Lives Behind the Stones
This was a Heritage Lottery funded project with the original aim of preserving records of early burials at the Jewish Gilroes site in response to some worrying signs of subsidence and deterioration of the land. The project developed into cataloguing the entire Jewish Cemetery so that the website now provides a full genealogical research facility.
With a team of six coordinators and over thirty volunteers, the project took place over a period of twelve months during 2013/14. All the stones were photographed for the database. Small plaques were made for any unmarked plots, new row markers were installed and three information boards were erected at the entrance to the site for ease of plot location. Volunteers helped with inputting basic information into the database and researching those names which looked as if they might tell a story.
The Team
The Team, led by Rosalind Adam, included Howard Freeman in charge of website, database and photography, Sandra Cohen in charge of administration and finance, Laurence Jacobs in charge of cataloguing plots and plans, Carol Cambers in charge of research and Prof. Newman as historical adviser.
Learning to Research
With the help and support of the Leicestershire and Rutland Records Office, a group of volunteers were shown the basic skills needed for family research.