| Newsletter of 15th July 2003 |
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This news is sent to you by Midlands Historical Data http://www.midlandshistoricaldata.org ______________________________________________ Midlands Historical Data News : July 15 2003
1. Latest CD releases To order any of these, please click the link (if it has arrived in your mailbox), or visit our web-site, where these titles are now available. Directories West's History Topography & Directory of Warwickshire (1830) This is an absolute gem for such an early date. Contains a detailed history of the whole of Warwickshire, with a large section (pp 180) on Birmingham. In addition, there is a commercial directory of the whole county, again including a detailed directory for Birmingham (a further pp 188). Many interesting advertisements. An essential directory for anyone researching this period in Birmingham or Warwickshire. Kindly loaned to the project by BMSGH. Kelly's Directory of Worcestershire (1936) Contains the usual detail (pp 597) from Kelly's for the whole of Worcestershire. Sections on traders and residents by town/village, commercial directory (alphabetic for the county and classified by trade), with a description of the county and its main public institutions. Kindly loaned to the project by Dudley Archives & Local History Service. Kelly's Directory of Staffordshire (1936) Contains the usual detail (pp 1,106) from Kelly's for the whole of Staffordshire. Sections on traders and residents by town/village, commercial directory (alphabetic for the county and classified by trade), with a description of the county and its main public institutions. Kindly loaned to the project by Dudley Archives & Local History Service. Blocksidge's Almanack (1884-1886 and 1888-1890) Blocksidge published a series of Almanacks from 1881 onwards. These are six of the earliest that are available. The contents of the almanacks evolved over time. The earliest editions contained advertisements, various historical essays (e.g. on Dudley Castle), calendars for the following year, and a list of the main functions and officials of the Council. Over the years additional sections were added : Clubs, Societies and public institutions (1885 on); "Epitome of Events" - a summary of the previous year's events in Dudley (1886 on); Commercial Directory (1890 on). From 1888 onwards more illustrations were introduced. This is a valuable local resource - and excellent value .... six years on one CD. Kindly loaned to the project by Dudley Archives & Local History Service. Local History Books Smith's History of Warwickshire (1830) Superbly detailed, and nicely illustrated early history of the County of Warwickshire. Has a section on each hundred, and each division of the County. To view the index follow the link. Includes about 60 engravings. A magnificent county history. Kindly loaned to the project by BMSGH. Bretforton Parish Register (1538 - 1837) Transcript of the Parish Registers of Bretforton from 1538 to 1837. Also included are 23 appendices on various topics, including the History of St Leonard's Church, extracts from local manorial records, from the churchwardens accounts, from local wills with some genealogical details of influential local families. At the end is a very detailed name and place index. Written by the vicar of Bretforton in 1908 (W H Shawcross) a goldmine for anyone with ancestors from this parish. Kindly loaned to the project by BMSGH. A summary of the main records of Rowington, and short history of the parish. It was written in 1896 by J W Ryland after he had undertaken considerable research into the records, since he had become a Feoffee of the Charities in Rowington, and needed to know what he had taken on. Lists local deeds (including a transcription of a 1550 manuscript listing many local landowners), summarises local history and has extracts from the parish chest and accounts. Many contemporary photographs included. Name and place index at the end. Very useful for anyone with ancestors from Rowington. Kindly loaned to the project by BMSGH. Wootton Wawen - its History & Records (1936) Excellent history of Wooton wawen and summary of the available records. Includes transcription of the parish registers from 1546 to 1700. Many contemporary photographs. Name and place index included. Valuable resource for anyone with ancestors from Wootton Wawen. Kindly loaned to the project by BMSGH. ______________________________________________ 2. More about our project This is only our second newsletter, so we hope that it is useful. We would welcome any feedback on any aspect of this newsletter, of the web-site or of the CD's themselves, so please let us have your comments - constructive or otherwise ! You can use this link to provide feedback: mailto:enquiries@midlandshistoricaldata.org The project is funded through sales of CD's, so our thanks go to each of you who have purchased our CD's. Please continue to support the project by buying the CD's, as with continued funding we can continue to expand the range of directories available. Any comments you have on the CD's will be welcome. We can only continue to survive by pleasing you, our customers, so please let us have your views - good and bad. In passing, if any of you want a copy of a specific drectory, do let us know via the feedback link, and we will see what we can do to track it down. In time, we aim to publish the Newsletter on a fortnightly basis, but for the first few issues will probably do this on a monthly basis. ______________________________________________ To unsubscribe form this Newsletter, please send an Email to mailto:newsletter@midlandshistoricaldata.org with the subject "Unsubscribe"
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