There is a web site for the Family Research Link (http://www.1837online.com), which has copies of the microfiched GRO indexes on line. It is a "Pay per View" site, and, before I try it out, I was wondering if anybody has tried it and has any comments as to its usefulness (or otherwise). Michael from Lancashire

Parkhlmhist@aol.com wrote..... > There is a web site for the Family Research Link (http://www.1837online.com), > which has copies of the microfiched GRO indexes on line. > > It is a "Pay per View" site, and, before I try it out, I was wondering if > anybody has tried it and has any comments as to its usefulness (or > otherwise). > > Michael from Lancashire > RUSH out and buy the latest issue of Family Tree Magazine (April). It has a major feature on the website. I have not tried it myself and have no intentions of doing so, since I am fortunate enough to live within 20 miles of the Family Records Centre at Islington and go there constantly, where you can access the original indexes in volumes for free. However, I have heard some criticisms of the site inasmuch as if you are looking for a very common surname and have only a vague idea of when and where a birth, marriage or death took place, then it could cost you quite a lot of money. If you are certain of the when-and-where, fine, but if you are looking for someone, say, born between 1860 and 1870 you will have to search through 40 quarters comprising hundreds of pages! Be clear about this - the site does NOT offer a transcribed index (except for entries after 1984), but scanned images from the original pages. It's the same thing as looking through page after page of the original books or microfiche, but you will be doing it online and totting up the cost. There is, of course, an alternative. Many libraries and record offices have copies of the GRO Indexes on fiche (the same ones as the website owners scanned them from). There are bound to be a number of libraries in Lancashire that possess copies (equally, there many in Yorkshire that have them). Find out where the nearest one is to where you live and then spend a day going there to inspect them. It may be the cost of your travel, etc, will be cheaper than spending ages online. Roy Stockdill (Editor, Journal of One-Name Studies) Guild of One-Name Studies:- www.one-name.org Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History:- www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html Never ask a man if he comes from Yorkshire. If he does he will tell you, if he does not why humiliate him? - Canon Sydney Smith

Hi Michael and list, Have just joined this list and I have used the website. Mainly because our local FHC does not have any of the GRO Indexes. So it is worthwhile for me. Works much the same as sitting down reading through fiche looking for entries. Pges are listed the same as you would find on fiche, by the first 3 letters of the first and last entries on each page. You can only do your initial search by Surname and years, first names don't figure. I personally think the biggest problem is that you are only able to search by the first 3 letters of a surname. This means if searching for WHITEHALL, it has sometimes given me over 20 pages (and as many as 50+) to choose from to look at ( it appears some years are not alphabetised properly, so got every page from WAA-WZZ to choose from). Other times it gives 3-5 pages of WHI, so you take a chance on picking the right page. If like me you can't search the indexes personally it is a wonderful tool, but it is paying for pages that you don't need to search because you have a choice of more than one that I hope they will be able to correct sometime However as its the only complete index available for me I will definitely keep using it. Cheers Lynne in NZ ----- Original Message ----- From: <Parkhlmhist@aol.com> To: <ENG-YKS-BRADFORD-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 8:26 AM Subject: [ BRAD] Website query > There is a web site for the Family Research Link (http://www.1837online.com), > which has copies of the microfiched GRO indexes on line. > > It is a "Pay per View" site, and, before I try it out, I was wondering if > anybody has tried it and has any comments as to its usefulness (or > otherwise). > > Michael from Lancashire > > ______________________________