21 August 2008Information available in local libraries
Newspapers that may help you with your search
Using the Internet to help trace family or friends
Information available in local libraries
Census returns: These contain useful information about the movement of families from one location to another. The returns are stored on microfilm, which means the information is readily available in date order. At present, the stored film dates from 1841 to 1891. It was Government policy to destroy census returns before 1841 as a matter of national security. There is also a law that prevents returns from being made public for 100 years. This means that returns collated since 1911 will not be made available until January 2012.
Parish registers: The registers date back to the Reformation in the sixteenth century when they became obligatory for each parish. The library stores information on microfilm and microfiche and includes records from St Nicholas Church and many neighboring parishes. The registers contain information about marriage, birth and death statistics, and are available in date order.
Local newspapers: Newspapers included on library files are The Sevenoaks Chronicle, Sevenoaks News and The Westerham Herald. The Chronicle can be backdated to its launch in 1881. The Sevenoaks News was only in circulation from 1935 to 1981 and The Westerham Herald from 1882 to 1935. Each newspaper can be read by using microfilm, apart from the Sevenoaks News, which is only available on a bound hard-copy.
Street directories: These are only available on microfiche format. They contain information about town plans in Kent, with a large coverage of the Sevenoaks District. They offer easy access to the location of residential and business addresses from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. Street directories began to be superceded by telephone directories in the1930s so information after this period is less comprehensive.
Swanley Library
Census returns: The library holds a limited range of local records but they will not have access to returns dating from 1911 until 2012.There are also copies of the Kelly's dictionaries which show the occupations of local residents. These records are stored in hard copy and must be requested from a librarian.
Dartford Library
Census returns: These are stored on microfilm format and contain information about parishes of the Hundred of Axtane. Years covered include: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891. Census material from 1911 onwards will be published in 2012.
Parish registers: Transcripts of registers can be viewed only on microfiche. These include copies of typed and indexed registers. They show the range of dates covered but there may not be an entry for each year. Exact copies of each page of original parish registers can be found on microfilm. Many of the records of local events date back to the Reformation.
Local newspapers: Newspapers included are mostly contained on microfilm. They are: the Dartford and Swanley Chronicle (now the Dartford Times) from 1869 to 1896 and 1899 to date; West Kent Advertiser from 1910 to 1915 and 1937; Dartford Reporter from 1960 to 1970 and 1982 to 1987.
Directories: Post Office/Kelly directories of Kent can be found on microfiche for the years 1792 to 1938. Some are stored in book form and the newer directories are mostly business orientated. Dartford directories are also included for the years 1863 to 1914, 1920 to 1932, 1935, 1939 and 1952.
Maps, plans and posters: There are numerous maps contained in the library, plans of local buildings and developments and posters on a range of events. The maps focus on particular subjects such as bomb distribution, land usage, agricultural classification and Goad shopping plans for Dartford (from 1971) and Swanley (from 1990). Ordnance Survey maps exist from 1868 to1869, 1890s, 1900s, 1930s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s up to the present.
A wide range of books about local history can also be found in the library along with electoral registers, poll books, administrative records, periodicals, ephemera files and a large collection of photographs and prints.
Newspapers that may help you with your search
Edenbridge:
Edenbridge Chronicle
Winterton House
High Street
Westerham
Kent
TN16 1ATTel: 01732 865455
Fax: 01732 863008e-mail: chronicle@clara.net
Edenbridge Courier
34a High Street
Tonbridge
Kent
TN9 1EJTel: 01732 304052
E-mail: editor@courier.co.uk
Fax: 01732 304051
www.thisiskentandeastsussex.co.uk
Sevenoaks:
Sevenoaks Chronicle
54 High Street
Sevenoaks
Kent
TN13 1JTel: 01732 228000
e-mail: editor@chronicle.co.uk
www.thisiskentandeastsussex.co.uk
Swanley:
Swanley Messenger
20 Lowfield Street
Dartford
Kent
DA1Tel: 01322 220791
Kentish Times - Swanley edition
Roxby House
Station Road
Sidcup
Kent
DA15 7EPTel: 020 8269 7000
Using the Internet to help trace family or friends
Visit the Direct.gov trace your family history webpages
BT find a number will give access to the official British Telecom website. Find a number is a useful search-engine that locates every person with the same surname in a given area.
www.localhistory.co.uk accesses a general history site containing information about local government and people. The Public Records Office is a useful site to visit as it gives access to the records of the central government of the UK and English law courts. Reference material is indexed with records for parish, town and county records.
The National Archive is another useful site to trace family history www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
www.friendsreunited.co.uk can help you to contact your old school friends or work colleagues and www.genesreunited.co.uk can help you search for your family.
