It was with much trepidation that I arrived at the Lancashire Archives in Preston just a few week ago. I was not on a usual mission of seeking information on a clients family, no this time it was different. This time I was there to be put to the test!
Though the room was a comfortable temperature, I have to admit to beads of sweat forming on my brow and top lip, as I took my seat along with several others. In front of each of us lay a copy what looked like a forbidding and fiendishly complicated old document. Anxiety gripped my brain as our examiner signalled for us to begin transcription of the paper. I picked it up, looked at it for a few moments and then to my relief, my training kicked in and I went feverishly to work on the now hapless and prostrate copy. Well within the prescribed time I was announcing to the archivist that I had completed the task. To my mild embarrassment she gently chided my enthusiasm by jokingly reminding me that it was not a race!
So what was the point of this trial I had put myself through I hear you cry? Well I'll tell you. And let me say that for a genealogist like me it was the start of an exciting adventure. Of course my small test had not been an examination at all, more a practice to get the eye in to enable me to join a team of volunteers who give up some of their time every week to work hard at transcribing ships' crew lists, making them accessible to family historians. I am now enjoying my weekly visits to the Archive, where the camaraderie and earnest discussion amongst the volunteers has been very thought provoking, as we labour to decipher the handwriting on the lists. We have revealed names and places from across the globe, indeed some we have never heard of. It goes without saying that one of the most important tools we have in the Archive at our disposal is a well used World Gazetteer!
One never stops learning with genealogy and this is a fantastic experience for me, It's also a great feeling knowing that you are preserving a little bit more of the past for posterity. The work is a real pleasure, but I must say the tea and biscuits are a lovely bonus.