Family history online for free

Aug 12 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

A SURGE of interest in family trees is expected following a deal which gives people in the North East free access to a treasure trove of information.

Tyne and Wear Archives, based in Newcastle’s Discovery Museum, has been provided with around a year’s worth of free access to the online records of the newly-released 1911 census site by the National Archives, in collaboration with UK-based family history website Find My Past.

It would otherwise cost £3 to view each single image on the census site.

The move comes after the National Archives, a Government department, offered free access only to visitors to its headquarters in Kew in London. That drew criticism over the way it left people in regions like the North East at a disadvantage.

Already 6,000 people a year visit Tyne and Wear Archives on family tree business and there are a further 300,000 annual hits on the organisation’s website. Its chief archivist Liz Rees said that when research on home computers is taken into account, there are tens of thousands of people in the North East engaged in tracing their family history.

She said interest had been further boosted by television programmes like the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?

In a recent edition of the programme, TV presenter Kate Humble was filmed in Earsdon, North Tyneside, where one of her ancestors was involved in the Hartley pit disaster.

Ms Rees said: “Anyone can book a slot to visit the Archives and take advantage of this fantastic 1911 census opportunity.

“As we are expecting demand to be very high, we are asking people to call or email to book an appointment to come in and use the service.”