By Jill Stocks
Interested in researching your family tree? Now you can do it and support the work of a cherished Horsforth institution too.
Horsforth Museum, through long-time volunteer Freda Varty, offer a family tree research service for a small fee with monies going towards continuing the work of the self funded museum.
Freda, who has a keen interest in genealogy, told us more about how she researches the past: “When I do the censuses for people I can usually get back to about 1750, if the church records are there.
“ut before that some of the churches burned down or the records just were so illegible, so the censuses are written for us to look at on the different websites like ancestry.com and findmypast.
“They’re from 1841, that’s when the first census was done. You don’t get as much information on that but you know what they were called, who they had in their family and where they lived. Then the 1851 census, 1861, 1871, right up to 1921, because it’s always a hundred years before they can put them online. So we’ve got a hundred years of censuses nearly to look at.
“On these censuses you find the year of birth and you can find where they lived, what they did for a living, how many children they gave birth to. The 1911 census is quite good because they actually write it themselves – somebody used to come to the door and fill your census in at the door but in 1911 you were given a piece of paper and you had to fill it in yourself.”
The censuses provide a window into the past, sometimes revealing some sadness about those times.
Freda added: “On that 1911 census it tells us how many children you’ve had as a couple and how many are still alive and how many died. And you can think oh my goodness this family had seven children and five of them have died or sixteen children and ten of them have died and it’s so sad.
“The 1821 census that’s more or less just come out that’s quite good and then there’s the 1939, what I call the war register. It’s a census but it’s more of a war register, that tells us quite a lot, because if you’re looking for your grandfather or grandma which you mainly are to go back they could be on that 1939 census as a young child.
“I get as much information as I can and make a family tree print out all the censuses, the weddings, the deaths, sometimes that they’ve had a prison sentence, or one of the family have been shipped off to Australia for stealing a pair of trousers or something. It’s so interesting what you can find out.
“Sometimes it takes me hours and hours and hours but I love that anyway, and some of the families are easier because they’ve got an unusual name and you can find them better.
“It’s £25 per grandparent so if you want to know your whole family history it would be £100 but some people just want to know about their grandma or grandad.”
If you’d like to be more involved with the process though there is also the option of sitting alongside Freda and researching together:
“If someone wants to come in on a Tuesday morning and sit with me and look at their back story while I’m looking on here on ancestry.com I can do it with them and we charge £10 per session for that two hours work and we sit next to each other and chat about their family history. But most people want me to do it for them and just say ‘this is your family’.”
There are all sorts of interesting things to see and do at Horsforth Museum, from the schoolroom downstairs with activities for kids, to the recently added ‘knicker collection’ upstairs displaying a number of ladies under garments from down the years as well as the Horsforth textile map with its recently added listening post.
The museum is self funding so all funds are gratefully received to continue the work of the museum’s staff of volunteers as they continue to archive and preserve the history of Horsforth and further afield for the benefit of future generations.
A number of booklets about Horsforth’s past are available at the museum for purchase too with money going into museum funds, including one Freda herself has written containing enchanting Horsforth stories from times past.
The booklets cover all manner of subjects including Horsforth’s pubs and the fascinating story of Horsforth’s contribution to the war effort through the funding of the HMS Aubrietia and they make a fascinating read for local history buffs.
Volunteers are always welcome at the museum and there are a variety of ways you could help. Stewards are always needed to provide a bit of flexibility with the rota and younger people are very welcome to bring their skills to the team too. Freda said: “We need younger people who are interested in researching things and are maybe good on the computer as well.”
Horsforth Museum is free entry, but contributions are very welcome, and is open on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm, and Sundays from 2pm to 5pm (4pm in November).
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