Lydiate’s People CD

Family History Group

For those who do not know it Lydiate is a village set in the rich arable farmlands lying between Liverpool, Southport and the Western Pennines.  For those who do know Lydiate the CD, which we have just published, will  be of great interest particularly anyone interested in family history. This unique CD is the fruit  of several years work researched by the  members of our Family History group. Using various websites and microfiche sources we have downloaded from the censuses between the years 1841  and 1871 the details of every inhabitant of Lydiate. One member Grahame Settle, whose coffee mug bears the phrase ‘I love spreadsheets’,  fed all the gathered information into spreadsheets and produced analyses of names, surnames,  ages, etc.  Others have contributed further information from that period showing demographic and social changes and  occupational activity.   Maps will enable users to locate their family members and interactive transcriptions will enable those interested to identify their family members. Pam Russell has added Lydiate’s previous history and edited the whole enterprise adding a very comprehensive bibliography. The result is a computer compatible CD painting a picture of Lydiate in those years together with Excel friendly  interactive lists of all inhabitants in the four Censuses

The CD will also be of interest to those unfamiliar with Lydiate but who would like to see how an English rural community was changing in the 1800s

John Jackson