We have yet more new records to tell you about today. This time we’ve turned our attention to your ancestors’ occupations – and specifically the people who worked for the Postal Service.

The Post Office is a British institution. Not only is it a popular part of any village community, but it’s traditionally one of the country’s biggest employers. So, many of you will discover that you have ancestors included in British Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737-1969.

These records span three centuries of remarkable change and innovation. In the 18th century, messengers carried individual letters around the country on horseback. By the time the collection finishes in 1969, aeroplanes were flying tons of mail all over the world.

Perhaps the greatest stories come from the time of the Industrial Revolution. The coming of the railways made it far easier to carry post from city to city – and the written word became vital to the spread of thoughts and ideas.

Of course, not everybody was out delivering the mail. Our records tell you exactly what job your ancestors did – from head sorter to office teaboy. You can also see where they worked, and track their movements around the country.

In many cases, you can even discover who recommended them for the position. Perhaps this is a close friend or another family member for you to explore?

A big thanks to the volunteers of the Ancestry World Archives Project who helped to transcribe these crucial records. Their work is vital as we make more and more collections available online. Find out more about the Project

Don’t miss our exclusive video, revealing more of the fascinating history behind these records with insight from Tony Robinson. This is part of an ongoing occupations series – look out for more videos about forthcoming record collections in the near future!

Search the Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737-1969

Image © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2011/ The British Postal Museum & Archive

Almost three years ago we started the Ancestry World Archives Project with a vision of involving the genealogy community to make more records accessible and free.  Since that time more than 76,000 of you have helped index over 71 million records!  As collections of records are completed we’ve been putting them online for free for anyone to search, meaning that you have helped thousands of people discover more about their family history by preserving historical documents that might otherwise be lost.
 
Today, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Ancestry.co.uk launched in partnership the World Memory Project.  The goal of this project is to create a free online resource about victims and survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution during World War II.  Through the World Memory Project, you can help make these victims’ records searchable online, restoring the identities of people the Nazis tried to erase from history, one person at a time.

The Museum’s archives contain information on more than 17 million people targeted by Nazi racial and political policies, including Jews, Poles, Romanians, Ukrainians, political prisoners.  The Holocaust Museum assists thousands of people worldwide every year who are searching for information about individuals in their collections.  The World Memory Project will greatly expand the accessibility of the Museum’s archival collection and enable people to search for their own answers online.
 
Sara J. Bloomfield, Director, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum said, “The Nazis’ genocidal policies quickly turned millions of individual lives, filled with hopes and dreams, into massive statistics that are hard to comprehend. Through our partnership with Ancestry, we hope to remind the public that the Holocaust is not about numbers but about individuals just like us and to help families uncover histories they thought were lost.

“The Museum’s vast archives contain documentation that may be the only remaining link to an individual life. Preserving these personal histories and making them available online is one of the most powerful ways we can learn from history and honour the victims.”
 
All collections you see in the keying tool and on the AWAP Dashboard beginning with the acronym “USHMM” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) are part of this new World Memory Project.  (You may recognize four of those projects.  You have already keyed and arbitrated about 40,000 records from these four collections over the past couple of months as we piloted some of the Museum content.)  We are relying on our existing World Archives community to continue to help arbitrate these records and assist new keyers in the World Archives Wiki on the project pages.
 
Tim Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com said,“It is an honour to have the opportunity to work with such a respected institution to provide people around the world the access to these truly important collections.

“It is our hope that by making these collections easier to search, victims and their families will finally be able to answer difficult but significant questions about the fate of their loved ones, and in doing so, complete and preserve such significant family stories.”
 
For those of you who are just joining our newly established joint community – a big welcome!  Even a few minutes of your time can help families discover what happened to their loved ones and restore the identities of people the Nazis tried to erase from history.  

To get started, please go to www.worldmemoryproject.org.

Exciting AWAP news as the London, England, Land Tax Valuations, 1910 – better known as the 1910 Land Valuation Survey – is now live in AWAP and ready to be keyed.

The 1910 Land Valuation Survey was the first full and detailed survey of land ownership in the United Kingdom since the 11th century. The first, commissioned around 1086 by William the Conqueror, became known as the Domesday Book.

The Finance Act, 1909-1910, levied a tax on the incremental value of land in the United Kingdom. The Board of Inland Revenue determined the value of land on 30th April 1909 and from that date any sale, lease or transfer of land was subject to a levy on the increase in value.

Commissioned by Prime Minister Lloyd George, the 1910 Land Valuation Survey also became known as the Lloyd George ‘Domesday’ Survey and was a key element of his famous ‘People’s Budget’ of 1909.

This particular collection was prepared by the Inspector of Taxes and contains details of the valuation of land in the City of London and in Paddington.

It contains an estimated 33,700 records and will be indexed by address, proprietor’s (owner’s) name and tenant’s name.

You can start keying the 1910 Land Valuation Survey by clicking here.