1. Introduction / What to do first!

We appreciate your decision to join our Society and have pleasure in sending you further information about what the Society can offer you. We would like to introduce you to our members in the next Mecca News, help you find 'relations' you never knew you had, and see if any of the Metcalfe Society records holds additional information you may not have. To help us to help you, please take the time to do two things :

Send a copy of your Metcalfe family details, with return postage to the Archivist, who will then research our records for additional information. You will then receive from the Archivist the following :
- Updates to your Metcalfe Family Line.
- Details of any members that you are connected to.

The Archivist will also prepare your Birth Brief (short details of your line) for publication in the Mecca News. You can update your Birth Brief with any significant discoveries by submitting a copy directly to the Editor. Should you prefer to keep your family details confidential, a request to the Archivist will ensure that nothing is published without your permission.

2. The Mecca News

"The Mecca News" is published three times per year in April, August and December. The normal deadlines for the Editor to receive material are 1st February, 1st June and 1st of November respectively. Any Metcalfe (the use of Metcalfe implies any variation, e.g. Metcalf, Medcalfe etc.) article, amusing snippets, pleas or offers of help should be sent to our Editor, whose address appears in section 18. It is a case of "the more the merrier" - the newsletter is our mouthpiece and is the easiest way of reaching all members. If you have anything to say, say it in the Mecca News. If you would like to order back copies of the Mecca News, see the enclosed Sales Order Form. A sample can be seen here.

3. The Mecca Muster & AGM

This, our flagship event is held on the first Saturday in October at Askham Bryan College, York, North Yorkshire. Invitations and Registration Forms are despatched to members with the April and August editions of the Mecca News. The Muster provides an opportunity to study all of our records and to meet with your correspondents and newly discovered relatives. Society publications and other articles are displayed for sale. If you feel able to help in the work or organisation of our Society then the AGM offers you the chance to join the team of committee workers, where you will be made very welcome.

4. The Computer Index

The Computer Index was begun as a card index in 1980 by our first President, Helen Offer, and eventually held over 20,000 cards. This became too unwieldy and difficult to transport so the decision was taken in 1989 to "computerise". We used, and still do, IBM PC's and IBM Filing Assistant to hold over 80,000 records which are taken from family trees, parish registers, census returns etc. Individual entries, which may have multiple sources, contain all known facts such as christian names, birth, baptism, marriage and death details etc,etc. We are currently reviewing our whole computer software and hardware strategy to decide how to migrate to software that will meet our current and future needs.

ENQUIRIES.....write to the "Archivist" . Always enclose a stamped addressed envelope (SAE), or for overseas enquiries, 2 IRCs (International Reply Coupons).

Send all known details about the person in question. For example, it may be as much as "John Metcalfe who married Jane Jones at Aysgarth on 2nd March 1838 at age 26 and gave his father's name as William Thomas Metcalfe, sheep doctor"; OR, it may be as little as "John Metcalfe buried at Aysgarth in 1854 aged 42". In any case, a detailed search will be made to see if there is further information held within the vast databases that The Society hold - our own Computer Index, IGI records and General Registration Index 1837-1920. Members are allowed at least two searches free of charge per annum in return for SAE/IRCs - we reserve the right to charge 10p per page for printouts if the situation warrants it. Non-members will be asked to pay £20 per search and 50p per page.

5. General Registration Index

The General Registration Index is a record of all Births, Marriages & Deaths in England from July 1837 to the present day. This index was previously held at St Catherine's House, and is now at the Family Records Centre, London. They are becoming more widely available at various centres but The Society is proud to announce that members have recently completed the collection and indexing of all Births, Marriages and Deaths for Metcalfes (& spelling variations) from 1837 to 1940 and beyond. Committee member Patrick Malham has arranged these into alphabetical and chronological order. Search enquiries in this Index should be directed to the Archivist with SAE/IRCs. This Index is also available for individual viewing and research at the Mecca Muster. Patrick would appreciate help with collecting new records. Please contact him (see section 18) if you would like to contribute in this way.

6. 1881 and 1891 Census Returns Index

The 1881 Census Returns Indexes for the whole of England and the 1891 census returns for all of the northern countries have been collected and indexed for all Metcalfes (and spelling variants of course).

In 1881, there was a Metcalfe in every county in England except Huntingdonshire! So if you want to know where a specific Metcalfe was living in England in 1881, we have it all indexed. Enquiries should be directed to the Archivist with SAE/IRCs. This index is also available for individual viewing and research at the Mecca Muster.

7. Lists

Are you looking for a particular birth in a particular parish ..... and so need to do some research? STOP! Before you get started.... someone may have already done the research and sent it to the Society, and done the work for you!!! When they send it to the Society, it becomes a 'List'. The collection of ALL references to any Metcalfe is of prime importance to the Society.

What is a "List" ? It comprises FULL details of those individuals recorded by our members from any one source. This can be from parish registers, census returns etc: For example :- "Ripon, North Yorkshire, Cathedral baptisms 1821 to 1900"..... means that details of all Metcalfes baptised at Ripon Cathedral between those years have been recorded and will be entered in the Computer Index with a reference to the unique List Number. Please note that a LIST may cover a short or a long time span, there are no fixed rules. However we do ask members to follow a few guidelines :

a) to be extremely accurate in the recording of ALL the details from the original source.
b) to name the village, parish, town, and county.
c) to be accurate as to which months/years have been covered.
d) to record if all Metcalfe references have been taken or just a selection of those in the source.
e) to note carefully the source reference in each case.

Where do members send LISTS ? All should be sent to the List Coordinator, whose name and address appears in section 18. To discover what has already been collected for the area of ones own particular interest, send a SAE or 2 IRCs to the Archivist, stating which village, town, or parish you are interested in. You will then receive details of what has already been recorded.

8. Family Trees

Members are requested to send detailed copies of their trees for incorporation into the Computer Index.

What do we want to know? Let us have whatever is possible - for example - if all you know about your father's uncle Joe is that he was born around 1825 at Askrigg and was thought to have gone to Canada - then this will do and may well provide a missing link to a Canadian member.

What form of presentation is required? Anything that suits you, just as long as everything is legible. Ensure that your name and membership number are written on all papers and forward to the List Coordinator.

9. Library

The library is well-used by members on a worldwide basis and offers a growing selection of material - a copy of the Library List is enclosed, available from the Librarian. Thanks to the generosity of members our stock is rising steadily. Books may be borrowed by post or may be ordered for collection at Society meetings. In either case, please quote the full title and author. If your request is out on loan it will be forwarded as soon as possible.

Returning books : There is no fixed borrowing period but members are requested to return books as soon as possible - certainly within six weeks. Postage : Members borrowing by post are asked to pay postage BOTH ways plus a contribution of 20p towards packing costs. When returning the book simply enclose stamps to the value of the stamps on the package when it arrives, plus twenty pence. e.g. if the package carried stamps to the total of 54p, you should enclose 74p in postage stamps with the returning book. If you have booklets or other publications which you think might be of interest to members, please send them direct to the Librarian.

10. Publications and Sales Department

A Price List/Order Form is provided and is also issued with each annual subscription renewal form. A separate order form is provided for the purchase of the new society Christmas Cards.

11. The Book : "Metcalfe - History of the Clan"

In October 1998, after 4 years work, The Society published the book "Metcalfe - History of the Clan". The limited edition of 750 copies sold out in less than a year as it was obviously a must for those people who find the name, Metcalfe, somewhere in their family tree - and especially as a present to family members. In addition, those with an interest in the Dales, Yorkshire, social history and family history in general found this book highly appealing. The society is now in the financial position to proceed with a reprint with the aim to make it available in Autumn 2002. Members can register their contact details with the Secretary if they are interested in purchasing a copy. Full details of the reprint will be made available in the Mecca News.

12. Family Records Centre Visitor

One member of our Society has kindly undertaken to obtain copy certificates from the Family Records Centre (ex St Catherine's House) for members - Mr Julian J. Metcalfe. Current costs are £6.50 per certificate with no charge for expenses. Please make cheques payable to Mr J.J. Metcalfe and provide full GRO reference numbers together with the quarter and year plus the full name. This information can be obtained from the Society's General Registration Index records via the Archivist (with SAE/IRCs - see section 18). Julian is willing to work without the GRO references IF supplied with full names and dates. ALL COSTS MUST BE PREPAID.

13. Affiliations

The Society has been a member of the Guild of One Name Studies for several years; is a full member of the Federation of Family History Societies, and a founder member of the Council of Family Societies. Our advertising campaign is currently in the Family Tree and Practical Family History magazines and the Genealogical Research Directory. We exhibit at the Northern Family History Fair held in June at the Racecourse in York and the North Western Family History Group Family History Fair, held in October, previously held Preston and Stockport, and for 2002 to be held in Manchester.

14. Gift Aid

As a registered charity in the UK, this status allows us to reclaim from the Inland Revenue an amount of tax that aplies to subscriptions from members who are UK taxpayers. This provides an additional income to The Society at no cost to members whatsoever. So if you, or your spouse is a UK taxpayer, may we request that you pay your subscription as a ‘Gift Aid Donation’. To do this, please request the ‘Gift Aid form’ from either the secretary or the Gift Aid Secretary.

15. Internet

In October 1998, the Metcalfe Society launched our own web home page on the Internet. So if you surf the net, you can communicate with other members and some of our computer-literate committee. The aim of our presence on the web is to enable us to find new members especially outside of the UK, and to communicate much more quickly and easily with overseas members. There is also a recently launched secure ‘members only’area on the site. You may request access to this area by sending an e-mail to The Master Membership Keeper. Don’t forget to include your membership number.

16. Glossary of Terms

A complete set of abbreviations that are used throughout our records and publications can be found at the front of the Birth Brief Booklet that you receive with your membership pack.

Note: Full contact details for The Society are supplied with the membership packs, and are available to existing members through the 'Members Only' area of this web site.

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