Getting the best out of NAAIRS for South African Research

Though NAAIRS has become increasingly well-known to family historians researching South African ancestry, many aren’t sure how to use the index to best advantage. This is partly because of uncertainty as to what they’re likely to find in the various available file types.

Which files offer the most useful information for family history purposes? Public records naturally weren’t generated for the benefit of genealogy research. How to discriminate between the types of records, pruning your list of references, saving time and expense and achieving optimum results?

Read the list of source codes used at each repository: these are a vital aid in understanding what sort of files you’ve turned up during a search of the index. See the source codes for SA archives repositories at:
http://www.national.archives.gov.za/sourcesindex.htm

One of the most informative sources in the South African context is the deceased estate file and will be discussed in many more posts. In Natal, deceased estate files carry the code MSCE (Master of Supreme Court Estates). This is not to be confused with an insolvent estate, coded MSC in Natal. Insolvent estates can provide useful detail and shouldn’t be overlooked; they may include an inventory of an ancestor’s possessions e.g. in 1849 items listed in an insolvent estate were:

‘gunpowder, shott, caps, 1 pistol, boots, 2 waistcoats, velvet coat, handkerchiefs, socks and shirts, bed linen, tools, a trunk, a pair of moleskin trousers, 1 toilet glass, books, knives, forks, silver spoons and 1 lot of doctor’s instruments …’

A few lines giving a glimpse into this man’s life in the colony: perhaps the most revealing and personal description his descendants are ever likely to find.

Navigating Mole's Genealogy Blog

I note from time to time that blog visitors aren't getting the most out of the search facility on my blog.

For example, someone has entered 'deceased estates sa online archives', This will not bring up any helpful hits on the blog. Try going to the tab 'Beginners Guide' where there is a detailed explanation of estate files as well as Death Notice and Death Certificate. There are also single posts which should come up if 'deceased estates' only is entered in the search facility.  In any case, if you are just starting out on SA ancestry, the Beginners Guide is a pretty good place to begin.

Make sure the topic you are looking for is correctly spelled, otherwise the search facility won't be able to help you - it isn't that clever! e.g. if looking for the ship Dudbrook, entering Dodbrook or Dubrook will blow the search facility's little furry mind.

Recent Blog Queries

At the top of this blog is a tab which takes you to the Beginners Guide to South African Research. Click on the tab to access the guide: it may answer many of the queries which I receive via the search facility and comments form. If you are new to South African family history - and this also includes overseas ancestral links with Britain and other countries (no boundaries in internet genealogy) - read the guide for a general overview and helpful tips.

To start researching your South African ancestors go to NAAIRS at
www.national.archives.gov.za/ 

For the numerous people requesting details on the Anglo-Boer War, although there are several relevant posts on this blog (use the search facility at the top of the blog page), for more in-depth information go to
www.angloboerwar.com/ 

You are welcome to post comments on any topic using the appropriate comment form on this blog. 

Interested in the Waratah? See the new blog on this controversial topic at www.waratahrevisited.blogspot.com/

Emigrants dining on board ship: 1850s

Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository Update

Good news re the return of archivalia to this Natal Repository. The first to arrive home from their sojourn in temporary storage are the MSCE - Deceased Estate - files: currently up to 1951 are available to the public.

The entire exercise, i.e. the transfer of all archivalia back to the Repository, is expected to take several months. As each group is returned, access will be temporarily suspended while unpacking and re-shelving takes place.

It’s a mammoth task and during this phase the staff at Pietermaritzburg deserve continued patience and understanding from family historians and other researchers.

File types useful in SA family history research

Divorce records provide addresses, career details, names of children and who received custody and reveal financial and other circumstances of both plaintiff and defendant. If the cause of divorce was adultery, another person's name may be cited in the proceedings: this could lead to finding a spouse's later change of surname and from there to a deceased estate file for a second husband.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of divorce files is that a copy of the marriage certificate may be found among the documents. The term 'illiquid' (illiquidation) cases is applied to divorces, but can also refer to the dissolution of business partnerships. The latter may offer addresses for the ancestor concerned and tell us more about the rise or fall of his fortunes at that point.

Divorce records are indexed under the archives of the Supreme Court in each province: in Natal the code RSC applies, in the Cape CSC, in the Transvaal WLD and in the Orange Free State, HG.

Though divorce files can be either depressing or intriguing, depending on your point of view, they are certainly worth accessing.

Getting the best out of NAAIRS

Though NAAIRS has become increasingly well-known to family historians researching South African ancestry, many aren’t sure how to use the index to best advantage. This is partly because of uncertainty as to what they’re likely to find in the various available file types.

Which files offer the most useful information for family history purposes? Public records naturally weren’t generated for the benefit of genealogy research. How to discriminate between the types of records, pruning your list of references, saving time and expense and achieving optimum results?

Read the list of source codes used at each repository: these are a vital aid in understanding what sort of files you’ve turned up during a search of the index. See the source codes for SA archives repositories at:
www.national.archives.gov.za/sourcesindex.htm

One of the most informative sources in the South African context is the deceased estate file and will be discussed in future posts. In Natal, deceased estate files carry the code MSCE (Master of Supreme Court Estates). This is not to be confused with an insolvent estate, coded MSC in Natal. Insolvent estates can provide useful detail and shouldn’t be overlooked; they may include an inventory of an ancestor’s possessions e.g. in 1849 items listed in an insolvent estate were:

‘gunpowder, shott, caps, 1 pistol, boots, 2 waistcoats, velvet coat, handkerchiefs, socks and shirts, bed linen, tools, a trunk, a pair of moleskin trousers, 1 toilet glass, books, knives, forks, silver spoons and 1 lot of doctor’s instruments …’

A few lines giving a glimpse into this man’s life in the colony: perhaps the most revealing and personal description his descendants are ever likely to find.

Hiring a researcher in South Africa

Lists of professional freelance researchers for each province are given, with contact details, on the NARS (National Archives of South Africa) website.
www.national.archives.gov.za/
Note that these details are not regularly updated as they should be.

If you decide to delegate to a local SA researcher, it speeds things up if you’ve done your homework first and are able to provide full source references from NAAIRS, copying and pasting these from the Results Details (not Results Summary) section of the index.

If you haven’t been able to find a relevant reference to your ancestor on NAAIRS try to give the researcher a reasonable amount of family history detail as a starting point: not your entire family tree going back to William the Norman, but somewhere between that extreme and minimal information.

Questions to ask (other than the important matter of costs and preferred method of payment) include whether the researcher will provide information as transcripts or as digital image files. Photocopying – on a flatbed copier – is not permitted in deceased estate material, and is in any case often impossible due to the size and binding of older volumes.

For preservation reasons, access may be denied to files (of any type, not only deceased estate files) which are in a fragile condition. So, don’t shoot the messenger if a researcher reports that a required file cannot be ordered.

More tips for finding SA ancestors on NAAIRS

Getting back to using NAAIRS for South African family history research: a common mistake amongst first-time users of the index is placing two search terms on one line of the search form. Detach surname from forename and enter the words on two separate lines of the form. Also make use of the Beginning and Ending features at the foot of the form to give a date parameter for your search: this helps limit unnecessary hits, especially if the surname is commonly-found.

If you’re looking for a deceased estate file for your ancestor, remember that if he died in South Africa comparatively recently, say within the last 30 years, the estate reference would not be reflected on the index e.g. in Natal deceased estate files up to 1974 are shown on NAAIRS.

There are two non-archival databases on NAAIRS: the Bureau of Heraldry (HER) and Gravestone Inscriptions recorded by the Genealogical Society of South Africa (GEB). Under the MAN database are National Registers of Manuscripts (NAREM) and Photographs (NAREF). On these you can search libraries and museums as well as archival repositories. NAREM could lead you to a shipboard diary: first prize would be one written by your own forebear but accounts by contemporary travellers can be useful. NAREF could help you locate a photograph of an ancestor.