CD REVIEW - GLOUCESTERSHIRE 1851 CENSUS

Most family historians will have used the 1851 census at some point in their research. Typically, this will have been at a
local research centre or record office, when a microfilm reproduction of the original enumerator’s book will have been
on
offer. Alternatively, it might have been at home, using a transcription obtained from a family history society on microfiche.
So when faced with the opportunity to purchase the transcription on CD at a cost of around £20 or thereabouts, the researcher
is likely to question whether this expenditure will give them added value.

As I do not have Gloucestershire ancestry, I picked up this CD with an open mind. It loaded onto my PC without problem, just
three clicks of the mouse and it was up and running. The data is included on the CD in three formats, its own search program
which is the default, portable document format which is read by Adobe Acrobat, and as a Microsoft Access database. It is only
possible to use the information in the latter format if the researcher already has Access on their machine, but the free Acrobat
Reader is included on the census CD.

The default search program is extremely intuitive and easy to use. The initial screen gives the researcher five options,
which include both to view the census as enumerated and to view the census in surname order. Both of these options produce
a report in WordPad format, which can be saved, manipulated and copied and pasted with ease. Of course, this is subject to
the usual copyright restrictions.

Another option on the initial screen is the “Find Ancestor” button. This takes the researcher to a search screen,
from which
the data on the CD can be interrogated. Possible search fields include forename, surname, year of birth, county of birth,
place of birth, census address and occupation. Different combinations of these search criteria can be used, whilst the program’s
power can be fully exploited by the use of wildcards and soundex searches.

This is undoubtedly the area in which this CD stands out from the crowd. Searches are easy to set up, and the results appear
in seconds. As an example, I searched on “Lancashire” as the county of birth. Within 45 seconds, the program had
returned
the 846 individuals included within the 1851 census of Gloucestershire who had given a Lancashire location as their place
of birth. This output was in an indexed format, but with just one click to move to the “as enumerated” view. Again,
the results
are produced in WordPad for saving and further manipulation.

Having explored this CD for a good number of hours, I must report that I am unable to find any shortcomings whatsoever in
it. It is a truly excellent product and a marvelous resource for those researching their Gloucestershire ancestry. Furthermore,
others thinking of producing census transcriptions on CD would do well to study this product carefully. In my view, it has
set new standards and is the benchmark again which they will be judged.

Paul Gaskell
Publicity Officer
Oxfordshire Family History Society

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