ERO going Pay-to-Browse for online PRs etc

[Siamese Girl]

I paid for another day yesterday, it ends at 11am this morning, but while searching registers I keep getting sent back to page one! This is very annoying when I have gone from page to page using the forward and back buttons and don't remember which page I was on! And no my curser was not near that double arrow at top left, it was actually somewhere at the bottom right of the page - can't figure out if I am doing something wrong or if it times out (I have got kicked off completely a couple of times yesterday too)

Must get back to searching for these Appletons, am glued to my seat until 11am...

No that happened to me too. I ended up having to make a note of which page I was on as I worked my way through the registers.

Carole

[Diblet]

Yes, I must admit that happens to me too. Like you Siamese Girl, I now know I've got to keep an eye on what page I'm up to so that I can go straight back to it!

 

[megsnan]

I was thrilled when this came on-line.  There were already many pre 1837 records and the promise from SEAX "So far, the coverage of registers that were started in 1837 or later is limited to parishes beginning with the letters A-F; we will add the rest as soon as we can."  That was in November.  One of the staff told me they were working on the remainder and would add it when they could - but they sounded positive about it so I took the plunge and bought an annual subscription so that I could pick up the new records when they came on line - anticipating some of the letter G parishes by about January and so on.
Nothing has been added, so I asked again and was told that it is unlikely they will be adding any more until they have digitised all the registers and they are hoping it will be before the end of the year!  I would hope that, when it comes to renewal of the subscriptions, they take account of the fact we paid for less than half what we expected to receive?

[smudwhisk]

I would hope that, when it comes to renewal of the subscriptions, they take account of the fact we paid for less than half what we expected to receive?

Don't like your chances but you can always try.  The official website did state what was available at launch and I expect they would point this out.  I doubt you could hold them to a statement that they would upload as soon as possible, the original launch date was pushed back a few months as it was.  However, you never know ...

[findem]

Hi,

I think the decision to go Pay to View before all the later year PRs were added to the online database was a bad decision.  I suspect that actions of the current UK government is to blame for the ERO's need to go Pay to View, probably the government in it's search for services and budgets to slash has caused the haste for Pay to View.

I have a very high regard for the ERO, the staff and their professionalism, I suspect had they been given the choice one of two things would have happened, there would have been either no Pay to View, or failing that not until the Essex PRs in their entirety were digitised, up and running, followed by a sufficiently long enough trial period to find and fix the glitches.

I wonder if Libraries will be next with a Pay to Borrow   

Regards.

[smudwhisk]

I suspect they had to go pay per view to be able to digitise the remaining registers, what with budget constraints etc.  They had a notice on the site for some time saying they were exploring ways of making the remaining registers available online but apart from a large grant from somewhere, this was probably the only way they could continue to digitise.  It's not that dis-similar to other pay per view sites who don't upload everything in one go.  I doubt we would have seen any of the post 1600s/1700s registers available online for free as they could have done this prior to making it all available pay per view. 

While I can feel for anyone who has subscribed requiring post-1837 material, perhaps, as others have mentioned they were going to do earlier in the topic, it may have been better to have waited for the material to appear in light of the delays in making the site pay per view in the first place. 

Not all post-1837 registers appear in the catalogue against individual parishes anyway and could well still be with the incumbant, which will mean they won't be available digitised until deposited with the RO.  Sadly one or two that I would like to see do not seem available.

[findem]

Hi smudwhisk,

I know for sure that Hatfield Broad Oak are still with the incumbent or at least they were last time I checked, at one time Sandon and Gt Leighs were but luckily they have been deposited with the ERO for some while now.

What puzzles me is what the Non Com Prs for Coggeshall and the early Stebbing Congregational Prs are doing in the National Archives without at least a copy in the ERO.  According to the IGI one of my Coggeshall Anthony ancestors is in the Coggeshall Independent Register.

Regards. 

[Ringrose]

Thankfully I only took out a months sub and did find a fair number of records.I was disappointed though when I found Quite a few of my places had nothing to offer or werent completely done.....Halstead,Purleigh etv.
I suggest anyone thinking of subscribing looks at the SEAX site and checks what is available by looking at each place of interest.You can tell then what is on offer.
I wrote to SEAX and told them I would keep checking through the year and would do nothing till I saw my records were there.They replied hoping that kas it was an ongoing job more and more records would be appearing.
Ringrise

[geno500]

I am sure all the records will be online soon,I should tell you that all the money that was spent on getting the records that are now online was recovered in the first six weeks the site was open,so as money speaks ERO and its partner will be looking for more of it.