"What data do we have?"
The society has been transcribing parish and other local records for 40+ years.
So what data do we hold. This can all be found in our publication list, which was updated in June this year, and here is a link to open that:
The records include Parish information across Doncaster and Rotherham. These are baptism, marriage and burial records from the Churches across our region. This is all in the new database we launched in September 2023.
There are burials recorded from other cemeteries such as Hyde Park Cemetery, which, in its day it was the largest Municipal Cemetery outside of London, and has over 50,000 burials in it.
Volunteers from DDFHS spent 12 months in 2022/23 revisiting the records from the cemetery from photographs of the grave and burial registers, taken during the pandemic, which allowed a more detailed transcription of this vital information to take place.
A huge number of hours went into the collection and collation of this information by volunteers from our society, which is why we sell it on the GenFair online shop. This revenue helps DDFHS continue to operate and develop new initiatives.
"Did you know David Bowie's paternal Grandmother is buried in Hyde Park Cemetery in Doncaster?"
Most of this information is now available to members, in the members content area, and the most recent addition to that is all the Plant Works employment records the society transcribed in the late 1980s early 1990s. These provide a fascinating insight into the workers at the Plant Works, and especially when analysing why workers left. This ranged from being killed in the Great War, to promotion, bad behaviour and even murder.
"This ranged from being killed in the Great War, to promotion, bad behaviour and even murder"
If you want free access to our databases, then why not join the society and then maybe you’d like to consider helping as a volunteer on some of the projects we have planned or helping in on our Research Help days at community libraries.
Go to our membership page for more information about joining DDFHS.
So what is coming next?
We also hold records relatiing to Canal Boats, their owner, their masters, where they sailed and what they carried. These will soon be available to members.
Burials in Hatfield cemetery have now been transcribed and they will be available from GenFair and will be added to our online database once complete.
We also have Poor Law Records and Coroners Court records, which will also be made available for members this year.
Everything we do as a small charity is in our own time, at our own expense and DDFHS is very grateul for all the volunteers who have contributed to these initiatives over the years and those that still do.