October, 2012 | The British Newspaper Archive Blog - Part 2

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‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ – the Ancestors of Celia Imrie in the British Newspaper Archive

The wedding notice for the marriage of Miss Adeline Blois – The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Friday 2 June 1905 We loved learning about the ancestors of Celia Imrie in the most recent episode of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ Truly, it was a fascinating mixture of alleged treason, political intrigue and murder – just the sort of thing that people are well curious about. Although Celia Imrie’s family ancestors from the 17th Century might be just beyond

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‘The Only Way is Essex’ – Newspaper Conventions from the Early 18th Century to the Mid-20th Century

The Scanning Team at Colindale often have to conjure up quick and imaginative workarounds when they encounter problems while scanning the papers in the British Library’s Newspaper Collection. Just recently, they’ve been grappling with the problems caused by the protean design of ‘The Essex Newsman’. It seems that, in 1917, the publishers of the ‘Newsman’ decided to start experimenting with the layout of the paper – a decision that, almost 100 years later, has challenged the collective expertise (and patience!)

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‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ – Celia Imrie, BBC1, Wednesday 10 October, 21:00

We’re looking forward to learning about Celia Imrie’s family ancestors in Who Do You Think You Are? tonight. Judging by the brief details posted on the BBC website, it sounds like this programme will feature some fascinating tales of political intrigue from the 17th Century. And we’ll be keeping a sharp eye out to see if any historical newspapers are used for the research on Celia’s ancestors. – BBC1, Wednesday 10 October, 21:00. – www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n7m49

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A Lecture About the British Newspaper Archive Project – The University of Dundee, Friday 9 November 2012

Chris van der Kuyl, the CEO of brightsolid, will be giving a lecture entitled, ‘The British Newspaper Archive: Creating a 21st Century Business Out of Old News’, in Dundee on Friday 9 November at 19.30. The outline for the lecture is as follows: – Background to the project and the British Library/brightsolid collaboration, – The physical to digital journey: how we do it, – Brief overview of the website and next steps for the project, – Bringing history to life

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Glamorgan FHS Family History Fair – Saturday 13th October 2012

If you happen to be in the Glamorgan area on Saturday 13 October 2012, then you might like to attend the Family History Fair that is taking place in Merthyr Tydfil. The event takes place at the town’s Leisure Centre, admission is FREE (with free parking, too!), and it runs from 10am to 4pm. – www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wlsglfhs/openday12.htm

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The Dublin to Kingstown Railway: the First Railway in Ireland – Opened on 9 October 1834

The first railway in Ireland was the Dublin to Kingstown Railway, which opened on 9 October day in 1834. To mark the day, we’ve posted two stories from ‘The Belfast News-Letter’ and ‘The Caledonian Mercury’ which report on the first journeys that took place on the new railway, and which convey people’s excitement about this historic moment. If you’re interested in learning about the development of railways in the UK and Ireland during the 19th century, then the Archive contains

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Your BNA Stories: Sevilla Football Club – the Oldest Football Club in Spain, Founded in 1890 by British Residents

We’re endlessly fascinated by the stories that people are finding in the British Newspaper Archive. While most of the stories (so far!) that people have kindly sent in have been about family history, there are 100s of other history researchers rummaging around in the Archive. Just recently, the History Department at Sevilla Football Club contacted the BNA to tell us about their amazing and historic discovery in the Archive. So, if you much preferred the “working people’s ballet” back in

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The Jarrow March, 5 to 31 October 1936 – ‘No Unemployment Relief for Dependants’ and ‘Leicester Boot Repairers Give Free Overtime’

The ‘Jarrow Crusade’ began on 5 October 1936. The 207 marchers walked from Jarrow to Westminster, to protest about the poverty and unemployment in the North East of England during the Great Depression of the 1930s. We’ve been reading some fascinating stories about the ‘Jarrow March’ in the Archive, and thought we’d post these two stories that offer an excellent insight into this famous episode in the political, social and economic history of the UK during that ‘low, dishonest decade’ of

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The West Surrey Family History Society Open Day and Fair – 3 November 2012

As many visitors to the BNA website are family historians, we thought we’d post some info about the West Surrey Family History Society Open Day and Fair, which takes place on Saturday 3 November 2012. The Fair contains a grand line-up of genealogy experts, who will be offering free tips and advice on how best to build your ancestral family tree. There will also be HelpDesks for people who are looking to trace their Scottish and Irish ancestors. The event

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National Poetry Day 2012 – ‘Bright Star’, Interpreting the Character of John Keats and a Letter from Victor Hugo to Lord Tennyson

It’s ‘unacknowledged legislators of the world’ day today! So, to celebrate National Poetry Day, we’ve posted below a very interesting newspaper article that offers a reading of the complicated character of John Keats. As the theme of National Poetry Day this year is ‘stars’, we’ve also posted that Keats’ sonnet of rare beauty, ‘Bright Star’. The Archive also contains 100s of letters written by famous writers and poets, and we stumbled upon an excellent letter (written in 1877) from Victor

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