In the last weekend of June 2023, we held a strategy meeting in the ibis Styles near Birmingham NEC. The main outcome of this meeting was the decision for our focus to the end of the decade to be Quality, Value, and Growth; I’ll go into this in a bit more detail along with other decisions and issues raised, below. But firstly, why did we need this meeting in the first place?

It’s a bit of an understatement to say there’s been a lot going on in Free UK Genealogy recently; from personnel changes to turning our finances around and lots more besides. It’s very much been a time of reinforcing our foundations so that we have a stable base to build on for the future. But what do we want for the future of FreeUKGEN? I’m sure everyone reading this will have an opinion on where our focus should be, but how do we unify these in a way that can help drive our work forward? We decided to hold an in-person meeting for trustees, staff and volunteers to discuss the issues, share ideas and suggest solutions.

Free UK Genealogy has ALWAYS been a remote organisation, so why spend valuable resources on meeting up in person rather than online?

There’s been a lot of research since the COVID pandemic on remote working, and it’s widely accepted as a Good Thing. Certainly, our approach (with the caveat of one physical meeting/conference per year pre-COVID) has saved the charity a lot of money on overheads over the years! However, recent research has suggested that a fully-remote mode of working actually decreases average productivity by 10% to 20%, with “challenges in communicating and innovating in an entirely remote environment” being one of the suggested causes. The last opportunity for us to get together was in 2019 at our conference in York. Some of our staff and trustees have never met each other, never mind being able to meet with our volunteers! We felt it was important to have this meeting in person, as not only could it be a boost to productivity, but also help bring us closer as a community. Indeed, the feedback we received from attendees confirmed this, as these quotes show:

“I think it was much more productive, allowing us to all feel like a real team, working together on a common goal.”

“The meeting gave me an opportunity to learn more about the overall parts of the organisation, its strengths and challenges, meet people in different areas and roles, share experiences and insights.”

Presentations

There were four sessions across the two days.

From Roots to Fruits: Achieving Our Objectives

To set the scene for the meeting, Andrew Turvey, chair of trustees, opened the discussions with a session on our overall purpose: what are we aiming to achieve together and how? What should the main focus be? It started with the idea of "Target 1 billion" - a proposed goal of reaching 1 billion records in our databases by the end of this decade. Although a catchy soundbite, it was met with some apprehension and concern that the quality of transcriptions could suffer and we could miss opportunities to maximise the value that users can get from the data we already have. Therefore the consensus was that a more holistic approach was needed - hence the adoption of "Quality, Value, Growth" as the overall focus.

Information Handling

Richard Light (trustee and technical specialist) followed this with an overview of the way we handle data across the whole of its life cycle in FreeUKGEN. The TWYS (type what you see) approach was discussed, as well as the potential for using machine-aided transcriptions, e.g. OCR. He noted that the FreeComETT online transcription framework offers us the potential to have a consistent data capture approach across all three projects.

Each of the projects is in a different situation in terms of sourcing images for transcription. Richard pointed out that we can only manage ‘supply and demand’ of images effectively if we have a good understanding of the sources which are available to us, the quantity of material that they hold, and the throughput of our volunteers. Changes in strategy, such as the use of OCR or the acquisition of machine-processed data, could have a dramatic impact both on the nature of the transcription workflow and on the rate at which material can be processed.

TWYS has drawbacks when it comes to information retrieval, and we need to develop an information handling strategy that enables both transcribers and researchers to find variously-spelled versions of the same name (etc.). This might involve allowing variants to be recorded in the data, or could be supported by ‘alternative names’ in authority files, as is being pioneered by the FreeREG and FreeCEN place name gazetteers.

A single unified search interface, allowing researchers to search across all three FUG projects, would offer considerable benefits to our user base. We should also consider how best to support researchers, for example by allowing them to save both searches and search results, and by offering them a range of export formats for this data. Exporting search results as GEDCOM [in the absence of anything better] would facilitate the transfer of their findings to other genealogy web sites.

Together We Grow

My session covered the people in FreeUKGEN, including the staff and volunteers with Andrew talking about Governance, specifically, in the latter part. 

The group agreed that decisions should be made on an organisation-first basis i.e. to satisfy the needs of the organisation as a whole, rather than individuals within the organisation. In practice, this means that we decide on the charity’s priorities together, and develop clear policies and terms of reference so that all stakeholders are aware of individual and joint responsibilities and expectations.

It was felt that we should spend some of our financial surplus on more staff as there are so few of them supporting so many volunteers, the priority areas of need being Fundraising (incl. Comms) (to further grow our income) and Technical (a junior developer to support the software needs of the websites). However, we also identified that we could strengthen our volunteer agreements in an effort to reduce volunteer turnover. [Clarification: We have a high number of Foundation and Tech Volunteers (those volunteers who support the staff, often in areas outside of their expertise) who leave shortly after they've been onboarded, which wastes a significant amount of our limited staff resource. It was suggested that we could strengthen our volunteer agreement to reduce this high turnover.]

We know that there are a number of Coordinators with significant workloads; a situation that has persisted as volunteers have left projects and existing members have taken on portions of the work that needed to be done. More effective succession planning is needed, and looking after the well-being of Coordinators should be prioritised.

Andrew discussed the structure of the trustees, who are established on a "Foundation" model. Whilst the logical choice when the founders were the trustees, there's an option to transition to a more membership model where there is a broader body of members - perhaps transcribers and other volunteers - who elect the trustees. There was no major demand to move to this model at present. Attendees also discussed trustee terms. These are currently set at nine years, with a gap of one year. Some attendees felt the term should be shorter and the gap should also be longer. However, there was also support for allowing the board flexibility to extend a term beyond nine years if there are exceptional reasons.

Regarding decision making in the organisation, it was felt that we should bring the project volunteers, the staff and the board closer together. Andrew proposed we create a Steering Group for each project, which everyone supported. These groups would have a good mix of trustees, staff and volunteers, with clear terms of reference and meet once every month or two. This should enhance communication and improve the speed and efficacy of decisions that affect the projects, and the focus on key priorities and challenges.

It addition, it was agreed to reestablish a cross-project technical committee.

It was agreed that the Advisory Board should be disbanded, with members encouraged to get involved with the new committees.

Feedback also identified a need to exploit untapped potential for publicity, promoting the projects among genealogists and increasing usage.

Follow the Money and Fundraising Options

Giorgio Abraini and Kate Streatfield, both trustees, ended the presentations with a look into the financial side of what we do. Giorgio spoke from a “where we are now” perspective, and Kate looked forward in terms of what we could be doing to further increase our income. The group suggested lots of ideas to explore for extra sources of income (including placing ads in more places, e.g. ComETT; creating instructional videos and placing ads within them; seeking small grants for new projects/roles) and those we would not want to seek at this time. The Fundraising Steering Group will take these suggestions forward in the planning of the next Fundraising Strategy.

Looking forward

What does the new strategy mean? We'll be fleshing that out over the coming weeks, but fundamentally:

1. Quality - maintain/improve the quality of our transcriptions.
2. Value - build user research into our development plans and allow users to get as much from our records as possible.
3. Growth - grow the number of transcriptions, volunteers and users.

This strategy weekend signalled a commitment: from now on, we will ensure that decisions reflect the whole Free UK Genealogy community. WE might be remote but decisions shouldn't be!

We'll shortly be inviting expressions of interest for the new committees. If you have any queries about what's involved please get in touch with me (Denise) or Andrew.

“It’s rude to point!” As youngsters, we are taught this – but we quickly learn that it’s necessary to point, if we need to bring something important to someone’s attention.

It’s no surprise then, that a hand-drawn pointing finger (known as a manicule) was sometimes used to highlight important entries in parish records.  Although, as our own volunteer transcribers have found, what was deemed ‘important’ varied greatly according to clergy, as did the manicule itself!

What is a manicule?

Not to be confused with ‘manacles’ (as Wikipedia helpfully points out), manicule is Latin for ‘little hand’. It usually takes the form of a hand with its index finger extended in a pointing gesture.

Appearing in handwritten text as far back as the Domesday book (1086), manicules were also used later in printed works to draw the reader’s attention to important text. They became very popular in advertising, too, during the nineteenth century.

Simple manicule in register of Baptisms 
(Skerton, Lancaster, 1839) Mother = singlewoman

Manicules in parish records

Manicules appear in some parish records, but by no means in all. Indeed, in a recent survey of our volunteer transcribers, only 40% had encountered them – and, even then, only very occasionally. Some transcribers felt they were perhaps more common in the older (16th/17th century) records.

So, what are the manicules highlighting in the parish records? Two main reasons have been found by our transcribers: either to highlight illegitimate children; OR to indicate someone of note, such as a member of the local gentry. Interestingly, transcribers found that the use of manicules sometimes ceased with the arrival of new clergy - perhaps indicating that the subject’s social standing mattered less to them!

Another reason for the use of manicules was simply to mark the start of a new year in the records, but one transcriber reported that the meaning of the manicules never became clear, even as they continued through the rest of the document.

Manicule in a 1549 Burial record (Barford, Warwickshire)

Fine art?

As for the drawing of the manicules themselves, this appears to fall into three categories. Some are barely more than two squiggly strokes with the sketch of a pointing hand; some are amusing with strangely proportioned, extra-long fingers; and others are elaborate and artistic.

The latter usually include sleeves and cuffs; and these reveal, in turn, something of the fashions of their time. Flowing sleeves, for instance, give way to delicate, lace-trimmed cuffs in later centuries.

Modern use

Very few records are written by hand these days and, with options such as highlighter pens and sticky notes, there’s little need for hand-drawn manicules.

With printed text, too, there are other ways of bringing important content to the attention of readers – for example, text can be highlighted, emboldened, coloured or italicised, to make it stand out.

But, while we may not refer to it by name, a version of the manicule is still with us. Think of the cursor on our computers and the upward-pointing ‘hand’ that appears to indicate an object that can be manipulated or a clickable hyperlink. They may have a slightly different purpose, but manicules still have an important point to make!

More manicules

We would like to thank the FreeREG volunteer transcribers for all the work they do – did you know that they have now transcribed a staggering 57.4 million records?

We would particularly like to thank those who took part in our survey, and we look forward to seeing examples of manicules they uncover in the future.  

Sources

• Our volunteer transcribers
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/manicules
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manicule
• https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/09/the-manicule-a-hand-with-a-pointing-index-finger-becomes-a-common-marginalia-during-the-renaissance.html
• https://www.familysearch.org/en/

On February 1st, I announced the final step in our transition to FreeCEN2 transcription uploads to coordinators. The FreeCEN2 website launched in 2017, almost six years ago. The new website is much more accessible and has a much better user interface. FreeCEN1 (the old website) will be available until FreeCEN2 has all of the features on FreeCEN1. Data updates to FreeCEN1 have ceased as we can no longer support the old update method. 

The new website has a different uploading mechanism, developed to replace obsolete software programs, improve data quality and, in future, to enable better search facilities. We have continued to support both systems for a period of parallel running. However, this is not an efficient use of resources, and is not intended to be a permanent solution. 

We have engaged with our transcribers to support their transition to the new platform and address any concerns. Nearly all of our transcribers have now transitioned to the new platform. In the last 18 months or so, coordinators have incorporated over 4.5 million records into the new system with no significant issues. Whilst the new spreadsheets collect some additional information, the overall work involved is reduced because the need for repetitive entries has been eliminated.

The future development of FreeCEN is contained in a plan that we call the Roadmap, which transcribers can in your list of Actions on the FreeCEN2 login page. This Roadmap is available to everybody with a login and is currently being updated. We have now completed Phases 1 and 2 of the Roadmap and are close to completing all the currently possible parts of Phase 3. Phase 4 involves search engine enhancements for researchers.

After careful consideration by the trustees, and on the recommendation of the FreeCEN Committee, we have decided to bring the transition to an end and have set 31st March 2023 as the final date for uploading VLDs. The decision to cease these uploads was not taken lightly. It was taken for the greater benefit of FreeCEN and the researchers who search our records. It will allow us to commence the development of additional search options for researchers in Phase 4 of the Roadmap. Any work that you may have done on the traditional spreadsheets, and which has not been published, will not be lost. These spreadsheets will still be able to be managed by coordinators using the options available in FreeCEN2 for conversion and validation.

We know that this is a difficult transition. We accept that some transcribers and coordinators may decide not to transition to the new platform. If your coordinator is not transitioning please email me so that we can ensure you are supported. If you haven’t already created a login on FreeCEN2, you can do this by following the steps in this video: 

When it comes to choosing a county, please select the one you are working on currently.

Free UK Genealogy is an organisation built on volunteers and we value your contributions enormously. We want to support people as much as we can to move to the new platform and we hope that as many as possible can make the transition and continue to produce something that our users value very highly.

Denise Colbert, Chief Operating Officer of Free UK Genealogy
Email: info@freeukgenealogy.org.uk

Anna Wilson is a Free UK Genealogy volunteer and PHAROS student.

Here, she shares with us an example of how FreeREG helped her track down the baptism record of her four-times great grandfather, William Dunbar.

I have been researching my family history since 2004 after discovering three Victorian photograph albums in a dark corner of my parent's attic. It's a large attic and was full of ‘stuff’ so these albums had been left untouched for years. My father stated that he had never seen them before even though the house had been his family home since the 1960s. 

The photograph albums led to the discovery that my paternal great-grandparents were Scottish and offered me the opportunity to delve into the amazing records available at ScotlandsPeople.

This was until I came across the name of my four times great grandfather William Dunbar. I easily found trees online which included William and a baptism record for him on the 14th April 1754 in Whittinghame, East Lothian. The actual baptism record detailed the name of his father Alexander Dunbar and his mother Helen Pringle, and I happily continued to work on my tree entering in the details of his marriage and children. 

I tend to bulk the wish list of records I want to purchase with credit at ScotlandsPeople as it keeps me on a focused path rather than straying into looking at ‘potential’ records and using up all my credit. So it was months later that I obtained a copy of Peter Taylor’s will, my three times great grandfather, who had been married to Ratchel Dunbar, William’s daughter.

Peter Taylor, family photograph

Peter Taylor’s will was a gem of a genealogical document for both the Taylor and Dunbar families. It referred to land that Ratchel had inherited from her father, which had belonged to William Dunbar’s mother… Ratchel Galloway. This was an unfamiliar name: where was Helen Pringle? I revisited the records I had about William. His marriage to Catherine Patterson was in 1785 in Haddington, East Lothian. Their marriage occurred before the introduction of Civil Registration in Scotland in 1855 and so I was reliant on the Old Parish Registers of marriage. The entry stated that they had been irregularly married in Edinburgh – perhaps more information would be in the Kirk Session Records but residing in Somerset a visit to the National Records of Scotland (NRS) would not be happening any time soon.

So, I searched ScotlandsPeople again changing dates, names, and locations with the same three results but none relating to William Dunbar the son of Alexander Dunbar and Ratchel Galloway. 

By 2018 I had been trying to search for William Dunbar’s correct baptism for 2 years. I discovered that FreeREG had great coverage of baptisms, marriages and burials for the East Lothian area. I decided to use their search engine, making sure I used the Soundex facility. In less than a minute, bingo: there he was William Dumbar, baptised in the September of 1759 in Haddington, East Lothian just below the other William Dunbar baptised 1754 in Whittinghame, East Lothian. Clicking on the entry his father was Alexander Dunbar and his mother was transcribed as Rahall Gallaway, with William Gallaway as a witness.

Baptism record of William Dumbar on FreeREG

So why could I not find the original image on ScotlandsPeople? 

I went back to ScotlandsPeople and searched using ‘Rahall Galloway’ as William’s parent and used phonetic and wildcard searches to match the transcription of the baptism entry and there it was in the search results. It recorded William Dumbar’s parents as Alexander Dumbar and Rachall Galloway and I was able to purchase the correct baptism for my William Dunbar – leading to a different family to that of Alexander Dunbar and Helen Pringle. 

So, some valuable lessons learnt along the way:

• Always verify the information and sources from online trees, 
• Never give up on brick walls,
• Find as many records relating to an ancestor as possible,
• Use as many search facilities as possible to find them,
• Always use phonetic and wildcard searches on different websites
• If FreeREG covers your area of interest in Scotland it is a great resource to identify names that have been mistranscribed as well as assist in narrowing down the relevant individual before you spend your credit at ScotlandsPeople.

I wish I had found FreeREG sooner!