Welcome to the Family History Social

The late TV astronomer Sir Patrick Moore had built up an extensive personal archive  of objects and written material including some of the draft scripts and memorabilia from the BBC programme The Sky at Night.

It has been announced that Sir Patrick's collection has now been acquired by the Science Museum to preserve them. They will be kept at the Science Museum Library and Archives at Wroughton in Wiltshire.

If you read my last post, then you will know that with a month to go I was writing my list for Santa (or at least as a massive hint for loved ones to buy me something useful this year!). So it is very timely that this news has come in from the team at TheGenealogist:

TheGenealogist Family History Shop is now open!

Christmas is coming; it’s that time for giving and receiving again.

Are you looking for some great gifts to make a family historian happy this festive period? Simply head over to the fantastic new shop pages recently added to TheGenealogist for a great selection of scanners, software, archival storage, spring binders and charts. Made available in association with S&N Genealogy Supplies, the UK’s largest genealogy publisher and retailer, your present selection is covered this Yuletide.

While you are there, why not browse for something for yourself? To make sure that you get what you want in your stocking this year, just drop your loved ones the hint by giving them TheGenealogist shop’s page link.

http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/shop/

Christmas is coming; it's that time for giving and receiving again. So its probably a good idea to start thinking about what a family historian might want to put on this year's letter to Santa. So here is mine to get people started!

That  shoe box of photos, certificates and A4 family-pedigrees could really do with being more organised. I would really love it if, this Christmas, under my tree I'd find some hard backed binders, to protect all that valuable research I've done and preserve it in a more presentable way for future generations of the family to read.

Gift vouchers to allow me to buy exactly what I want are always well received, especially if they are family history related!

I would also be so grateful if that kind person, who regularly gives me the box of shortbread's that does nothing for my waist line after all the other food on offer at this time of year, would substitute the biscuits with a non edible present instead. Perhaps a useful set of charts to present my family tree in a more attractive way than the print out from my computer, or the scribbled hand drawn tree on that sheet of paper that I have at the moment?

At the top of my list (hint ,hint!) would be a portable scanner, to capture images of the certificates and photographs that I see on visits to my relatives or at the archives.

If you've got an old selection of slides and negatives that have been passed down through the generations,  it's often a hassle having to get out those bulky slide projectors or back-lit panels. However, with the Slide, Negative & Film Scanner you can view these old gems quickly and easily. Simply connect via a USB cable to transfer images to your computer. These stand alone scanners store your pictures on a memory card which can then be transferred to your computer by a USB lead. There's also some good offers to be had at the moment too. S&N Genealogy Supplies have a special offer this weekend on the 'Slide, Negative and Film Scanner Premium Bundle'. You can save over £245 with this current special offer. The Premium Bundle contains everything you need to digitise your slides, negatives and films. Visit their 'Offer of the Week' page to find out more.

The National Archives has this week announced their new Chief Executive, Jeff James, has now started his new role. His official title is 'Chief Executive and Keeper' and his previous experience at The National Archives will no doubt be invaluable in his new role. He has previously been Director of Operations and Services at The National Archives, involved in a variety of tasks from managing customer relations to the development and delivery of public services. More details on the appointment of Jeff James can be found on The National Archives website. 

 

This weekend’s special offer from S&N Genealogy Supplies is 3 fold out charts (worth nearly £6) for free with every Window Springback Binder purchase. So why not get organised and show off your research at the same time? More details can be found on the S&N Genealogy website 

As family historians we collect numerous valuable documents and heirlooms in our family history quest. With those family documents it's worth ensuring you keep a copy on file in case the worst happens and your collection gets damaged. One way of doing this is to use the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner. The scanner allows you to digitise framed photos, albums, medals and pictures larger than the scanner if required. S&N Genealogy Supplies have produced a demonstration video on the use of the Flip-Pal Scanner which can be viewed below. Have you used a Flip-Pal? What did you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

As the weather has been generally good this summer, many of us will have neglected our research to spend time in the garden. So why not take the time now to make sure your family history documents and certificates are all organised and safely stored in time for the summer holidays? S&N Genealogy Supplies have a great offer at the moment, if you buy 100 sleeves you get a free A4 Family History Binder. More details at can be found on their website at http://www.genealogysupplies.com/offer-of-the-week.php

Founded in 1988, the Friends of The National Archives has recently reached its 2014 target of achieving over 1,000 members. The Friends of the National Archives is a voluntary organisation and registered charity, dedicated to supporting the TNA's role in preserving and providing access to the nations records. The Friends also get involved in voluntary project work to assist The National Archives. If you'd like to know more or are interested in becoming a member, more information can be found on The National Archives website.

Once you’ve found those precious records of ancestors, after often painstaking research, the next important task is to ensure they are stored and protected safely.  Standard PVC sleeves can suffer from leaching of plasticizer which lifts print off pages and ruins those valuable certificates. To ensure your collection of certificates and research documents are preserved in pristine condition, we’ve listed 5 tools that every family historian should have in their possession to guard against damage to those precious documents.

1. Certificate Binders

High-quality ring binders are available in standard A3 and A4 sizes, or the specially designed ‘Long Certificate’ binders (which can hold both the old ‘long’ style and the new style A4 certificates.  A binder is essential to protect certificates or photos or any other memorabilia.

2. Springback Binders

Unlike ring binders, you don’t have to punch any holes in the paper- simply choose the sheets you want, fold the covers of the binder back, and place the paper into the spine.  You can add or remove pages as many times as you like.

3. Storage Boxes

If you have objects or memorabilia that won’t fit into a binder, it’s worth looking at a special storage box, designed to protect your items from damage.  Certain specialist boxes come lined with lignin-free paper and are designed to protect against acidity and sulphur in the air.

4. Acid free pens and paper

Another tip is to use acid free pens which can be used to write on most surfaces such as photographs, charts, paper or card without causing worry or damage.

5. Acid free photo tape and glue

If you need to stick or repair any documents, it is essential to use acid free tape to help preserve those documents. Ensure you use non-yellowing tape as this can really ruin the look of your old original and make it hard to read.

6. Brass Archival Paperclips (non rusting)

We all like to keep our documents and notes together. For particularly valuable and fragile documents, if you want to keep them together with paperclips, be sure to use archival paperclips which are non rusting and not liable to leave a mark on your research material!

7. Archival Cotton Gloves

Finally, to handle all those precious keepsakes and documents, it’s worth investing in a pair of archival quality protective gloves, avoiding any unnecessary damage caused by the natural acidity of bare skin. S&N Genealogy Supplies provide a full range of archival supplies to help you protect your valuable research. Find out more at the S&N website. Can you think of any other invaluable tools that can help family historians protect their documents and keepsakes? Let us know in the comments below!