Helpful Advice and urls for London Listers
This is a guide, especially for newcomers to London genealogy and to the Rootsweb London-l mailing list, but also for any others who may find ituseful. Most of the general comments and many of the links will be equally relevant to anyone undertaking genealogical and family history research anywhere in the UK, and at least some will be relevant to such research anywhere in the world.
Dear All,
This is a post designed to help all of those newer members of the List, and any of the older ones who feel they need it, to identify where they may be able to obtain information for themselves before posting questions to the List. The intention is to help List members to help themselves, to avoid the posting of repetitive or unrealistic requests,as sometimes happens, and to make it easier for other List members to identify the subject and to respond effectively.
When you join the List and before you post, look at the List archives which are publicly available at http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/ENG/LONDON.html , where you will find that many questions have already been answered exhaustively. You should also ensure that you have a good quality dictionary - many questions, including most of those occupations, illnesses, and causes of death can easily be answered from such a source.
This List deals with London; before you start posting, find out what that actually means. 'London' has covered different areas at different periods in history; the confusion caused by boundary changes involving the surrounding counties, particularly Middlesex, but also Surrey, Kent and Essex, the creation of an administrative county of 'London' and later 'Greater London' is something we all have to get to grips with. Do not expect the List to provide you with all of the answers to all of your questions - try searching 'Google' for some of the history, do some research at your local library and/or visit a bookshop; you must have access to a good map, at least of modern London, but preferably of an older vintage. Remember that the Internet does *not* contain all of the available information, or even a tiny fraction of it, and you will need to look in many other places if you want to get a full story. Obtaining a good understanding of the areas in which your ancestors lived may tell you much more than can be gleaned from a simple address.
Always start by giving your messages a clear and informative subject line; 'Surname', '1861' or 'Camberwell' may well gain you zero responses, while a combination like 'Smithers, 1861, Camberwell' will immediately attract more attention. Remember that by posting sensible and reasonable questions, written with appropriate punctuation and use of capitals and that demonstrate a degree of thought, you are much more likely to receive useful replies. If you are replying to a previous post, it also helps to include the relevant part of the message you are replying to but *not* a whole string of previous messages; many list members will simply delete the lot without reading any of it. Failure to post some relevant pre-cursor to your own post may well result in similar treatment. Please direct your reply either to the List or to the original poster, as appropriate, rather than simply to the last person to post in the thread. As a general rule, responses to 'look-up' requests are usually best sent only to the individual, as are personal messages of thanks; posts to the List should be confined to questions, and replies of general interest.
Recognise that London is, and has for a long time, been a very large place; questions asking for 'SKS' to look up 'my g granddad Bert Jones in St Pancras in 1841' may not sound too unreasonable; in reality, there were many thousands of people living in St Pancras in 1841 and lots of them would have been called Jones. 'Bert' could also be short for Albert, Herbert or Bertram and could even be a name in its own right. Even though there are now surname indexes for all of the main censuses, these are of variable quality and the more information you can give when requesting a look-up, the more likely you are to get a successful response. If the names you are interested in are common, then some combination of name, age, place of birth and address is usually the minimum requirement for successful look-up requests in any year, notwithstanding the availability of indexes. Also do not forget that look-ups are not 'free'; those people kind enough to reply to such requests, whether it is census, BMD, or various others, will almost certainly have paid for the access themselves. The least you can do is not abuse their kindness and be sure to acknowledge their help.
You would be well advised to join one or more relevant Family History Societies (FHS) that cover the ares in which your ancestors lived. Also consider what may be available via your local Family History Centre (FHC); by picking your home country from the list at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp?page=/eng/Policy/countrysites.asp?color=green you can follow the links to find your nearest Centre.
Recognise that while there are many people who will help you, they cannot be expected either to teach you what to do or to do your research for you. Newcomers to genealogy should do some background reading on the subject; on the internet, you can start at http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/where you will find many other references to follow up, including pointers to many FHSs and references to various books that will help. You may already be aware of many other websites, but I have listed a few particularly useful ones here (in no particular order). Please note that some longer urls have been shortened, by the use of the site http://tinyurl.com/ , to avoid 'wrap around' problems; however, the full site addresses are still displayed when they are accessed.
Web page for the London List with information and links for List members :
http://www.londonlist.org.uk/index.htm
London-l mailing list details & archives : http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/ENG/LONDON.html
General Rootsweb mailing lists home - 2 versions :
http://lists.rootsweb.com/
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/index.html
General Rootsweb mailing lists archives search :
http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl
Genforum genealogy site for various genealogical discussion groups :
http://genforum.genealogy.com/
Genuki home page, a major resource site with links to many hundreds of other genealogy sites : http://www.genuki.org.uk/
including The 'A to Z' of British Genealogy by Dr Ashton Emery http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/EmeryPaper.html
and
Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History by Roy Stockdill http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html
The London, Westminster & Middlesex FHS website :
http://www.lnmfhs.dircon.co.uk/
West Middlesex FHS website :
http://www.west-middlesex-fhs.org.uk/index.htm
Hillingdon FHS website (includes partial transcription of the 1891 census for Uxbridge Registration district) :
http://www.rootsweb.com/~enghfhs/index.html
East of London FHS website (covering parts of Essex now included inGreater London) :
http://www.eolfhs.org.uk/
Waltham Forest FHS and Woolwich & District FHS also cover small parts ofthe Greater London area but do not have websites - addresses can befound via the Genuki or FFHS websites.
North West Kent FHS website (inc. parts of S E London) :
http://www.nwkfhs.org.uk/
East Surrey FHS website (inc. much of what is now S London) :
http://www.eastsurreyfhs.org.uk/
West Surrey FHS website (adjacent to, but not including, any of
the Greater London area) :
http://www.wsfhs.org/
Essex FHS website (covers parts of what is now East London) :
http://www.esfh.org.uk/
Society of Genealogists home page :
http://www.sog.org.uk/
The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) home page :
http://www.ffhs.org.uk/
Catholic History website, including Family History links :
http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/
The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland, including family history information :
http://www.huguenotsociety.org.uk/
British Genealogy.com - a free site dedicated to helping people with British family history research, including significant information on available resources
http://www.british-genealogy.com/index.html
Details of GRO services, including descriptions of what is included on certificates and how to order them; includes births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and adoptions :
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
GRO on-line certificate ordering service : http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificate/index.asp#0
The Family Records Centre homepage :
http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/frc/
Home page of the UK National Archives (formerly PRO) :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Index to National Archives Research Guides, where there is guidance on a vast array of records :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/researchguidesindex.asp?j=1
National Archives Documents OnLine including access to PCC wills and some WW1 medal rolls :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/
The on-line National Archives Catalogue - searchable by word or phrase, date and series reference :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/default.asp
The Hospital Records Database, including details of what records are available and where they are held :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/
A2A Database of archives held in over 400 depositories throughout the UK, currently containing over 10 million references :
http://www.a2a.org.uk/
London Metropolitan Archives home page :
http://tinyurl.com/mips
Index to London Wills (Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex) and purchase facility (database being extended to cover other London and Surrey Courts, and also marriage bonds, apprenticeships and settlement certificates)http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/wills/London_Signatures.htm
Westminster City Archives home page : http://www.westminster.gov.uk/libraries/archives/index.cfm
Guildhall Library home page :
http://tinyurl.com/3bsz6
Main Genealogical sources at the Guildhall Library :
http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/gene.htm
A Guide to some of the records held at the Guildhall Library : http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/ghguide.htm
Details of how to obtain Wills and Probate Records (post 1858) :
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1183.htm
The London Probate Index, a search service covering 1750 - 1858 :
http://www.canterhill.co.uk/davideastkent/lek-index.htm
Proceedings at the Old Bailey 1674 - 1834; a searchable database : http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
Home page of the British Library Newspaper Library where you can search to find what newspapers were in existence in the areas in which your ancestors lived and may be available for searching now :
http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/newspapers.html
The Bedfordshire Virtual Library with access to 'The Times Digital Archive - 1785 to 1985' :
http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/cgi-bin/vlib.sh
London Gazette home page :
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/index.asp?webType=0
England & Wales Registration Districts (to 1930) - dates and composition:
http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/reg/
Contact details for current Registration Offices in England & Wales :
http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/REG/regoff.html
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/RegOffice/
The LDS FamilySearch site, including the 1881 UK census and IGI as well as details of FHCs world-wide :
http://www.familysearch.org/
Finding aid for IGI batch numbers : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers.htm
On-line 1851 and 1901 censuses plus BMDs run by Genes Reunited :
http://www.1901census.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
The '1901 England & Wales Census Decoder' software to assist with analysis of census search results *in a single session only* :
http://www.censusdecoder.com/
Index to Institutions in the 1901 census : http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jeffery.knaggs/Instuts.html
Ancestry.com website with a wide range of databases including many from the USA(subscription site) :
http://www.ancestry.com/
Ancestry.co.uk website with chargeable access to all available censuses for England and Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, plus 1841, 1851 and 1861 Scottish censuses, England & Wales BMDs and various other UK records :
http://www.ancestry.co.uk/main.htm
The ongoing project to provide a free on-line index of the UK Censuses from 1841 to 1891 :
http://freecen.rootsweb.com/
The ongoing project to provide a free on-line index of parish registers :
http://freereg.rootsweb.com/
On line access to a large number of UK census and other records (subscription service) :
http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/
Summary of census indexes, transcripts and images available on-line or on CD :
http://www.mit.edu/~dfm/genealogy/census-chart.html
The ongoing project to provide a computer index of the English & Welsh BMD indexes, now with partial access to page images :
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/
On-line images of the English & Welsh BMD indexes plus census, military, migration and electoral roll records (chargeable access):
http://www.findmypast.com/
On-line access to various UK genealogy records, including some locally created BMD indexes : http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/index.php
The UK BDM Exchange - over 90,000 civil registrations plus pre-1837 church records (subscription site ) :
http://ukbdm.corpex.com/
http://www.ukbdm.co.uk/
FFHS 'FamilyHistoryOn-Line' website for various on-line databases (ppv), including census,
burial and other parish records, and a free search of the 1881 census index :
http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/
'Family Relatives' a chargeable site with a variety of British and US records available :
https://www.familyrelatives.org/treequest/jsp/customer/index.jsp
Commemorative records of British and Commonwealth servicemen, and some civilians, killed in the 2 World Wars, and their immediate aftermaths :
http://www.cwgc.org/
Listings of officers killed in various conflicts from 1750 to date : http://members.tripod.com/~Glosters/memindex3.htm
Memorials of Soldiers killed in various conflicts :
http://www.angelfire.com/mp/memorials/memindz1.htm
Imperial War Museum website with many links and much guidance to helpfamily historians :
www.iwm.org.uk
The Origins website, including access to a range of English & Welsh, Irish and Scottish records (subscription site) :
http://www.origins.net/
The Official website of the General Register Office for Scotland (Scotland's People) where you can find BMD, Census and parish records(chargeable service) : http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php
The Scottish Archive Network providing a gateway to a variety of information on Scottish archives, and on-line access to an index of Scottish Wills :
http://www.scan.org.uk/
Some information and history of London Burial Grounds :
http://www.londonburials.co.uk/
Abney Park Cemetery burial index, containing over 193,000 entries : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~abneypark/abneyy.html
The City of London Cemetery & Crematorium - some searchable burial records :
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/burial_registers/engine/search.asp
Parish Registers and M I's for Tottenham, All Hallows :
http://tinyurl.com/27fse
http://tinyurl.com/ythpq
Website for Docklands Ancestors, with some searchable databases of docklands parish regsiters :
http://www.parishregister.com/
Records and information relating to Thames Watermen and Lightermen :
http://www.bargemen.co.uk/
http://www.geocities.com/thameswatermen/index.htm
http://hometown.aol.com/rjcindex/trueflare.html
Burials at St Mary Magdalene Old Fish Street 1813 - 1853 : http://thor.prohosting.com/~hughw/fish_st2.txt
Cemeteries in Wandsworth including information on searches :
http://tinyurl.com/22xak
Cemeteries & crematoria in Lambeth (registers at Lambeth Cemetery office) :
http://tinyurl.com/tzge7
Burials in the London borough of Richmond Upon Thames :
http://www2.richmond.gov.uk/burials/regenq.asp
'Tombstones & Monumental Inscriptions' : world-wide site maintained by Guy Etchells, with various links for London and the S E of England.
http://www.framland.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
Miscellaneous cemetery transcription links for the UK :
http://www.interment.net//uk/index.htm'
Look-up' exchanges for various census, directory and other sources :
England home-page : http://www.ukgenealogy.co.uk/lookup.htm
Middlesex : http://ccgi.fisks.plus.com/LUE/mdx.php
London : http://ccgi.fisks.plus.com/LUE/london.php
Extracts from early 18th century newspaper reports : http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/grub/grub.htm
On-line index of Middlesex marriages taken from various parish registers :
http://www.angelfire.com/fl/Sumter/Middlesex.html
The Lunacy Commission : A Study of its Origin, Emergence and Character". An incomplete site, but containing much detailed information :
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/01.htm
The Asylums Index with information about asylums throughout England and Wales and some elsewhere, initially based on a survey carried out in 1844 but since extended and with much additional information :
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/4_13_TA.htm
The story of the British Army in the Great War 1914 - 1918 including much background detail and family history advice :
http://www.1914-1918.net/
A site for First World War research including research advice and a discussion forum :
http://1914-1918.org/
Explanations of the Poor Laws, the operation of Workhouses, what records are available and where they may be found :
http://www.workhouses.org.uk
The Rossbret Institutions website, with information about Almshouses, orphanages, workhouses and much more :
http://www.institutions.org.uk/index.html
Some explanation of marriage rules in Georgian times :
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/regency/marry.html
The Georgian Index - website with a wide range of information relating to Georgian Times (inc some London listings from early directories and magazines) :
http://georgianindex.net/
Anglo-Jewish Miscellanies containing a variety of information aboutLondon Jews :
http://www.jeffreymaynard.com/
The London Jews Database, giving names and addresses of over 9,000 early 19th century Jewish residents of London :
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/UK/londweb.htm
The 'Yad Vashem' memorial site, including a searchable index to about 3 million names of Jews killed by the Nazis in WW2 :
http://www.yadvashem.org/
Sites for those with theatrical ancestors :
http://www.music-hall-society.com/
http://www.backstage.ac.uk/
There is also the Theatre Museum which has a reading room at the Victoria & Albert Museum :
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/theatre/researching.html
Rootsweb mailing list for UK Theatres :
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/UK/THEATRE-UK.html
The etymology of forenames (inc. nicknames & pet names) :
http://www.behindthename.com/
Help with identifying surname variants, names occurring in 1881 census, NBI and other databases, and access to the 'Thesaurus of British Surnames' website :
http://www.namethesaurus.com/Thesaurus/Search.aspx
The London Topographical Society :
http://www.topsoc.org/
Directory of London Photographers : 1841 - 1908 : http://www.photolondon.org.uk/directory.htm
Current UK Maps :
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/
http://www.multimap.com/
An outline of current London boroughs with some maps and other local information :
http://www.londontown.com/LondonStreets
Old Maps :
http://www.motco.com/Map/
http://users.bathspa.ac.uk/greenwood/
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/1859map/map1859.html
http://www.umich.edu/~risotto/maxzooms/sw/swe910.html
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~genmaps/
http://www.yourbooksonline.co.uk/amember/index.html
Miscellaneous resources including some old maps, directories and other documents : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nmfa/genealogy.html
A Dictionary of Victorian London, a varied site with much illuminating information, as well as a number 19th century of maps :
http://www.victorianlondon.org/
City of Shadows - A Gothic Tour of Victorian London :
http://www.cityofshadows.net/
The London Ancestor website, with miscellaneous links, including maps and street indexes :
http://www.londonancestor.com/
Victorian London Streets index including streets that have changed name or ceased to exist :
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/lon-str.html
Details of some City of London churches, including histories and locations - site being revised : http://www.cityoflondonchurches.com/index.htm
The 'Bolles Collection on the History of London' including maps, and a variety of historical details and texts :
http://nils.lib.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/city-view.pl
The "Charles Booth Online Archive" including details of a survey into the lives of London people and maps descriptive of London poverty :
http://booth.lse.ac.uk/
The London Discovery website, linking to 7 sites exploring various historical facets of London life (includes 'Ideal Homes' listed previously) :
http://www.londondiscovery.org.uk
Some historical perspectives on London life since 1790 : http://www.tengenerations.org.uk/10Gen/index.jsp
Some history of 'Old Stepney' including some details of residents and a name search : http://website.lineone.net/~fight/Stepney/index.html
The GenDocs website, including many details about Victorian London streets, churches, cemeteries and other institutions, information about census indexes and much more :
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/index.html
'British History on Line' website for a variety of historical information,much on London and Middlesex, including some census transcriptions, censussubstitutes and other useful databases, some maps and much else :
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/
'A Vision of Britain Through Time' : a website with a variety of social and demographic information for the whole of Britain, broken down into local areas :
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk
The Museum of English Rural Life with pictures and details of life in the last 200 years : http://www.rdg.ac.uk/Instits/im/index.html
Victorian and Edwardian photographs - a huge and varied collection :
http://www.rogerco.freeserve.co.uk/
On Line Directories with search facility and image display - mostly midlands and northern counties but some London and surrounds :
http://www.historicaldirectories.org/
London Merchants of 1677 :
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~frpayments/LM1677/
London Pearly Kings and Queens website :
http://www.pearlysociety.co.uk/
Comprehensive information on the history, organisation and much more of the Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth, including links to an assortment of military databases :
http://www.regiments.org/
The Coldstream Guards Association and how to search for a guardsman :
http://www.coldstreamguards-boro.org/page3bhtm.htm
The Black Sheep, Police, Victorian and WWII Indexes, containing many useful references to a variety of written sources :
http://www.lightage.demon.co.uk/
Metropolitan Police history, orders, photographs and more :
http://www.externalserver.me.uk:8085/
http://www.policeorders.co.uk/
http://www.met.police.uk/history/
Metropolitan Police Force records at the PRO; details at :
http://tinyurl.com/v6dgz
City of London Police Force records are at the Guildhall Library; write to :
The City Archivist, Corporation of London, PO Box 270, Guildhall ,London EC2P 2EJ.
London Fire Brigade Museum - location and admission details : http://www.touruk.co.uk/london_museums/firebrigade_museum1.htm
London Fire Brigade museum and old records contact e-mail :
museum@london-fire.gov.uk
Customs and Excise Services history including genealogical sources :
http://tinyurl.com/ympxgk
The 'Postal Heritage Trust' for information on the services and people involved in the Royal Mail since 1737 :
http://tinyurl.com/vysyn
Archaic medical terms :
http://www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm
http://www.jansdigs.com/Racine/medical.html
http://rmhh.co.uk/medical.html (links to numerous sites)
Old and obsolete occupations :
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/Occupations.html (links site)
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/trades.html
http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html
The Livery Companies' database including details of individual websites and contact details :
http://81.130.213.163:8002/cgi-bin/lcl.exe
British Book Trade history, including information and indexes relating to London and the Provinces :
http://www.devon.gov.uk/etched?_IXP_=1&_IXR=100154
The 'Parish Locator' programme - downloadable and free : http://www.parloc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
The UK Church Directory - Information on 34,000 Christian churches :
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/index.html
'How Much is That Worth Today' ? for comparing monetary values at different dates :
http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/
http://eh.net/hmit/
Help for Latin-English translation of genealogical terms :
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/guide/WLLatin.asp?http://rmhh.co.uk/latin.html (links to numerous sites)
Latin dictionary and grammar aid :
http://archives.nd.edu/latgramm.htm
Help in reading old Wills and other old documents :
http://www.oldscript.co.uk/phpBB2/
Distribution centres for LDS Products - For UK orders contact :
LDS Distribution Centre, 399 Garretts Green Lane, Birmingham B33 0UH
Tel : 08700 102051 / 0121 7852200
Contact details for other LDS centres worldwide see :
http://tinyurl.com/yeluvj
S & N Genealogy supplies for CD copies of census images and other genealogical records :
http://www.genealogysupplies.com/
Stepping Stones website for CD copies of census images, trade directories and old maps :
http://www.stepping-stones.co.uk/
Archive CD Books home page for CD versions of many old records, directories and other book :
http://www.archivecdbooks.org/
Cyndi's List for comprehensive world-wide genealogy links : http://www.cyndislist.com/index.htm
Barry Ruck's web site for Genealogy FAQs, including census dates and details of transcriptions available :
http://www.peterswoodharlow.freeserve.co.uk/
Guy Etchell's 'Links Page' for a wide variety of genealogy pages : http://freespace.virgin.net/guy.etchells/Links.htm
Guy Etchell's transcripts of various Acts of Parliament of interest to genealogists, plus a number of external links :
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~framland/acts/actind.htm
Passenger and Ships' lists :
http://www.immigrantships.net/ (links to numerous sites)
http://www.ellisisland.org/default.asp (American immigrants)
http://www.castlegarden.org/ (American immigrants)
http://www.findmypast.com/ (British emigrants - coming soon)
Free downloadable Family Tree programmes :
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/default.asp
(click on 'Order/download products', then 'Software Downloads - Free')
http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
http://www.bkwin.org/index.html
This is a tiny selection of useful websites; there are many others devoted to every possible topic of genealogical interest, as well as general dictionary and encyclopaedia sites. Please try finding and using them before posting messages that some may find annoying, causing them not to reply to you or to reply in a negative way. 'Google' will return an astonishing array of results if you give it a chance - http://www.google.com/
And finally, when you decide it is time to leave the List, don't sendyour 'Unsubscribe' request to the List - read the e-mailed instructions you will have received when you joined or visit the London List webpage (address as for the archives) and send your request to LONDON-L-request@rootsweb.com or LONDON-D-request@rootsweb.com. as appropriate, with the single word 'unsubscribe' in the message subject and body
Best wishes and happy hunting to all,
John Brown
Leic., Eng.
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Inclusion of any particular url in this posting does not imply any recommendation or support for the website concerned, nor does it give any guarantee as to the accuracy of information contained therein.
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Dear All,
This is a post designed to help all of those newer members of the List, and any of the older ones who feel they need it, to identify where they may be able to obtain information for themselves before posting questions to the List. The intention is to help List members to help themselves, to avoid the posting of repetitive or unrealistic requests,as sometimes happens, and to make it easier for other List members to identify the subject and to respond effectively.
When you join the List and before you post, look at the List archives which are publicly available at http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/ENG/LONDON.html , where you will find that many questions have already been answered exhaustively. You should also ensure that you have a good quality dictionary - many questions, including most of those occupations, illnesses, and causes of death can easily be answered from such a source.
This List deals with London; before you start posting, find out what that actually means. 'London' has covered different areas at different periods in history; the confusion caused by boundary changes involving the surrounding counties, particularly Middlesex, but also Surrey, Kent and Essex, the creation of an administrative county of 'London' and later 'Greater London' is something we all have to get to grips with. Do not expect the List to provide you with all of the answers to all of your questions - try searching 'Google' for some of the history, do some research at your local library and/or visit a bookshop; you must have access to a good map, at least of modern London, but preferably of an older vintage. Remember that the Internet does *not* contain all of the available information, or even a tiny fraction of it, and you will need to look in many other places if you want to get a full story. Obtaining a good understanding of the areas in which your ancestors lived may tell you much more than can be gleaned from a simple address.
Always start by giving your messages a clear and informative subject line; 'Surname', '1861' or 'Camberwell' may well gain you zero responses, while a combination like 'Smithers, 1861, Camberwell' will immediately attract more attention. Remember that by posting sensible and reasonable questions, written with appropriate punctuation and use of capitals and that demonstrate a degree of thought, you are much more likely to receive useful replies. If you are replying to a previous post, it also helps to include the relevant part of the message you are replying to but *not* a whole string of previous messages; many list members will simply delete the lot without reading any of it. Failure to post some relevant pre-cursor to your own post may well result in similar treatment. Please direct your reply either to the List or to the original poster, as appropriate, rather than simply to the last person to post in the thread. As a general rule, responses to 'look-up' requests are usually best sent only to the individual, as are personal messages of thanks; posts to the List should be confined to questions, and replies of general interest.
Recognise that London is, and has for a long time, been a very large place; questions asking for 'SKS' to look up 'my g granddad Bert Jones in St Pancras in 1841' may not sound too unreasonable; in reality, there were many thousands of people living in St Pancras in 1841 and lots of them would have been called Jones. 'Bert' could also be short for Albert, Herbert or Bertram and could even be a name in its own right. Even though there are now surname indexes for all of the main censuses, these are of variable quality and the more information you can give when requesting a look-up, the more likely you are to get a successful response. If the names you are interested in are common, then some combination of name, age, place of birth and address is usually the minimum requirement for successful look-up requests in any year, notwithstanding the availability of indexes. Also do not forget that look-ups are not 'free'; those people kind enough to reply to such requests, whether it is census, BMD, or various others, will almost certainly have paid for the access themselves. The least you can do is not abuse their kindness and be sure to acknowledge their help.
You would be well advised to join one or more relevant Family History Societies (FHS) that cover the ares in which your ancestors lived. Also consider what may be available via your local Family History Centre (FHC); by picking your home country from the list at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp?page=/eng/Policy/countrysites.asp?color=green you can follow the links to find your nearest Centre.
Recognise that while there are many people who will help you, they cannot be expected either to teach you what to do or to do your research for you. Newcomers to genealogy should do some background reading on the subject; on the internet, you can start at http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/where you will find many other references to follow up, including pointers to many FHSs and references to various books that will help. You may already be aware of many other websites, but I have listed a few particularly useful ones here (in no particular order). Please note that some longer urls have been shortened, by the use of the site http://tinyurl.com/ , to avoid 'wrap around' problems; however, the full site addresses are still displayed when they are accessed.
Web page for the London List with information and links for List members :
http://www.londonlist.org.uk/index.htm
London-l mailing list details & archives : http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/ENG/LONDON.html
General Rootsweb mailing lists home - 2 versions :
http://lists.rootsweb.com/
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/index.html
General Rootsweb mailing lists archives search :
http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl
Genforum genealogy site for various genealogical discussion groups :
http://genforum.genealogy.com/
Genuki home page, a major resource site with links to many hundreds of other genealogy sites : http://www.genuki.org.uk/
including The 'A to Z' of British Genealogy by Dr Ashton Emery http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/EmeryPaper.html
and
Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History by Roy Stockdill http://www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html
The London, Westminster & Middlesex FHS website :
http://www.lnmfhs.dircon.co.uk/
West Middlesex FHS website :
http://www.west-middlesex-fhs.org.uk/index.htm
Hillingdon FHS website (includes partial transcription of the 1891 census for Uxbridge Registration district) :
http://www.rootsweb.com/~enghfhs/index.html
East of London FHS website (covering parts of Essex now included inGreater London) :
http://www.eolfhs.org.uk/
Waltham Forest FHS and Woolwich & District FHS also cover small parts ofthe Greater London area but do not have websites - addresses can befound via the Genuki or FFHS websites.
North West Kent FHS website (inc. parts of S E London) :
http://www.nwkfhs.org.uk/
East Surrey FHS website (inc. much of what is now S London) :
http://www.eastsurreyfhs.org.uk/
West Surrey FHS website (adjacent to, but not including, any of
the Greater London area) :
http://www.wsfhs.org/
Essex FHS website (covers parts of what is now East London) :
http://www.esfh.org.uk/
Society of Genealogists home page :
http://www.sog.org.uk/
The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) home page :
http://www.ffhs.org.uk/
Catholic History website, including Family History links :
http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/
The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland, including family history information :
http://www.huguenotsociety.org.uk/
British Genealogy.com - a free site dedicated to helping people with British family history research, including significant information on available resources
http://www.british-genealogy.com/index.html
Details of GRO services, including descriptions of what is included on certificates and how to order them; includes births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and adoptions :
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
GRO on-line certificate ordering service : http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificate/index.asp#0
The Family Records Centre homepage :
http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/frc/
Home page of the UK National Archives (formerly PRO) :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Index to National Archives Research Guides, where there is guidance on a vast array of records :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/researchguidesindex.asp?j=1
National Archives Documents OnLine including access to PCC wills and some WW1 medal rolls :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/
The on-line National Archives Catalogue - searchable by word or phrase, date and series reference :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/default.asp
The Hospital Records Database, including details of what records are available and where they are held :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/
A2A Database of archives held in over 400 depositories throughout the UK, currently containing over 10 million references :
http://www.a2a.org.uk/
London Metropolitan Archives home page :
http://tinyurl.com/mips
Index to London Wills (Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex) and purchase facility (database being extended to cover other London and Surrey Courts, and also marriage bonds, apprenticeships and settlement certificates)http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/wills/London_Signatures.htm
Westminster City Archives home page : http://www.westminster.gov.uk/libraries/archives/index.cfm
Guildhall Library home page :
http://tinyurl.com/3bsz6
Main Genealogical sources at the Guildhall Library :
http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/gene.htm
A Guide to some of the records held at the Guildhall Library : http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/ghguide.htm
Details of how to obtain Wills and Probate Records (post 1858) :
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1183.htm
The London Probate Index, a search service covering 1750 - 1858 :
http://www.canterhill.co.uk/davideastkent/lek-index.htm
Proceedings at the Old Bailey 1674 - 1834; a searchable database : http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
Home page of the British Library Newspaper Library where you can search to find what newspapers were in existence in the areas in which your ancestors lived and may be available for searching now :
http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/newspapers.html
The Bedfordshire Virtual Library with access to 'The Times Digital Archive - 1785 to 1985' :
http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/cgi-bin/vlib.sh
London Gazette home page :
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/index.asp?webType=0
England & Wales Registration Districts (to 1930) - dates and composition:
http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/reg/
Contact details for current Registration Offices in England & Wales :
http://www.fhsc.org.uk/genuki/REG/regoff.html
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/RegOffice/
The LDS FamilySearch site, including the 1881 UK census and IGI as well as details of FHCs world-wide :
http://www.familysearch.org/
Finding aid for IGI batch numbers : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers.htm
On-line 1851 and 1901 censuses plus BMDs run by Genes Reunited :
http://www.1901census.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
The '1901 England & Wales Census Decoder' software to assist with analysis of census search results *in a single session only* :
http://www.censusdecoder.com/
Index to Institutions in the 1901 census : http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jeffery.knaggs/Instuts.html
Ancestry.com website with a wide range of databases including many from the USA(subscription site) :
http://www.ancestry.com/
Ancestry.co.uk website with chargeable access to all available censuses for England and Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, plus 1841, 1851 and 1861 Scottish censuses, England & Wales BMDs and various other UK records :
http://www.ancestry.co.uk/main.htm
The ongoing project to provide a free on-line index of the UK Censuses from 1841 to 1891 :
http://freecen.rootsweb.com/
The ongoing project to provide a free on-line index of parish registers :
http://freereg.rootsweb.com/
On line access to a large number of UK census and other records (subscription service) :
http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/
Summary of census indexes, transcripts and images available on-line or on CD :
http://www.mit.edu/~dfm/genealogy/census-chart.html
The ongoing project to provide a computer index of the English & Welsh BMD indexes, now with partial access to page images :
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/
On-line images of the English & Welsh BMD indexes plus census, military, migration and electoral roll records (chargeable access):
http://www.findmypast.com/
On-line access to various UK genealogy records, including some locally created BMD indexes : http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/index.php
The UK BDM Exchange - over 90,000 civil registrations plus pre-1837 church records (subscription site ) :
http://ukbdm.corpex.com/
http://www.ukbdm.co.uk/
FFHS 'FamilyHistoryOn-Line' website for various on-line databases (ppv), including census,
burial and other parish records, and a free search of the 1881 census index :
http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/
'Family Relatives' a chargeable site with a variety of British and US records available :
https://www.familyrelatives.org/treequest/jsp/customer/index.jsp
Commemorative records of British and Commonwealth servicemen, and some civilians, killed in the 2 World Wars, and their immediate aftermaths :
http://www.cwgc.org/
Listings of officers killed in various conflicts from 1750 to date : http://members.tripod.com/~Glosters/memindex3.htm
Memorials of Soldiers killed in various conflicts :
http://www.angelfire.com/mp/memorials/memindz1.htm
Imperial War Museum website with many links and much guidance to helpfamily historians :
www.iwm.org.uk
The Origins website, including access to a range of English & Welsh, Irish and Scottish records (subscription site) :
http://www.origins.net/
The Official website of the General Register Office for Scotland (Scotland's People) where you can find BMD, Census and parish records(chargeable service) : http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php
The Scottish Archive Network providing a gateway to a variety of information on Scottish archives, and on-line access to an index of Scottish Wills :
http://www.scan.org.uk/
Some information and history of London Burial Grounds :
http://www.londonburials.co.uk/
Abney Park Cemetery burial index, containing over 193,000 entries : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~abneypark/abneyy.html
The City of London Cemetery & Crematorium - some searchable burial records :
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/burial_registers/engine/search.asp
Parish Registers and M I's for Tottenham, All Hallows :
http://tinyurl.com/27fse
http://tinyurl.com/ythpq
Website for Docklands Ancestors, with some searchable databases of docklands parish regsiters :
http://www.parishregister.com/
Records and information relating to Thames Watermen and Lightermen :
http://www.bargemen.co.uk/
http://www.geocities.com/thameswatermen/index.htm
http://hometown.aol.com/rjcindex/trueflare.html
Burials at St Mary Magdalene Old Fish Street 1813 - 1853 : http://thor.prohosting.com/~hughw/fish_st2.txt
Cemeteries in Wandsworth including information on searches :
http://tinyurl.com/22xak
Cemeteries & crematoria in Lambeth (registers at Lambeth Cemetery office) :
http://tinyurl.com/tzge7
Burials in the London borough of Richmond Upon Thames :
http://www2.richmond.gov.uk/burials/regenq.asp
'Tombstones & Monumental Inscriptions' : world-wide site maintained by Guy Etchells, with various links for London and the S E of England.
http://www.framland.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
Miscellaneous cemetery transcription links for the UK :
http://www.interment.net//uk/index.htm'
Look-up' exchanges for various census, directory and other sources :
England home-page : http://www.ukgenealogy.co.uk/lookup.htm
Middlesex : http://ccgi.fisks.plus.com/LUE/mdx.php
London : http://ccgi.fisks.plus.com/LUE/london.php
Extracts from early 18th century newspaper reports : http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/grub/grub.htm
On-line index of Middlesex marriages taken from various parish registers :
http://www.angelfire.com/fl/Sumter/Middlesex.html
The Lunacy Commission : A Study of its Origin, Emergence and Character". An incomplete site, but containing much detailed information :
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/01.htm
The Asylums Index with information about asylums throughout England and Wales and some elsewhere, initially based on a survey carried out in 1844 but since extended and with much additional information :
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/4_13_TA.htm
The story of the British Army in the Great War 1914 - 1918 including much background detail and family history advice :
http://www.1914-1918.net/
A site for First World War research including research advice and a discussion forum :
http://1914-1918.org/
Explanations of the Poor Laws, the operation of Workhouses, what records are available and where they may be found :
http://www.workhouses.org.uk
The Rossbret Institutions website, with information about Almshouses, orphanages, workhouses and much more :
http://www.institutions.org.uk/index.html
Some explanation of marriage rules in Georgian times :
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/regency/marry.html
The Georgian Index - website with a wide range of information relating to Georgian Times (inc some London listings from early directories and magazines) :
http://georgianindex.net/
Anglo-Jewish Miscellanies containing a variety of information aboutLondon Jews :
http://www.jeffreymaynard.com/
The London Jews Database, giving names and addresses of over 9,000 early 19th century Jewish residents of London :
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/UK/londweb.htm
The 'Yad Vashem' memorial site, including a searchable index to about 3 million names of Jews killed by the Nazis in WW2 :
http://www.yadvashem.org/
Sites for those with theatrical ancestors :
http://www.music-hall-society.com/
http://www.backstage.ac.uk/
There is also the Theatre Museum which has a reading room at the Victoria & Albert Museum :
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/theatre/researching.html
Rootsweb mailing list for UK Theatres :
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/UK/THEATRE-UK.html
The etymology of forenames (inc. nicknames & pet names) :
http://www.behindthename.com/
Help with identifying surname variants, names occurring in 1881 census, NBI and other databases, and access to the 'Thesaurus of British Surnames' website :
http://www.namethesaurus.com/Thesaurus/Search.aspx
The London Topographical Society :
http://www.topsoc.org/
Directory of London Photographers : 1841 - 1908 : http://www.photolondon.org.uk/directory.htm
Current UK Maps :
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/
http://www.multimap.com/
An outline of current London boroughs with some maps and other local information :
http://www.londontown.com/LondonStreets
Old Maps :
http://www.motco.com/Map/
http://users.bathspa.ac.uk/greenwood/
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/1859map/map1859.html
http://www.umich.edu/~risotto/maxzooms/sw/swe910.html
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~genmaps/
http://www.yourbooksonline.co.uk/amember/index.html
Miscellaneous resources including some old maps, directories and other documents : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nmfa/genealogy.html
A Dictionary of Victorian London, a varied site with much illuminating information, as well as a number 19th century of maps :
http://www.victorianlondon.org/
City of Shadows - A Gothic Tour of Victorian London :
http://www.cityofshadows.net/
The London Ancestor website, with miscellaneous links, including maps and street indexes :
http://www.londonancestor.com/
Victorian London Streets index including streets that have changed name or ceased to exist :
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/lon-str.html
Details of some City of London churches, including histories and locations - site being revised : http://www.cityoflondonchurches.com/index.htm
The 'Bolles Collection on the History of London' including maps, and a variety of historical details and texts :
http://nils.lib.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/city-view.pl
The "Charles Booth Online Archive" including details of a survey into the lives of London people and maps descriptive of London poverty :
http://booth.lse.ac.uk/
The London Discovery website, linking to 7 sites exploring various historical facets of London life (includes 'Ideal Homes' listed previously) :
http://www.londondiscovery.org.uk
Some historical perspectives on London life since 1790 : http://www.tengenerations.org.uk/10Gen/index.jsp
Some history of 'Old Stepney' including some details of residents and a name search : http://website.lineone.net/~fight/Stepney/index.html
The GenDocs website, including many details about Victorian London streets, churches, cemeteries and other institutions, information about census indexes and much more :
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/index.html
'British History on Line' website for a variety of historical information,much on London and Middlesex, including some census transcriptions, censussubstitutes and other useful databases, some maps and much else :
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/
'A Vision of Britain Through Time' : a website with a variety of social and demographic information for the whole of Britain, broken down into local areas :
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk
The Museum of English Rural Life with pictures and details of life in the last 200 years : http://www.rdg.ac.uk/Instits/im/index.html
Victorian and Edwardian photographs - a huge and varied collection :
http://www.rogerco.freeserve.co.uk/
On Line Directories with search facility and image display - mostly midlands and northern counties but some London and surrounds :
http://www.historicaldirectories.org/
London Merchants of 1677 :
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~frpayments/LM1677/
London Pearly Kings and Queens website :
http://www.pearlysociety.co.uk/
Comprehensive information on the history, organisation and much more of the Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth, including links to an assortment of military databases :
http://www.regiments.org/
The Coldstream Guards Association and how to search for a guardsman :
http://www.coldstreamguards-boro.org/page3bhtm.htm
The Black Sheep, Police, Victorian and WWII Indexes, containing many useful references to a variety of written sources :
http://www.lightage.demon.co.uk/
Metropolitan Police history, orders, photographs and more :
http://www.externalserver.me.uk:8085/
http://www.policeorders.co.uk/
http://www.met.police.uk/history/
Metropolitan Police Force records at the PRO; details at :
http://tinyurl.com/v6dgz
City of London Police Force records are at the Guildhall Library; write to :
The City Archivist, Corporation of London, PO Box 270, Guildhall ,London EC2P 2EJ.
London Fire Brigade Museum - location and admission details : http://www.touruk.co.uk/london_museums/firebrigade_museum1.htm
London Fire Brigade museum and old records contact e-mail :
museum@london-fire.gov.uk
Customs and Excise Services history including genealogical sources :
http://tinyurl.com/ympxgk
The 'Postal Heritage Trust' for information on the services and people involved in the Royal Mail since 1737 :
http://tinyurl.com/vysyn
Archaic medical terms :
http://www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm
http://www.jansdigs.com/Racine/medical.html
http://rmhh.co.uk/medical.html (links to numerous sites)
Old and obsolete occupations :
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/Occupations.html (links site)
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/trades.html
http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html
The Livery Companies' database including details of individual websites and contact details :
http://81.130.213.163:8002/cgi-bin/lcl.exe
British Book Trade history, including information and indexes relating to London and the Provinces :
http://www.devon.gov.uk/etched?_IXP_=1&_IXR=100154
The 'Parish Locator' programme - downloadable and free : http://www.parloc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
The UK Church Directory - Information on 34,000 Christian churches :
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/index.html
'How Much is That Worth Today' ? for comparing monetary values at different dates :
http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppoweruk/
http://eh.net/hmit/
Help for Latin-English translation of genealogical terms :
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/guide/WLLatin.asp?http://rmhh.co.uk/latin.html (links to numerous sites)
Latin dictionary and grammar aid :
http://archives.nd.edu/latgramm.htm
Help in reading old Wills and other old documents :
http://www.oldscript.co.uk/phpBB2/
Distribution centres for LDS Products - For UK orders contact :
LDS Distribution Centre, 399 Garretts Green Lane, Birmingham B33 0UH
Tel : 08700 102051 / 0121 7852200
Contact details for other LDS centres worldwide see :
http://tinyurl.com/yeluvj
S & N Genealogy supplies for CD copies of census images and other genealogical records :
http://www.genealogysupplies.com/
Stepping Stones website for CD copies of census images, trade directories and old maps :
http://www.stepping-stones.co.uk/
Archive CD Books home page for CD versions of many old records, directories and other book :
http://www.archivecdbooks.org/
Cyndi's List for comprehensive world-wide genealogy links : http://www.cyndislist.com/index.htm
Barry Ruck's web site for Genealogy FAQs, including census dates and details of transcriptions available :
http://www.peterswoodharlow.freeserve.co.uk/
Guy Etchell's 'Links Page' for a wide variety of genealogy pages : http://freespace.virgin.net/guy.etchells/Links.htm
Guy Etchell's transcripts of various Acts of Parliament of interest to genealogists, plus a number of external links :
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~framland/acts/actind.htm
Passenger and Ships' lists :
http://www.immigrantships.net/ (links to numerous sites)
http://www.ellisisland.org/default.asp (American immigrants)
http://www.castlegarden.org/ (American immigrants)
http://www.findmypast.com/ (British emigrants - coming soon)
Free downloadable Family Tree programmes :
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/default.asp
(click on 'Order/download products', then 'Software Downloads - Free')
http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/
http://www.bkwin.org/index.html
This is a tiny selection of useful websites; there are many others devoted to every possible topic of genealogical interest, as well as general dictionary and encyclopaedia sites. Please try finding and using them before posting messages that some may find annoying, causing them not to reply to you or to reply in a negative way. 'Google' will return an astonishing array of results if you give it a chance - http://www.google.com/
And finally, when you decide it is time to leave the List, don't sendyour 'Unsubscribe' request to the List - read the e-mailed instructions you will have received when you joined or visit the London List webpage (address as for the archives) and send your request to LONDON-L-request@rootsweb.com or LONDON-D-request@rootsweb.com. as appropriate, with the single word 'unsubscribe' in the message subject and body
Best wishes and happy hunting to all,
John Brown
Leic., Eng.
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Inclusion of any particular url in this posting does not imply any recommendation or support for the website concerned, nor does it give any guarantee as to the accuracy of information contained therein.
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posted by The Bitter Boy at 12:24 PM
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