Blackwood is where? England or Wales?
My family searched for YEARS, if not decades , to find a location named Blackwood, England. This is the only information my grandmother had. Turns out it was Blackwood, Wales.
I am still seeing both Blackwood, Monmouthshire, Wales and Blackwood, Monmouthshire, England.
Which is the standardized place?
Answers
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The places database has it as being in Wales (with "United Kingdom" added at the end for post-1801 events):
https://www.familysearch.org/research/places/?focusedId=10581436&text=Blackwood%20Wales
That being said, for historical curiosity purposes, Wikipedia does go into detail about the legal ambiguity as to which jurisdiction Monmouthshire belonged:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monmouthshire_(historic)
Thanks.
-MAC
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The use of "United Kingdom" as the preferred standardization for Wales, Scotland, England, and Ireland is frustrating because it fakes out some FT users, and can delay research. For example, when using the FT Fan Chart - Birth Country Option, new users get confused. With UK used as the standardized birth place, you see only one color used for 4 different countries, with vastly different histories and language origins. One of my English friends compares the use of UK to putting North America at the end of a place description, as in Sandy, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, North America. He says it is absurd. If folks in the UK say that, perhaps the places people should reconsider pushing the UK designation as a first offer in the standardization drop down for people to select, or for FS to automate its use.
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The question of whether Monmouthshire is part of England or part of Wales has been debated for centuries. Monmouthshire's status was somewhat ambiguous between 1542 and 1974. It was considered by some as part of England and by others as part of Wales.
As early as the Domesday Survey in 1086 , Monmouth area was reckoned as part of the English county of Herefordshire. The area, along with others became Monmouthshire, included in the of land from Pembrokeshire through south Wales to the Welsh Borders.
The Laws in Wales Act 1535 integrated Wales directly into the English legal system and the Country or Dominion of Wales was allocated to existing and new shires. Some were annexed to existing counties in England and some were annexed to existing counties in Wales, with the remainder being divided up into new counties, one of which was Monmouthshire.
Although the original Act of 1535 specifically includes Monmouthshire as being in the "Country or Dominion of Wales",
There is a great deal of information about this debate - so far as FamilySearch Places is concerned, we have made Monmouthshire part of Wales.
Please feel free to read the discussion on this Wikipedia link, and decide for yourself which you want to record in your family member's records.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monmouthshire_(historic)
Your ancestor's place representation for Blackwood has been upgraded, and you can find Blackwood in the parish of Bedwellty in the counties of Monmouthshire, Gwent, and then in Caerphilly.
Best regards,
Authorities Team
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Interesting on Monmouthshire in Wales or England, But what about using UK (United Kingdom) as the last place designation. It that really desiable?
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This question has been asked many times. We have heard both sides of the UK question. The decision was made to include UK in our place names after 1801, but it doesn't replace England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland in the place-names.
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But it seems that the suggested standardization of places always starts with those containing UK, despite the date/year.
It is a pain to have to scroll down and find the correct designation,
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I will suggest to those who decide the priority ratings that they put UK places down and move the earlier places up. I cannot make promises that they will change things, but I'll do my best to let them know your feelings on the matter.
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