During the early days of this site there was nothing to archive as the whole site in its way is an archive. Then as people found the site and starting using the message board to seek out others who had been researching common ancestors it became apparent that the message board would become too unwieldy to hold all this information. It was then decided to archive earlier posts here for safety and for the use of future visitors, thus keeping the message board live and up to date.
The original family history message board was an off site resource. This provided us with secure, free hosting whilst we experimented to find out what you, the user, required and found of use. The downside was the odd pop-up but remember that these paid for the service we were given.
As this service only allowed 300 current posts periodically the older posts were archived here so they wouldn't be lost.
If the people who have posts which are now included in this archive have left email links then they are still accessible to reply to for further direct email discussion.
The current archive is that taken of the complete message board as at 14/07/2004 and thus will have no newer posts than that date. To view the new 'live' board use the menu under the Interact link - otherwise to view the archive click here:
Current Archive. Older posts that are no longer active but contain valuable information can be found here.
Original Live version - Still active. If you are still involved in a discussion on the old message board, or find it simpler to use, it is still live at present and can be found here.
Originally intended as an 'add on' to the site it has become very important in its own right for the following reasons:
- It is written by you and answered by our helpful 'members' who often have an answer or clue for you.
- It has connected distant relatives across the seas with a common ancestry.
- New people are always turning up on it, with new information.
- It's a great place to make new friends.
- It now has a lot of information on it about family names, specific people and places.
As a consequence it has become its own entity and very successful. The main reasons for this are:
- The uniqueness of Whitstable and the Oyster Dredgers in the hundred year period from 1793 - the period that many start seaching in. This ensured the insular nature of the people and their marriages within the community which result in such close cross-linking from your ancestors to those of other researchers.
- The supporters of this site who are so willing to share their own hard work with others who may have found that they too have roots in the town.
There are other such forums and message boards on the internet, many of which are extremely good and dwarf this one by comparison, but if your interest is specifically Whitstable then keep a lookout here as new pearls are always being discovered.
