Who is responsible for the organisation?
Colin Allen is the project leader. He is being assisted by David Squire on matters related to IT. Both are working as volunteers. Else Curchill, a senior paid member of staff of the Society of Genealogists, is providing the overall co-ordination and guidance.
How do I get involved?
Contact Colin Allen or Else Churchill at the Society of Genealogists by mail or telephone or else email Colin with your details. You do not have to be a member of the Society of Genealogists to carry out data input at home.
Do I need a computer and, if so, what sort?
No. Certain tasks, including checking the work of others and resolving difficult transcriptions, do not require use of a computer although some of this work can only be carried out at the library of the Society of Genealogists. The data input work, which is the most time consuming part, does require that you have access to a computer. It should be a PC running Windows 98 or later, having at least 10MB of free hard disk space, a floppy disk drive and a screen resolution of at least 800 by 600 (ideally 1024 by 768). A CD drive and email are useful but not essential.
What are the volunteers required to do?
Most of the work at this stage involves typing data into a special computer program direct from photocopies of films of the original St Andrew, Holborn marriage registers. Particular standards must be followed carefully to ensure that the index that is produced is accurate and consistent. All of this work can be carried out at your home. There is also a need for volunteers to help with checking, photocopying and other administrative tasks.
What skills are needed?
For data input we need volunteers who can read the relevant handwriting (which is fairly straightforward for 18th Century and 19th Century registers), are modestly IT literate, can follow instructions and can commit sufficient time. A working knowledge of London and Middlesex parishes and English names is also desirable. If you feel that you have special skills that would be of value to the team (eg particular familiarity with 17th Century handwiting) then please mention this to Colin Allen and he will bear that in mind.
What is "sufficient time"?
People work at such different rates that it is very difficult to say. However, what is clear from past experience, is that a little and often is a very effective way to work. Two hours a week every week, for example, should easily enable you to finish a batch of work every few months. Some volunteers manage to complete two batches in a month without much difficulty whilst others will no doubt take six months to do one.
Where would I work?
Data inputting can be done wherever you have your computer and can work accurately with sufficient concentration. Invariably this will be at home. Having said that some volunteers with laptops have been known to do quite a lot of their inputting on train journeys or whilst waiting for flight connections. Some checking can be done at home but dealing with queries and difficult cases invariably requires that the work is done in the Society's library.
Do I get paid anything?
No. All work is being done on a voluntary basis and all volunteers agree that the Society of Genealogists will own the copyright to the resulting index.
What will it cost me?
We expect volunteers to bear computer running costs (eg electricity, floppy disks, paper, ink etc) as well as postage of photocopies back to the Society of Genealogists and any incidental costs such as phone calls. Those volunteers who need the facilities of the Society library will need to pay for their travel costs.
Do I need to contribute financially to the project?
No. Other than defraying your own expenses, we are not asking volunteers to contribute any money to the project and the special computer program, guidance material and photocopies that you will work with are all provided to volunteers free of charge. That said, the Society would welcome some financial help to help pay for the costs of the hundreds of pages of photocopies that are being made. If you feel that you can help in this way please contact Else Churchill at the Society of Genealogists for details or send a cheque to her made out to "Society of Genealogists" indicating that it is for the St Andrew, Holborn project. Thank you in advance if you are able to help in this way.
When will the project be finished?
That largely depends on the number of data input volunteers who sign up, the speed that they work at and the number of them who index repeat batches of photocopies. Two previous comparable indexing projects organised by the same team took about three years each and so it is reasonable to expect this to take about the same length of time.
How will the index be published?
No final decision has been made yet. The index is being designed as a database in order to facilitate electronic publishing. Most likely it will be made available on the internet; a few hard copies are likely to be made for selected libraries.
What is the work unit number that I have to put in when I set out to create a new data file?
The work unit number is the unique identifier given to the batch of photocopies that you have been sent. It should be clear on the cover sheet sent to you by the project organiser; if for any reason it is not please contact Colin Allen at the Society of Genealogists.
Why is the first record that I enter given the number 2 rather than 1?
Entry number 1 is set aside for header information such as your name and contact details. Because it does not contain marriage entry information it is normally not displayed. The only exception is when the "notes for organisers" box is ticked.
I can't read some of the witness names. What should I do?
First of all don't worry - you are not alone. Put in your best assessment of the name (with dots for missing letters if necessary) and make comment in the notes for organisers box. In due course, the checkers will do what they can to decipher the name from the film or possibly from the original registers held at the Guildhall Library.
What do I do if there is no county stated after a parish name?
The most helpful thing to do is to research what the county is enter and then it if you are confident that it is not ambiguous. With St Andrew's parish spanning the London / Middlesex border, most parties to marriages will be from either London or Middlesex and the most common parishes represented within these counties are listed for reference on this website under Volunteers' reference. However you may be presented with an unfamiliar parish in which case research on the internet or in a book such The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers may help.
What are Chapman three letter codes and where do I find them?
These are widely recognised short codes for English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish counties which have been extended to encompass other locations as well such as the Channel Islands. Codes are validated automatically by Andrew and those recognised by the program are listed on this website under Volunteers' reference.
What should I do if the parish name appears to be written in a way that is not normal today?
This index is to be a finding aid from which users will be encouraged to look up the original entry or a facsimile of it. To aid future index users it has been decided that parish names will be standardised in the final version where practical (although it is appreciated that this decision is not without controversy). Standards for the more common nearby parishes are listed on this website under Volunteers' reference. Where possible please follow these standards; doing so will reduce the editorial load of the organisers later.
The context sensitive help screens do not display when I press F1. How do I correct this?
You are probably using version 1.1 of Andrew (you can tell by looking at Help / About on the menu bar) so the easiest thing to do is to change to version 1.2. See the Program Updates page on this website. If this does not solve the problem contact David Squire.
I get a strange error message when I close Andrew. What is going on?
This is a known bug in version 1.1. The easiest solution is to upgrade to Andrew version 1.2 which you can do by following the guidance on Program Updates.
How do I know that I have saved my work successfully to a floppy disk when I click on "Save"?
There are several ways. Firstly you should have heard your floppy disk drive carrying out the data file copying. Secondly you can compare the file details (name, date, time, size) as saved on the floppy with that saved on the hard drive path in which you keep Andrew. Thirdly there is no reason why you should not use the File / Open an Existing File to open up a data file directly from the floppy disk. It will be slow and is not particularly recommended but it is possible.
I cannot read what I have saved to floppy disk. Why not?
The data is saved is a format recognised by Visual FoxPro and cannot be read accurately by any program other than Andrew. You should not expect to be able to read it in Microsoft Word for example. Much of the data can be successfully read by other database programs but even they will not get the special dual date or partial date formats correct so please don't attempt to transfer or read the data files in another program as you are more likely to corrupt them than anything else. But don't worry; the organisers have copies of Andrew loaded on their computers and indeed will be using other related programs as well to amalgamate and sort all of the data for final presentation. Should you need to read directly from your floppy disk for any reason then use Andrew (see above).
Certain windows are partially cut off when I try to input data. How do I make the whole window visible?
You are probably working with your screen set to a resolution of 800 by 600. There are two options: (a) upgrade to version 1.2 which is designed to work better with a 800 by 600 screen - see Program Updates for guidance or (b) increase your screen resolution setting from your control panel.
What should I do if I come across a noteworthy or amusing marriage that would be worth sharing with other volunteers?
You may come across famous people who were married at St Andrew or you might just come across an amusing case. For example, on 6 May 1780 Edward LOCK married Elizabeth KEY. There must have been plenty of jokes at the time about how they were obviously made for each other! Either way, please send full details to David Squire with the reason for doing so and he may well chose to place them on the project website.
I have some ideas on how to improve the data input program. What should I do?
Suggestions for improvements are welcome. Please send them to David Squire.
What do I do when I have finished inputting a batch?
Firstly study your data in the View Screen in all of the orders other than entry order (remember to ensure the Locate text box is blank). Particularly study the first and last entries for those that might be anomalous. Make any corrections needed. Then print off the standard report in the default settings. Carefully check this line by line against the photocopies you were sent. You will be surprised how many errors you find in your own work this way even when you thought that you had input so carefully. Make the corrections needed. Save two copies of your work onto floppy disks and label them with the file name. Keep one copy safe at your home. Return the other with the appropriate photocopies to Colin Allen c/o Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, London EC1M 7BA. Please ask him to send you another batch of work to tackle.