Archive LeadsWhat is being looked for, what is in hand, and what is still waiting on access.
Current leads
Estate ledger fragments — private collection· Antigua[Awaiting access]

Family holds partial ledger pages from the late nineteenth century. Need to arrange a proper viewing before any of it can be cited.

Parish baptism register — microfilm· St. John's[In hand]

Microfilm copy obtained. Cross-referencing the family names against the compensation claim records for the same parish.

Shipping manifest series — national archive· New Zealand[Partial]

Records for the relevant decades are split between two institutions. One side has been read, the other is still being requested.

Oral history recordings — family-held cassettes· Multiple[Being digitised]

Cassettes from the 1970s and 1980s. Quality is uneven. A few are clearly the only surviving account of a particular boundary or marriage.

Working rules

Read the will before the diary. Family papers usually settle who got the land before they settle how anyone felt about it.

Always cross-check the parish register against the compensation claim for the same name and the same decade.

Cassettes from a family kitchen are sources too. They should be transcribed, dated, and stored alongside the official material, not in a separate box.