely sure they will not it is big money at stake,I would love Ancestry to take on these faceless cretins
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Hi going back to what I was saying about the stupid idea that certain records will have to be 100 years old instead of the 40 year cut off that records centres used before,I have to say that this morning using my free subscription to Ancestry,I looked up a ancestor who was in the army and found his medical records it seems he had a abscess on his penis and was invalided out in 1917,I am so shocked I will have to report Ancestry for breaching rules that have been handed down from above,they will have to look at all the records and remove anything like that,I am absolutely sure they will not it is big money at stake,I would love Ancestry to take on these faceless cretins
I don't think the Record Office are being unreasonable at all, when archives and other resources refer to 100 years they are ensuring that information on living people is restricted. The particular book you were after would no doubt include people still alive. As far as Ancestry's WW1 Army records are concerned, all were born well over 100 years ago but Service Records from the c1920s onwards are still held by the Ministry of Defence and there is restricted access.
Andy
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Hi Andy just what would people find in a village school admittance book from that era,1909-1922, well in the case of my ancestor he moved with his family from a place near Cambridge in 1916 so he was 9 when he arrived,thats it except that the head teacher a Mr West shaped my ancestors hand writing as the book was like looking at old letters I have,,the records had a policy of 40 years but some zealot has come up with this new idea,the micro fiche say from 1940 with marriages with no father known are still there as are the single parent baptisms,are we to remove them as well,what is crazy is the thought that the person would still be alive,if he was alive I would go and meet him and ask,come to think about it what about 192,or the net where you can find out all sorts of details of living people,it's about time there was some sanity about this issue and people except that the genie is out the bottle and looking at school books from 90 years ago is okay.