I know it's not Friday afternoon, but this, from the
Canadian list was irresistible
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An absolutely true (honest to gosh) event, which I think would qualify
for the "Archival Enquiry of the Month Award", if we had one.
Part of my letter to client:
"... Since the birth you seek occurred before 1869, Vital Statistics
won't help. You should look for a church baptismal record. Ascertain
the probable place of birth, use the census to determine the likely
denomination of the parents and visit the relevant church archive....."
Letter back from client a month later:
"I don't want to accuse you of deliberately misleading me, but I have
hunted high and low and nobody seems to have heard of the Relevant
Church Archives. The Archives of Ontario told me there is no such
thing as the Relevant Church. They said I should ask Mrs. Bunting where
she saw the reference to the Relevant Church. I think you should
explain yourself."
I wonder which archivist at A.O. dealt with this? Probably sitting in
the stacks gasping with laughter.
Jennifer Bunting
Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
Reply-To: Jennifer Bunting <[log in to unmask]>
Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]>
--- End Forwarded Message ---
Caroline Williams
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[log in to unmask]
Caroline Williams, Director
Liverpool University Centre for Archive Studies
School of History
University of Liverpool
9 Abercromby Square
Liverpool L69 7WZ
tel +44(0)151 794 2390
fax +44(0)151 794 2366
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