Hello I am the new Archives Assistant at Northumberland Archives. It’s my seventh week here and I can honestly say that I am enjoying the job more and more each week. Not only do I get backstage access to all the documents and other historical objects the archive holds but I also get to share these with our customers and share their joy when they find the record they were searching for.
Week one of my new job and my main task was to find my way around the building. It seemed labyrinthine, very similar looking corridors and strong rooms with more than one entrance/exit made for a confusing first few days. Having got the hang of that I was then looking to familiarise myself with the types of records stored here. OK that sounds like an achievable aim, I thought, how naïve I was! Last week I helped sort out our latest acquisition, as seen on TV, yes really, Look North filmed the acquisition and already the records are listed on our online catalogue and available for the public to view.
Week two I learned how to assist customers with their Archives and Records Association (ARA) card, what is that you may ask? Well all users of the archive have to register to use the service and whilst most have done so online before arriving some have not been able to and in all cases, users need to show the appropriate ID in order to complete their registration. Getting to grips with the technology was another lesson learnt.
Week three and an introduction the Ordnance Survey (OS) maps, originally produced to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. The OS maps, of which we hold the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions covering the 1860s, 1890’s 1920’s and 1939 respectively can be really helpful to people wanting to research a particular village, farm or town. The archive holds many more maps of course and these can be found using our online catalogue. Just type https://northumberlandarchives.com/test/catalogue/ into google and search away.
Week four and by now I was starting to see returning visitors to the search room and I was lucky enough to be able to help one, the person was looking for someone who had been a miner and had died as the result of an accident. Having looked through the list of persons killed or injured in the mines we could not find him. So onto the Ancestry website and the 1911 census and The British Newspaper Archive website, which yielded some good results. The customer was delighted and so was I, having felt that I had actually helped someone and not just had to say “ Erm…I’ll just ask my colleague”.
Week five. One of the regular collections people ask for is the St George’s Records (Morpeth County Lunatic Asylum). These are the kind of records that give rare, detailed information to the family historian. Valuable information that can’t always be gleaned elsewhere, like their health at the time of admittance and throughout their stay, even their close relatives name and address may appear in the next of kin book. Obviously, some of this information can be troubling to read and it is worth preparing yourself for this, should you wish to request such records.
Last week I was fortunate enough to be asked to do some research for a blog. Into the search room came a customer interested in the Steamer “Paris” which sank at the start of the 20th century just off the coast near Hauxley. Whilst they knew about the sole survivor of the ship wreck they were interested to know about the ones who were not so lucky, so watch this space for a blog specifically on this soon.
This week and it is some local farm records that have to be unboxed, labelled and re-boxed in preparation for listing onto the catalogue. The range of deposits to the Archive is so varied and it is a real privilege to be part of the process, what treasures will we unearth?
The task of familiarising myself with our records is of course ongoing and will be for the time that I am employed here, that is what makes the job so interesting, there is always something new to see and new to learn. Having been a customer myself before applying for the job I know how satisfying it is to see records relating to your family. The quarter session papers are my next stop, why not come along and see if they hold any interesting information for you too!?
Wish I lived closer than California. Love the Riddell collection. My ancestors…
Another good place to use for mining inquiries would be the NEEMARC, based in the Murray Library of the University of Sunderland.
These documents are still in the process of digitisation, however, by having a readers card or a library card issued by the Sunderland Library service, an appointment can be made with the archivist/curator of the collection.
The collection consists of documents from the NUM (Durham area), the Durham Branch of the NACODSF (National Association of Overmen, Deputies and Shot Firers), and, of greater interest to your researcher, The NEEIMME (North East England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers).
Thank you