March 1, 1996 Irish and Scottish Newsletter NAMES OF THE MONTH This month the Irish surname taken from EDWARD MacLYSAGHT's book IRISH FAMILIES Their Names, Arms & Origins, SciPrint Limited, Copyright Irish Academic Press Limited, ISBN # 0-7165-2364-7 is: O'BOYLAN, Boyland The O'Boylan sept of Oriel, which sprang originally from the same stock as the O'Flanagans of Fermanagh, were in early medieval times located in a widespread territory stretching from Fermanagh to Louth. Later they were reduced by the MacMahons, but still retained the greater part of the barony of Dartry in Co. Monaghan. O'Dugan in his fourteenth century "Topographical Poem" praises them for their horsemanship and comments on their blue eyes, calling them "the bold Kings of Dartry". They were still more numerous in the Monaghan-Cavan-Meath area than elsewhere. In Irish the name is O Baoigheallain which is etymological akin to O Baoighill, anglice Boyle (q.v.). The prefix 0 is seldom if ever used with Boylan in modern times, but the alternative form Boyland is sometimes found. The name does not appear prominently in Irish political or military history. Teresa Boylan (b. 1868) was a poetess of some note. Monsignor Patrick Boylan was a distinguished contemporary Hebrew scholar and President of the Royal Irish Academy. From Roddy Martine's "SCOTTISH CLAN AND FAMILY NAMES Their Arms, Origins and Tartans", Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh and London, 1992, ISBN # 1-85158-418-8 Buchanan A STIRLINGSHIRE CLAN of Pictish origin whose lands were on the east side of Loch Lomond. They are said to have descended from Ancient Britons of Strathclyde. A charter from King Alexander n in the thirteenth century confirmed the ownership of the island in Loch Lomond which is now called Clairinch, but at the time was known as Slughorn after the war cry (or slogan) of the Buchquhananes or Buchanans. King David II officially recognized the family of Buchquhanane in the fourteenth century and the clan prospered with a number of cadet branches: Arnprior, Auchamar, Carbeth, Drumakill, Leny and Spittal. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, the house and lands of Buchanan were sold to the Marquess of Montrose, Chief of Clan Graham, after the death of John Buchanan of that IL, The clan gradually dispersed throughout the following 200 years, although a charitable society was founded in their name in Glasgow to assist boys of the name and sect names in their education. One Buchanan of Ulster Scots descent became the 15th President of the United States of America. The Buchanan Society is the oldest clan society in Scotland, having registered arms in 1919. In 1939, a wealthy clansman purchased Clairinch for the society and the island is now a nature reserve. HISTORY: The following brief histories for the counties of Ireland are taken from "Irish Records Sources for Family & Local History" by James G. Ryan, Ph.D., Copyright Ancestry Incorporated (USA), ISBN # 0-916-489-22-1 County Clare A Brief History This Munster county occupies the area between the lower parts of the Shannon River and the west coast. It contains the towns of Ennis, Kilkee, Killaloe, and Kilrush. In the old Gaelic system the county was part of the Kingdom of Thomond. The major families were those of O'Loughlin, McNamara, and McMahon, and the chief family was the O'Briens. Together, these families are generally referred to as the Dalcassian families. The O'Briens were a major force in Thomond from earliest times. The Danish Vikings raided this county on many occasions during the ninth to eleventh centuries and established settlements in Limerick and on Inniscattery Island. They were finally defeated early in the eleventh century by one of the most famous of the O'Briens, Brian Boru, who also led the Irish army which defeated the powerful Danes of Dublin at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Following the Norman invasion the area was granted to Norman knights, but the Clare chieftains kept them from holding any substantial power in the county. In 1275 it was granted to Thomas de Clare who attempted to take control of the county but was totally defeated by the O'Briens. The O'Briens were later made Earls of Thomond and thereby remained the major force in the county for centuries. Despite the failure of Thomas de Clare or his successor to take control of the territories granted to them in Thomond, the county was nevertheless named after the family when its boundaries were established by the English administration in 1565. Initially it was made part of Connaught, but in 1602 the county was joined with the province of Munster. The major Norman settlements in the county were at Clare town and at Bunratty. The Norman inhabitants of these towns were either gradually expelled from the county by the Gaelic families, or else adopted the Irish way of life. The Norman castle at Bunratty, for instance, was captured by the O'Briens in 1355 and held by them until the seventeenth century. In the fifteenth century the O'Briens rebuilt the castle on the same site and this castle, restored and refurbished, is now open to the public. Following the defeat of the 1641 rebellion of the Catholic Confederacy, this county was one of the counties which were set aside to accommodate the "delinquent proprietors," i.e., those proprietors whose land was confiscated because they did not actively oppose the rebellion. Parts of the holdings of the existing Clare landholders were confiscated to accommodate these newcomers. The county was badly affected by the Great Famine of 1845-47. The population was 286,000 in 1841 and by 1851 had been reduced to 212,000. Over 50,000 people died between 1845 and 1850 and thousands emigrated, many to Australia. Between 1851 and 1855, for instance, over 37,000 people emigrated from the county. The decline in population continued for the remainder of the century so that by 1891 the population was 124,000. It is currently around 88,000. County Clare has one of the best local sources of family history research in the form of the Clare Heritage Centre located in Corofin. This center has indexed all of the church records in the county and provides a research service. County Cork A Brief History This Munster county is the largest in Ireland. The major towns in the county are Cork city, Mallow, Mitchelstown, Youghal, Kanturk, Cobh, Fermoy, Kinsale, Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bantry, and Bandon. Before the establishment of the county system, the area of the present County Cork was divided between the territories of Desmond, Muskerry, and Corca Laoidhe. The major Gaelic families in the county were McCarthy, O'Keefe, Murphy, O'Mahony, O'Callaghan, O'Donovan, O'Driscoll, and O'Riordan. The city of Cork itself was founded in the sixth century by the establishment of a monastery and school on the site by St. Finbarr. This grew into a considerable town. In the early ninth century the Norse Vikings raided and later settled in the town, establishing it as a trading post, and merged with the local inhabitants. Following the Norman invasion in the twelfth century, the county was granted to the Norman knights, Fitzstephen and De Cogan. These brought over further Anglo-Norman settlers, but the colony never extended much beyond the area around the present Cork city. Like the Norsemen, the Normans in the county gradually merged with the native Irish and adopted the Irish way of life. Gradually over the succeeding centuries the power and holdings of the individual Norman families increased by war and intermarriage. The main names of Norman extraction now found in the county are Barry, Roche, Cogan, and Nagle. The Anglo-Saxon names of Gould and Verling are also found in Cork since Norman times. The power of many of these Norman and Gaelic families was broken after they supported the unsuccessful revolt of the Earl of Desmond in the late sixteenth century. This resulted in the confiscation of the bulk of the holdings of these families and their distribution, in 1583, to English adventurers. During what is known as the Plantation of Munster, around 15,000 people were brought over and settled in Cork and neighbouring counties. Most of these settlers left again during Hugh O'Neills war with the English (see Co. Tyrone) and particularly on the approach of his army into Munster in 1598. Although some returned again after his defeat, the plantation was largely a failure. Further English settlers came to the county in the 1650s following the defeat of the 1641 rebellion. In the Great Famine, of 1845-47, County Cork was one of the worst affected areas. The population, which peaked at 854,000 in 1841, had fallen to 650,000 in 1851. Almost 150,000 people died between 1845 and 1850, and further thousands emigrated. The population is currently around 404,000. Currently the twenty most common names in Cork are O'Sullivan, Murphy, McCarthy, Mahoney, O'Donovan, Walsh, O'Brien, O'Callaghan, O'Leary, Crowley, Collins, O'Driscoll, O'Connell, Barry, Cronin, Buckley, Daly, Sheehy, O'Riordan, and Kelliher. The following brief histories of the counties of Scotland are taken from "A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland" by Samuel Lewis, reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc. ISBN # 0-8063-1256-4 AYRSHIRE, an extensive county, on the western coast of Scotland, bounded on the north by Renfrewshire, on the east by the counties of Lanark and Dumfries, on the south by the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and Wigtonshire, and on the west by the Firth of Clyde and the Irish Channel. It lies between 54 degrees 40' and 55 degrees 52' (N. lat.), and 4 degrees and 5 degrees (W. long.), and is about sixty miles in length and nearly thirty in extreme breadth, comprising an area of about 1600 square miles, or 1,024,000 acres; containing 31,497 houses, of which, 30,125 are inhabited; and a population of 164,356, of whom 78,983 are males, and 85,373 females. This county, which includes the three districts of Carrick, Kyle, and Cunninghame, was originally inhabited by the Damnii, with whom, after the departure of the Romans, were mingled a colony of Scots, who emigrated from Ireland, and settled in the peninsula of Cantyre, in the county of Argyll. In the eighth century, the Saxon kings of Northumbria obtained possession of this part of the country ; and in the reign of David I., Hugh de Morville, who had emigrated from England, and was made by that monarch constable of Scotland, received a grant of the whole district of Cunninghame, in which he placed many of his English vassals. Previously to their final defeat at the battle of Largs, in 1263, the county was frequently invaded by the Danes ; and during the wars with Edward of England, it was the scene of many of the exploits of William Wallace in favour of Robert Bruce, who was a native of the county, and obtained by marriage the earldom of Carrick, which, on his accession to the throne, merged into the property of the crown. The change in the principles of religion, which led to the Reformation, appears to have first developed itself in this county; and Kyle is noticed by the reformer Knox as having at a very early period embraced the reformed doctrine. Before episcopacy was abolished, the county was included in the diocese of Glasgow; it is now almost entirely in the synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and comprises several presbyteries, and forty-six parishes. Within its limits are the royal burghs of Ayr (which is the county town) and Irvine; the towns of Largs, Beith, Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Kilwinning, Kilmarnock, Mauchline, Catrine, Old and New Cumnock, Muirkirk, Maybole, and Girvan; and numerous large and populous villages. Under the act of the 2nd of William IV., the county returns one member to the imperial parliament. The surface is varied. In the district of Cunninghame, which includes the northern portion, it is comparatively level; in Kyle, which occupies the central portion, it is hilly and uneven, though containing some large tracts of fertile and well cultivated land , and the district of Carrick, in the south, is wild and mountainous. The principal mountains are, Knockdolian, which has an elevation of 2000 feet above the sea ; Cairntable, rising to the height of 1650 feet; Knockdow and Carleton, each 1554 feet high; and Knocknounan, 1540 feet. The chief rivers are the Ayr, the Doon, the Garnock, the Girvan, and. the Stinchar; and the county is intersected by numerous smaller streams, the principal of which are the Rye water, the Irvine, and the Kilmarnock water. There are also numerous small lakes, especially in the district of Carrick , but the only one of any extent is Loch Doon, from which issues the river of that name. The coast, particularly that of Carrick, is precipitous, rocky, and dangerous, and possesses few good harbours; towards the extremities it is almost inaccessible owing to rocks in the offing, and towards the centre the beach is sandy, and the water so shallow as generally to preclude the approach of vessels of any considerable burthen. About one-third of the land is amble and in cultivation, and the remainder, of which a very large portion is mountain waste, is chiefly meadow and pasture. The soil is in some parts light and sandy, and in others a rich clay, and nearly the whole of the district of Cunninghame is a rich and fruitful vale. The dairies are well managed, and their produce is in very high repute; the county is distinguished for its excellent breed of cattle. The moors abound with all kinds of game, and the rivers with salmon and trout. The minerals are, coal, ironstone, lead and copper ore, black-lead, and gypsum, the two first of which are largely wrought; the coal is very abundant, and the working of it for exportation is daily increasing, for which purpose tramroads have been laid down, and harbours have been constructed. There are also extensive quarries of freestone and marble. The ancient forests of Ayrshire have long since disappeared; and the plantations, which are extensive, are mostly of recent growth. In this county the seats are Kelburn House, Eglinton Castle, Culzean Castle, Loudoun Castle, Fairley Castle, Dalquharran, Blairquhan, Bargeny, Fullarton House, Dumfries House, Stair House, Auchincruive, Auchinleck, and many others. The manufactures comprise the various branches of the woollen, the linen, cotton, and thread manufactures, for which there are extensive works at Kilmarnock and Catrine; the weaving of muslin is also general throughout the county, and the Ayrshire needlework has long been distinguished for its elegance. There are tanneries and potteries, iron-foundries, and some very large iron-works, of which those at Muirkirk, Dalry, and Glengarnock are among the most celebrated in the country. Along the coast are valuable fisheries, and salt-works, and works for kelp and soda. Facility of communication is maintained by excellent roads, and bridges kept in good repair; also by the railway from Ayr to Glasgow, with its different branches. The annual. value of real property in the county is 531,319, of which 390,278 are returned for lands, 86,430 are for houses, 27,851 for mines, 11,313 for railway communication, 1301 for quarries, ;843 for fisheries, 507 for iron-works, and the remainder for other species of real property. There are numerous remains of antiquity, consisting of the ruins of fortresses and religious houses, in various parts of the county ; all of which are described in the articles on the several parishes where the are situated. BANFFSHIRE, a maritime county., in the north-east part of Scotland, bounded on the north by the Moray Firth on the east and south-east, by Aberdeenshire; and on the west, by the counties of Moray and Inverness. It lies between 57 degrees 5' and 57 degrees 43' (N. lat.) and 2 degrees 17' and 3 degrees 37' (W. long.), and is about fifty miles in length, varying from twenty miles to only three miles in breadth. It comprises an area of about 647 square miles, or 414,080 acres, and contains 11,149 inhabited houses, with a population of 49,679, of whom 23,249 are males, and 26,430 females, This county, which includes the districts of Boyne, Enzie, Strath-Doverou, Strathaven, Balvenie, and part of Buchan, was a sheriffdom in the reign of David I., and, previously to the Reformation, was included in the diocese of Moray. It is now partly in the synod of Moray, and partly in that of Aberdeen, and comprises several presbyteries, with twenty-four parishes. The county contains the royal burghs of Banff and Cullen, the former of which is the county town, and several thriving and populous villages, whereof the chief are Keith, Newmill, Gardenstown, Dufftown, Buckie, Portsoy, and Macduff. Under the act of the 2nd of William IV. it returns one member to the imperial parliament. The surface is beautifully diversified with mountains and vales, and the scenery enriched with woods and plantations, and enlivened with rivers and lakes. The principal mountains in the county are, Ben-Macdhui and the Cairngorm, which have an elevation of more than 4000 feet above the sea; Benrinnes, rising from the banks of the river Spey to the height of 2747 feet Knockhill, near the north termination of the Grampian range, the Buck of Cabrach, and others, about 2500 feet high. Its chief vales are, those of Strath-Doveron and Strathaven, the former branching off to the right, and the latter to the left, from the forest of Glenavon; Glen-Livet; and Glen-Fiddich, which last extends to the strath of Balvenie. Its rivers are, the Spey, which has its source in Loch Spey, and after a long course falls into the Moray Firth near Fochabers; the Doveron, which rises in the hills of Cabrach ; the Avon; the Livet; and the Isla; with countless smaller streams, which turn numerous mills. The salmon-fisheries on the Spey and the Doveron are extensive, the former yielding a rental of 6000, and the latter of nearly 2000 per annum. The coast, which extends for nearly thirty miles, is bold and rocky, in some parts precipitous; and is much indented with small bays. The soil, near the sea, is rich; in the valleys, luxuriantly fertile ; and the mountainous districts afford tolerable pasturage: the moors abound with game. Nearly one-half of the land is under cultivation; the system of agriculture is in a highly improved state, and much waste has been inclosed and rendered profitable. The natural woods and the plantations are extensive and well managed, and there are numerous oaks and firs of extraordinary dimensions. The chief minerals are ironstone and lead-ore, and there are some fine quarries of limestone, freestone, gneiss, and granite: a mine of manganese has lately been wrought to a great extent by the Duke of Richmond near Tomintoul. In this county the best seats are Gordon Castle, Glenfiddich, Duff House, Rothiemay, Banff Castle, Balvenie Castle, Cullen House, Birkenbog, Forglen, Troup, Arndilly, Baldorney, Edingarth, and Kinnairdy. The principal manufacture is that of linen. There are several tanneries, some distilleries, and works in connexion with the shipping, which is almost confined to the ports of Banff, Macduff, Portsoy, and Gardenstown. The herring-fishery is also very extensive, and is prosecuted along the coasts with great industry and success. Facility of intercourse has been greatly promoted by many excellent roads, constructed by commissioners appointed under an act of parliament; and the bridges over the different streams are kept in good order. The annual value of real property in the county is 124,347, of which 110,608 are returned for lands, 8403 for houses, 2592 for fisheries, 380 for quarries, and the remainder for other kinds of real property. There are numerous cairns, tumuli, ruins of ancient castles, and other monuments of antiquity, all noticed in the respective articles on the localities in which the are situated. CONTRIBUTIONS: I can never remember whether surnames beginning with Mc or Mac are Scotch or Irish. Forgive my ignorance, but any help would be appreciated. Mc, Mac and M' were used by both the Scots and the Irish. Another problem is that there was travel back and forth between Ireland and Scotland. John And don't assume that just because one entry has Mac and the other Mc, it doesn't mean the same family. Before 1855, most recording in Scotland came from baptismal records written by Ministers who tended to write names the way they thought they should be written - not the way the owners wrote them. This can mean BIG variations (e.g. Baldie, Baldy, Bawdie, Bawdy, Baude are all the same family) so variations as small as Mac or Mc cannot be trusted to show separate families. Civil Registration ------------------ The records at St Catherine's House in London only covers England and Wales. The records of births, marriages and deaths for Scotland are held at: The General Register Office for Scotland New Register House Princess Street Edinburgh EH1 3YT The records of births, marriages and deaths for all of Ireland up to 1921, and for Eire since 1921 are held at: Register General Joyce House 8/11 Lombard Street East Dublin 2 Records for Northern Ireland since 1921 are at: Oxford House 49/55 Chichester Street Belfast BT1 4HL Wales was largely conquered by the English in the 14th Century, and was officially united with England in 1535. King James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England (as James I) in 1603, but the two countries remained separate entities until the Act of Union in 1707 forming 'Great Britain'. Ireland had been claimed by the English Kings since the 12th Century but was not officially joined to Great Britain until 1801. Ireland was given independence in 1921 as the Irish Free State (later called 'Eire'), but the counties of Ulster opted out and (as Northern Ireland) remain part of the United Kingdom. So, today, the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' includes 'Great Britain', which in turns includes England, Scotland and Wales. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are 'Crown Dependencies' which are technically outside the United Kingdom and have their own local legislatures. This is course is the official version. You will find many people referring to 'England' when they actually mean 'Britain' or the 'UK'. Added location of Irish and Scottish records. Added explanation of the relationship between the various parts of the country. Revised the prices quoted. St Catherine's House -------------------- Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths started on 1 July 1837 in England and Wales. This was later expanded in 1927 to also include still births, and adoptions. These records are held at: The General Register Office, St. Catherines House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP You cannot however see the registers themselves, but you can look at the indexes for the events and having found the relevant reference you can then buy a certificate which hopefully contains the information you want. You can usually find the name of an agent by looking for an advertisement in one of the periodic magazines. The postal address for St. Catherine's house certificates is different: Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, General Register Office, Postal Applications Section, Smedley Hydro, Southport, Merseyside PR8 2HH Phone 0151-471-4524, (for the priority service) Fax 0151-471-4368 You can also get copies of certificates from the local registration office, which originally recorded the event. You can find their address in the telephone directory under Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths . The charge here is a much more acceptable 5.50 pounds, even for a postal application. The disadvantage is that the local offices maintain their own indexes and so the St. Catherine's house index reference is no good to them. You usually have to supply more information. Some offices require the exact place of birth, for birth certificates. For a marriage certificate the place it took place, e.g. the name of the church, is essential as these are indexed by place. If there are 50 churches that a district covers the staff cannot search 50 indexes for you. St. Catherine's House Indexes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the first things that you will do in your research, is to consult the St. Catherines House indexes. There are separate indexes for births, marriages and deaths, filed in date order. Each year is split up into quarters with for example all events registered between 1 Jan and 31 Mar held in the index labelled March. Remember it is upon when events were registered, which for marriages is normally the same day as when the marriage took place. However births may be registered up to 6 weeks after they occur, so a December birth is likely to be indexed in the March volume for the following year. If you go to St. Catherine's house, you will be looking at the original index books. These are quite heavy, large and the older ones hand-written so don't go smartly dressed! The other option is to consult a microfilm copy of the index. The microfilm copies are held at a number of sites throughout the country, usually at libraries or local record offices, and at LDS Family History centres. However there is a normally a heavy demand to consult them, and you will normally have to book well in advance. For example the waiting time at the Greater Manchester record Office is at least 8 weeks. Some sites not have a complete set of indexes but they normally cover the 19th century. Index format ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The detail on the index records varies slightly, depending on whether, its a birth, marriage or death. For example a birth record looks like: Surname Name(s) or Registration Vol Page of parent sex of child District SANDHAM Cicely Sarah W. Derby 8b 493 In addition from Sept 1911 the mother's maiden name is also included. A marriage entry is of a similar form: Surname Forename(s) Registration Vol Page District Cross James Haslingden 8e 213 Haighton Ellen Haslingden 8e 213 These are examples from before March 1912 when the surname of the spouse also appears in each entry. These are actually examples from the 4th quarter of 1870, and in this case both surnames had to be searched to find the correct entry. When you start searching, you soon find it is quickest to find the uncommon name first and only when it is found look for the other in the same quarter. In this case Ellen Haighton is an uncommon name, whilst there were a number of James Cross's in each quarter. Once you have found the entry you want, write it down exactly as it is written, as you must have it exactly correct if you apply for a certificate from St. Catherine's house. Do not forget to write down the year and quarter as well. In fact it can save a lot of effort to have a separate sheet of paper for each individual search you are making. Write on it whether it is a birth, marriage or death that you are searching for. Then carefully mark on it each year and quarter as you search it and note down all the likely references in full, even if they are not the exact ones you are looking for. You will normally find that when searching the indexes you are trying to find a number of different items of information, in a limited time and probably in cramped conditions. If you have a complete record of your searches then if you have problems and have to resume your search later you will not have to repeat any work. This can be especially frustrating if you have to wait some time before you can book a session on a reader. Once you have the index entry you will then need to obtain a certificate to get any more information than you had when you started. The only exceptions to this are: * Age at death from June 1866 * Mother's maiden name in births from Sept 1911 * Spouse's surname in marriages from March 1912 * Age at death from 1969 Contents of birth certificate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * District and sub-district where birth was registered. * The place of birth. Either a street in a town but maybe just the name of the village in the country. * Day, month, year of birth. * Name of the child, or just the sex if no name had been chosen at that time. * The name of the father and his occupation. This field is normally blank for a bastard child. * The name of the mother and her maiden name. * The date of registration. * The name and address of the informant and either their signature or their mark. * The name of the registrar. * Any name given at baptism and entered after then being reported to the registrar. Further reading ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * St. Catherine's House, Eve McLaughlin, FFHS * Basic Sources for Family History, Andrew Todd, FFHS * Beginning Your Family History, George Pelling, FFHS * District Register Offices in England and Wales, E Yorkshire FHS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL INFORMATION I worked as an art handler for 7 years for a fine art services company that moved and transported works of art for museums like the Museum of Modern Art, The J. Paul Getty, Guggenheim, Louvre, Smithsonian and many others. We handled original DaVincis and Rembrandts and Picassos and Van Goghs, the Ansel Adams museum portfolio of photographs, and so on. I do not consider myself an expert on archival techniques, but I did pick up a few things that might be helpful. Some of you who have more experience are welcome to correct any areas where I am wrong or out of date. It is difficult to give any but the broadest of advice on archival storage, because each work or antiquity is unique and often requires unique archival procedures. Each piece being stored must be evaluated based upon what the material is made of, what condition it is in, what supporting structure it needs, what size it is, whether it needs UV protection, and what environment it must be kept in, and so forth. For example, if you have an oil painting of one of your relatives, it probably should be stored vertically, but if you have a pastel picture of a relative, it should be stored flat. Gravity has a tendency to cause the pastel particles to fall off, and that is minimized with horizontal storage. An oil or watercolor could have glass or plexiglas over it, but the pastel must only have glass to minimize static electricity which attracts the pastel particles. If you have glass over paintings or photographs that are stored, it is common to use a type of paper adhesive tape in a grid on the glass surface. If the glass ever breaks, due to something falling on it, earthquakes, or rough handling, the tape helps keep the glass from penetrating the surface of the painting or photograph. The point here is that archiving is quite an involved science, and requires a careful analysis of each object. Here, though, are a few general ideas about the conservation and storage of genealogical works, which tend to be works on paper, books, photographs, but may include busts and sculptures, paintings, transparencies, motion pictures, video tapes, audio tapes. 1. If I had to have one material to aid in preserving the integrity of an object, it would be a roll of clear plastic sheeting like the kind you can get in any hardware store. It should be polyethylene, not polyvinyl. Vinyl emits a gas that can damage photos and transparencies in under ten years. It is the clear plastic of the type found in grocery vegetable bags. If fact, grocery vegetable bags are just fine to use if they are clean and have no printing on them. I have one store near me that has heavy weight clear bags with no printing, that I recycle into my library to protect the books. If you buy a roll of plastic at the hardware store, you can cut pieces to wrap your precious objects. Wrap it like a Christmas present, and use two inch wide clear or brown plastic package tape to seal it. Make sure the adhesive on the tape does not come in contact with the object. If you will be periodically unwrapping the object for inspection, you can fold the tape over about a quarter of an inch on one end to make a tab. It is easy to pull the tape up by the tab. You can use this plastic to wrap up books, photos, letters, paintings (there are exceptions here, depending upon the work of art), sculptures, and many other objects. One word of caution though, is that once the object is wrapped, do not leave it in the sunlight. Depending upon the humidity of the air, the sunlight can cause water to condense on the inside of the plastic and that can seriously damage works on paper. 2. Moisture is one of the biggest dangers for works on paper. It causes paper to buckle, mildew, mold, or dissolve. Water quickly destroys a bound book buckling the pages and causing them to fuse together. That is one big advantage of wrapping objects in clear plastic sheeting. It keeps water off the work, should your roof leak, a child be careless with soda, or water pipe break. 3. Acidity is a major problem with paper. As you mentioned in your letter, papers in the early 1800's may be more stable than contemporary papers. That is definitely true, due to the change in the way paper was made. The sulfite process of making paper from wood pulp leaves acid embedded in the paper. Over time the acid slowly oxidizes, or burns, the paper. I am sure you are familiar with seeing an old book where someone slipped in a newspaper clipping. Newsprint has a high level of acid and breaks down very quickly. You can see a brown stain on the book next to where the clipping was. Actually it is a burn. Books made with sulfite paper burn themselves up. Over time the paper becomes very brittle and crumbles into dust. It has been estimated that 75% of the collection of the US Library of Congress has burned up. Archivists call it the "slow burn." There are chemicals that deacidify the paper, but it has been very expensive, and the chemicals have been very dangerous and flammable. Some archival supply companies have advertised aerosol bottles of de-acidify in solutions, but I have no experience with them. If you need to wrap articles in paper, then it is best to find acid-free paper. It used to be that the only acid-free papers were those made of 100% cotton. Now paper manufacturers are making wood pulp based papers acid free by adding an alkaline buffering agent that counteracts the acid. It is cheaper than all cotton paper and probably should be okay to use. Framing photographs is a good way to help protect them, but it usually is a good idea to put a cardboard matte around the photo first. That keeps the surface of the photo so it does not make contact with the glass or plexiglas of the frame. If they contact, they can attract moisture and stain or mildew the photo. If you are matting photographs use acid-free matte board. The best is called "museum board" and is available in larger art supply stores. It is all cotton and expensive, but buffered matte board is now available. If you take your photos into a professional framer, insist on acid-free mattes. If you don't, you may get the cheaper sulfite mattes. If you don't, in 10-20 years you will see a yellow burn mark on your photo where the acid of the matte burns your photo borders. Archival suppliers and some larger art stores and photo stores can also sell you acid fee envelopes and storage boxes. The envelopes are good for storing negatives. The boxes can be used to store letters and documents. You generally should not laminate your pictures. This is a non-reversible process, which means, if you try to take the lamination back off, it will ruin your photograph. Sure they look nice and crystal clear, but it will ruin your work. An exception might be newspapers and newspaper clippings which may be helped by the lamination keeping oxygen off of the paper and thus slowing the burning. It might be a good idea to digress a moment to discuss the difference between "restoration" and "conservation", in case you have any damaged documents, photos, or paintings. Most professionals in the museum world engage in conservation, not restoration. "Restoration" is the erroneous idea that you can repair damaged work so that it looks like it originally did. "Conservation" is the concept that you try to conserve the integrity of the piece. Any repair work that is done is reversible, which means you can easily undo the repair work at any time, to return back to where you were before the repair job. Every museum has an abundance of horror stories of repair work done by "restorers". Their attempts to repair things using non-reversible techniques can end up over time being worse than if they had just left the piece alone. For example, if an oil painting has a place where the paint has fallen off (called a "lacuna" in the conservation biz), a fine art conservator will "in paint" that area in the same color, but with a paint that can be completely removed back to the original work. Another example, if a paper document is torn, a restorer might use a piece of magic tape or scotch tape to repair the tear. Over time the tape will yellow, and may buckle the paper. The adhesive may be acidic and burn the paper. A museum conservator would use a special adhesive that not only would be acid free, but it would be easily removable allowing future conservators to undo their work, when new, better techniques come along. BEWARE of anyone advertising themselves as a specialist in restoration. The same applies to repairing antiques and old furniture. Find yourself a good conservator. A good way to locate one is to call any major museum and ask to speak to the Registrar's Office. That office usually will keep lists of good local conservators to refer the public to. Conservators often specialize in areas, like works on paper, textiles, oil paintings, acrylic paintings, ceramics, etc. 4. Old paper also can develop a problem called "foxing." Foxing is the appearance of little brown specks, dots, spots, or blotches on the paper. You see that naturally on old documents, and not much can be done to stop the process. Do not try to cover them up with white-out. That could damage the work even more. I do not believe a solution has been found to reverse or stop foxing. 5. A note about storing photos and slides. Do not use those photo albums that have the clear plastic sheets that "magnetically" stick to the backing board. The acid in those can seriously damage photos in a matter of months. Likewise, make sure you store your slides and other transparencies in polyethylene archive sleeves, not vinyl sleeves. The vinyl type will actually begin to stick to the transparency and transfer an oily liquid that permanently damages the slide. I have had some unfortunate personal experience with this. The vinyl sleeves were very common throughout the 1960's to 80's and can still be purchased. Most larger photo stores can sell you packages of archival slide and transparency sleeves. Anyway this has gotten to be a very long letter, so I will stop. Hopefully it will be helpful for you. If anyone has any new or better techniques, I would love to hear of them.