British and Irish Record Society Publications at the Toronto Reference Library by Jane MacNamara OGS 8157

At least 400 clubs and associations in the United Kingdom were publishing transcriptions of original manuscripts before 1933. My source for this number of 400 is a wonderful bibliography complied by Edward Mullins in 1933. These groups went by many different names, but for the purposes of this article, I'll refer to them all as "record societies". Many of these record societies had started publishing prior to 1850 nearly 100 years before Mullins did his biography. Their efforts included things like parish registers, probate records, tax lists, and heraldic visitations.

To put this publishing into perspective, we need to remember that this was in a day before microfilm, and before photocopies. The only way to produce a duplicate copy of a manuscript, to preserve the information, was to transcribe it by hand, have it typeset, then printed and bound as a book. These were primarily sold by subscription to members, which included libraries and similar institutions, like the Toronto Reference Library. Many record societies still exist, or were re-formed after dying out for a while. Some have been publishing continuously now for 150 years.

The Toronto Reference Library (TRL) has traditionally had a very British emphasis. They collected almost all the British history material they could get their hands on, including the serial publications of numerous record societies. They have several runs of these serials that predate the formation of the Toronto Public Library in the 1880s.

I found publications in the TRL from more than 80 British and Irish record societies, and I've no doubt that there are others. I've selected a few examples, to demonstrate the variety of material available.

The Harleian Society was founded in 1869, with the purpose of publishing the heraldic visitations of the counties, and other manuscripts relating to genealogy, family history and heraldry. The TRL has a full set of their publications, and continues to subscribe. Each volume has its own subject entries in the catalogue.

The Surtees Society was formed in 1834 to publish "unedited manuscripts illustrative of the intellectual, the moral, the religious, and the social condition of those parts of England and Scotland, included on the east between the Humber and the Firth of Forth, and on the west between the Mersey and the Clyde, a region which constituted the Ancient Kingdom of Northumberland." The Toronto Free Library joined the Surtees Society in 1883. Toronto Reference has also acquired the earlier editions, and holds a complete run from 1835.

The Spalding Club has had three incarnations. So you need to look for references to the Spalding Club, the New Spalding Club, and the Third Spalding Club. Their emphasis is AberdeenÑboth city and shire. The Toronto Reference Library holds an incomplete collection, dating from 1854.

The Camden Society was formed in 1840 in London, and in 1897 amalgamated with the Royal Historical Society. From that point the Royal Historical Society published a Camden series along with their regular publications. They have a greater London emphasis. The Royal Historical Society published a bibliography of their publications in 1925. (Hall, Hubert. List and index of the publications of the Royal Historical Society and of the Camden Society 1840-1897. London: Royal Historical Society, 1925.)

The Toronto Reference Library holds publications of the Kent Archaeological Society dating back to its founding in 1858. The term archaeological has a much broader meaning than we give it today, covering documents as well as artifacts and buildings. Antiquarian is another word that seems to cover an equally broad spectrum. The TRL's holdings for the Kent Archaeological Society are mostly on microform.

The Scottish Record Society is well represented at the TRL. Recent volumes are on the open shelf, while a complete run of the earlier material, dating from 1898, is on microfilm. The microfilmed material must be accessed through a finding aid at the Special Collections Desk.
Now the question is how to locate this record society material at the TRL. The first plan of attack is the TRL catalogue. There is an enormous amount of material, but you may need to coax the catalogue a bit to tell you about it. The initial search page allows for key word searches under subject, title or author. There is a button on the right side of the page that allows you to select additional searches, including key words in any field. Most of the record society publications on paper are catalogued by subject, the most reliable being "place". You should be searching on various geographic levels, from parish to city, to county. This type of search should also find you material published by genealogical societies and other organizations.

Your search may lead you to an entry that specifies a collection of books or microform that are not individually catalogued. If the entry states that the material was filmed from a collection of the Royal Historical Society, ask at the Special Collections desk for: Publications of the English record societies and the Index Library on microfiche. Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1978, and Analytical catalogue of English record society publications. Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1982. These are annotated with the library's holdings.

To find out the contents of an uncatalogued series, your best bet is a series of bibliographies by Edward Mullins.

Mullins, E.L.C. A guide to the historical and archaeological publications of societies in England and Wales, 1901-1933. London: Athone Press, University of London, 1968.

Mullins, E.L.C. Texts and calendars: an analytical guide to serial publications. [covers 1934-c1957] London: Royal Historical Society, 1958.

Mullins, E.L.C. Texts and calendars II: an analytical guide to serial publications, 1957-1982. London: Royal Historical Society, 1983.

The first Mullins volume is the most valuable. Societies are listed alphabetically, with their publications listed chronologically. There is a short explanation for each publication, if the title is not self explanatory. The whole book is indexed very thoroughly. The second and third volumes bring the list up to 1982, but on a much more limited scale. A continuation of the Texts and Calendars series has been undertaken by the Historical Manuscripts Commission on their web site: http://www.hmc.gov.uk/socs/list.htm

It is much easier to find a publication in the TRL catalogue if you know it exists, and if you know the exact title. The Mullins bibliographies will help you do this. But you should also look for an index or catalogue published by the record society itself, or a bibliography for the county or city. The LDS Family History Library Catalogue is also a good source. You can do a place searchÑmaking sure you look at all geographic levelsÑor search by author. Once you find the title, check the TRL catalogue: http://www.tpl.toronto.on.ca/

Below are listed the more than 80 record societies I found represented in the TRL's collection.

British and Irish Record Society Publications at the Toronto Reference Library:

Mullins, E.L.C. A guide to the historical and archaeological publications of societies in England and Wales, 1901-1933. London: Athone Press, University of London, 1968. call number-016.9142 M78

Mullins, E.L.C. Texts and calendars: an analytical guide to serial publications. [covers 1934-c1957] London: Royal Historical Society, 1958. call number-016.941 M78

Mullins, E.L.C. Texts and calendars II: an analytical guide to serial publications, 1957-1982. London: Royal Historical Society, 1983. call number-016.941 M78 2

This series is continued by the Historical Manuscripts Commission as "Texts and calendars since 1982: A survey" on their web site: http://www.hmc.gov.uk/socs/list.htm

For most TRL record society publications on film and fiche, see:

Publications of the English record societies and the Index Library on microfiche. Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1978. (annotated copy at Special Collections desk)

Analytical catalogue of English record society publications. Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1982. (annotated copy at Special Collections desk)

Other Bibliographies:

Institute of Historical Research. Guide to the historical publications of the societies of England and Wales. (This is a series of bulletins, bound together covering 1929-1948.) call number-906 L58.2

Terry, Charles Sanford. A catalogue of the publications of the Scottish historical and kindred clubs and societies. Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons, 1909. call number-941 T26

Blackburn, Robert H. A joint catalogue of the periodicals and serials in the libraries of the city of Toronto. (5th edition) Toronto: University of Toronto, 1953. (earliest edition was 1898) call number-016.05 J57 1953 in Baldwin Room

© Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch. Last Updated January 2006