Kew

I finally made it to Kew, a suburb of London, where the National Archives building is. There is also a huge garden there (part of the National Trust), but I didn't end up going in because it was raining.

The National Archives was different than I expected in that it was user friendly. I thought I would have to go through various loopholes and red tape just to get inside.



Note hardback copy of Teacher Man by Frank McCourt - best bargain in Europe at 20p from the Kew Library book sale.


My roommate, Lenese, decided to come along and we both got Reader Cards so we can come back over the next 3 years and do as much digging as we like.

I need to go back alone and have a full day here. I haven't gone to their museum, shop, or coffee bar yet - let alone handled any archives. I really only spent time on their computers today, which have access to a significant about of online material that I have been unable to get free on my own.

I'm just jumping into this genealogy stuff and don't have an idea of the best way to go about it, but I managed to see a few documents today that could be relevant.

My first exciting discovery was a birth certificate for John Warriner born on April 7, 1812. There aren't many Warriners out there (well, compared to some of the other surnames I've been looking up), but even so it's hard to be sure if I'm looking at the right record. It's like looking at a small part of the spider web - I know there are connections to be made but from my vantage point I can't see where they are. One thing is for sure - I can't imagine doing this without a digital database!