SEARCH OVER 350 YEARS OF

OFFICIAL RECORDS FOR FREE

• Military promotions and gallantry awards
• State honours and awards
• Deceased estates notices
• Insolvency notices
Need help? Our research service team can
help you with your search from just £30.

Visit www.thegazette.co.uk to create your account and get started.

 Travelling &
time travelling

I
hope that your summer is Shepheard’s article this month,
going well, even really well, particularly sums this up, when
perhaps with the chance he writes ‘Modified ways of living
to get out and about and and working were required that
explore. I hope you’ve managed to would ensure survival of people
feed ‘body’ with cream teas from and communities’. Ring any bells,
National Trust tea shops and ‘soul’ anyone? Wayne was referring
with visits to archives and historic to life in the late 17th and 18th
properties, time-travelling down centuries, but it is a sentence that
the streets your ancestors once could have been applied to our
walked or paying your respects at times just as well too couldn’t it.
the graveyards and cemeteries in We’d love to hear more about
which they now lie to rest. how you’re doing with your
The path out of the pandemic family history in the current
is not a straight and easy one, and climate, whether that’s about
the woes and weird and wonderful your experiences of getting out
rules under which we’ve lived and about, or your preference to
for the past 18 months are sure research from home. Do drop
to have put us in mind of our us a line, and happy searching.
ancestors, and the struggles they However it is that you’re going Working from home, pre-Industrial Revolution style:
had to deal with as well. Wayne about it – enjoy! weaver’s cottage, lace maker, basket makers

DNA Bootcamp
Totally stum is back!
Helen Tovey about DNA?
ped Join us for the DNA
EDITOR Join us for o
ur ‘Absolute
Bootcamp, 8-week course
starting Wed 29 September,
helen.t@family-tree.co.uk Beginners’ w
ebinar, live on Zoom, with DNA
1 September,
family-tree.co
£10: w ww. Detective Michelle Leonard.
.uk/how-to- To find out more, please visit:
guides/webin
ars/ www.family-tree.co.uk/how-
to-guides/webinars/
October issue of
Family Tree is on sale
from 10 September

Like to get in touch with us?

Please find our contact details on page 80,
Just starting your or join the Family Tree community online, see below
family history?
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Find advice to get started at
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www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 3

 Contents
September 2021 Vol 37 No 11
p30

ON THE COVER

p54

INSIDE THIS ISSUE... 30 WORK, LIFE & FAMILY

IN THE INDUSTRIOUS
5 FAMILY HISTORY NEWS REVOLUTION
Rachel Bellerby reports on Wayne Shepheard looks at the
the latest from the world of era in which we moved from that
family history of survival into a time of relative
plenty, adapting our working lives
10 MAKING THE MOST OF to suit the current world
YOUR RESEARCH &
DAYS OUT 38 PRISONERS OF THE
Insights and advice for taking
our research into the real world
GREAT WAR
Simon Wills explore the records to
p21
of archives, graveyards and the help your research into PoWs
places of our ancestors once more
40 TWIGS 60 SPOTLIGHT ON...
16 SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Gill Shaw stumbles upon a crime, Weston-super-Mare & District
Sign up today with our DNA in which her ancestor is the victim, Family History Society with Peter
Bootcamp special offer! and reflects on the severity of de Dulin
punishments in times past
18 PROJECT 62 YOUR QUESTIONS
‘TRANSFORMATION’ 42 CONSIDER THE Our team tackle your genealogy
The Society of Genealogists shares BIGGER PICTURE research conundrums
news of the next steps in its 110 Family Tree Academy tutor David
year history Annal urges us to research the 70 BOOKS
wider branches of our family trees Helen Tovey, Rachel Bellerby &
21 WHO DECIDES WHO IS and demonstrates the valuable David Frost share their views
EMBARRASSING & WHY? clues this approach can result in
Dr Janet Few reflects on the values 72 DIARY DATES
and behaviour of our ancestors, 48 DNA WORKSHOP Essential family history dates
discussing what they found DNA Advisor Karen Evans helps a
unacceptable and inviting us to reader struggling to make sense of 72 LETTERS
compare with our views today a ThruLines challenge A history of a home & more

28 5 EASY STEPS: TAKE 54 HOW TO FIND YOUR 82 LEDGERS, ACTUAL

YOUR DNA DISCOVERIES MISSING FAMILY IN INDIA LEDGERS
FURTHER WITH ANCESTRY William Barber Taylor presents a Diane Lindsay rummages amongst
Explore the unique range of tools to useful round-up of online sources the real archive quality dust in her
help you to help step up your search study to help a neighbour, as you do

JOIN FAMILY TREE & GET 3 ISSUES FOR £3

Just call 01778 392008 for more details
or go online to visit https://familytr.ee/subs
4 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk
 ALL ABOUT FAMILY HISTORY

NEWS Rachel Bellerby reports on the latest genealogy news.

Got a story to share? Email editorial@family-tree.co.uk

£1MILLION FUNDING FOR ARCHIVE SECTOR

The UK National Archives has announced that the Archives Revealed funding programme will award £1million to
archive services over the next three years.
Archives Revealed is a partnership
programme between the Wolfson
Foundation, The Pilgrim Trust
and The National Archives, and
is the only funding stream in the
UK dedicated to cataloguing and
unlocking archives.
The purpose of Archives Revealed
is to ‘open up significant archive
collections to the public for research
and enjoyment’. These collections
represent the lives and perspectives
of people all across the UK, and Archives Revealed opening event An Archives Revealed volunteer at work
since its inception, Archives Revealed
has funded a wide range of archive-holding organisations. Concorde, its advocates and its critics. While detractors discussed the
Jeff James, CEO and Keeper of The National Archives said of the environmental impact of Concorde, early marketing material found in
award: “At a time when the archive sector, like many other sectors, the collection describes how Concorde would cut journey times and
is going through a challenging time and looking for innovative ways connect people by shrinking the world.
to open up collections to a new and diverse audience, £1million will Aerospace Bristol built their travelling exhibition The World
allow us to make more grants than ever before. This programme is Shrinker around this theme and attracted around 7,000 visitors to
a very real demonstration of how different organisations can make a their marquee at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. They have also used the
huge impact when they work together.” collection in new learning workshops and outreach activities, especially
during the fiftieth anniversary of Concorde’s first flight. Researchers
Archives in action and the public can search the collection on The National Archives’
One example of making archive material accessible to the public is catalogue Discovery and visitors to Aerospace Bristol can now also
the museum Aerospace Bristol, which used their £29,000 grant to interact with the collection at the Concorde Gallery archive station.
catalogue all 328 boxes in their archive collection, transforming this
material into an accessible resource for all. In the newly available Find out more about the Archives Revealed funding programme at:
records, Aerospace Bristol has found stories of the supersonic airliner https://familytr.ee/revealed

Slow return home… Property creator Eleanor

Nearly thirty years after they were stolen from a country Greer with one of the tortoises
mansion in Dorset, four historic bronze tortoises have been © NT Images, James Dobson
recovered and returned home, thanks to an entry spotted
in an auction catalogue
The four tortoises were part of a set of sixteen bronze sculptures created
in 1853 by Italian-born sculptor Baron Carlo Marochetti, for Kingston
Lacy, the former home of 19th-century collector William John Bankes.
The tortoises supported the urns at Kingston Lacy for over 140
years, admired by successive generations of the Bankes family and
by National Trust visitors after the property passed to the charity in
1982. However, four of the sculptures were stolen in 1992. The theft
was reported to the police, and staff swiftly removed the remaining sculptures had been listed for auction. When the seller and the auction
bronze tortoises for safe keeping, replacing all sixteen with replicas house were informed of the history of the items, they were removed
commissioned soon after, which have remained in place ever since. from sale and returned to Kingston Lacy, where they can now be seen
Recently, the National Trust was contacted with the news that the once again by visitors.

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 5

 NEWS
FAMILYSEARCH RELEASE 100,000+ FREE FAMILY HISTORY
RECORDS FOR ENGLAND
This month’s FamilySearch releases include more than 100,000 Middlesex parish registers and 30,000+ non-conformist
church records for Lancashire
The records, include: https://familytr.ee/middlesex All Saints, Harrow Weald,
4,674 Essex Non-Conformist Church 3,864 Surrey Marriages Bonds and Middlesex © John Salmon
Records, 1613-1971 at Licenses, 1536-1992 at
https://familytr.ee/essex https://familytr.ee/surrey
3,553 Lancashire, Marriage Bonds and All of these records have been added to
Allegations, 1746-1799 at existing collections on the FamilySearch
https://familytr.ee/lancs1 database. You can access FamilySearch
31,970 Lancashire Non-Conformist services and resources free online at
Church Records, 1647-1996 at FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000
https://familytr.ee/lancs2 family history centres in 129 countries
101,216 Middlesex Parish Registers, – find your nearest centre at: www.
1539-1988 at familysearch.org/fhcenters/locations

800,000 CRIME AND PRISON RECORDS ADDED

TO FINDMYPAST
Thousands of records relating to crimes carried out between the years 1784 and 1939
- from rural poaching to highway robbery - have been added to FindMyPast.
The 800,000 newly digitised crime records, in association with The Kew, recording the intimate
National Archives, have been added to FindMyPast’s Crime, Prisons details of millions of victims
and Punishment collection, which now comprises 6.6 million records. and villains, beginning with
The new additions span the years 1784-1939 and include registers judges’ recommendations for
of inmates from infamous prisons including Pentonville, Wormwood or against pardons, petitions
Scrubs, Millbank and Newgate as well as governor’s journals, trial through which criminals
records, lists of visitors, men in solitary confinement, baptisms and their families could offer mitigating circumstances and grounds
at women’s prisons and more. Also included are over 1,000 new for mercy, and later, licenses containing everything from previous
mugshots taken at Pentonville in 1876. convictions to the state of a prisoner’s health.
The full collection includes 22 series from the National Archives at Explore at: http://familytr.ee/prison

300,000+ INDIVIDUALS ADDED TO IRISH CATHOLIC PARISH

RECORD COLLECTION AT THEGENEALOGIST
The new Catholic parish registers have links to the original images and cover the county of Carlow, in the south east of Ireland
Before civil registration was introduced in two stages into Ireland, and Ireland, 1859
first in 1845 for non Roman Catholic marriages and then in 1864 • Thom’s Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
for all births, marriages and deaths, the parish registers of the various and Ireland, 1898
denominations were the main records in which Irish ancestors’ vital • Thom’s Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
events would have been recorded. The Roman Catholic church was far and Ireland, 1913
the largest denomination in Ireland and so it is within these records • These expand the Irish directories already in TheGenealogist’s
that the majority of Irish forebears will mostly appear. collection.
Also released at this time are Thom’s Official Directories covering Find out more
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from Victorian about the Irish
times up to the 20th century. These records can help you discover records at: www.
more about the towns and areas, finding the names of people who thegenealogist.
held official municipal or government offices, or were professionals co.uk/
such as doctors, clergy, etc. international/
You can use these books to find Irish businesses from manufacturers ireland/
of ales and agricultural implements to makers of woollens and yarns.
Thom’s directories allow you to find business advertisements as well as Note: the records
search for tradespeople in all parts of Ireland. can be explored by
The directories released in the package include: Diamond subscribers
• Thom’s Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain to The Genealogist.

6 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 ALL ABOUT FAMILY HISTORY

1770-1939 – the years covered 85,959 indiviuals added to TheGenealogist’s

in FindMyPast’s Crime, Prisons and Lloyd George Domesday Survey, bringing the
Punishment collection latest total to one million records

Newly-restored Elizabethan Boarding House explores

the story of its residents over 4 centuries
A rare example of a 400-year-old Elizabethan Boarding House has opened in Plymouth after a six-year restoration project
With its timber frame, bare wooden floors, oak beams, spiral staircase purchase order by the Council. The undertaker was a tall, stern
and earth plaster walls – for 400 years, the Elizabethan house in man. He hoped to get enough money for the house to buy a new
Plymouth has stood almost unaltered. car. He didn’t quite get enough.
The house survived the Blitz, when Plymouth was one of the most The new multi-sensory audio-visual tour of the building lasts for
violently bombed cities in the UK, as well as extensive slum clearances around 45 minutes and is led by the ‘voice’ of the House. Acting as a
in the early 1900s. narrator, she shares her memories with visitors as they are led through
An archaeological survey of the building uncovered items including each of the restored rooms.
glass, ceramics, marbles and animal bones that tell the story of the Tickets are £10/£7.50 concessions/£5 5-17 year olds/free for under
residents of the house over the past four centuries. The curatorial team 5s and must be booked in advance at www.theboxplymouth.com
at Elizabethan House have pieced together a story of what it was like Interested in the history of buildings? Don’t miss October Family
to live in a shared house at various times over the centuries, in one of Tree, featuring the team behind BBC TV’s A House Through Time.
the UK’s most important naval ports. Pre-order your copy at:
Previous known residents include: www.family-tree.co.uk/store/back-issues/family-tree-magazine
• Mary Ann Sturges, who lived in the house in
the mid-19th century. She worked in lace and
had a child, Elizabeth, born out of wedlock.
The father, a Mr Palmer, lived in another room
of the House – they were not married.
• Mary Cooksley was born in Bengal/India (to
white British parents). She married Thomas
Cooksley. Their son, also named Thomas, was
born in the house and went on to become a
merchant seaman. He died in 1940 when his
ship, the SS Sandsend was hit by a
German torpedo. The immersive visitor experience allows The £1.7M restoration included authentic
• Thomas Leaman, who owned the House visitors to see the house through the eyes decoration of the rooms and repair work
when it was bought under compulsory of various residents over the centuries to the external structure and oak timbers

 
        
TheGenealogist has now added a total of over 1 million
individuals to its Lloyd George Domesday Survey record set
with the addition of 85,959 people from the 1910s property
tax records for the Borough of Haringey
Covering the areas of Hornsey Central, Hornsey East, Hornsey West,
as well as Tottenham A, Tottenham B, Tottenham C and Wood Green,
the release is made up of maps and field books that name property
owners and occupiers in an exclusive online resource that allows users
to discover where an ancestor lived in the 1910-1915 period.
When combined with other records such as the 1911 Census, the
IR58 Valuation Office records give researchers additional information
about their ancestors’ home, land, outbuildings and property. While
these records may be searched from the Master Search or main search
page of TheGenealogist, they have also been added to TheGenealogist’s Discover how the area where your ancestor lived
Map Explorer™ so that you can see how the landscape where your changed over the years
ancestor lived or worked changed as the years have passed.
All of the contemporary OS maps are linked to field books that This record set is available to diamond subscribers to TheGenealogist. Find
reveal descriptions of the property, as well as listing the names of out more at www.thegenealogist.co.uk/lloyd-george-domesday/
owners and occupiers.
www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 7
 NEWS
New online access to rare 1810 US federal census
Searchable Records are now available for the only surviving copy of the 1810 federal
census for Salem, Massachusetts
American Ancestors/New England Historic Federal Census for Salem, Massachusetts, with
Genealogical Society has announced a new more than 2,200 records and searchable names (by
database: Salem, MA: United States 1810 Census, first and last name).
the result of a partnership between the Phillips According to American Ancestors, there are likely
Library at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) dozens, if not hundreds, more ‘missing’ census
and American Ancestors/NEHGS after the recent records across the US that are stored in courthouse
discovery that the Phillips Library had the only archives, historical societies, libraries, etc., which
surviving copy of the 1810 Federal Census for staff don’t realize they have in their possession.
Salem, Massachusetts. They hope that this case study will encourage other
There is now is a searchable database of the organisations to take a closer look and see if they
original, approximately 100 handwritten pages, find census documents in their repositories so that
meaning that researchers don’t have to read each they might become accessible to all.
page in its entirety to locate a name. Anyone The database is available to all American Researchers can now search
researching ancestors who lived in Salem in 1810 Ancestors members, including free Guest Members. more than 100 handwritten
can use the database to locate the tallied families. Find out more at https://www.americanancestors. census pages by forename or
The database contains the full pages of the 1810 org/join surname

Canada’s residential schools:

Dig deeper into the lives of
the quest for the truth continues
Recent news reports on Canada’s federal government-
Canadian and US ancestors
established residential schools, are focusing on the War pensioners, British loyalists and Manitoba BMDs are
continued quest to uncover the truth about the children among the new records added to FindMyPast’s Canada and
forced to live in these establishments US collections
Family Tree contributor Wayne Shepheard was one of the many Thousands of Canada and USA records have been added to
researchers who have written about the schools, which began in FindMyPast over the past month, covering centuries of history.
1883 and operated for more than a century. During their time, Manitoba Vital Records covers births, marriages and deaths in
more than 150,000 Indigenous children were removed from their this province of Canada, comprising more than 39,000 individual
families by force and sent to live and be taught in these schools. records. Explore these at https://familytr.ee/manitoba
Those who died were often buried at the school, rather than being Next is an 1840 US census of pensioners of the Revolutionary
returned to their families. The BBC and other news sources have War, covering both veterans and widows, taken as part of the United
recently reported on the discovery of unmarked graves at the former States Federal Census of 1840. The release includes transcripts and
school sites. At the time of writing in July, the discovery of more images that are listed geographically and may provide names of
unmarked graves led to calls for the annual Canada Day celebrations multiple family members not included in the population schedule
to be cancelled out of respect to those who died, and because many of that census. Find the collection at https://familytr.ee/1840
Indigenous communities do not recognise this national holiday. The final collection – British Loyalists at https://familytr.
Read Wayne Shepheard’s blog on the background to the schools ee/loyalist – covers information on those who did not want
at https://familytr.ee/residential independence from British America.

RootsTech Connect 2022 announced

FamilySearch has announced that RootsTech Connect 2022 will take place on 3-5 March 2022, as a
fully virtual family history event
Registration opens in September 2021 and organisers are hoping to that will open to people everywhere.

repeat the success of this year’s online RootsTech Connect, which Continuing with the virtual model,
welcomed more than one million visitors from over 240 countries. RootsTech Connect 2022 will allow people
The announcement included the news that for future events for across the globe to participate for free.
2023 and beyond, RootsTech plans on offering a ‘hybrid online Classes will have a mix of on-demand,
and in-person model with content that is expanded and accessed livestream, and interactive sessions
throughout the year
. where people can socialize, ask questions, and learn from experts and
Steve Rockwood, FamilySearch International CEO, said: ‘After enthusiasts. There will be demonstrations and experiences for all ages
RootsTech Connect 2021, we realized that we could bring the joy of and multicultural celebrations that will connect attendees to their
family history to millions of people, no matter where they are, through family story and to each other.
an online, virtual RootsTech experience. As we continue to chart new Register for the RootsTech newsletter at https://familytr.ee/
territory with RootsTech, we plan to make the virtual event a regular connect22 to get updates on when registration opens – just click
part of the experience and look forward to all the new opportunities Subscribe for Updates near the bottom of the screen.

8 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

VISITING ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES

Making the most of your

research & days out

With the Covid-19 restrictions drawing to a close, many of the venues and attractions at which
we enjoy carrying out family history research are readying to open their doors again. But how do
we navigate this brave new world? Read on for the Family Tree guide to trips & visits in the post-
pandemic world with Twitter genies, Family Tree readers, Helen Tovey & Rachel Bellerby

A
breath of fresh air! have sorely missed. In our guide, we’ll Twitter folk have their say
While Zoom has be looking at topics including: Family Tree Deputy Editor Rachel
been a boon over the • What to expect when you return to Bellerby invited Family Tree Twitter
past year or so, the the archives followers to share their thoughts and
enjoyment of visiting • Top tips on planning a post- views on aspects of family history
archives, libraries, ancestor graveyards, pandemic research trip research that they’ve missed over
historic attractions – and of course • How to make the most of your visits the many months of the pandemic
– actual living family members, is and days out restrictions, and also sought advice
something many family historians We’ll also be including the they’d like to share on returning to
thoughts, views and advice shared by archives. You will find these interesting
some Family Tree readers and Twitter and useful tweets and tips woven
followers. through the pages.
Many of us have individual health
concerns and/or those of loved ones
to worry about, and, as the pandemic
has made us all too well aware, there’s
no single solution that fits all of us; as
Tweets, left: has been said many times now ‘While
Just a few of we’re all in the same storm, we’re in
things missed very different vessels’. However, we
by genealogists hope the insights and ideas to follow
over the past will help you come up with a plan
year during that best suits you, whether that’s
Covid researching at home or out and about.

10 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 ENJOYING HISTORY-INSPIRED DAYS

that week, or had booked them. individual space.

Enjoying being back in a They were able to pre-book me a I was readily given assistance as I
Record Office micro-film reader in advance, so that I needed it, and enjoyed being back in a
Family Tree reader Di Miles could use micro-films after exhausting Record Office.
I have recently been able to access a all the records I had ordered. I I felt totally safe in working there
small County Record Office. I was was able to use the films without and after nearly two weeks later, I do
able to book slots in advance, and restriction. I was also able to use not seem to have picked up the virus,
when the time came, I was able at the volumes of books on the shelves. so I have confidence in their system.
end of each session to book cancelled The tables were provided with anti-
slots for the next day, which was a septic wipes. Requests were placed Archives staff are going to huge
great help as I was away from home! on a trolley and not touched by the lengths to ensure that records are
Restrictions to 6 items was a bit staff in the room. I undertook regular quarantined and desks are well-spaced
limiting, but in practice I found that Tweets: lateral flow testing, in order to ensure to make visits to the repositories as
it was more than adequate, as the time Handy hints for I was not knowingly passing on any safe as possible, and Di Miles has
slots were divided into morning and planning your virus to the staff. Masks were worn as clearly had a very positive experience –
afternoon slots. archive visits, a routine by everyone. something I’d endorse too on my trip
They were flexible about my making shared with Researchers were limited to one late June to Lincolnshire Archives. The
requests for the next day, as long as Family Tree on person per table, or a couple from the records I’d pre-ordered were ready on
no-one else had used those records Twitter same household, which gave plenty of my allocated table in a sealed box, to
which I returned them at the end of
the session. Hand sanitising and mask
wearing throughout was the order of
the day. There were just a few other
visitors, all of us well spaced out,
and the archives staff were extremely
helpful, carefully explaining the
process step by step.
It is worth noting that ordering
systems, visiting hours and access to
the records are all very likely to have

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 11

VISITING ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES

Tweets, above & right: Useful ideas for time in the archives
and for exploring an ancestors’ local area

changed (and will continue to evolve important our health is

too). Some of the rules will seem nowadays).
very similar to pre-Covid times too, 5. And enjoy yourself, and be
however, and planning is always good. friendly to the hardworking
archives staff.
Before you visit:
1. Check the website for opening days Of course it’s not just archives and
and times. record offices that we may wish to
2. You will likely have to prebook visit. Trips to our ancestors’ former
items you’d like to view. There is homes, villages and graveyards are all
likely to be a maximum number of important aspects of our research too.
items that may be booked. Family historian Eleanor Botwright
3. Bear in mind that shelves that recently planned an ancestral
are usually open-access may not pilgrimage back to Lowestoft and
currently be accessible. enlisted the help of local experts to where all life events had
4. Review your research notes (while help her learn as much as possible in been celebrated i.e. baptisms,
you’re making your trip are there her time available. marriages and burials I contacted
any other items you would like to the parish priest and archivist
see too, to make the most of the Plan early & ask for help! who helped set the scene and
journey). Family Tree reader Eleanor (because of Covid 19) enabled us
Botwright to time our visit to have access
For your visit: 1. Start to plan as early as possible to the church St. Margaret’s,
1. As ever, pack paper, pencils, 2. Contact the local family Lowestoft.
charged devices – and now, a history society and ask for 5. Unfortunately a huge number
mask too. Some places may recommendations – especially a of headstones had been removed
require mask-wearing at their local social historian. as a result of government
discretion. 3. If possible commission a local instruction (to create a bigger
2. Bring relevant research notes and social historian as a guide. We had green space) so we were unable to
perhaps a copy of your family an amazing man spend half a day actually find any grave markers
tree, so that you can cross-refer to with us explaining what life was for the Boatwrights but it was
useful details if needed. like in Lowestoft in the 1700s. He none the less exciting to wander
3. Set yourself some specific research helped us work with maps, supplied the huge remaining graveyard.
steps to help keep your research etchings and helped us focus on We enjoyed it so much we are
session on track. time and place. planning a similar trip the Wiltshire
4. Remember to take a break 4. Because we were particularly in the autumn seeking another family
if needed (we all know how planning to attend the church tree branch…

12 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 ENJOYING HISTORY-INSPIRED DAYS

Eleanor Botwright
Finding experts to took her research
help from the papertrail
Family history societies, local to the church,
history groups and one-place tracing baptisms
studies are a very good place on a recent trip
to seek out local expertise. to Lowestoft. The
• www.familyhistory location photo
federation.com below and overleaf
• www.balh.org.uk are courtesy of
• www.one-place-studies.org/ Eleanor Botwright,
If you run a local tour guide taken on her
service or know of one you’d recent trip
like to recommend, please
email Family Tree.

ordered beforehand which negates etc, similarly the British Library.

using records to generate further None of the archives I use regularly
inquiries. As you will know yourselves, are particularly busy so I am not
sometimes you look at a document worried about social distancing etc
and realise it doesn’t help at all and when in the search room. And I am
move quickly onto the next. very happy to book a place before
Alternatively you look at something I go, as I have always done. With
Waiting for the current and it leads onto another source, travelling I need to know I have a
restrictions to lift which you hadn’t appreciated. I also table place, microfilm reader etc.
Family Tree reader Clare Pilkington need the freedom to consult the
I shan’t be going back to any archives archive paper catalogues as they can be While some level of lack of flexibility
until they lift the restrictions on what more comprehensive than the online is a little frustrating, Clare Pilkington
you can see. As all the archives I want catalogues. makes the valuable point that in some
require a considerable journey, (60-70 The other restriction which needs respect pre-ordering is nothing new.
miles minimum) I need to know that lifting before I return is the opening Equally, when undertaking a journey
I can access the records I want and hours. At present the National of any length, it is actually useful to
need. Archives would be hopeless; reduced know that you have your place and
At the moment most seem to be hours and reduced times you can visit records securely booked to save a
operating on 6 items per visit, to be in a week, limited access to documents wasted journey.
When reading Jacqui Kirk’s
thoughts below I am sure that others
may feel similarly regarding health
concerns.

Seeing the silver lining… of

staying safe at home
Family Tree reader Jacqui Kirk
Until Covid struck I was a professional
archival researcher. One who always
seemed to pick up some bug or other
after a visit to an archive even when I
hadn’t travelled on public transport,
and any bug I got passed to my

Tweets, above & right: Yearning for an actual show – there’s nothing like the
buzz of meeting up with fellow family history fans

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 13

VISITING ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES

daughter. We took this to be normal

and unavoidable and until lockdown
we didn’t realise how much the viruses
were impacting our health – for both
of us. Then lockdown happened and
we both have not been as healthy for
years! No endless viruses and feeling
run down.
As a result I am extremely reluctant
to return to archives and public.
When I finally do venture into an
archive I will continue to wear a
mask and nitrile gloves. Ventilation
is an issue in archives and the dust
generated is very bad for my asthma
anyway so a mask will help on that or flu or anything else others can catch • Better online catalogues with more
front. we need to stay away from public cataloguing in depth to facilitate
Whilst I know that archive staff places and people and that means ordering of document copies
will do all they can to make all safe libraries and archives. For some of my • More encouragement to
for us to return my concern is – will friends even catching a cold means photograph a number of
the users? Many times I have observed being admitted to hospital. documents to then view at home
those with streaming colds and It will be a long time before I set rather than production limits or
hacking coughs come into the archive foot in a library or archive again. I pre-order limits on the day
to carry out their hobby, and my heart have learned how to cope without • More encouragement to order
has sunk even while I tried to keep as access to them. digitised or printed copies (for
far away from them as possible. So what do we need to see? In Tweets. below: emailing/posting) rather than
We all need to start to be addition to improved ventilation and things missed by undertaking in person visits
considerate to others. If we have a cold social distancing, I would like to see: genies • More encouragement and access

14 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 ENJOYING HISTORY-INSPIRED DAYS

Tweets. above: useful tips and reminders for your research both at home, on the web or out and about

to knowledgeable archivists in the societies-az and https://discovery. Covid implications, please do email
field of your research for advice nationalarchives.gov.uk/find-an- helen.t@family-tree.co.uk. We look
before a visit so that you get the archive forward to hearing from you – and
most out of each visit and can wish you the best with your research,
find those documents you need. That valuable time spent in wherever it takes you.
reconnaissance…
Life over the past year or so has led For numerous reasons within and Thank you for your
to many innovations as we all seek outwith your control you may not Tweets & views
ways to accomplish the things dear be able to make a trip yet. The joy of @WillsmanOneName
to us while keeping safe, and the family history is that there is always @WynnJulia
digital world has been invaluable in something to be done, however, and @Whoamiftr
this respect. Jacqui’s idea for better (as you know all too well by now – @julieback330
cataloguing is one such area where many of these can be enjoyed from @genie_research
the real and digital spaces can help home) from reviewing your past @chiddickstree
one another. Perhaps you have a research notes, to background reading @lewis_wendy
little time and expertise to share or taking a course to enhance your @trivvieliz
and would like to volunteer to help skills. Time on these pursuits is never @EllenCLeslie
catalogue collections. The Society of ever wasted. @GenealogyJude
Genealogists, FamilySearch, family These are just early days for @isherwood_phil
history societies, and of course returning to normal and, @ScientistSoph
archives run numerous volunteer of course, the phrase ‘post- @mschriner
based transcription, indexing and pandemic world’ is not quite @27Ralphgh
cataloguing projects, to which you accurate, as Covid hasn’t gone @iFamilyHistory
can lend a hand, very often from away yet. We would value @leannekruger
home. hearing how you’re getting on @packrat74
To enquire about lending a hand, with your family history at @SimpleLivinGene
see: the moment. Maybe you’ve @bazzamiller
• https://www.sog.org.uk/support- already visited an archive – if @MarianBWood
us/volunteers so, what was your experience? @thedustyteapot
• https://www.familysearch.org/ Maybe you have concerns @rlbwilson
indexing/ and have decided to stick to @MicheleFNichols
• For central hub pages researching solely online? If Di Miles
for societies and archives you would like to share your Eleanor Botwright
respectively, see https://www. views regarding family history Clare Pilkington
familyhistoryfederation.com/ related trips, in the light of Jacqui Kirk

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 15

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SOG: A NEW DIRECTION

PROJECT ‘TRANSFORMATION’
In July 2021 the Society of Genealogists closed the doors of 14 Charterhouse Buildings, home
of the SoG for the past 37 years of its 110 year history, and stepped forward into a new future.
Keen to find out a little more about their plans, Helen Tovey caught up with some members
of the SoG management team

W
hile it might be a due to lockdowns etc.
new future, it’s not an
unknown one and the ‘Massive digitization plan’
Society has a clear and Transformation and Volunteer
transformative range Manager, Christine Worthington,
of plans in place relating to its outlined why this was so important:
archives, its online data, its learning ‘We surveyed our members… and
experiences, its members, and of they told us they would like us to
course its new premises. So, how did digitize a lot more… It sort of opened
the wheels for this transformation get up discussions about what can be
set in motion? digitised, what can be put online
for our members… so we’ve got a To tune into the interview with the SoG team,
‘3 years in 3 weeks’ massive digitization plan underway’ – please see https://familytr.ee/sogtransf
‘If anything did come well out covering parish registers, monumental
of Covid, we did what lots of inscriptions, and card indexes, as well
organisations did – you know – three as the pedigree rolls mentioned above. We can also partner with the National
years’ worth of tech development Conservation Service in the future, to
in three weeks,‘ explained Else New home, new approach have parts of our collection assessed.’
Churchill, The Genealogist at SoG. Over the century that SoG has It was important for the SoG to
Developments such as this enabled the been in existence it has accrued a find a suitable professional archive
SoG to take its learning programme wealth of unique genealogy records storage home for its collections as
to the web, where audiences (of both and books, many of which were it will be the home for many of the
SoG members and non-members) formerly housed at the now-closed SoG’s records on a permanent basis,
have enjoyed tuning in to a wide range SoG library, and which are currently which will be housed remotely – to be
of expert genealogists and speakers held by Restore’s Heritage Storage pre-ordered to the new SoG London
over the past year or more. arm, a remote heritage archiving premises by researchers on request.
Harnessing the power of web facility in Oxfordshire that partners The need to balance the books
was instrumental, too, in making with the National Conservation while retaining a London premises
it possible for the SoG army of Service. Here archiving standards for the SoG, combined with the
volunteers to continue to work on are extremely high, other customers opportunities provided by increasing
key collections, such as that of the being the British Library. Christine digital access to the SoG’s collections
10,000 or so Pedigree Rolls currently Worthington: ‘Collections, before they for members, has made the decision to
being scanned and transcribed, even if go in there, are inspected to ensure provide a pre-ordering service possible.
unable to come into the SoG premises they are mould free and pest free… What this means is that: many

18 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 DISCOVER THE CHANGES AT THE SOG

members will be able to enjoy the not necessarily what we’re always up roughly an 18 month/2 year plan
benefits of SoG archives from home known for.’ Else added, ‘There’s a big to actually transform the whole of
online; members wishing to visit the refreshment about. It will be inclusive, the organization. And when I say
new as-yet-undisclosed premises will broader, not only a new building, but the organization, I mean literally
be able to pre-order records to study; all sorts of things that Rebecca can tell everything.’ The systems, the building,
and the SoG will be able to afford a you about… It’s going to be a very everything needed to be ‘re-energised’
central London hub (as requested by interesting time in the next few weeks, said Neil. ‘We put the new events
the members surveyed) for research, and months!’ system out there, and I think it has
events and the member community. seen a terrific upsurge in attendees,
New online member facilities and I think probably had a knock-
The need to change New to the SoG team in early on effect of more people coming to
Overseeing this many-faceted 2021 Rebecca Gregory, Head of the AGM as well, as they got more
transformation of the SoG is Interim Membership, has been taking a look familiar to the Society online.’
CEO Laura Doyle, we asked her at what members really want, which But what about the actual premises?
a little about the goals and new has resulted in a new-look website ‘Clearly the new premises are going to
direction for the Society: ‘Wow! (launched July 2021) and membership be a change,’ continued Neil. ‘They’re
We’ve got so much going on. We system. ‘This has very much been going to be a different feel when you
are in the privileged position right designed with our members at get into the building. A much more
now to address and make better and the forefront. The website’s been inclusive and welcoming feel. A bit
improve the services for our members. designed so it’s very easy to use and tidier hopefully!... The new one will
It couldn’t be done without my search our digital records,’ explained make better use of more modern
team and the spectacular members Rebecca. ‘We’re also launching a new technology. It’ll have working areas,
and volunteers that we have at the membership system. We chose this research areas.’ Signing on the dotted
society… We’re 110 years old… and system mainly because of the way we line is just step one in the story of
the demands and the needs of current- can develop its discussion boards and the new premises though, and it will
day genealogists and those who are forums, because our members made take several months for the fit-out
finding family history now have it very clear they want to connect to accomplish the ideas that Neil’s
changed over those 110 years, and we with each other around their shared outlined above. So as to premises, we
as an organization need to change with interests. [It] also gives the ability will all have to be patient.
that…. It’s a really exciting position to … for people who are members However, in the meantime members
be in… albeit somewhat terrifying as overseas or who can’t get to London can enjoy the new website, and all are
there’s so much going on.’ to interact and be a part of our online welcome at the online events, both
What is noticeable about the new All hands to community.’ of which will continue to be available
the pump & no
direction of the SoG is that family time to waste:
through the Transformation period.
historians of all levels will be very Researchers The big question! And one of the best things about the
much welcome, and we asked Laura at the library At the time of going to print, the SoG’s Transformation is that we all,
for some thoughts on this too: ‘I continue to work, big question as to where the SoG as family historians, stand to benefit –
think is some ways we’re just trying researching their will next be homed was, sadly SoG members and non-members, in
to update that view of people. We’ve genealogies, but understandably, not available the UK and overseas. The ideas being
while the SoG
always been great at helping people, management team
… yet. Neil Alcock, Head of generated by the staff, volunteers and
through from the start. Else can and volunteers Transformation, was able to give members at SoG are sure to cause
tell you years’ worth of assistance are packing up some insights to the Transformation: positive ripples of progress in the
that we’ve provided… but that’s around them ‘Given the budget we had, you set genealogy community far afield.

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 19

ADVERTISING FEATURE

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Click on the estimated relationship to based on the fact that the two
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20 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 DNA TOOLS TO TRY

3 Explore the ‘filter by’ menu TIP! You can combine filters, so, for instance
To help you sort your match list tools. You will find them at the top of searching your DNA match list for ‘Unviewed’ matches
Ancestry provide a menu of filters and your DNA match list. with whom a ‘Common ancestor’ has been suggested.
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The Unviewed filter Select Messaged Trees allows you Shared DNA allows you to filter Use the Search tool
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linked trees, or close and more distant relations, matches’ family
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information in Ancestry public family with whom you match on need to be careful
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you and a DNA match. a familiar name in a
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helps to build a picture of how you Note that you
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ThruLines are suggested when you
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www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 21

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

Who dec ides wh o i s

embarrassing & wh y?
Not all our ancestors were paragons of virtue.
Some behaved in a manner that we would now find
unacceptable or abhorrent. Are we embarrassed by
those family members or fascinated by them?
Dr Janet Few reflects on our ancestors, their
views, values and behaviour

W hat aspects of
the lives of our
ancestors might
make us feel
uncomfortable?
Are we tempted, like the genealogists
of the past, to remove them, or their
misdemeanours, from the record?
Does it matter when the ancestor
The scope of
the slave trade
was international
and involved
ancestors from all
walks of life, from
slave owner, to
enslaved person,
and those who
are now regarded as
‘Australian royalty’.
Within living
memory, family
instances of
illegitimacy, mental
illness, disability or
homosexuality might well have been
hushed up. Today we feel differently. with the ensuing wealth, rages on.
lived; is there a point at which some consumed How about our reaction to our Whatever your feelings about this
actions become exciting or interesting, materials and ethnic origins? These too have issue, we have to accept that there may
rather than alarming? We might be goods produced changed over time. Those who be those who profited from enslaving
ashamed of cousin Jimmy who was by the trade perceived themselves to be wholly others somewhere on our family
convicted of importing Class A drugs white may, in the past, have tree. We also have to realise that this
last year but at the same time find attempted to disguise evidence of behaviour was viewed very differently
the ancestor who was found guilty of descent from someone of a different at the time. That does not justify it in
smuggling brandy in the 18th century, ethnicity be that Maori, Aboriginal, any way but we cannot understand the
romantic and exciting. first nations, African or Asian. past by viewing it through a twenty-
They say that you can choose your Fortunately, for the most part, that first century lens.
friends but you cannot choose your attitude too has changed. Let us look at the facts. There were
family. At family gatherings there over 12,000 known voyages that left
is often that one family member An historical viewpoint from the UK and contributed to the
who makes us cringe, who is, quite I do accept that ‘embarrassing’ is a enslavement of 3.5 million Africans.
frankly, an embarrassment. We might subjective label and I stress that I Despite the statement by Elizabeth
like to imagine that all our family am looking at this from an historical I in 1596 that ‘blackamoors have no
members were thoroughly upstanding, viewpoint. I am certainly not understanding of Christ or his gospel’,
honourable, likeable individuals but in suggesting that all these categories there are baptisms and burials in early
the past, as today, those embarrassing of ancestor should be a cause for parish registers that provide evidence
ancestors lurked within our families. embarrassment today. Let us turn of those of African-Caribbean or other
What might constitute ‘embarrassing’ then to some of those ancestors who non-white heritage in 16th and 17th
both now and in the past? might cause embarrassment now, or century Britain. References also appear
may have done so in the past, and in documents such as court records
Changing views consider some of the records that they and wills. Many of these instances
Reactions to certain conditions and have left behind. I challenge you to refer to free men and women, some of
behaviours change, sometimes quite search these sources for your family. whom may have been born on British
rapidly. There are those who we do soil. Although, at the time of their
not find embarrassing but generations Current & controversial appearance in the records, it is unlikely
in the not-too-distant past may have We will begin with a topic that is both that they were enslaved, as slavery had
done so. current and controversial, slavery. The no basis in English law, their presence
Think about the Australian reaction recent heated debate, over whether we may be a legacy of slavery. Despite
to convict ancestry for example. should commemorate those who were the legal position, there are instances
Whereas this would once have been associated with the slave trade but of enslavement. The Somerset Case
a source of stigma, convict ancestors who may also have been philanthropic (1772), for example, led to the

22 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 VIEWS & VALUES OF OUR ANCESTORS

It includes biographical details of the

slave owners, some of which include
portraits.

Legalised piracy
What about privateering? This was
legalised piracy by those holding
letters of marque. It might be seen
as glamorous but what they were
seizing was slave-produced goods.
Those of us with ancestry in Britain
and most other western European
countries need to come to terms with
not just how we view slavery but also
the whole concept of our ancestors’
involvement in Empire.

Births ‘out of wedlock’

Until recently there has been a stigma
attached to births that occur ‘out
of wedlock’. We are aware of these
occurrences in our family’s history
from parish register entries and
from birth certificates that omit the
father’s name. Trying to identify the
un-named father can be problematic,
although we have been helped in that
regard by the advent of DNA testing.
Sometimes a second forename will
give a clue as to the father.
From 1733, Bastardy Legislation, as
it was called, set out a system whereby
the parish made efforts to identify the
fathers, so that they could be made
to support their offspring. This led
to documentation. Unfortunately,
survival is patchy and there are, as
yet, very few online examples; the
remainder are only available in county
archives. A Bastardy Examination
of the mother required her to name
names. Then a warrant for the
apprehension of the father would
be drawn up and finally a Bastardy
Bond would be signed. The father
would undertake to pay money for
the mother’s lying in, followed by
a weekly maintenance sum until
There was huge pressure on men to fight in the First World War, the prevailing propaganda the child was 14. You may also be
allowing little scope for those unwilling to fight, or those with other priorities interested in Scotland’s Antenuptial
Relationship Index 1661-1780, which
emancipation of an enslaved person held at The National Archives in class is available on www.findmypast.
in England, namely James Somerset, T71, most of which are available on co.uk. Here we learn, for example,
who had been brought by his owner Ancestry www.ancestry.co.uk. They that Agnes Brown of South Leith
from America, in 1769. This case was can be searched by the name of the named Gilbert Reid as the father of
a catalyst for the abolition movement owner or the enslaved person. The her child on 1 October 1668. Gilbert
in the early 19th century. See https:// Legacy of British Slave-Ownership confessed and was rebuked.
www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk/oms/ website http://www.ucl.ac.uk/
african-freedom-in-tudor-england- lbs/ allows you to search for slave- Conscientious objectors
dr-hector-nuness-request. owners in the British Caribbean at During times of war, people were
Slave registers for 1813-1834 are the time that slavery ended, in 1833. often reluctant to admit that family

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 23

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

members were conscientious objectors. It’s rare to find an in MH47 at The National Archives the appeal, John was initially granted a
Deserters too were regarded as ancestor described and can be downloaded via www. temporary exemption of fourteen days
shameful. Now, with awareness of as a prostitute, nationalarchives.gov.uk. It is here ‘to make arrangements’ but then his
PTSD we might be more sympathetic. as below, as very that we meet John London of Wood subsequent appeal was dismissed.
Very few records of conscientious often they were Green, a cinematograph operator. As conscientious objectors were
objectors survive. There may be referred to as He requested absolute exemption often assigned non-combatant roles,
reports of tribunals in newspapers, seamstresses, because his wife had consumption some appear in the records of the
although these were often milliners and so and was ‘generally nervous’. He had Friends Ambulance Service. These
underreported as they were seen forth, making their six children the oldest of whom was contain photographs, and are available
as being damaging to morale. The situation harder twelve. The local tribunal had decided online http://fau.quaker.org.uk/
records of conscientious objectors’ to identify in the that no serious hardship would ensue search-view.
appeal tribunals for Middlesex survive records if John was conscripted. As a result of
The ‘great social evil’
So, who else might have caused
embarrassment to family members?
Let us look at prostitutes. Although
the ‘great social evil’, as prostitution
was labelled in the nineteenth century,
is mentioned in contemporary
writings, such as pamphlets and
sermons, finding information about
individual prostitutes is much
more difficult. The unmarried
woman who has a succession of
illegitimate children might be a
suspect. Occasionally a baptism
record might label a mother as a
prostitute. Sometimes prostitutes
reveal themselves in the census but
more frequently they are disguised
in the myriads of laundresses and
milliners. There are 446 individuals
in the 1881 British census with the
occupation ‘prostitute’. The oldest
was 63-year-old Catherine Buckley,
a widow from Ireland, who, together
with other prostitutes, was in prison
in Usk, Pontypool. Many prostitutes
can be found in the Female Lock-up
hospital and asylum in Paddington.
The youngest, Elizabeth Ross from
Gravesend, was just ten years old.
Where you may find details of
named prostitutes is in the criminal
records or in newspaper reports of
trials. A series of Contagious Diseases
Acts was passed in the 1860s following
concerns about high levels of sexually
transmitted diseases amongst the
armed forces. You only have to look at
service records to see many incidences
of syphilis. Initially, the police had
the right to arrest women found near
barracks and in ports but later this
was extended. These women were
subjected to compulsory examination
and those infected were forcibly
hospitalised in ‘Lock Hospitals’, or, if
these were full, workhouse infirmaries,
for three months to a year. It is
possible that workhouse admissions’

24 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 VIEWS & VALUES OF OUR ANCESTORS

registers may allude to their reason TAKING IT FURTHER

for admission. Those who refused to
be examined could be sentenced to Further reading
imprisonment or hard labour. These • Paley, Ruth My Ancestor was a Bastard Society of Genealogists (2011)
Acts also impacted on ‘respectable’ • Winsham, Willow Accused: British witches throughout history Pen & Sword (2016)
women. There were many protests • Winsham, Willow England’s Witchcraft Trials Pen & Sword (2018)
against these Acts, particularly as no
checks were made on the male clients. Investigating the internet
Campaigns led by Josephine Butler • Slave Voyages www.slavevoyages.org
and others involved in the fight • Searching for Jamaican Families www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples/Registers.htm
for women’s suffrage led to the • Borthwick Institute Research Guide https://familytr.ee/borthwickguide
Acts’ repeal. • Slavery and British Country Houses https://familytr.ee/britishcountry
• National Archives Research Guide to Researching Conscientious Objectors
Dissenters https://familytr.ee/objector
Historically, there has been a stigma • Records of prostitution at the National Archives https://familytr.ee/records
attached to followers of certain • The National Archives Guide to Non-conformist records www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-
religious groups. It may have been with-your-research/research-guides/nonconformist-non-parish-births-marriages-
a source of shame to have family deaths-1567-1969/
members whose way of worship was • The National Archives Guide to Catholic Research
different to one’s own, or to whatever • www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/
brand of religion prevailed at the catholics/
time. In the wake of the religious • The Dissenting Experience https://dissent.hypotheses.org/
turbulence of the 16th century and • An Inventory of Puritan and Dissenting Records 1640-1714 www.
the Reformation, intolerance of qmul.ac.uk/sed/religionandliterature/online-publications/dissenting-
dissent, on both sides of the records/
religious spectrum, reached • Religious Persecution www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/
a peak in the 17th century transformingsociety/private-lives/religion/overview/persecution/
when measures were enacted • FindmyPast Guide How to Trace LGBT Ancestors www.
against both Protestant non- findmypast.co.uk/blog/help/lgbt-ancestors
conformists and Catholics. The • In search of LGBT Family History www.archivesplus.org/news/
Toleration Act of 1689 changed chasing-rainbows-in-search-of-lgbt-family-history/
the official policy towards those • National Archives guide to disability history www.nationalarchives.
outside the Church of England gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/disability-history/
but prejudices remained. • County Asylums www.countyasylums.co.uk.
Quakers, Methodists and • Scottish Asylum Patients www.oldscottish.com/asylum-patients.
many other ‘ists’ were ‘different’ html
and could be seen as a threat by • List of English witch trials www.witchtrials.co.uk. Although this site
the establishment. The tendency is ostensibly about the Essex witch trials, it contains a great deal
for evangelical sects to preach of general information including details of the witchcraft acts and a
in public gave free rein for long list of those tried for witchcraft in Essex.
hecklers. Non-conformists also • Witches in Early Modern England http://witching.org/
targeted the very events and
institutions that had previously
held communities together,
holding open-air services at the The Shot at Dawn marriages and burials, covering
village fete, markets or sports Memorial at the Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists,
days. National Arboretum Independents, Protestant Dissenters,
The Non Parochial Registers commemorates 306 Congregationalists, Presbyterians,
Act of 1840 required that all British servicemen shot Unitarians and Quakers (Society of
Non-conformist registers should at dawn during the First Friends), are now available online
be surrendered to the Registrar World War for desertion at the subscription website The
General. These are now at the and other reasons Genealogist thegenealogist.co.uk.
National Archives. Many Non-
conformist records of baptisms, LGBTQ+
Intolerance and the fact that a sexual
relationship between two men was a
criminal offence in the Britain until
1967, means that it can be difficult
to identify those who belonged to
what we now call the LGBTQ+
community. Societal pressures means

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 25

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

indictment on the moral conduct of there was an increasing desire to

the parents. For further reading on institutionalise those who were
this topic, I highly recommend the incapacitated both physically and
relevant pages of the Historic England mentally. The creation of county
website https://historicengland. asylums in the early 19th century
org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/ catered for both the mentally ill and
disability-history/. those with learning difficulties. With
Until the Reformation, the disabled the advent of the New Poor Law
were looked after in the community, of 1834 many disabled people were
or by the monastic houses. After the workhouse inmates. In 1861 a census
dissolution of the monasteries, the was taken of those who had been in
responsibility devolved to the parishes a workhouse for five years or more,
and secular private charities. Under many of whom were disabled. This
the terms of the Elizabethan Poor can be searched on Ancestry. From
Law, the disabled were classified as 1851, the disability column of the
impotent poor. The Act reads: “The census records certain disabilities.
person naturally disabled, either in Service records may also refer to
wit or member, as an idiot, lunatic, disabilities acquired due to war.
blind, lame etc., not being able to
work, all these are to be provided for Mental illness
by the overseers of necessary relief and Mental illness is of course distinct
are to have allowances according to from a mental disability, although,
their maladies and needs.” We may in the past, both might lead to time
therefore find records of our disabled spent in an asylum. Why might we
family members in the records of the suspect that our ancestor was mentally
overseers of the poor. ill? There are the family stories.
By the end of the 18th century Perhaps, from 1871, the disability

that many would have been living an

outwardly heterosexual lifestyle. You Sensibilities
may have family stories, letters or change. Which
diaries that suggest that individuals type of ancestor
were gay but do remember that in from the past
the 19th and early 20th centuries, might you feel
people of the same sex might write to more uneasy
each other in quite passionate terms about including
without having a sexual relationship. on your family
The first documentary record in tree? A witch or
which gay family members might someone who
appear is in the court records or in condemned a
newspaper accounts of trials. Evidence woman to die
of both male and female same sex for her alleged
relationships might be found in witchcraft?
reports of divorce cases. How might your
ancestors have
Disability history viewed this
Although we don’t feel like this now, question?
until comparatively recently, those Right:
who were disabled, either physically frontispiece from
or mentally, were regarded as a source The Discovery
of shame. The attitude that prevailed of Witches: A
was that family members who were Study of Master
disabled should be hidden away from Matthew Hopkins,
society. This was partly a result of the commonly call’d
belief that a disabled child reflected Witch Finder
the ‘sins of the fathers’ and was an Generall, 1647

26 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 VIEWS & VALUES OF OUR ANCESTORS

column has alerted us to what they FindmyPast. Depending on date, they The large-scale of National Archives.
termed a ‘lunatic’ in the family. The give name, address, age, occupation, asylum premises Are different crimes more
cause of death on a death certificate religion, medical history, a physical in the past is ‘acceptable’ or even glamorous? We
might be indicative of mental ill- description and details of treatment. daunting; some tend to have sympathy with those
health, particularly, for example, if County asylum records will be in local of our ancestors family members who were transported
someone had committed suicide. archives; these sometimes include would have for stealing a loaf of bread, when
Suicide was not decriminalised in photographs. spent decades almost certainly their family was
England and Wales until 1961 and incarcerated starving. Would you feel more
it was also an act that was seen to Criminal acts uncomfortable having an ancestor who
imperil your everlasting soul, so had Several of the categories of was convicted of smuggling or one
religious implications. Obviously, embarrassing ancestor that we who was accused of the sexual assault
those who succeeded in taking their have discussed might have found of a child? We are human, I think
own lives could not prosecuted themselves in court. Criminals and most of us would be quite excited by
but those whose attempts were suspected criminals in England the 18th century smuggler but would
unsuccessful could. These instances and Wales will have been tried in be appalled by the sexual abuser,
might be reported in the newspapers. a hierarchy of civil courts but trials yet, historically, the smuggler would
Service records too may reveal also took place in ecclesiastical and have been given a much more severe
mental trauma. Finally, there are the manorial courts. Records will be punishment.
asylum records themselves. Whereas found in both local and national
previously you would be unlikely archives and trials are likely to be Witches & witch-hunters
to consult these unless you had a reported in the press. Regarding In the 17th century, having an
suspicion that they might contain online access, the best places to start accused witch in the family would
details of a family member, now many are the main data providing websites have been a source of embarrassment.
of these are being made available and the National Archives website, Now we look with sympathy on
online, evidence that an ancestor was http://discovery.nationalarchives. Pirates are easily the accused and are perhaps more
an inmate might come up in a general gov.uk. You will find useful research romanticised a uncomfortable with the idea of our
search in one of the data-providing guides to researching criminals and to few centuries family members being amongst the
websites. court records on the National Archives past; yet accusers. Sources of information about
I would highlight the records of website. Transcriptions of details of what about witchcraft trials include court records
the Bethlem National Asylum, that trials indexed in the Scotland Court privateers and and broadsheets.
took patients from across England and Criminal Database 1708-1909 their legalised
and Wales. A range of records, are available at FindmyPast. There are appropriation of The question of intolerance
dating back to the 16th century, many guides to researching those who other people’s Many of the people we have been
are available. The case books for were transported. The transportation and nation’s considering were marginalised in
1815-1919 are downloadable on registers from 1787-1870 are at the property? the past for being ‘not like us’. Are

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 27

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

aristocratic. I hope that today no one

would deliberately invent a different
lineage but are we in danger of
emphasising the heroic ancestors at
the expense of the more unsavoury?
In any case, is any one individual
unremittingly praiseworthy, or indeed
unremittingly flawed? If we focus on
the more ‘acceptable’ ancestors, are
we creating unrealistic expectations,
for those with whom we share
these family stories? Might they feel
inadequate in the face of the perfect
ancestors they are confronted with?
It is impossible to present history or
family history without an element of
the historian’s bias. Let us do our
best to present a rounded portrait of
our families, the good, the bad and
the ugly.

About the author

Dr Janet Few is a family and social
they embarrassing because of our honourable or not, or to preserve their historian who lectures across the world.
intolerance or because they themselves memory, warts and all? Are we, like She has written several family history
are intolerable? Who decides what is the Victorians, tempted to ‘air-brush’ books and two historical novels that
intolerable? our pedigrees? The 19th century celebrate ‘embarrassing’ ancestors. Janet
Why do we do family history? antiquarian might be motivated to has recently been appointed President of
To honour our ancestors, be they adjust their lineage to be suitably the Family History Federation.

28 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

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THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON FAMILIES C1650S-1750S

WORK, LIFE &

FAMILY IN THE
INDUSTRIOUS
REVOLUTION

From the mid-17th to the mid-18th

centuries, the developed world
experienced what has come to be
called the Industrious Revolution.
Wayne Shepheard examines this transition
period in history and the impact it had on our
families, their work and their homes

T
he Industrious and parts of France and
Revolution was the Germany) and the North
period leading up to American colonies.
the more well-known
Industrial Revolution Timing of the
which encompassed a change from Industrious
an economy focused on agriculture Revolution
and handcraft production to one The Industrious
dominated by powered machinery Revolution period began
and centralized, mass production around the time that Europe was just The Baker’s Cart, 1656, oil on canvas, by Jean Michelin
industries. beginning to escape from the ravages (1623-1695)
While the terms reference mainly of the Little Ice Age (Figure 1, see Metropolitan Museum of Art, online database: entry
economic studies, there is an page 37). 110001529 (from Wikimedia Commons)
application to family history research During the 14th and 15th (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/
as well. During both periods, families centuries, hardships in the agricultural search/110001529)
were impacted by the changes going community meant fewer jobs, mostly
on around them with respect to their for the labouring classes, and an reached record lows and food became
living conditions and occupations. upsurge in the numbers of the landless increasingly hard both to produce and
In a book titled The Industrious poor. Harsh living conditions had find.
Revolution, published in 2008, author forced people to restructure their Families migrated away from
Jan de Vries took the view that “[i]n a lives when employment opportunities rural areas, swelling the towns and
specific historical period in a specific
geographical zone, a new form of
household economic behavior became
increasingly influential, increasing
MODERN COROLLARY
simultaneously the supply of market- Members of modern society may recognize some aspects of the Industrious Revolution as,
oriented production and the demand according to de Vries*, one “in whose grip we continue to live today” although with certain
for a broad but not indiscriminate demographic transformations as well as the blessing and certain controls of the state.
range of consumer goods.” He suggests that “the past generation has witnessed (1) a vast expansion of the number
The consumption-driven family of households with multiple earners, (2) a pronounced redeployment of labor time from
household, then, would be considered household to market production, (3) the introduction of consumption technologies that are
as a unique economic unit that much less intensive in their use of household labor, (4) reduced income pooling, and (5)
contributed to goods-purchasing the shift of consumer preferences toward services, public consumption, and individuated
behaviors in society. The system was consumption.”
primarily evident in northwestern *The Industrious Revolution, de Vries (2008)
Europe (England, the Low Countries

30 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 FROM SURVIVORS TO SHOPPERS

Modified ways of living

and working were
required that would
ensure survival of people
and communities
cities that had become established even though the overall physical
during the Medieval Warm Period environment had only improved
(900 to 1300 AD). They hoped to in haphazard style (Figure 2, see
find employment or at least support page 37). Episodes of famine and
through welfare programs mainly disease continued and prevented any
organized by the churches. A drop in recovery in living conditions. New
population during the 1300s, due to pressures on economies necessitated
famine and disease, had delayed even a reorganization of society. Modified
greater job losses and inflation in the ways of living and working were
prices of foodstuffs. required that would ensure survival of
people and communities.
Reorganisation of
society required The slow move from
By the 1500s, the number of survival mode
people had begun to climb again, The lowest global temperatures and

Tavern Scene, 1658, painting, by David Teniers the Younger

Picture taken at: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA; accession
number – 1975.77.1 (from Wikimedia Commons)
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON FAMILIES C1650S-1750S

the worst growing conditions

were experienced during the
late 17th century (Figure 1).
From that point, with a few
exceptionally brutal years, the
world began warming and
people were able to regain a
foothold in normalcy and self-
sufficiency. The change in where
people now lived, though, with
more of them located in urban
settings, meant finding different
ways in which they could
support themselves and
their families.
The world began to move
from pure survival mode to
one dedicated to one more
profitable in terms of work
outcome and more comfortable
in terms of economic well-
being and choices in goods
consumption. While there
was some improvement in
agricultural output, mostly
through more intensive labour,
it was not enough to stave off
all hardships fostered by limited
food supplies. Productivity
eventually increased with
better farm technology
and methodology, but this
happened over generations.

A new economic
landscape
A different dynamic developed
between rural, agricultural-
based locations and villages and
towns where greater numbers
of people were concentrated.
An exchange-based economic
system was created under which
people with certain skills could
acquire other services and
goods. The larger population
also meant that there was more
demand in both large and
small centres for a variety of
Street Scene products and technical know-how.
with bakery, The primary difference between
ca 1654,1662, the Industrious Revolution and the
The lowest global painting, by Industrial Revolution is that in the
Jacob Vrel former, there was an increase in
temperatures and the (from Wikimedia demand for goods and services but not

worst growing conditions Commons) a matching increase in supply and in

the latter supply was rectified through
were experienced during the growth of mass manufacturing
capabilities. The changeover was
the late 17th century not abrupt but gradual as new
technologies were developed and

32 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 FROM SURVIVORS TO SHOPPERS

The Vinegar Merchant, mid to late 17th

century, by Abraham Bosse (1604-1676
Metropolitan Museum of Art (from
Wikimedia Commons)

implemented and power sources were

created that assisted in increasing
production.

Involvement of families
From the early days of the Medieval
Warm Period, craftsmen and artisans
had been involved in the production
and trade of goods. This was
particularly evident in the growing
market towns. By extension, whole
households became part of the
production processes, independently
or through guilds. Notwithstanding
the new activities, the bulk of work
was still concentrated in agricultural
pursuits. It would not be until the
beginning of the 17th century that
more a third of people would be
involved in work away from the farms
(Figure 3, see page 37).
The economic collapse during the
Little Ice Age meant that basic income
dropped. Families could not generate
income or purchase goods and services
at the levels past generations had been
able to achieve solely from farming.
One answer was to expand the market
for what goods could be made, with
families joining forces to produce
more and sell to a broader
consumer base.
Mass production, with many
people contributing to parts of the
DEFINITIONS manufacturing process, resulted
in more finished goods, in larger
Industrial Revolution: the dramatic transformation of society resulting from the bulk quantities and at lower prices. While
of the working population turning from agriculture to industry, especially that which handcrafting was still the primary
occurred in Britain in the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th method of production, involvement
century (Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd Edition, 2004) of larger groups of people led to more
Industrious Revolution: a period prior to the Industrial Revolution between about 1650 ideas and innovative methods and
and 1760; the concept argues for a shift of attention from the daily wages of individuals designs. Demand led supply but at
to the annual earnings of households. In so doing, the key variables shift from the wage limited production volumes and prices
rate to (1) the number of days of paid employment per year, (2) the participation of wives due to the constraints of available
and children in market-oriented labour, and (3) the intensity of work effort (de Vries, 2008) resources and income.
Middle Class: the class of society between the upper and the lower, including The family, or household, was at
professional and business workers and their families (Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd the core of the developing economy
Edition, 2004) during the Industrious Revolution,
Proto-Industry: a regional concentration of small-scale industrial activities located and was an entity that performed
in the countryside; the producers are semi-independent peasants, who combine “functions of reproduction,
agriculture with small-scale industry; the producers own at least part of the instruments production, consumption, and
and raw materials; the production is aimed at non-regional markets, or at least non-local resource redistribution among
markets; and the organization, finishing and marketing are partly controlled by others its members, as well as wealth
than the producers (van Bavel, 2003) transmission across generations”
(deVries, 2008).

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 33

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON FAMILIES C1650S-1750S

Women at a In northwestern Europe and British

DANIEL DEFOE’S pharmacy – North America, after about 1650, “a
DESCRIPTION OF THE 1695 – copper
engraving print
growing number of households acted
to reallocate their productive resources
PHENOMENA on paper – by (which are chiefly the time of their
. . . a poor labouring Man that goes abroad to his Day Work, Wolf Helmhardt members) in ways that increased both
and Husbandry, Hedging, Ditching, Threshing, Carting, etc. von Hohberg the supply of market-oriented, money-
and brings home his Week’s Wages, suppose at eight pence (from Wikimedia earning activities and the demand for
to twelve pence a Day . . . ; if he has a Wife and three or four Commons) goods offered in the marketplace.”
children to feed, and who get little or nothing for themselves,
must fare hard, and live poorly. . . . But if this Man’s Wife The new Proto-Industry
and Children can at the same time get Employment, if at The new economic realities have also
next door, or at the next Village there lives a clothier, or a been labelled Proto-Industry, which
Bay Maker, or a Stuff or Drugget Weaver; the Manufacturer according to de Vries (2008) “refers
sends the poor Woman combed Wool, or carded Wool every to (usually) rural, household-based
week to spin, and she gets eight pence or nine pence a day production of manufactures that are
at home; the Weaver sends for her two little children, and sold in nonlocal markets rather than
they work by the loom, winding, filling Quills, etc. and the two

People in the
bigger Girls spin at home with their Mother, and these earn
three pence or four pence a day each: So that put it together,
the family at home gets as much as the Father gets Abroad,
and generally more. . . . The Father gets them food, and the
countryside formed
Mother gets them Clothes. a major part of the
A Plan of the English Commerce (1728), page 90
overall cloth industry

34 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 FROM SURVIVORS TO SHOPPERS

used within the home or sold locally.

. . [It] was of particular importance
in redirecting the labor of women For reasons not entirely
and children toward the market
and in making effective market use
known or explained [the]
of labor trapped in idleness and participation [of women]
in work outside the home
underemployment by the seasonal
constraints of agriculture.”
While some families, including
parents and children, may have
diminished in the mid-19th
worked together in a single, proto- century
industrial enterprise, the more
common theme was that the wife and
children worked in or with members themselves better off with many such things as state controls, schools,
of other households, at occupations members productive and bringing in business organizations and labour
different from the husband/father. wages for the benefit of all. unions. The position of the family
Often these new production entities as the centre of market activities was
were financed by urban merchants The changing roles of diminished and its function simplified
who would act as intermediaries in females & families with its primary focus being that of
the marketing of goods but who also Females, particularly wives and socialization of children.
controlled the new industries. mothers, played a significant role
Such activities were widespread in the business activities of families Growth of the
across at least western Europe. For during the Industrious Revolution. consumer class
example, according to Dutch historian For reasons not entirely known It was during the Little Ice Age that
Bas van Bavel (2003), or explained by economists and the feudal state declined. People
“[t]ens of thousands of men, women historians, their participation in moved away from manors and estates
and children in rural Flanders were work outside the home, as well as run by the nobility, beginning in
engaged as home workers in the textile their influence within the families the 15th century, seeking to find
industries, forming a very substantial diminished in the mid-19th century. better living and working conditions.
part of the total population.” People Spinning formed It may be noted that during the Landowners found it increasingly
in the countryside formed a major a key role subsequent Industrial Revolution, with difficult to maintain their properties,
part of the overall cloth industry for women in its attention on technology and large and incomes, when labourers were in
production centred in the urban areas. domestic textile factories, the family unit suffered. short supply. People also started to
The result was that families found production Non-kinship structures came into play, demand more in social benefits which
put additional pressure on the landed
elite. A newly formed merchant class,
along with more independence shown
by families combined to establish
the new economic framework of the
Industrious Revolution.
As environmental conditions
improved in the 17th and 18th
centuries, so did living conditions.
And with improved living conditions,
population grew. Population increase
had the side benefits of more
craftsmen within families being
trained and more consumers to
purchase goods produced by those
craftsmen.
As the health and well-being of
people stabilized and improved,
enough wealth was earned to acquire
goods of choice in addition to goods
of necessity. Those goods of choice
grew in number and quality, even
as prices remained low, partly due
to the numbers of workers involved
in their commercial production. A
world of new luxuries – things like
pocket watches – was created that

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 35

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON FAMILIES C1650S-1750S

REFERENCES
• Defoe, Daniel. (1728). A Plan of the English
Commerce: Being a compleat prospect of the trade
of this nation, as well the home trade as the foreign.
London: Charles Rivington, 368 pp.

• de Vries, Jan. (2008). The Industrious Revolution:

Consumer Behavior and the Household Economy,
1650 to the Present. Cambridge University Press,
342 pp.

• Lamb, Hubert H. (1995). Climate, History and the

Modern World (2nd Edition). London & New York:
Routledge, 433 pp.

• Keibek, Sebastian A. J. (2017). ‘The male

occupational structure of England and Wales,
1600-1850’ (Doctoral thesis). University of
Cambridge. Retrieved 27 October 2018 from
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.8960

• Mintz, Sidney W. (1986). Sweetness and Power: The

place of sugar in modern history. New York: Penguin
Books, 276 pp.

• Overton, Mark. (2006). ‘Household wealth,

indebtedness, and economic growth in early
modern England’. Economic History Review. 14th
International Economic History Congress, Helsinki,
Finland, 21 to 25 August 2006
Early English pocket watch, c.1660
• Shepheard, Wayne. (2019). ‘The History of Old
was affordable by more than just the During the period of the Industrious Occupations’. Family Tree, 35(6), pp 12-19.
aristocracy. Revolution the value of households
grew substantially in most regions • Thirsk, Joan. (1978). Economic Policy and Projects.
The implications of new- (Figure 4, see page 37). The Development of a Consumer Society in Early
found wealth Economist and social historian Joan Modern England. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
One of the ways in which this new Thirsk (1978) noted that, “We can 199 pp.
“wealth” from consumerism may point to numerous communities in
be measured is in the investigation the kingdom, especially in towns and • van Bavel, Bas. (2003). ‘Early Proto-
of probate inventories. All across in the pastoral-industrial areas, where Industrialization in the Low Countries? The
Europe, records from the 17th and the labouring classes found cash to Importance and Nature of Market-Oriented
18th centuries show many more spare for consumer goods in 1700 that Non-Agricultural Activities in the Countryside in
families having acquired a variety of had no place in their budgets in 1550 Flanders and Holland, c. 1250 – 1570’. Belgian
quality goods that people rarely had – brass cooking pots, iron frying pans, review of philology and history, volume 81, fasc.
in previous centuries. Many of the earthenware dishes, knitted stockings, 4, 2003. Medieval, modern and contemporary
products had not even been made even a lace frill for a cap or apron.” history. pp. 1109-1165. Published online at https://
in quantity prior to this period. Following along with the growth www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2003_
num_81_4_4777

One of the ways in • Wrigley, E. A. (1969). Population and History. New

which this new ‘wealth’ York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 254 pp.

from consumerism may in the use of durable goods was the

be measured is in the increase in the personal consumption

investigation of probate
of a variety of foods and other
products such as tea, coffee, tobacco,
inventories alcoholic beverages and, particularly,
sugar, which rates of use grew from

36 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 FROM SURVIVORS TO SHOPPERS

FIGURE 1: FIGURE 2:
Schematic diagram of global temperature variations during the last 1,000 Time frame of Industrious Revolution and Industrial
years; dashed line represents temperature at beginning of 20th century Revolution relative to the population of England &
(modified from Lamb, 1995) Wales, the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice
Age (population numbers source: Wrigley, 1969)

FIGURE 3: FIGURE 4:
Graph showing the sectoral male labour shares (England and Graph of appraisers’ median valuations of households based on
Wales, 1381-1901) relative to the Industrious Revolution and more than 18,000 probate inventories in five English counties
Industrial Revolution periods; secondary sector – manufacturing between 1550 and 1750 (source: Overton, 2006)
occupations; tertiary sector – service occupations including
teaching (source occupations diagram: Keibek, 2017)

nothing in the early 1600s to a major their income-producing activities into This was due to both the proliferation
portion of imported goods by the late small cottage industries, as individual of available goods and to their reduced
18th century. families or with the combined energies prices from mass production.
The societal changes caused by of village neighbours. By the late The shift out of the cold and
the additions of these products were 18th or early 19th centuries, many inhospitable Little Ice Age finally
not all benign, but many of them members of these same families would allowed people to regain their ability
significantly altered the diets of have found work as wage-earners in to succeed and prosper. And with
Europeans for the better, as modern industrial settings, chiefly textile mills. the new opportunities, people across
research has shown (Mintz, 1986). New technical skills and professions the developed world forged a new,
Their production resulted in the developed and flourished during the cooperative economic system.
establishment of whole new industries Industrious Revolution period. A
in colonies established world-wide wider cross-section of society was able About the author
during the 17th and 18th centuries, to achieve higher income levels and Wayne Shepheard is the author of
many of them dependent on the slave more ability to participate in the new ‘Surviving Mother Nature’s Tests: the
trade. But those are stories for later consumer-led economy. This may have effects of climate change and other
consideration. been the introduction of the Middle natural phenomena have had on the
Class. lives of our ancestors (with examples
Summary Along with the transition, the worth from the British Isles)’ (2018). https://
Genealogists may find that rural of the assets of most families grew, mothernaturestests.blogspot.com and
ancestors of the 16th and earlier at least in terms of the number and https://discovergenealogy.blogspot.
centuries, whose main occupation was variety of physical possessions acquired com/p/surviving-mother-natures-
in or related to farming, transformed for both household and personal uses. tests.html

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 37

RESEARCH ZONE

Prisoners of the Great War

Being captured by the enemy could be a frightening, frustrating, and sometimes traumatic
experience but it wasn’t only military personnel who were taken. Civilians such as merchant
navy employees were also imprisoned, writes Simon Wills

T
racking down an ancestor record will usually document that Merchant Navy FindMyPast has gathered together
who became a prisoner of war someone became a PoW. The National officers at a long list of TNA resources about
(PoW) in World War I can Archives (TNA) has research guides Schweidnitz British PoWs and indexed them
be tricky. When the conflict for British fighting forces outlining camp by name. There are documents in
started, neither side was well- how service records can be found. The this collection from the War Office,
prepared to accept PoWs and people date of capture and the initial camp PoWs at Colonial Office, Foreign Office,
who were captured early in the war in which a serviceman was imprisoned Brandenburg Ministry of Transport and others.
even helped to make their own prison is commonly recorded, as well as camp in 1916 Search in its ‘military’ section and then
accommodation. Throughout the war, the date of returning to the UK by confine your results to World War I. It
records of individuals detained by the repatriation or occasionally escape. Thomas Cobb includes army and navy prisoners, but
enemy were often incomplete because was at Doberitz also merchant seamen and fishermen
of the sheer scale of the administrative Online resources camp for four who were captured.
task of documenting them. The There is a published book, originally years The ICRC has its own huge online
International Committee of the Red printed by Cox & Co in 1919, that database of PoWs from WW1, which
Cross (ICRC) estimates that about 10 identifies about 7,700 officers in the is free to access: https://grandeguerre.
million people were sent to detention British Army, Royal Naval Division icrc.org. The site provides details
camps between 1914 and 1918. Only and flying services who were captured. of 2 million PoWs and has the
a proportion of records for those It is entitled ‘List of British officers advantage of including prisoners
who went through this ordeal have taken prisoner in the various theatres from all countries involved in the
survived, and they are kept in a variety of war between August 1914 and conflict, not just the UK. A Red Cross
of different places. This problem November 1918’ and it’s available agency completed a record card for
is exacerbated by the fact that no at some archives such as TNA, or each person based on information
single UK authority was responsible for purchase online. It is also on obtained from both sides in the war.
for PoWs, so surviving records were subscription websites such as Forces The cards are indexed by nationality,
dispersed across many government War Records www.forces-war- the individual’s military or civilian
departments. records.co.uk and Ancestry www. status, and then alphabetically by
For military personnel, a service ancestry.co.uk surname. They give details such as

38 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 GREAT WAR PRISONERS

Top tip!
Sometimes deciphering the
name of a PoW camp in
handwritten wartime records
is difficult. The Long Long
Trail website has a list of the
principal camps in Germany
which may help you https://
familytr.ee/trail

harrowing. Harold Sugden describes

how Belgian ladies who kindly threw
him chocolate were brutally clubbed
with rifles by German guards.
Merchant navy crews were also
taken prisoner during World War I.
Some were trapped in enemy ports
when the war broke out and arrested.
Others were forced to surrender by
person you are looking for because German U-boats and cruisers prior
individuals are grouped together to their vessel being destroyed. The
into batches of the same or similar Ministry of Transport (MT) received
surname. However, when you conduct information about many of them, and
a search, the PoWs are broken down some of their records at TNA have
by regiment or military force on the been indexed by prisoner’s name on
left-hand side of the screen, which the MT9 Project website which can be
will speed up your search if you know consulted for free https://spw-surrey.
where they served. The site also has com/MT9.
details of Red Cross inspections of Many of those who, sadly,
some camps so you may gain insight died as a PoW will be listed on
into what life was like at certain the Commonwealth War Graves
locations. Commission (CWGC) website: www.
cwgc.org.
PoW interviews
If you are fortunate, your ancestor About the author
may be among 3,000 men formally Dr Simon Wills is a genealogist
interviewed about their PoW and author with more than 30 years’
experience once they returned home. experience of researching his ancestors.
These records are kept at TNA He has a particular interest in maritime
(series WO161), and a research guide history and the natural world. His latest
explains how to search them by name: book is A History of Birds (White Owl).
https://familytr.ee/interviews. They He is also author of The Wreck of the
can be downloaded for a small cost SS London, Tracing Your Seafaring
the date of capture, transfers between (although free during the Covid Ancestors, and How Our Ancestors Died
camps, and deaths while in detention restrictions). Some experiences are amongst others.
and some of this information may be
in non-English languages, especially
Service records for
French and German. The archive also
military personnel
incorporates anxious enquiries to the
Red Cross from relatives whose loved PoW interviews at
ones had been reported missing. TNA (series WO161)
Red Cross archive of
You will often need to hunt through WW1 Prisoner PoW index cards
many different cards to find the of War
CWGC site
Background reading for PoW MT9 project for
deaths merchant navy
The British Library has a short online essay
about PoWs in the Great War: www.bl.uk/ /LVWRI%ULWLVKRIêFHUV
world-war-one/articles/prisoners-of-war taken prisoner (book)

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 39

 DIGGING DEEPER

Twiglets
CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Gill Shaw’s 3x great-grandmother steps into the limelight
this month, in a chapter of the family history that includes
larceny, transportation, and an unfortunate man sent to an
early grave

I
love the way this great hobby of ours He said he found the money on the floor, eldest boy. He’d be about 16 by now, and
sometimes likes to dangle a big juicy but the desk was evidently forced open, I know he followed in his father’s footsteps
carrot, then snatch it away again and through the promptitude of Sergeant as a carver and gilder. In the meantime,
almost immediately. It has such a sense Reidy, £16 of the sum was recovered. Catherine seems to have taken over the
of humour! O’Brien was committed for trial.’ running of the shop.
I’m sitting here looking at my 3x great- Oh heck. A servant, or shop assistant Momentarily I’m distracted by the
grandfather’s name on a page from an Irish thought that £28 10s in takings would
index to prerogative wills, and thinking Oh heck. A servant, have been a tidy sum in 1838 (and by the
what might have been. Everything is in intriguing idea of a £3 note…), but back to
order. His name, Joseph Riboldi. The
or shop assistant the search results where the last news report
address, George’s Street, Limerick. The perhaps, with his hand gives the horrific verdict:
date, 1840 – four years after his death. All ‘Guilty – To be transported for seven
that’s missing is the will.
in the till... years’.
I had high hopes this index meant perhaps, with his hand in the till. What Seven years. Heavens. I know that
Joseph’s will was filed away in an archive happened next? Three more news articles sentences handed out in these times far,
somewhere, but when I drew a blank, I from the Limerick papers report the trial in far outweighed the crime, but somehow
got in touch with Family Tree expert Chris October, this time with more detail: it feels doubly shocking when it’s one of
Paton. Sadly, Chris says the listing doesn’t ‘Mrs Riboldi’s son swore that the desk in your own ancestors that’s both victim and
mean the will itself has survived, only that his mother’s shop had been broken open accuser. Not that I imagine my 3x great-
it once existed. Aw, what a swizz! No doubt and £17 taken therefrom. Previous to the grandmother would have played much part
it was consumed in that infamous fire at money being taken he counted what was in the trial or sentencing once the police
the Public Record Office in Dublin… in the desk and it amounted to £28 10s. had become involved.
Not to worry. I’m grateful that at least There was one £3 note in particular which But I can’t help wondering what
the ledger’s still around to prove Joseph left he could identify and that note was found happened to O’Brien after his conviction.
a will, and all is not lost. I’ve barely started in the prisoner’s possession, with others to Googling turns up a searchable Ireland to
to search the local newspapers yet, and the amount of £16.’ Australia transportation database at the
maybe I can piece together a bit more of Although he’s not named, I suspect the Irish National Archives (nationalarchives.
my ancestors’ stories from there. son mentioned here is Joseph junior, the ie) and it takes only a minute to find him
At the British Newspaper Collection at
Findmypast, I input plain ‘Riboldi’ and
limit my search to Ireland in the late-
1830s/1840s.
And we’re off. Straight in with a
news report mentioning a ‘Mrs Riboldi’
– this must be Catherine, my 3x great-
grandmother. It’s from the Limerick
Chronicle of 4 August 1838 (two years after
Joseph died) but when I click through to
the column headed ‘Petty Sessions’, it’s not
quite the small town trivia I was expecting.
‘William O’Brien, a servant of Mrs
Riboldi, George’s Street, was charged with
stealing £17 10s out of a desk in her shop.

William O’Brien, sentenced to 7 years’

transportation for stealing from his
employer

40 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 TRACING BRANCHES

listed there: ‘O’Brien, William, age 20;

trial Limerick City, October 1838; crime
larceny; sentence transportation seven
years’.
Back at Findmypast I check out the
Australia Convict Ships records. Although
there’s more than one prisoner called
William O’Brien, I think this might be our
man: a 23-year-old who arrived in New
South Wales in June 1839 on board a ship
called the Waverley. Although he’s a couple
of years older than on that previous record,
all the other facts match.
I click through to the image of the So close! Gill has found the index entry for the will of her ancestor Joseph Riboldi –
record book and wow, what an amazing a will that itself no longer survives
amount of detail! William’s occupation is find a treasure trove of Australian websites results. Oh dear. Top of the list is the one
given as ‘indoor servant and coachman’, about prisoners, and nearly all are free to outcome I didn’t want. Convict Death
which tallies well with ‘servant of Mrs search. The South Australian Maritime Register: William O’Brien, ship Waverley.
Riboldi’ in the newspaper report of the Museum (maritime.history.sa.gov.au) tells Aged 23, he died in Sydney Hospital in
trial. He’s a single man, aged 23, native me the Waverley sailed from Dublin on 21 December 1839, only six months after the
place Limerick, religion Roman Catholic, March 1839 with 176 convicted men on prisoners disembarked. Perhaps he became
and he can read and write. He has a pale board, and arrived in Port Jackson, Sydney, ill on the voyage. Perhaps he was ill before
complexion, brown hair, grey eyes, 5ft on 16 June. Claim a Convict (hawkesbury. they even left Dublin.
3 1/4in tall. Such precision – even that net.au) adds that Waverley was a new ship, Poor William. Whatever mistakes he
quarter of an inch is recorded. That’s not built in Whitby only the year before, and made, what a short and sorry life he had.
all. O’Brien has a ‘diagonal scar between this voyage was the first of four trips it Well, I’m feeling a tad subdued now, and
the eyebrows, small mole on outer corner made down under with its sorry cargo of it doesn’t seem two hours since I was sitting
of left eyebrow, MW heart pierced with prisoners. here simply wondering what was in Joseph
two darts, and two daggers inside lower Next to the New South Wales Riboldi’s lost will. But there’s nothing
right arm, mark of a burn on back of right Government State Archives (records.nsw. to beat a cracking tangent in a direction
hand, two blue dots on back of left hand, gov.au). As well as a general searchable you really weren’t expecting, and having a
scar on back of forefinger of same’. database for convicts, it has sub-categories reason to search such amazing records on
This is incredible. For a second I think including pardons, certificates of freedom, the other side of the world!
it’s almost worth having a convict in applications to marry, convict bank
the family to uncover such detail of an accounts and more. So many possibilities!
ancestor’s appearance – but whoa. All this I can’t help hoping for a good outcome for About the author
information is here for one reason only, William – marriage or an eventual pardon Gill Shaw is a writer and former assistant
isn’t it; to enable identification should the would be nice – but a quick look among editor of ‘Practical Family History’. She
prisoner abscond… the marriage applications reveals no sign. lives in Cambridgeshire and loves singing,
But what next for William? As well as Let’s search the whole database then, and tracking down elusive ancestors.
the records at Findmypast and Ancestry, I adding ‘Waverley’ to narrow down the

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 41

 UPAASA
YOUR GENEALOGY GAME!

ESSENTIAL
SEARCH
SKILLS TO
MASTER

Consider
the bigger picture!
Improve your family history search skills with the Family Tree Academy.
This issue, David Annal invites you to research your ancillary branches

T
he Family Tree Academy is here to help you grow your In this issue, Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal
genealogy skills. The aim is to help teach more about the discusses the huge boon that researching the wider branches of your
search skills and source know-how needed to step up your family can represent, and how very much you will be making your
family history research. life harder if you only stick to researching your direct lines.

aunts, uncles and cousins. To ignore these Stepney on 15 September 1824 is well

Make your life easier... records is to shut off countless invaluable

research opportunities.
documented, but finding a record of his
birth was proving difficult.
He and Mary went on to have at least
very now and then, I come across a This month’s case study eight children, baptised in various east
E family historian telling me that they’re
only interested in their direct ancestors.
This month’s case study is an example of how
important it is that we consider the bigger
London churches between 1826 and 1844.
The records of the baptisms give William’s
I’m never quite sure how to respond while picture and also illustrates a number of other occupation as a haberdasher/draper
maintaining my professional decorum! Not crucial points. while the entries in the 1841 and 1851
only are they missing out on a whole host Censuses describe him as a ‘Traveller’ (i.e. a
of potentially fascinating stories, they’re also The subject of our search commercial traveller or travelling salesman)
making their job as a researcher that much The subject of our search is a man called and the 1861 census gives his ‘Rank,
harder. So often the answers to our trickiest William Dudley. William’s life from his Profession or Occupation’ as ‘Unable to work
genealogical problems are to be found in marriage to Mary Rogers at the east London – Draper’.
records relating to our ancestors’ siblings, parish church of St Dunstan and All Saints,
42 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk
 ILY TRE
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BECOME A BETTER FAMILY HISTORY SLEUTH
AC
ADEMY

What do the records reveal so far? William Dudley, the subject of this month's case study, married Mary Rogers at St
As far as addresses are concerned, the family’s Dunstan, Stepney, in 1824
abode was said to be Commercial Road,
Whitechapel in 1828, 1830 and 1832 while
later records find them living at various Taking note of discrepancies which can frequently be observed in the
addresses in Stepney. We can see straight away that there are some records that we use in our research. One is
problems here. the tendency of people to conflate the place
• We also have some listings for William Even allowing for the rounding down of they were born in with the place that they
in a variety of trade directories; at least ages in the 1841 census to the nearest five grew up in; sometimes they may not even
there are some which probably relate to years, we have a wide range of possible dates have been aware that the latter was not the
him. The entry in Robson’s 1830 London of birth, stretching from 1787 to 1796. And same as the former. The second, which we
Commercial Directory recording ‘Dudley, as William was said to be 80 when he died in will see the relevance of shortly, is the habit
Wm. Haberdasher, 38 Commercial rd clearly March 1866, we could be looking at a birth that people had of giving an imprecise place
relates to our man but what about the entry as early as 1785. of birth when filling in their census forms.
in the 1820 Post Office London Directory And then we come to the place of birth. The formula seems to be that the further you
listing ‘Dudley Wm. Haberdasher, 45, Gt. It’s always difficult to understand exactly were from the place you were born in, the
Surry Str. Blackfriars road? Is this the same what’s going in a case like this. Why, would more likely you were to give the name of the
William, prior to his marriage to Mary William claim (in 1851) to have been born nearest market town rather than that of the
Rogers? in London if he was actually born some 40 small village or hamlet in which you were
miles away in Bedfordshire? actually born. Perhaps there was a feeling
• Of course, when we’re trying to find a There are a number of factors to consider. that the name of the actual place of birth
record of someone’s birth, what we really would mean nothing to the census officials.
need to know is when and where they were Thinking how mistakes might occur
born and this is where the census comes into Firstly, the method used to compile the A summary so far
its own. The following details are recorded census which involved the enumerator The wide range of possible birthdates is
about William: copying the details from the householders’ always going to make a search like this
schedules into their summary books. It’s challenging but when we throw in the
Year Age Birthplace easy to see how mistakes can creep in during confusion about William’s birthplace, we
1841 45 ‘No’ – i.e. not in Middlesex this process. really are up against it. Particularly when a
1851 61 London search for a record of William’s birth/baptism
1861 74 Bedfordshire, Leighton Conflation of the birth place name in the Leighton Buzzard area fails to turn
Buzzard We also need to be aware of two phenomena up anything.
www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 43
UP YOUR GENEALOGY GAME!

So what can we do in this situation?

I decided to see if I could find any evidence
David Annal found of Dudley activity in the area and this led me
the marriage of to the discovery of a very interesting marriage
William Dudley record. But, before looking at that record,
and William there’s something else we need to consider.
Rogers recorded
in the parish Think boundaries
registers of A quick glance at a historical map of the area
Linslade in tells us that although Leighton Buzzard was
Buckinghamshire. (and indeed still is) in Bedfordshire, it’s also
Linslade is right right on the border with Buckinghamshire,
next to Leighton and when we bear in mind the tendency
Buzzard mentioned above for people to be imprecise
with birthplaces, we mustn’t forget that our
area of interest might well cross
county boundaries.
The marriage that I found took place
in the parish of Linslade in the county of
Buckinghamshire on 1 February 1786.
Linslade sits right next to Leighton Buzzard
on the opposite side of the River Ouzel. The
two settlements are now also divided by the
Grand Union Canal but they are in effect
one settlement, forming the civil parish
of Leighton-Linslade. Leighton Buzzard’s
railway station is actually located in Linslade.
The groom on the 1786 marriage was
William Dudley of St Clements, Middlesex
(i.e. St Clement Danes) and the bride was
Mary Gurney of Linslade. My theory was
that William and Mary were our William’s
parents and I quickly found the baptism of
William Dudley, son of William and Mary
Following the clue at St Clement Danes on 20 February 1788. I
from the Linslade found another child of William and Mary’s,
marriage register, Rebecca, baptised at St Clement Danes on
David then found 23 November 1786. Intriguingly, there was
this baptism also a later baptism of a Joseph Dudley, son
of William of William and Mary at Linslade in 1796.
Dudley at St
Clement Danes, Looking at the extended families
Westminster in A strong theory was developing and it
1788. Could this seemed to tick all the boxes but what I had
be the William so far was a long way from constituting proof
Dudley that David that this was the family we were looking for.
was looking for? I wanted to see what I could find out about
William and Mary and their extended
families.
I couldn’t see any obvious references to the
Dudley family in the immediate area but I
did find several references to the Gurneys.
Of particular interest was a succession of
baptisms of children of Thomas and Mary
Gurney between 1758 and 1773, including
that of a daughter called Mary in 1759.
Could this be the Mary who married
William Dudley in 1786?
I was quickly able to prove that this was
indeed the case. The will of Thomas Gurney
of Linslade, gentleman, was proved in the
44 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk
 ILY TRE
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BECOME A BETTER FAMILY HISTORY SLEUTH
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Hannah Gurney was the

sister of Mary Gurney of
Linslade. Her will helped to
prove that the Mary Gurney
who married William Dudley
was the mother of our
William. Hannah's will was
proved at the Prerogative
Court of Canterbury in 1833

Prerogative Court of Canterbury in 1797 haberdasher. But a marginal note attached area to London and settled in Islington.
and amongst a number of bequests to his to Mary Gurney’s will pointed us in an We know this because on 4 January 1832,
children I found a reference to ‘my daughter interesting direction. ‘Hannah Gurney formerly of Leighton
Mary the wife of Dudley’. Mary had named her daughter, Mary Buzzard in the County of Bedford but now
The will of Thomas’s widow, Mary, was Dudley, as the executor of her will but it residing at No.14 Shepperton Place Islington
proved in 1806 and by this time, it’s clear seems that the younger Mary had died in in the County of Middlesex Spinster’ sat
that her son-in-law, William Dudley, had 1809, leaving part of her mother’s estate down and wrote her will.
died. The only names mentioned in the will unadministered. The burial of Mary Dudley, It’s quite a short will, naming just a
are those of her daughter ‘Mary Dudley of widow, is recorded in the Linslade parish handful of beneficiaries, including, ‘my
Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, widow’ registers on 3 February 1809. The court then nephew Joseph Dudley of 14 Shepperton
and her two grandsons, William Dudley and appointed Mary Gurney’s youngest daughter, Place, draper son of my sister Mary Dudley’.
Joseph Dudley. Hannah in Mary’s place. No mention is made of William Dudley but
the proof that we’re on the right track here
A helpful marginal note... William’s Aunt Hannah comes when Hannah mentions, ‘all my estate
The two wills served to prove the identity The focus of the research now turned term and interest in a leasehold messuage
of the Mary Gurney who married William to Hannah. Hannah never married but or tenement Shop and Premises situate and
Dudley but we were no closer to establishing sometime between 1809 and 1832 she being No. 45 Great Surry Street Blackfriars
a link to ‘our’ William, the east London moved from the Linslade/Leighton Buzzard Road in the County of Surry’. This, you will
www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 45
UP YOUR GENEALOGY GAME!
In David Annal's case study it was evidence from Thomas
the wider branches that helped to confirm the Mary
ties between the Dudley and Gurney families and GURNEY
verify that the evidence David had found related to
the same William Dudley

William m. 1786 Mary Hannah

DUDLEY GURNEY GURNEY

William’s aunt’s will held

encouraging corrobative evidence
William m. 1824 Mary Joseph linking the two familes

DUDLEY ROGERS DUDLEY

bp. 1788 bp. 1796

While Hannah Gurney’s will

8 children didn’t mention William Gurney, it
did mention his younger brother
Joseph.
It was the mention of an
William’s marriage in 1824 was easy address in Hannah’s will, at
enough to find, however a variety of which William was found many
places recorded for his birth made his years previously, that provided
baptism harder to find vital clues regarding William

remember is the address found for William the discovery of a simple two-line entry in can be no doubt that our William Dudley is
Dudley the haberdasher, in the 1820 trade Pigot & Co.’s 1825/26 London Directory. the one who was baptised at St Clement
directory. Under the heading ‘Linnen Drapers – Retail’ Danes in 1788. He may well have spent a
we find the following: Dudley & Gurney, 29 considerable amount of his childhood in
Incontrovertible proof Commercial road, St George’s. Linslade/Leighton Buzzard and since his
This in itself doesn’t constitute absolute proof This provides incontrovertible proof of the father probably died when William was in
linking these people with our William link between our William and the family of his teens and his mother just a few years
but the final link in the chain comes with William Dudley and Mary Gurney. There later, he may well have been quite hazy about
where he was actually born. It’s also worth
noting that, even though he was baptised at
St Clement Danes, he could have been born
in the Linslade/Leighton Buzzard area.

That’s why it’s called a family tree

Researching our family histories is not
a lateral process. We don’t simply move
back through time in a simple series of
generational steps. Our direct ancestors’
siblings are an important part of their
stories, much as our direct ancestors play an
important role in their siblings’ stories. We
need to follow up leads, investigate the lives
of the wider family and most important of all
we always need to look at the bigger picture.
After all, there’s a reason why it’s called a
family tree and not a family twig.

The final piece of evidence, linking the

Dudley and Gurney families, was found in
an entry in Pigot's trade directory

46 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 ILY TRE
AM

E
F
BECOME A BETTER FAMILY HISTORY SLEUTH
AC
ADEMY

Putting it into practice Challenge 2

Enrich your research
Having built out the branches of your family tree using the
key collections in Challenge 1, now explore, as David did,
Cha ll enge 1 further records for details of your extended family in times’
past, such as:
Review your records • trade directories – for details of addresses
If you have not already done so, be • wills – for details of family relationships
sure to add your ancestors’ siblings Also explore information such as:
to your family tree. • witnesses’ names on marriage records
• extended family inhabiting different households on the
First look at the census and make a census
note of all siblings recorded there.

Second, revisit the parish baptism

records and birth indexes and The take-aways?
identify possible siblings. There are key, valuable lessons that we can learn from
David’s research.
• Very often a single record does not provide us with
concrete information.
• Rather than just decide that we have a ‘brick wall’,
by piecing together clues from many sources we can
build up a plausible theory.
• While, taken individually, each of these clues do not
provide compelling evidence; analysed collectively
David Annal has been involved in the they may provide the proof we so sorely seek.
family history world for more than 30 years
and is a former principal family history
specialist at The National Archives. He is
If you have ideas for subjects or research skills
an experienced lecturer and the author that you would like to see covered on the Family
of a number of best-selling family history Tree Academy pages, please email helen.t@
books, including Easy Family History and (with Peter family-tree.co.uk and we would be very
Christian) Census: The Family Historian’s Guide. David interested to hear from you.
now runs his own family history research business,
Lifelines Research.

JOIN THE FAMILY TREE STUDY CLUB

ILY TR
Since December 2020 we’ve been holding pocketmags.com/family-tree-magazine AM E
F

an online family history study group on

Zoom and we’d love you to join us. WHEN WILL THE STUDY GROUP
BE MEETING?
ABOUT THE MEETINGS Upcoming meeting dates are:
The Family Tree Study Club meetings are Meetings will resume on Monday 13th
available to subscribers to Family Tree. September (No meeting in August)
Each meeting will last about an hour. [i.e. the second Monday of the month] ST
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UD B
presentation, followed by a floor HOW CAN YOU JOIN? Y CLU
discussion. • Please visit https://www.family-tree.
We hope the sessions will be enjoyable, co.uk/account/login
hands-on learning experiences and look • Once logged in you will find the link to
forward to seeing you there. the latest Study Club Zoom session, and The Family Tree
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Subscribers to Family Tree print or digital is a one-time process. The onscreen Study Club, please
email helen.t@family-
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If you don’t yet subscribe to Family Tree, subscriber number and reset your
see page 16 or for digital see https:// password if needed.

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 47

UNLOCK THE STORY OF YOUR GENES
Making DNA work
FOR YOU

Welcome to the DNA Workshop! In every issue DNA adviser Karen Evans will be
unpacking a reader case study, and giving step-by-step tips for you to use in your DNA
research at home. It’s time to unlock the story of your genes…

brother, myself and our father were trying to place our father as Howard’s
ASSESSING DNA born. The bad news is that Bailey is 2nd-3rd cousin, rather than myself?
MATCHES by far the most common surname in I decided that the best way forward
Biddulph and, when we first moved was use ThruLines results to find
Reader Gina got in touch to ask here, was renowned for its supposed the best position. Whichever Bailey
for Karen's help in overcoming a intermarrying with other Baileys and grandfather I chose, the ThruLines
ThruLines challenge she had met three or four other local families. results did not vary much, with
when assessing her I then used DNA Painter using the matches below Emanuel Bailey and
Bailey surname matches at above few matches plus Howard tree. his wife Judith Barnet. I placed us
Ancestry DNA I parented my father where Howard under John Bailey (1889). This John
would be my 2nd-3rd cousin, and is the son of Alfred Bailey (1868) and
GINA: Dear Karen, I am hoping that no matter how I varied things, the Emily Sherratt (Alfred is a grandson
you can find a little time to give me highest scoring position was with an of Emanuel Bailey). It produced a few
some guidance to overcome my DNA additional generation between my Sherratt matches, so taking the advice
frustrations. father and the common ancestor, an from the DNA video on family-tree.
My brother and I have both taken impossibility to fit within the dates co.uk/videos, I expanded the Emily
an Ancestry DNA test to try to and putting my father, who was born Sherratt leg, including the maternal
establish who our father Arnold’s in 1912 in the same generation as lines. It produced a cluster of matches
father was. For both sets of results, Howard who was born in the 1940s. of all strengths, with some to both my
the strongest match is for a Howard Expanding Howard’s tree shows brother and me, some to him only,
(293cM to my brother and 235cM that he also has a link via his great- and some to me only.
to myself.). He has an unlinked tree grandfather Thomas Armitt (1821) The results throw up some queries
of 24 people, so I proved what was who married Ann Bailey (1828). Ann which I cannot find an answer to.
there and looked at common and Bailey is a distant relation of Emanuel Initially, the strength of the
matches. All pointed towards Baileys Bailey. I have been trying to find out Howard match led me to parent
of Biddulph, Staffordshire, and how a multiple link affects the value of us under Joseph Bailey (1861) and
proving their trees also, led back to a match, but have not been successful. Olive Simcock. This produced the
an Emanuel Bailey (1803) married to Is it the simple sum of what each link same result for the Bailey matches
Judith Barnet (1807). would be? Is it this which is inflating and unfortunately no matches at all
The good news is, that Biddulph the match figures for Howard, and for Simcocks, even going back three
is about six miles from where my skewing the DNA Painter result, generations from Olive. A few more

48 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 ENLISTING DNA ON YOUR FAMILY HISTORY QUEST

Why do siblings have

different matches or matches
with different amounts?
One of the fascinating things about
DNA is how DNA between you and
your matches is shared. The DNA
each sibling gets is completely random
so, although you get 50% of your
DNA from your mum and 50%
from your dad, ‘which’ segments they
give you is due to recombination.
So, mum may give you lots of DNA
from her mother but not so much
from her dad, meanwhile your sibling
gets more maternal grandfather.
Karen’s spreadsheet for keeping track of matches This is why siblings can have very
different amounts with a match. As an
choices of parenting position also I suppose with the number of example, my mom had a new match
produced zero maternal matches. matches for us both on Ancestry on Ancestry with whom she shares
Now a series of questions which DNA, I expected a reasonable number 28cMs. I was not initially excited but
I hope you can shed some light on, of matches on the paternal line, but then saw the match shared 50cMs
to help to point me in the right there were just nine. This surprised with my aunt and 118cMs with
direction. me and I still cannot find what is the my uncle – this match was worth
I cannot work out why, when norm? investigating! Mom has many matches
my brother and myself both match, I contacted the top match, Neil, which she only shares with one sibling
sometimes the figures are similar and and he confirmed that he had used the and they all have matches the other
sometimes very diverse. Also, for some Y-DNA to trace his illegitimate father’s hasn’t got. If you look at part of my
matches, it is just one of us and not paternal line through a grandson of spreadsheet above, which I use to
the other. Simon Beech. track matches, you can see the vast
When I first expanded Howard’s The only fly in the ointment is that range between my mom and her two
tree, I used all the surnames plus although Neil is number one in the full siblings. Second cousins and closer
Biddulph as filters against my brother’s Y-DNA matches, he is not a match always match, after that, it’s all down
and my matches, and by far Baileys to either my brother or myself on to the joy of recombination!
of Biddulph gave the most results. Ancestry, and even more puzzling
Later, when I checked these against Neil does not appear in the autosomal DNA amounts & relationships
the ThruLines results, there were quite matches for my brother’s FTDNA You have a match, Ancestry tells you
a lot of reasonable scoring matches test. Any ideas? Surely paternal DNA they are in the 4th-6th cousin range,
not included. I decided to check their should reflect in the autosomal so that is where they fit, right? Not
trees and it quickly became obvious results also? necessarily. All the testing companies
that there were some common factors. Match number two was a lot easier give you a possible relationship but
None of them had many recorded as John Bailey has a skeleton tree on there are often multiple places that
sources other than Ancestry Trees and FTDNA which confirmed the Bailey match can fit in your tree. A match of
appear to have used one 6,000-person surname link. Neil’s match is Genetic 55cMs is in that range of 4-6th cousin
tree as their source. My checking Distance 1 and John Bailey’s match but looking at the relationship chart
found some discrepancies which is Genetic Distance 2. What is the you can see that there are multiple
linked some of them into our Bailey significance of this? possibilities. However, intermarriage
tree. ThruLines obviously sees the I do hope that you can answer can affect those positions so a match
6,000-person tree plus everyone else’s at least some of my queries, and if can appear more closely related than
copies as the norm and ignores my possible, point me in the direction of a they are. In Gina’s case Howard
‘lone furrow’. possible Bailey grandfather. is related in two separate ways
One other thing that these matches Thanks in anticipation. (creating pedigree collapse) but the
have, is a high value for so far back Gina Jervis (née Nixon, possibly one relationship is quite distant so
in the tree, some exceedingly high. Bailey) will have little effect on his overall
Is this simply a sign of another link relationship. If you have a tree which
somewhere earlier in their trees, which KAREN: Gina really has been making shows your direct ancestors were
I cannot easily find? her DNA work hard! I was keen to interrelated, then more caution needs
Stumped by the lack of matches on answer some of her questions so that to be taken when looking at amounts
Emanuel Bailey’s paternal side, I asked she could move forward with her of DNA and cousin ranges.
my brother to do a Y-chromosome test research. This is a complex and fascinating
with FamilyTree DNA. subject which requires expert

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 49

UNLOCK THE STORY OF YOUR GENES

explanation – if you have endogamy and finding a ThruLine doesn’t prove grandfather in 1912. I also imagined
(multiple ancestors in your tree the genealogical link. Gina shared that Arnold was actually the grandson
sharing common ancestors) then her Ancestry results and I could see of John and Letitia through either
I found The DNA Geek’s blog many of the ThruLines in the Sherratt Joseph or another son. They had come
extremely useful https://familytr.ee/ line were below 20cMs and even up very highly. Although Joseph and
endogamy. She also did a fantastic single figure matches. At this level his brothers would be in their late 40s
talk on her own endogamous family matches could be false. ThruLines or 50s it doesn’t mean they couldn’t
on RootsTech which is still available. can be wonderful for hints, but it is father Arnold.
the traditional paper research which
ThruLines-user beware! validates or disproves them. For me Using Y-DNA testing
One of my ancestors was Mary the biggest tool to identifying matches The human Y chromosome is the
Fletcher. I know she was illegitimate is through clustering – I go where the male sex chromosome which, like the
as I have her birth and marriage matches take me and how the clusters paternal surname (in some but not
certificates. She is the daughter of of matches relate back to a common all cultures), passes down virtually
Eliza Fletcher and granddaughter of ancestor. unchanged from father to son. A Y
William Fletcher. Mary is mistaken chromosome DNA test (Y-DNA test)
in many trees as being the daughter The wonders of WATO is used to find a man’s patrilineal
of William so I often get hints What Are The Odds? or WATO is a or direct father's-line ancestry.
through common ancestor hints and tool at DNA Painter that allows you Occasionally and randomly, there
ThruLines suggesting I put William to create a tree, add matches and then, are mutations (errors in the copying
as dad. ThruLines is not telling me using the amount of shared DNA, process), and these changes can be
I'm wrong, it is merely showing me place the tester in various places as a used to estimate the time frame in
how other trees see Mary – I can take hypothesis. WATO works out if the which two or more testers share a
the hint or ignore it. The hint won’t place is possible and also how probable most recent common ancestor or
go away if a match has it on the tree. the hypothesis is. You can put in MRCA. Basically, imagine testing a
If another DNA match has a tree various hypotheses and the higher the number of places or ‘markers’ on the
with another father for Mary, that number, the more likely the position is Y chromosome looking for similarities
will also appear as a possible ancestor. correct compared to each other. and mutations. If test results are a
ThruLines can be wrong, right or I created a simplified WATO with perfect or nearly perfect match, men
somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t Gina in the hypothesis position. are related within a genealogical time
say a ThruLine is more ‘right’ if lots of Arnold was placed as the grandson frame.
matches have the same information on of Alfred, which was possible, but If you are interested in
the tree and you are the only one who the least likely hypothesis based on understanding the science behind
believes differently. others I tried. I placed Arnold as child Y-DNA testing then there are several
Another problem in relying on of Joseph and a full and half sibling websites which explain in much more
ThruLines is that they only exist if of Joseph’s other children, and both detail than I can here. I found this
matches have trees which Ancestry of these were popping up as more Thrulines one really useful https://familytr.ee/
can then use to find possible links. A likely than the current place. Based example screen demyst. The key thing to remember is
lack of ThruLines along a particular on dates, It would seem very unlikely for William that Y DNA by itself doesn’t tell you
line doesn’t prove the line is incorrect that Joseph could be Arnold’s great- Fletcher who you descend from. Mark’s DNA

50 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 BECOME A DNA SUPER-SLEUTH!

is compared to the DNA of other men

who’ve tested – the surname and the
paper trail connected to that DNA is
open to interpretation.
Gina’s brother Mark tested at
FamilyTreeDNA and below is the Y-DNA symbol meanings
Y-DNA test results page, which
examined 37 markers, looking for
similarities and mutations between
the tester and everyone else on the descendants who share his surname What next?
database. He has nine matches: three and could be tested to breakdown Based on WATO, I would look
share the Bailey surname but the my Overfield brick wall from the again at the matches who share
other six have different surnames. 18th ccntury. Unfortunately, Henry’s a lot of DNA but seem distantly
Although some men have many grandfather William Overfield (born related. If none of these show recent
matches, I’ve found this to be a 1815) was the illegitimate son of intermarriage then they are probably
fairly typical number. The genetic Mary Overfield, so none of William’s related to Gina in a different way to
number column tells us how closely male descendants are following the the one in which they have
the matches maybe related by how Y DNA line of an Overfield (I could been placed.
many mutations there has been. If you test them to find what William’s If there is little/no DNA evidence
click on the orange TiP button you father’s surname might be!). In my pointing to Olive Simcock then it may
get a probability of how closely that case I knew the surname Overfield be more likely (and indeed WATO
relationship actually is. Mutations are came from a female, as does Neil, believes it is) that Arnold is the
random so it is impossible to know Mark’s highest match. But if any of grandson rather than great-grandson
exactly how many generations without the matches have a ‘misappropriated of James and Letitia by Joseph or
traditional tree-building research. For father’ then the surname (in Y DNA one of their sons but Gina needs the
example, John is a genetic distance of terms) is no longer the same. Other higher level DNA matches to make it
2 but this could indicate a common reasons might include adoption, clearer. I have to say that, based on the
ancestor as close as four generations taking mother’s surname to preserve matches available, she is presently at
away or as far as twelve generations. the name, later hereditary surnames. an impasse.
According to ISOGG (International Gina knows that some of the At this moment in time Gina can
Society of Genetic Genealogy), if Y-DNA matches have also taken only carry on with what she is doing
the two tests match perfectly on 37 Ancestry or Family Finder autosomal and look to disprove the possible
markers, there is a 50% probability tests, so why don’t they appear on scenarios given. Based on the matches,
that the MRCA was fewer than two Mark’s match list? They are related it may now be a case of hurry up and
to three generations ago, a 90% but don’t share enough/any autosomal wait. It took nearly three years for a
probability that the MRCA was fewer DNA. Autosomal DNA testing is match to appear that showed me I
than five generations ago, and a 95% most accurate up to five generations, was on the right track for my father's
probability that the MRCA was fewer so if these men are more distantly missing grandparent and then I was
than seven generations ago. The related then there is a high chance lucky to have a match which pointed
higher the genetic number, the further they won’t appear on the Ancestry (more or less) to the right man. While
the common ancestor is likely to be. DNA or Family Finder match list. I were waiting for matches, I would
There could be several reasons why Without the Y-DNA they wouldn’t try to gain a response from any shared
some of Mark's matches do not share know they were definitely from the matches of Howard that haven’t
the Bailey surname. For example, same Bailey line and even then, the been identified, especially the ones
my great grandfather was Henry shared ancestor could be before any above 30cMs. I’d also have a look at
Overfield. There are plenty of male paper evidence. MyHeritage (the ones of 50cMs) and
see if contact with matches brought up
anything. Nothing may come of it but
nothing ventured...

Linked Bailey
Y-DNA matches

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 51

UNLOCK THE STORY OF YOUR GENES

:+$7n61(:"
Karen walks us through Ancestry DNA’s new ‘do you recognise new feature? If you know how a match fits into your tree you can
them?’ feature. add the details! After creating a Quick and Dirty tree for Nicky I
Have you had your Ancestry DNA match list updated to the was able to work out that she was my uncle’s third cousin.

Nicky

I click on the ‘Yes’ button under

‘Do you recognize them?’ I now get
a screen asking for more details.

Nicky is from my uncle’s paternal

Nicky side so I click on father’s side
and I’m then asked to assign a
relationship.

Nicky

I click on 3rd cousin but you

can see Ancestry give me all the
Nicky
relationship options they could
share (working from most to least
frequently occurring).

Nicky Once I’ve confirmed it, the match

screen adds the new information
and I’m ready to go!

Uncle and Nicky It’s easy to amend by going on the

match’s page (click ‘view match’)
and clicking on the pencil by the
new information.

52 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

WEB RESEARCH AIDS

How to find your

Focussing largely on British

heritage families,
Will Barber Taylor looks
at the key online resources to
help you trace family in India

A
sk anyone who has for your family history in India online Above: Entry other impressive collections relating
ever done family is Ancestry. The popular genealogical to the Great to India, most notably the records
history and they will site has a great set of records, Mosque, Delhi, of the East India Company and the
all tell you the same particularly for beginners. 1894 India Office from 1746 to 1939.
thing – that at one • India, Select Births and Baptisms, What is particularly notable about the
time or another they have hit a brick 1786-1947 Below: The India East India Company’s records is not
wall. Some relative has seemingly • India, Select Marriages, 1792-1948 Select Births simply the scale of them but also the
disappeared off the records or a line • India, Select Deaths and Burials, and Baptisms detail of the records. This is because,
cannot be traced back further than 1719-1948 collection on throughout its history the East India
a particular point. Finding missing The India Select Births, Marriages Ancestry spans Company and its successor the India
members of your family can be and Deaths are an easy to navigate 1786-1947 Office employed thousands of people
particularly tricky if it is not possible sets of records and, whilst consisting and as such will help many people
to take a trip down to the local archive of selected records with only a Bottom: The research their family history in India.
centre to trawl for yourself. This is transcription of the original record, India Office The records can help you easily
often the case if you have ancestors they are an extremely useful source. records on trace the career of your ancestors, as it
who lived in another country to you, Though the records do not fully Ancestry span helped me trace my great-uncle Major
such as India. Millions of people overlap – with the select Marriage 1746-1939. Valentine Chiodetti’s various postings
in Britain, America and across the Records beginning in 1792, the Author Will Taylor in the Army through the records
world have ancestors who lived, loved Select Births and Baptisms beginning Barber has used of the India List Civil and Military
and died in India yet they can find in 1786 and the Select Deaths and these records to contained within the Registers of
it is tricky to navigate the various Burials in 1719, meaning that the trace the career Employees of the East India Company
collections to find answers to their death records begin at an earlier date of his relation and the India Office, 1746-1939. As
questions. This guide will break down than the birth or marriage records, Major Valentine such it can help you easily find out
where you can find information making it sometimes difficult to fully Chiodetti about their career and help you find
relating to your family in India and research a family’s history – Ancestry’s
give you hints and tricks that will help records are an excellent starting point
you to trace your family tree even for research.
further back.
There are, of course, a variety of East India Company records
websites that hold information on Registers of Employees of the East
India and its past. It can often be India Company and the India
difficult to know exactly where to Office, 1746-1939
start, however whether you are a https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/
beginner or more experienced with collections/61468/
researching your family history in Alongside the BMD records are several
India then I hope that this guide will
offer some insight as to how to trace
your family tree as far back as you
can. Firstly, here is a breakdown of
some of the material that is available
online and how best to use it.

Ancestry
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
Births, marriages & deaths
A good place to start off when looking

54 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 TRACING BRITISH INDIA CONNECTIONS

out where they were serving in the One huge bonus be able to access images of the of my elusive great-grandparents.
civil service, medical establishment, or of consulting the original document which can be There had been family talk of my
the military. BMD collection valuable to find out more about your great-grandmother being raised by
If you can trace your ancestors for India on ancestors. FindMyPast’s British India Seventh Day Adventists. Using the
further back, the records can often Findmypast is Office Births & Baptisms, British names of my great-grandparents’
become more, rather than less, useful. that you can India Office Marriages and British witnesses, William Charles and Ellen
This is because in the early days of the view the images India Office Deaths & Burials are Donaldson, and comparing them to
East India Company, the company of the original therefore an extraordinary resource. records of the Seventh Day Adventists
liked to keep close records of the documents – Whilst Ancestry does also have some living in the area that they married in,
births, deaths, and marriages of its as seen in this of the same records as FindMyPast, I was able to confirm the
employees. This can be invaluable in example of a the original images provided by family rumour.
helping to break down a brick wall in birth record FindMyPast allow you to see the
your research as often the East India above occupations of your ancestors, their India Office wills
Company’s record of the event is the religion and, in the case of marriages, British India Office Wills & Probate
only one available online. who witnessed them. The often tight- Collection 1749 – 1947
Search tip! knit communities in parts of India https://search.findmypast.co.uk/
Though
Dutch East India Crew Index means that witnesses, whether related search-world-records/british-india-
transcription
Dutch East India Crew Index 1633 errors from the to the couple or merely friends, can office-wills-and-probate
– 1795 original records prove extremely useful in tracing the The other most valuable set of records
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/ can sometimes specific regiment of a family member FindMyPast has is a set of wills from
collections/61290/ make it difficult, or what their wider social circle was. the India Office dating from the
Ancestry also has the records of the use of Ancestry’s The ability to find witnesses on 1700s right up to the 1930s. The
wildcard function
Dutch East India’s Crew Index for marriage records proved invaluable to British India Office Wills & Probate
can often rectify
1633 to 1795 available. Whilst not this. me when attempting to find evidence Collection 1749-1947 is therefore an
as detailed as the British East India invaluable collection for any family
Company’s records and focusing more
on arrivals and departures, rather than
on the lives of employees as the EIC
records do, they are none the less an
impressive index that can help locate
when precisely your ancestor entered
or left India during the early part of
European occupation.

FindMyPast
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
Births, marriages & deaths – with
original images
British India Office Births
& Baptisms – https://search.
findmypast.co.uk/search-world-
records/british-india-office-births-
and-baptisms
British India Office Marriages –
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/
search-world-records/british-india-
office-marriages
British India Office Deaths &
Burials – https://search.findmypast.
co.uk/search-world-records/british-
india-office-deaths-and-burials
FindMyPast has similar Birth,
Marriage and Death collection sets View the ‘UK, Register of Employees of the East India Company and the India Office,
to Ancestry but with one crucial 1746-1939’: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61468/
asset – if you use FindMyPast you’ll This example shows pages from India Office Civil Servant List, 1861

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 55

WEB RESEARCH AIDS

researcher. Whilst it is unfortunate who their siblings married and even East India from 1793 to 1839. These types of
that FindMyPast haven’t provided their occupations. Similarly, the Docks and East record sets are particularly unique
transcriptions for many of the wills British in India Directories of 1792 India House, to India and as such are particularly
that have spidery handwriting, to 1948 as well as the variety of Civil both London, valuable in helping to pinpoint your
through deciphering the wills you can Service Pensions sets, whilst small in illustrated ancestor at precise moments, such as
help further build up your family tree comparison to other records sets, are 1808 and 1817 during the Indian Mutiny, or when
and also find out the exact amount of invaluable for placing your ancestor’s respectively they joined the Army and where.
money owed and left as well. occupation, where they lived and how If you subscribe to FIBIS then you
At times, the religious or financial long they had worked in their field. will also be able to access exclusive
disagreements between family This allows you to potentially build content such as the highly informative
members – such as featured in the up your family tree and to flesh it out FIBIS forums as well as the FIBIS
1849 will of my ancestor Julian and find out more about individual journal, a bi-yearly publication that
Boilard which included his less than ancestor’s lives. features articles about all aspects
pleasant assessment of his children’s of family history in India. The
financial abilities – can be found. FIBIS publication has a wealth of richly
Wills are pure research gold for the The Families in British India informative articles that may prove
family researcher. Society: https://www.fibis.org/ useful in unlocking your family in
The Families in British India Society, India. Also among the spaces that you
British in India, British in or FIBIS, is one of the best resources can only access as a member of FIBIS
India Directories, Civil Service on the internet for those researching are the group discussion section, lists
Pensions their family tree in India. You can of European Inhabitants of Bengal and
Other smaller record sets are equally search the majority of the FIBIS Madras in the early 19th century, the
beneficial. The British in India record archive for free without having to John Morgan Photograph collection
set on FindMyPast, though small, pay for the privilege. FIBIS’ records containing many pictures from the
ranges from 1671 to 1961 and if contain similar information to 19th and 20th century unavailable
your ancestors are included in this set FindMyPast and Ancestry, but they anywhere else and many other
then you may be in luck as each mini also have more niche collections as exclusive record sets. It is these kind of
biography contained in the record set well such as the Agra Fort Census of niche collections that helps set FIBIS
can provide information on where July 1857, taken during the Indian apart from other sites.
or when an individual was born and Mutiny of that year, and the Register FIBIS’ more specialist collections are
who they married, their children, of Bombay Army European Soldiers excellent for taking your family tree

Left: An extract from the will of Julian

Boilard, citing that he does not wish his
son (also named Julian Boilard) to be
entitled to any further inheritance

Left: The witnesses’ signatures

at the marriage of Will Barber
Taylor’s ancestors. Tracing
the identities of the witnesses
enabled Will to prove a family
story that his great-grandmother
had been raised by Seventh Day
Adventists

56 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 TRACING BRITISH INDIA CONNECTIONS

Maps and plans make useful visual additions to your research: map of India,
1857; plan of Madura, 1755

in India further than you might have

thought possible and the ability to
search the site for free without having
a subscription is a welcome bonus for
those starting out on their journey to
find their family tree in India.

BACSA
The British Association for
Cemeteries in South Asia : https://
www.bacsa.org.uk/
The British Association for Cemeteries
in South Asia is another fascinating
site that is key to uncovering more
about your family. Whilst the site
is limited to approximately 50,000
burials across India, Burma, Southeast The FIBIS menu and
Asia and Japan, it is very useful for archives, searchable
locating where your ancestors were free online
buried and also gives an indication as
to which relative was responsible for records – through BACSA I discovered service which allows access to books
their burial and in some instances how my 4x great-uncle Gabriel Chiodetti, and magazines useful for research.
they died. whose brief life is only recorded via However, like FIBIS, it’s possible
Grave inscriptions can also be his graveside inscription. BACSA, like to search the majority of its archive
extremely useful for uncovering other websites mentioned through entirely free. This means that if you’re
ancestors that don’t appear in other this piece, does offer a subscription unsure as to whether your ancestor is

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 57

WEB RESEARCH AIDS

for me to understand how my great-

grandparents were able to leave their
home and escape capture or murder
during the Japanese invasion and
the information provided helped me
to make sense of stories passed on
through the family – the list may
similarly prove useful if your family
lived in Burma at the time.

British Newspaper Archive

https://www.britishnewspaper
archive.co.uk/ & https://www.
findmypast.co.uk/
The British Newspaper Archive is a
key resource if you are attempting to
find ancestors in India. The archive
contains an array of newspapers such
as Homeward Mail from India, China
and the East, Englishman’s Overland
Mail, Madras Weekly Mail and many
others which were printed in India.
The newspapers can provide insight
into remarkable instances that involve
your ancestor that have not been
recorded elsewhere. They may also
provide records of births, marriages,
and deaths. They are particularly
useful if you want to find out exactly
included in their records, it won’t cost for tracing your relatives who may Tomb of Actmad when your ancestors came to or left
you anything to search. have had to have leave the country Od Doulah, 1844 India as they provide regular and
during the Second World War. The Explore full accounts of passengers’ journeys
The Anglo Burmese list provides the names and size of the British and who was onboard ships when
Library the families of those leaving and their Newspaper the ships departed. If your ancestor
https://www.angloburmeselibrary. occupation, their current address, and Archive to add was employed by the government or
com/ the address they will be staying at once detail to your Army there is also a good chance that
Whilst Myanmar or Burma, as it they reach India. ancestor's life in their career trajectory will be recorded
was known during most of the The evacuation list was invaluable India in the pages of the newspapers as
British occupation, is no longer a the announcement of
part of India, many people living in promotions were regular
India would regularly cross between features in each of the
Burma and India meaning that if Indian papers.
your ancestors lived in what was then Whilst the majority of
categorised as part of Britain’s Indian the British Newspaper
Empire they may have lived in Burma. Archives material
Whilst most births, marriages is available only via
and deaths for Burma are available subscription you can still
on other sites such as Ancestry and search the site without
FindMyPast, other records such as the one to see if any of your
1942 list of evacuees from Burma to ancestors are mentioned
India during the Japanese invasion or in particular papers. The
company records for the Burmah Oil information that can be
Company and others are not available gleaned from newspaper
anywhere else other than through the reports truly is invaluable
Anglo Burmese Library. and well worth utilising
The site leans more towards those as it may very well break
who have a subscription and many down a brick wall in
of the site's BMDs are behind the your research and make
subscription wall. However, the your ancestor seem more
1942 evacuees' list is freely available alive than ever before.
and is an exceptionally useful guide

58 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 TRACING BRITISH INDIA CONNECTIONS

Other important tips Pages from Will the fact that they are born in another FamilySearch date from 1194 to 2015
When searching for your ancestors in Barber Taylor’s part of the country to your own. and often contain detailed genealogical
India it is important to remember just Family Register However, the continual movement of information as well as records of
how much of a crossroads the country the British Army in India meant that births, marriage and deaths relating to
was during the past. children could regularly be born in families going on pilgrimage. As such
One of the issues that has hampered locations far removed to where their it is a set that is well worth browsing
family historians searching for their parents were married, or their siblings (the records are not name searchable).
family in India is to presume that they were born. It is useful to know the name and
must be British when in fact India had Although this may seem to make place of birth for the person you are
large French, Portuguese, and Dutch things more complicated, the mixture searching on, and, if possible, the year
populations with significant minority of records available for India, not in which they undertook a pilgrimage.
populations from other countries simply BMDs but also Army service
including Italy, Germany and America. records, reporting in newspapers and Family register
Similarly, travel across the pension records can help provide a A particularly rare but effective source
subcontinent was not as uncommon far fuller picture of the life of your can be the family register – one
as might be presumed particularly ancestor than they might have had if came into my possession written by
for families that had acting military they had lived elsewhere. my ancestor Samuel DaCosta and it
service personnel amongst them. That proved to be a worthwhile source of
said it can be a good rule of thumb to Family from India information providing some insight
exclude a potential ancestor based on It is also crucial to keep in mind that into the personalities of members of
whilst most BMD record his family.
sets do not contain a Whilst tracing your missing family
great deal of information in India can seem like an exhaustive
on family from India task at times, it is truly rewarding
they are not absent from and thanks to the breadth of material
the records. Many who available online it is much easier than
served the British Army at any previous time. Hopefully, this
or Civil Service have guide will have illuminated some ways
their birth, marriage that will help you finally break down
and death records in that brick wall and find your missing
record sets on Ancestry family in India.
and FindMyPast,
although again these
sets are not complete.
If your ancestors were About the author
members of the Hindu Will Barber Taylor has recently
faith, then it is possible graduated from the University of
to find more detailed Warwick with a degree in History. He
records. The Hindu is also the host of the British political
Pilgrim Records of podcast The Debated Podcast.

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 59

WESTON-SUPER-MARE & DISTRICT FHS

Spotlight on...
Weston-super-Mare & District
Family History Society
For almost 40 years, Weston-super-Mare FHS has provided help and inspiration for those with North
Somerest kin. Vice-chair Peter de Dulin introduces the group and its activities

T
he Weston-super-Mare &
District Family History Society volunteers provide family
Society covers the whole history advice at Weston Library
area covered by North
Somerset Council. It also
includes the old Axbridge Registration
District and the towns of Clevedon,
Burnham-on-Sea, Nailsea, Portishead
and Weston-super-Mare. Villages
covered include Wedmore, Axbridge,
Yatton, Backwell and Nempnet
Thrubwell.
Within its area are four and a half
piers (Burnham’s pier is the shortest in
the UK, Clevedon is the prettiest and
Birnbeck is the only one connected
to an island), the major railway line
to the south west, an international
airport, a nationally-famous dairy
based in the Yeo valley and the
southern end of Brunel’s famous
suspension bridge. Stretching from
the southern edge of Bristol to the
beginnings of the Somerset Levels,
the area was mostly agricultural and
includes many farms, over 70 parishes
and a workhouse in Axbridge. The
Victorian seaside resort of Weston-
super-Mare is our home.

Society activities
The society, started in 1983 by a few
dedicated family history class students,
has grown into an active membership
in excess of 200. Meetings are held on
the last Tuesday of the month, except
for August and December, at Vintage
Church Hall, Hughenden Road,
Weston-super-Mare, BS23 2UR. At
present we are holding our meetings
via Zoom.
The society’s
Society projects journal Buckets &
On our website www.wsmfhs.org.uk Spades

60 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 THE SOCIETY SCENE

we have transcriptions of most of the Birnbeck Pier war memorials.

parish records in our area, which are Recent projects have
available free of charge to members. Banwell Church included researching
We are also transcribing monumental the Weston Worthies, a
inscriptions where possible, although collection of 40 portraits painted in Our website also has a
these activities have been curtailed due the early to mid-19th century. They comprehensive view of Axbridge
to the COVID restrictions. There are hung for many years in the Railway workhouse, including baptisms, births
also transcriptions of all the burials at Inn in Weston and were of notable and deaths, admissions and discharges
Weston-super-Mare town cemetery people of the town. The artist is in 1880-81, plus a complete study on
and the Weston-Super-Mare church Uphill Church unknown. the workhouse.
During non-Covid times, volunteers
from the society are available every
Saturday afternoon in Weston Library
to assist people in their research.

Publications & digital access

Our journal Buckets and Spades is
published three times a year and is
available to members either in hard
copy or digitally.
Our website is www.wsmfhs.org.uk
and we are also on Facebook.

How to join
New members are always
welcome; the subscription
rates are £9 a year for digital
membership, £12 for journal in
printed format for UK members
and £20 for non-UK members.
The membership runs from 1
January 1 to 31 December.

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 61

DISCOVER RESEARCH SOLUTIONS

Your questions
answered
With our experts Jayne Shrimpton,
David Annal, Kirsty F. Wilkinson,
Adele Emm & David Frost

Do I have the correct Smith?

I have read with great interest David Annal’s excellent article The second ticket issued at Hartlepool on 11
entitled ‘Getting to Grips with Family Reconstruction’ (FT September 1845, no. 255,095, states:
March 2021). • he was born at Bridlington;
Following on from his very detailed and helpful article I • first went to sea as an apprentice in 1833;
am now writing to ask for help with my brick wall which concerns • foreign service – none;
tracing my 2x great-grandfather William Smith’s birth location • when unemployed resides in Hartlepool.
together with learning the names of his parents and siblings.
The third ticket issued at Seaham on 25 May 1850,
Places identified no. 4480637, states:
My research so far has taken place mostly in two locations, briefly in • he was born at Bridlington;
Hartlepool, Co. Durham and Bridlington, East Yorkshire. My father • first went to sea as an apprentice but no date given;
was born in Hartlepool but it was my great-grandfather who, as a • foreign service – none;
married man, started the small family ‘bubble’ that began in that • when unemployed no location given.
location. No current family member had any knowledge of relatives
or ancestors connected with Bridlington, East Yorkshire which is Back in 1857, at the age of 44, as a widower, he married a lady
where my story so far has taken me. named Elizabeth Andrew aged 31 in St. Laurence’s Church, Scalby,
now a suburb of Scarborough (I hold a copy of their wedding
Facts identified certificate). The Hartlepool family were aware that Elizabeth Andrew
Starting in Hartlepool with my great-grandfather (who lived in that was born in Whitby. A current family member has in her possession
town but whose baptism took place on 13 February 1819, in St. a Victorian blue glass rolling pin emblazoned with the names of the
Mary’s Bridlington), he remained an ordinary sailor for a large part couple and a sketch of a Whitby ship called the Smales. Presumably
of his working life. I hold a few copies of the records of the ships William was a member of that ship’s crew when he and Elizabeth
upon which he served plus three of his seamen’s tickets. He also left first met.
a will dated 1897: very brief, he was a man of small means. The 1861 Census (RG9 Piece 3704 Folio 98 Page 10) provided
my earliest census sighting of William Smith, the sailor (b.1819).
The three seamen’s tickets Maybe he was at sea, when the earlier two censuses were recorded.
Here are the details of the three seaman’s tickets: Now to Sewerby where great-grandfather William Smith spent
his childhood and in turn, this brings me to the subject of my brick
The first ticket issued at Bridlington 13 January 1845, wall, namely the introduction of his father – my 2x great-grandfather
no. 355,82, states: – also named William Smith b. circa 1774, occupation labourer. He
• he was born in Bridlington; married Rachel Lowson on 9 April 1818 and their marriage took
• that he first went to sea as an apprentice in 1830; place in St. Mary’s Bridlington.
• he undertook foreign service – spent 4 months in America; I will now digress to provide what ‘I believe’ unfolded for the
• when unemployed he resides at Gransmoor, East Yorkshire. first ten years or so in the life of William Smith, sailor, baptised 13

62 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 YOUR FAMILY MYSTERIES SOLVED

February 1819 in Bridlington. Prior to marriage, his mother, Rachel I should also add that in the Bridlington death records I found a
née Lowson, baptised 18 August 1787, Bridlington, had probably Mary Smith, presumably a woman, i.e. not described as an infant
lived all her life with her parents in Sewerby but just a few months or child, who was listed as having died in 1771 with her place of
before her marriage her mother, Catherine Lowson, died leaving residence given as Speeton.
father John Lowson as a widower. So Rachel together with new If you are able to supply any advice as to how to approach such a
husband, William Smith, then lived with her father in Sewerby. problem as tracing my 2x great-grandfather William Smith’s parents
The following year, 1819, William, their first child, was born and and siblings, I should be very grateful.
thereafter followed four other children, two of whom died young. Pamela Stevens
Then ten years later Rachel’s husband William died (burial 9 July

A
1828 aged 54, recorded in St. Mary’s Bridlington parish register). It seems to me that you’re doing all the right things here.
After two more years her father John Lowson also died in 1830. Working with the surname Smith is tough at the best of times
John Lowson left a very detailed will – he owned his own home in and once we get back into the period before civil registration
Sewerby and the small parcel of land that surrounded it. I hold a and before the census it can be particularly challenging.
copy of the extensive set of relevant papers.
A further nine years on (4 March 1837) Rachel remarried in the Right time, right place
village of Burton Agnes. Her new husband was named William In this case you’ve found a baptism of a William Smith at exactly the
Whatt (or Watt, Wot etc.) and by the 1841 Census they were living right time in exactly the right area.
in Gransmoor. Both villages are located just south of Bridlington.
(William’s first seaman’s ticket records his next of kin as living in Is there anything proving the evidence wrong?
that village.) All you can do, in the first place, is assume that it’s the right one
Referring again to William Smith the seaman’s father, I found a unless you find evidence that it can’t be. That evidence would be
potential record in St. Mary’s Bridlington for his baptism dated 11 in the shape of an infant burial for the William who was baptised
June 1774. After further research this record appears to be connected at Speeton in 1774 or another marriage which discounts the 1817
with the nearby chapel of St. Leonard’s located in a hamlet called marriage to Rachel Lowson.
Speeton (coastal location just north of Bridlington). It claims to
have the smallest church in Yorkshire. Many of its records, but not Considering the timeline
all, were also logged in the Bridlington Parish Registers. The only The timeline that you’ve drawn up looks entirely convincing; the
exception being death records that, so far as I can determine, were one slight reservation I have is that the 1774 William Smith would
almost entirely recorded in St. Mary’s Bridlington because this have been 42 or 43 at the time of the marriage to Rachel which is
Chapel does not have a cemetery. considerably older than the average age for a man at first marriage in
So I viewed the records that FamilySearch.org provided for this this period, which would have been somewhere around 26.
chapelry. They went up to 1768 and gave no Smith result. I then
contacted the East Riding Archive Service at Beverley and asked Continue reconstructing the family
them for any Speeton records for the name Smith that they might Even with a surname as common as Smith it should be possible to
hold over the period 1768 to 1788. The Archive supplied me reconstruct the family using the method that I demonstrated with
with just three records, all baptisms, and each had a father named the Oliver family of Yetminster, Dorset (see FT Academy March
William Smith. Not only that but the record for 2x great-grandfather 2021). I would recommend that you continue with the task that
William’s baptism matched exactly the same date as that listed in you’ve begun by extracting all references to the name Smith from the
St. Mary’s Bridlington, i.e. 11 June 1774. The archive also gave me Bridlington and Speeton parish registers and attempting to arrange
names for the other two baptisms – potential sisters – Mary, 30 July them into family groups. You might find that there are other local
1769, and Ann, 27 September 1770. I have not managed to find sources, such as poor law and taxation records, which will add to the
either of these records logged elsewhere nor have I been able to trace picture. And don’t forget to continue to investigate the possibility
these girls. So that completed the Smith findings provided over my of wills.
requested date period. Using this process, it should quickly become obvious whether
I do hold parish register photocopies of the original baptisms of there are other families in the area into which your William is
these three events that took place in Speeton although currently I more likely to fit. My suspicion is that you’ve already found the right
have no knowledge as to whether these ancestors are mine or not! person. DA

Tracing a Ship’s Butcher

Q A
My grandfather, John Cooper, born 12 June 1879 in There is good news and bad news here. The good news is
Waterloo, Liverpool, was a butcher. He normally worked in a that seafaring is one of the best recorded professions, with
shop, but on the birth certificate of a son in January 1916 his useful records going back well into the 18th century. I have
occupation is given as ‘Ship’s Butcher’. had little difficulty in tracing my own seafaring ancestors and the
How would I be able to find any details about his work during the boats they sailed back to 1790. There is a wide range of records both
war? I think he must have gone to sea as I have his old sea chest. of seamen and their boats and ships. The bad news is that only a
Maureen Evason limited number have been indexed and are available online.
[continued overleaf]

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 63

DISCOVER RESEARCH SOLUTIONS

Searching crew lists

The main source for the period with which you
are concerned is the crew lists of British registered
ships. These were produced every six months and
list all the crew members together with their rates of
pay and details of former and subsequent ships. The
nature of the voyage and places visited is also there. The
problem is that no single repository holds all the records
and very few are indexed by crew name – you need to
know the name of the ship.

Where to look for crew lists

The majority of records are held at the Maritime History
Archive in Newfoundland www.mun.ca/mha and they know the
whereabouts of most of those they do not hold. They are indexing
the 1881 lists online – the year having been chosen because it’s a
census year. Lists for years ending in 0 and 5 are held at TNA or the
National Maritime Museum.
The best starting point is the Crew List Index Project (CLIP)
www.crewlist.org.uk – CLIP has indexed many of the crew lists that
are at local record offices in the UK and also that for 1915. CLIP
contains links to other sites which have data about seamen available
online but in many cases there is a cost. Maureen Evason writes: ‘As far as I can remember there were
never any markings on the sea chest. At some stage it was
What can we tell? painted white, but when I was little it was just rough wood with
Regrettably although there are many John Coopers I was unable a rope handle at each end. This is a photo of it as it is now.’
to find one which matched your description either in the available
online crew lists or the register of seamen’s tickets. I had hoped that
maybe John would have been at sea in 1915 but apparently not. butchers. In that case he could have been working for a butcher
Only ships with a large number of crew or passengers would have dealing in victuals for ships and his job would not have been much
carried a butcher whose job was to prepare joints of meat from different from ordinary butchering. If you look at street directories
carcasses, much as it is ashore. Smaller ships would have left the task for the period that will give you an indication of which businesses
to a cook. It points, therefore, to service with one of the companies he might have worked for. Generally it’s difficult to find out
running passenger liners from Liverpool such as White Star. That information about individual employees of a business but there’s
would enable you to narrow your search to the larger ships from that always a chance the company’s records might survive in the
company. There will be a cost involved in obtaining the crew lists local archive.
with no certainty of success. I had hoped the photo of John’s sea chest might provide a clue.
Usually they’d carry the owner’s name and often more information
Perhaps he was shore-based and perhaps a painting of the ship but this is a plain one and may
More prosaically John may not have served at sea after all. Some have been repainted at some time. As always local newspapers and
companies supplying meat to ships described themselves as ship’s the local family history society may be fruitful sources. DF

Do you know of Nimrod?

Q
I am trying to identify my husband’s 5x great- and Almondbury and Kirkheaton are again not far away from
grandfather! My research thus far has been made relatively Thornhill and Flockton.
straightforward because his 3x great-grandfather had a Unfortunately, knowing the witnesses to Charles Beaumont’s
possibly unique name: Nimrod Beaumont, baptised 14 September marriage has not helped. William Beaumont of Almondbury had
1800 in Flockton, Yorkshire (West Riding). Nimrod’s father was another son called John and these are, therefore, possible witnesses
Charles Beaumont who married Martha Bennett on 11 November to Charles’s marriage. Abraham Beaumont appears to have died
1793 in Thornhill, Yorkshire (West Riding). Thornhill and before Charles married but produced sons including a William
Flockton are not far apart. There were two witnesses recorded to and a John who might have been Charles’s brothers and again,
the signing of banns for Charles’s marriage (William Beaumont therefore, witnesses to his marriage!
and John Beaumont). My only other purely circumstantial evidence is that Charles’s
I have two possible contenders for Charles’s father: William family seemed to favour biblical names. In addition to Nimrod,
Beaumont and Abraham Beaumont. There is a record for the Charles had sons called Israel and Enoch Beaumont and Abraham
birth of a Charles Beaumont in Almondbury (1764), (father named two of his sons Abraham and Joseph. Is there any way I
William Beaumont) and another birth of a Charles Beaumont in can verify the father of Charles Beaumont?
Kirkheaton (1770), (father Abraham). Both dates seem feasible Teresa Wormald
64 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk
 YOUR FAMILY MYSTERIES SOLVED

A
Unfortunately, like most records before 1812, the baptism information on another person’s family tree as, at least initially, you
registers don’t show the mother’s name when a child is cannot be sure of the standard of research.
christened which makes it difficult to be absolutely certain Prior to 1812 it becomes increasingly difficult to be certain of
about parentage. relationships, especially if there is more than one
One potentially useful technique is to One potentially useful family of the name in the parish. The standard of
trace the families of both William and
technique is to trace ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ is not easily achieved and
Abraham Beaumont, forward and back, to you may be back to ‘on the balance of probabilities’
see where that leads. It’s no longer beyond the families ... forward or even ‘educated guess’. Your own records should
the realms of fantasy that if you can trace and back, to see where always be annotated if you have reason to be
the current generations of both families a that leads uncertain about the accuracy of the records.
DNA test might help. There is a strong interest in family history in
I note from Ancestry that another researcher has also been tracing Yorkshire so it’s worth contacting the local family history society
the family. Maybe you know her but, if not, I suggest you get in umbrella organisation https://yorksgroup.org.uk/ who may well
touch. She has Charles’s father as William and his father as Josephus have members who are able to help. The Beaumonts I have found
and has carried the line on before that into a period where the worked in both the cloth trade and coal mining so records of these
parish register is less easily read. I always advise caution when using industries are worth a look. DF

Opalotype photography

Q
These two pictures are oval vignettes of head and shoulders frames are typical of their era.
portraits printed onto slightly domed ceramic in a velvet Clearly these opalotypes are paired or companion portraits,
frame. The printed area measures 140 x 90mm and there created at around the same time. As you say, they probably
is a hanger and prop on the back but no writing. There are represent the couple’s wedding photographs, but if the man is,
several copies in the family. We think the man is Robert Owen as seems likely, your ancestor, Robert Owen Jones, b.1837 – a
Jones, born 1837 in Bala, Gwynedd, Wales, who joined the military man of some standing – which of his wives is pictured
Royal Engineers and retired as a Major-General. They look like here? Although they are only short half-length compositions, the
wedding portraits, perhaps, but Robert married twice, first in 1866 female opalotype can be dated closely to the late-1870s/turn of
to Emma Marian Dickins aged 24, who died aged 32; second the 1880s. Key fashion clues include her fitted, front-buttoning
to Harriette Deane in 1878 when she was 36. Harriette was an velvet bodice with narrow ruched sleeves, circular white lace collar
enterprising woman who took up photography herself and we still and smooth hairstyle. Robert’s appearance, while hard to pinpoint
have some of her glass plate negatives. The question is whether this exactly, also accords with this date, especially his short braid-
is his first or second wife; 1866 or 1878? We see ceramic portraits bound jacket lapels and cravat.
in European cemeteries but hardly ever here. It must be difficult In view of the late-1870s/early-1880s time frame, the lady
to get the photo emulsion to stick to the pottery. I wonder how it must be Robert’s second wife, Harriette Deane, whom he married
was done. in 1878, when she was aged 36 and he 40/41. Since Harriette
John Sayers is known to have been interested in photography, perhaps these
lovely opalotypes were her personal choice. Certainly they are still

A
Having consulted with a photographic colleague, Ron arousing interest over 140 years later! JS
Cosens, who runs the website www.cartedevisite.co.uk I
can confirm what I suspected: these unusual photographs
are called opalotypes – photographic images printed on milky
white opal glass. Experimental photography using ceramic,
glass and similar support materials originated in Britain in
the late-1840s, but the commercial production of elegant
opalotypes began in earnest c.1864, according to eminent
photographic historian, Audrey Linkman. Audrey wrote
a lengthy article about the format in Photographica World
(No.80), March 1997. If you can access this, it will
explain the various methods by which opalotypes were
produced: for instance, two main types of opal glass were
used, while varying treatments to the surface produced
differing effects when the image was printed.
Producing opalotypes was not without problems, but
when successful they were considered the most charming
and exquisite of Victorian photographs: some experts even
compared them to traditional watercolour paintings on ivory.
Often they were delicately hand-coloured, although not in this
case. Either way, opalotypes were expensive, luxury photographs, Opalotypes were luxury photographs, in their heyday
their heyday the 1870s to 1890s. They were usually framed for 1870s-1890s, although commercial production did begin in
displaying on the wall and these velvet or plush (cotton velvet) oval earnest a few years prior to that in 1864

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 65

DISCOVER RESEARCH SOLUTIONS

Luxury Victorian wedding

& home

Q
I think these pictures are quite early, 1860s/70s? I love the
wedding photo, which I think is now the earliest wedding
group in my collection. The album from which they came
was apparently split up and the photographs have no information
attached. I have scanned the couple posing in front of the house so
that you can see the fashions more clearly. I also wondered whether
any readers may be able to help identify the big country house.
Lynn Heiden

A
These are special photographs that evidently represent two
elite images from a Victorian country house photograph
album. It is a shame when these rare collections are split
up and any identifying clues or historical context lost. In order
to place them firmly in time, locate them geographically or
identify their subjects, we must first date them accurately from the
appearance of the human subjects of the scenes, essentially from
the evidence of dress.
As you note, Lynn, these do indeed date to the 1860s/1870s,
when most of our ancestors had to visit the studio of a local
commercial photographer if they wanted their likeness taken.
Until the end of the 19th century, only the affluent leisured classes
had the time or means to dabble in the time-consuming and
expensive pastime of amateur photography, yet this was a popular
pursuit among wealthy gentlemen (and some ladies) interested in
art and science. Do you recognise this house? Please email helen.t@family-tree.
co.uk and we will pass the details on to Lynn. The location could
A white wedding group photograph be extremely helpful in identifying the subjects in the photos
The wedding scene is an early example of an ambitious, large
outdoor ‘white wedding’ group photograph taken in the 1860s. close-up of the two figures is immensely helpful as the details of
A substantial building provides the backdrop and the setting is their high-fashion dress enables a close date estimate. The lady
probably the bride’s family home (or the house from which she was displays the distinctive early-1870s bustle silhouette, formed of
married). The bride wears a special white gown and bridal veil – a layered garments – a skirt and overdress – the back drapery of
romantic, luxurious ensemble that could never be worn again and her over-skirt piled high behind her waist over the hidden bustle
was therefore the preserve of only a few lucky ladies at that time. projection. Her jaunty felt hat represents the fashionable ‘postilion’
As was usual at such weddings, her attendants also wear white style of headwear, perched atop her tall, ornate coiffure and tilted
costumes, some carrying small posy bouquets. Their centrally-parted forward over her forehead. Together these details confirm a date
hair drawn down into low chignons, and their vast crinoline-skirted range of c.1870-1876.
dresses indicate a date in the early-mid 1860s, most likely 1861- Her companion wears a slender suit in the prevailing mode,
1866. The groom behind wears a formal frock coat and the entire his trousers of narrow cut and his felt hat with curved brim a
wedding party is well-dressed for the event. fashionable semi-formal style. Residents of, or visitors to this fine
property, it would be great to identify this house, at the heart of this
A country house scene photograph collection. It could be one of thousands, and I don’t
The other image is typical of an elegant country house scene recognise the building. However, if any FT readers can help solve
comprising a sprawling mansion and well-tended grounds. It was this mystery, please contact the magazine. Having a known location
probably shot by a privileged amateur photographer, as described to add to our early-1860s to mid-1870s dates may well enable Lynn
above – quite likely one of the residents of the property itself. The to identify these unknown people. JS

Wondering about Alice

Q
I am looking for the right family for Alice Cook(e). She I have found two possible families for Alice:
married John Dennis Young on 26 December 1905 in 1. John Cook c1831 Cambridge. In the 1881 Census, John, wife
Hendon and gave her age as 29 years. On the 1901 Census Sarah, and family are at 10 Porcher’s Yard, St Giles Cambridge, with
Alice’s age is out by about three years, while on the 1911 Census Alice aged 6, born Cambridge. The 1891 Census records Sarah as a
she is shown aged 33. In 1939 she gives her date of birth as 26 widow but Alice still with her aged 17, born Cambridge, meaning
December 1876. This coincides with her being married on her she was born about 1874/5.
birthday. I cannot find her actual birth. I took a chance and ordered 2. The second family is John Cook born c1857 Denston, his
a pdf for a birth in the December quarter of 1876 but this proved to father also John Cook born c1837 Wickhambrook. John (1857)
be wrong, person born in September and different father. married 1879 Mary Hurrell and their first child is Alice. The 1881

66 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 YOUR FAMILY MYSTERIES SOLVED

Census for Wickhambrook shows Alice aged 1 born Wickhambrook. Alice Cook/e and got one unpromising result in Bury St Edmunds
Can you help to guide me to the right Alice? 1876 Q4 which suggests that the mother was not married. There
Pauline Johnson are many Alice Cooks but not in the Cambridge/Suffolk area at
that time. A similar search centred on 1875 produced a match in

A
Marriages on Christmas Day or Boxing Day were fairly Cambridge for 1875 Q1. It would be worth getting that certificate
common in the 19th century when folk didn’t get much, as it falls within the possible age range.
if anything, in the way of holidays, but the mismatch in Of the two possible families you list I think the second is the least
possible birth dates and places derived from the various records is a likely as it appears Alice was born in 1880 which is some way out of
worrying feature. the 1874-8 date range derived from other sources. This John was a
The age in 1901 is not necessarily surprising: Alice was a boarder coachman which was a more skilled job than those attributed to the
with the Lawrence family and they may not have known her real John of Porcher’s Yard.
age. Age 27 (could possibly be 21 as the writing is not entirely clear) That leaves the first family with Alice having been born in 1874/5
gives a birth date c1874. The 1911 Census is usually fairly reliable as a better match, especially with a possible birth registration
as one is looking at the schedule completed by the householder who in Cambridge that year, which you should check. At the 1881
should, in theory, get the details right. Alice is 33 which suggests Census John was a general hawker but in the 1905 marriage he was
a birth date c1878. The birth date in the 1939 Register should be described as a general labourer. Neither was a skilled job so a switch
correct, however, given the conflicting dates derived from earlier is not out of the question. Cambridgeshire archives have a file on the
sources it has to be a possibility that the marriage date was entered sale of 10 Porcher’s Yard in 1909. It’s not likely to reveal much in the
in error. way of genealogical information but might give an insight into the
I did a search on the GRO website in 1877, +/- 1 year, for an property. DF

Weigh up each clue

Q
The whereabouts and birth date of my 2x great-grandfather not necessarily have been living with relatives and his father could
William MacKay (McKay) is proving to be very difficult to already have been deceased. He is more likely to be with family in
find therefore I cannot get the all important link to Scotland. 1841, when aged around 9 or 10. Although relationships are not
William MacKay married Catherine Daly, in 1853, in Manchester, stated in the 1841 Census, searching for a William Mackay of the
his father given as Alexander, deceased. At this time the witness right age living with an Alexander may narrow down the options.
names have no meaning to my research. Are there any clues I am • Church registers in Scotland
missing from the certificate? William was born prior to 1855, when statutory registration began
Carol Millar in Scotland, so any record of his birth is likely to be found in church
registers. Many of these are available on ScotlandsPeople but are by

A
Tracing the origins of a Scottish ancestor who migrated to no means complete.
England can often be difficult as censuses typically only give a • Analyse & eliminate
birthplace of Scotland. Searching using name variants, I identified seven William Mackays
• Consider the wider household & neighbours baptised in 1829-1832 to a father named Alexander. Although there
When tracing William Mackay in censuses taken after his marriage, is no guarantee your ancestor is among them, this is a small enough
pay attention to other household members and to neighbours. It is number to research each individual in order to eliminate him and
also worth searching for any Scottish-born Mackays living nearby narrow down the possibilities. Censuses are a good starting point
who could be related. since any candidate who was still in Scotland in 1861 cannot be your
• Look for family naming clues & patterns ancestor. Scottish marriage and death records from 1855 onwards
Scots favoured family names for their children so it is important can be used to establish identity since they provide both parents’
to identify all of William’s children, including any born and dying names.
between censuses. Researching Catherine Daly’s family may indicate • DNA insights
which names came from her side, and therefore which may be None of these suggestions offer a simple solution, unfortunately.
connected to William’s family. If you have not already done so, it could be worth taking a DNA
• Where & who was he living with? test. If William Mackay had siblings, their descendants might show
It’s possible William was living in Manchester when the 1851 Census up among your DNA matches. At the least, if you notice you have
was taken. I noted a Glasgow-born William ‘McCoy’ living in Dulcie DNA matches with Mackay ancestors from a particular part of
Bridge Street. However, his age appears to be 26, while your ancestor Scotland this would give you an area to focus on in your search for
was probably 19 or 20 at this time. William’s origins. KW
William may still have been in Scotland in 1851. However, he may

When studying marriage whether you can establish who

certificates, such as this one else lived there around that time.
of Carol Millar’s 2x great- Secondly: Research the
grandparents, Kirsty Wilkinson witnesses further. Although
suggests: firstly, think witnesses may not immediately
occupations & addresses. If a seem connected, it is worth
specific address is given, see researching them further.

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 67

DISCOVER RESEARCH SOLUTIONS

Tinkers & tinmen

My husband’s family include those recorded as tinmen, tinkers country show; haunts of tinkers, gypsies and fairground showmen.
and braziers. It would be interesting to know how they knew A common tinker’s job was re-tinning cooking utensils. Copper,
where to go to for work? Did they go door-to-door to obtain when corroded by acid and fat, formed poisonous verdigris so was
work, or did local people go to them with their pots and pans? protectively coated by a thick layer of tin worn down by constant
It would be great to understand how they operated and what exactly cooking. The Book of Trades, 1827, describes how a tinsmith or
their job entailed. brazier repaired a copper pan rubbing it with sal-ammoniac, or an
Lynne Lindsay acid; the tin or a composition of tin and lead, is then melted in the
vessel, and rubbed well about it with old rags doubled up.

A
By calling himself a ‘brazier, tinsmith, tinman and tinker’, Published posthumously, William Wordsworth’s (1770-1850)
your ancestors were affirming they mended virtually anything poem ‘The Tinker’, was inspired (as described by his sister, Dorothy,
metal. Braziers made kettles, pans, candlesticks etc from brass in her Journal 23 May 1800) by the appearance of a tinker’s
whilst tinsmiths did the same with tin. ‘Tinker’ was (still is today) a wife accompanied by a barefooted child. The tinkers hailed from
pejorative term for tinsmiths/tinmen who travelled the country using Scotland and the full description can be read at https://familytr.ee/
as their raw material plates of iron covered in tin to prevent rusting. tinkers. (Key ‘tinker’ in the search bar). For the poem, see www.
However, tinker was also a generic euphemism for anyone nomadic; poetrynook.com/poem/tinker.
gypsies, Roma and Irish, Scottish travellers were all tarred with a Why was this tinker’s wife so keen to avoid the accusation of
dishonest reputation for earning an income any way they could – begging? Because vagrancy and begging were heavily penalised
including mending pans. crimes.
Arguably the most famous tinker is preacher and author of A Under the Pedlars Act 1871 (still in force today) hawkers, mongers
Pilgrim’s Progress John Bunyan (1628-1688). His family (John’s father and peddlers could not trade without a licence. In 1871, the licence
was also a tinker) owned a house in Elstow, Bedfordshire. Itinerant was only binding in the geographical area of the police force issuing
families who owned property or land generally overwintered there, it. By 1881 it was valid countrywide. The Act defined a pedlar as
sharpening and mending tools, restocking for their next journey and any hawker, pedlar, petty chapman, tinker, caster of metals, or other
refurbishing van or cart if they had one–- John Bunyan carried his person who, without any horse or other beast bearing or drawing
tools and raw material in a backpack. burden, travels and trades on foot and goes from town to town or to
For those without property or land, families overwintered other men’s houses, carrying to sell or exposing for sale any goods,
wherever they could. I have fairground relatives who wintered in wares, or merchandise, or procuring orders for goods, wares, or
an Oxfordshire pub yard and the neighbours’ field. Several distant merchandise immediately to be delivered.
cousins were born in a caravan behind that pub! Once the weather In other words, your travelling ancestors required a licence from
improved, travellers returned to the road to follow a regular route 1871 unless they travelled by horseback or cart. Valid for a year,
through village, town and neighbouring counties to ply their trade. they cost 5s in 1871 (most pedlars couldn’t afford that) and in
For my travelling relatives, this equated roughly from St Valentine’s order to ensure the licence related to the peddler carrying it (ie it
Day (14 February) to Guy Fawkes (5 November). Their ‘boundary’ wasn’t stolen) included a written description; see https://familytr.
straddled Northamptonshire, Devonshire and Oxfordshire. Bunyan’s ee/pedlar. Contemporary newspapers reported anyone convicted of
patch ranged as far north as the Wash near Spalding/Lynn down to trading without one. Unfortunately, most licences haven’t survived;
the estuaries of the Stour and Orwell to the east. try The National Archives and county record
Because they followed a familiar route, travellers knew the distance offices etc.
between destinations and where to shelter: under road, canal and There’s much debate about the origin of Roma and other travellers
railway bridges, barns, even hollow trees preferably wherever they and it may be worth contacting the Romany and Traveller Family
encountered congeniality. Without the wherewithal to overnight in History Society http://rtfhs.org.uk and Sheffield University’s
inns (even if permitted) those who had a cart might sleep under it; National Fairground and Circus Archive www.sheffield.ac.uk/
others had tents. Generally, travellers had their families in tow hence nfca who might shed light on the lifestyle and background of your
why children were baptised in different places. ancestors. As Lindsay/Lindsey is registered with the Guild of One
Their customers? Unlike today’s throwaway society, housewives Name Studies, you may also wish to contact them at https://one-
set aside broken utensils until a tinsmith arrived in their village. name.org/name_profile/lindsay. AE
Potential customers might flock to a weekly market, hiring fair or

Jayne Shrimpton Kirsty F. Adèle Emm is the David Frost’s

is a professional Wilkinson author of Tracing interest in genealogy
dress historian and is the author of your Trade and was sparked by
‘photo detective’, ‘Finding Your Craftsman Ancestors the unexpected
photograph consultant for TV Scottish Ancestors: Techniques (Pen and Sword) and her latest appearance of an illegitimate and
series ‘Who Do You Think for Solving Genealogy Problems’. book, My Ancestors worked in distinctly dodgy family member
You Are?’ and her books A member of ASGRA, she Textile Mills has been published in 1967. He’s relieved to find
include ‘Tracing Your Ancestors has worked as a professional by the Society of Genealogists. Her that every month still brings new
Through Family Photographs’. genealogist for 15 years and can website is at www.adeleemm. discoveries.
jayneshrimpton.co.uk be found tweeting about Scottish com
genealogy as @GenealogyGirl. ABOUT OUR EXPERTS
68 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk
ADVERTISING FEATURE EXPLORING THE 1800S

9 useful 19th century

records on Ancestry
With the census and birth, marriage and death records to enjoy, the 1800s are a hotbed of family
history research. These resources are just the beginning of the story – for further ideas to enrich your
family history investigations and knowledge of the past with Ancestry, read on

1. City & County Directories 5. Ireland,

The 1800s were the heyday for directories: find ancestors listed Register of Wills &
by address or those working on their own account categorised Administrations
by occupation. Directories are invaluable for giving a flavour of Includes both wills
communities, working lives and bygone occupations. and indexes to wills,
• UK, City & County Directories registers and indexes of
Datespan: 1766-1946 administration.
Number of records: 42,782,467 Datespan: 1828-1885
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/3145/ Number of records:
• Ireland, City & Regional Directories 15,671
Datespan: 1836-1947 www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62076/
Number of records: 12,249,395
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61314/ 6. UK Poll Books &
Electoral Registers
2. Ireland, Jameson Find names of those who voted in poll books, and those eligible to
Distillery Staff Wages vote in electoral registers over many decades as more and more
& ancestors gained the right to vote.
Employment Books Datespan: 1538-1893
Find details of wages and Number of records: 4,677,818
time books in more than a www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2410/
million Jameson records. • See also London Electoral Registers 1832-1965:
Datepsan: 1862-1969 www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/1795/
Number of records: 1,039,997
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/ 7. UK & Ireland Find a Grave Index
collections/61942/ Search the valuable Find a Grave index of half a million
cemeteries worldwide, via Ancestry.
3. Ireland Catholic Datespan: 1300s-current
Parish Registers Number of records: 10,918,486
Search across 1,000 parishes in www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/60526/
a collection that is particularly rich in coverage from the 1820s.
Datespan: 1655-1915 8. UK Calendar of Prisoners
Number of records: 25,639,290 Find names, trades, crimes and sentences for those tried at Assizes
www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61039/ and Quarter Sessions.
Datespan: 1868-1929
4. National Probate Calendar Number of records: 803,980
Search nation-wide for your ancestor’s will using these invaluable www.ancestry.co.uk/search/
finding aids, for England & Wales, and for Scotland collections/61808/
• England & Wales, (Index of Wills and Administrations)
Datespan: 1858-1995 9. England & Scotland Select
Number of records: 20,503,027 Cemetery Registers
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/1904/ Find transcribed details and/or digitised register pages.
• Scotland (Calendar of Confirmations & Inventories) Datespan: 1800-2016
Datespan: 1876-1936 Number of records: 3,603,029
Number of records: 654,826 www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/9041/
www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/60558/ The collections above are just a small selection of the resources on
Ancestry to help you trace ancestors in the 1800s. Use the date and
place filters to home in on specific topics of relevance to your family
tree and enrich your understanding of your family’s story.

SEPTEMBER 2021 69
 A selection of intriguing reads, reflecting the many

Books & co facets of family history interest, with

Helen Tovey, Rachel Bellerby & David Frost

Summer reading
Water Gypsies: A history of life on Britain’s rivers and canals
by Julian Dutton
This engrossing study of life on the water looks, as the title suggests, at both rivers and canals. We
are introduced to boat life and boating families from medieval times onwards – and as author Julian
Dutton explains, there are several known unbroken lines of boat families from the Middle Ages
onwards, whose boating connections stretch right through to the present day; the roles may have
changed over the years but the link with boats and water has remained.
Many of us will surely have wandered along the canal bank on a sunny day and wished for a life on
the water – and, between the years 1730 and 1829 – more than half a million people did just that,
exchanging a life on land for a life onboard.
The book contains some lovely archive photos of the canal families, descriptions of the various job
roles, and also a look at both the social side of boat life and how the boating communities were viewed
by the outside world. With its balanced look at the reality and not just the idyll, this is an enjoyable and
informative read.
• Published by The History Press www.thehistorypress.co.uk at £14.99 (paperback), ISBN
9780750995597 RB

A Cornish Cargo Berlin: The Story of

by Alison Baxter a City
Subtitled ‘The untold history of a by Barney White-
Victorian seafaring family’, the book Spunner
carefully follows the story of the ‘It is estimated that at
Dupen family of Hayle, set against a least 2.5 million East
backdrop of the seismic changes of the Germans had emigrated
Industrial Revolution-era in Britain, west by 1961, a sixth of
and the British Empire. We learn of the the entire population,’
enterprising Sharrock Dupen, steward writes the author, who
on the newly established Hayle-Bristol goes on to explain that
steam packet route, and importer of some estimates put it
the very voguish vegetable at the time, as high as 3.5 million
broccoli. So far, so good, but what really people – and it was
sets this book apart is the delightfully this relentless exodus,
meticulous research, often into ancillary rabbit holes (maybe all rabbit particularly of young people lured by the West, that led
holes are ancillary?), in which the reader learns about such diverse things to Ulbricht and Honecker’s Operation Rose – the highly
as: the adoption of GMT as required by the railway timetable; how secret plan to seal off the allied areas of Berlin by the
lithotomy procedures (and other medical operations) took place at home building of a wall. Such secrecy was required for fear of
on the kitchen table; and, among many other topics, the logistics and encouraging further people to flee. The author explains
manual sweat of the weekly wash day. These miniature histories woven that, early on 13 August 1961 – 60 years ago this summer
through the book will appeal to all fans of detailed historical side-stories – the trams were stopped, and 43 kilometres of barbed wire
in a style reminiscent of Bill Bryson. Also interesting is the author’s rolled out. The West watched. And it was a further 28 years
approach, very much dealing with a family history and setting these facts before the wall came down, and the threatening impasse
in a historical context, but also intermittently taking time to reflect and between East and West moved to a new chapter. Unique
pen fictionalised accounts of chapters in the family story, imagining what and remarkable, the authoritarian erection of the wall,
it must have felt like to leave home as a young teenager to go to work and its subsequent democratic demolition in 1989, form
in a farm, for instance, or to hear of the passing of your first-born child just one facet of Berlin’s startling past in Barney White-
while you were serving in the navy on the other side of the world. A Spunner’s eight hundred year history of this beguiling city.
passage that moved me to tears. A wise, entertaining, thoughtful book. • Published by Simon & Schuster www.
• Self-published, available from Amazon. £4.99 Kindle. £8.99 simonandschuster.co.uk at £25 (hardback), £10.99
(paperback). ISBN 9798670213332 HT (paperback), £9.99 )ebook) ISBN 9781471181559 HT

70 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 The Duckworths of Wayward Voyage
Queensbury by Anna M Holmes
by Alan Duckworth This debut novel, based on official
As the author says ‘It’s the documents at the UK National
photographs of the people that Archives, follows the adventures of
tell the story’. In this A4 64 Anna M Holmes, a young girl growing
page book, there are pictures on up in 18th-century Carolina, USA. The
every page, weddings, homes, inspiration for the book’s heroine comes
workplaces, posed and informal from one of the most famous female
snaps, accompanied by plenty of pirates of all time, Anne Bonny. This is
memories and anecdotes of this an exciting read that creates a realistic
Yorkshire family. and vivid picture of what colonial life
• Published by Ashleigh Barrow was like in the Americas and at sea.
Books www.mybestseller.com at • Published by Book Guild www.bookguild.co.uk at £9.99
£14.95 (paperback), ISBN 9789403614892 HT (paperback), ISBN 9781913551728 RB

A Book Full of Rogersons Chinoiserie

by Barnaby Rogerson by Richard Hayman
‘For Aunt Eve, a childless Imported wallpaper, lacquered
woman, seldom seen without cabinets and hand-painted porcelain
a cigarette in one hand and a are just some of the household
lipstick-kissed glass of gin in the items influenced by the craze for the
other, who yet held her family decorative style known as Chinoiserie
together’. What a smashing that swept Britain in the late 17th
dedication at the start of Barnaby century. Author Richard Hayman
Rogerson’s family history, takes us on an illustrated tour of the
teeming with stories passed beautiful examples made by iconic
down from this notable aunt producers such as Royal Worcester
and keeper of the stories, some and Chippendale.
of which include accounts of • Published by Shire Library www.bloomsbury.com at £8.99
family members from fifteen generations before – that’s back to the (paperback), ISBN 9781784424640 RB
Tudor times! Complete with historic photos of people and places,
and a gallery of the current generations at the end, the text weaves
narratives and biographies, facts, traditions and memories. At once
down-to-earth and glamorous, it’s a very enjoyable read.
• Published byBaring & Rogerson www.mybestseller.com at £20
(paperback), ISBN 9781900209205 HT

A Very Happy
Little World
by Mark Laity
Subtitled ‘One
hundred and fifty
years of sailing on
the Thames’, with a
foreward by HRH Association of
The Prince Philip,
Duke of Edinburgh. Professional
Although it’s Genealogists
nominally about Thames Sailing Club it is in fact an excellent and
very well illustrated history of recreational sailing on the Thames. I
must declare an interest as I did much of the fact checking and also
supplied some of the photos of the 1890s, as well as featuring in Supporting genealogy professionals
some of the newer photos.
through advocacy, collaboration,
The book includes over 200 pages and 400 photos and
illustrations and covers a comprehensive history of the last 150 education, and the promotion of high
years of sailing on the Thames. It has been published to coincide
with the 150th anniversary of Thames Sailing Club.
ethical standards.
• Published by www.thamessailingclub.co.uk at £30 hardback, 1IEVRQSVIEXETKIRSVK
£20 softback ISBN 9781998998999 David Frost

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 71

DIARY DATES
DISCOVER LEARNING EXPERIENCES
TO ENJOY FROM ANYWHERE IN
THE WORLD, PLUS ON-SITE AND
HYBRID EVENTS

REGISTER FOR OUR NEWSLETTER FOR WEEKLY NEWS & EVENTS: https://familytr.ee/reg

ONSITE EVENTS
major genealogy websites such as FamilySearch, Ancestry,
Huguenot Footsteps walking tour, 26 September. FindmyPast and archive catalogues. In addition to looking at
Meet outside Christ Church, Spitalfields in London at 2pm for a documents, sources and resources for the period students will
90-minute talking tour to discover the history of the Huguenots in this explore genealogical techniques of help in this period such as family
part of London. Donations £10 per person. Book by e-mail: team@ reconstruction; baptism and marriage search strategies. A ten-week
huguenotsofspitalfields.org evening course with tutor Else Churchill, cost: £187.50
• Other SoG events in September include: An Introduction to
Jewish Family History with Jeanette Rosenberg, and a Family
History Skills Evening Course. For further details see https://
societyofgenealogists.arlo.co/w/

Ancestor Journeys: Broadening your family history horizons,

4-5 September
This virtual genealogy weekend is hosted by the Society of
Genealogists and the Halsted Trust and includes talks by established
genealogists and speakers new to the British genealogical
community. The speakers this year will focus on tracing women
ancestors and wanderers – so often a challenge in our pedigrees and
stories. Concentrating on sources and guidance for research there
will be examples of studies that researched the lives of formidable
women. The full programme can be viewed by clicking the Show
Sessions link above. The weekend Zoom pass gives access to
Families in British India Society Conference: Researching recordings of each talk for up to 14 days after the event. Tickets
Families in British India, 24-26 September £25. To see the programme and to book, visit https://familytr.ee/
The Families in British India Society are running an event in broaden
Oxford, to support research into families involved in India during
the period of British involvement. The event includes aspects Wills and Administrations, the Riches of Probate Records,
of family, social and professional life in different periods, follow- 6 September
up tutorials and 1:1 advice on research sources and methods. A 4-week course from Pharos Tutors with Linda Newey (£61
The conference is open to members and non-members. Venue: assessed; £45.99 unassessed). It is a level 2 course indicating that
Mercure Hawkwell House Hotel, Iffley, Oxford. Visit www.fibis. it is aimed at someone with some knowledge of the subject but who
org/fibis-conference-2021/ for the various delegate packages wishes to build on that. See an explanation of the course levels at
and price options. www.pharostutors.com/howcourseswork.php#a10
• Other Pharos Tutors courses starting in September include:
Organisign your Genealogy; Local History, Discovering the Places
ONLINE EVENTS and Communites Connected to your Ancestors. For further details
see: https://www.pharostutors.com/
DNA Absolute Beginners, 1 September
Do you know absolutely nothing about DNA, but would like to Beginning your family history, starts 7 September
change that? If so, join us for DNA Detective Michelle Leonard’s This four-week online course from the Family History Federation
webinar, delivered live, on Zoom. is held via Zoom on Wednesday evenings (7pm-8.30pm). This is
Starts 7pm UK time. Tickets £10 each. Book at www.family-tree. an interactive course suitable for those new to family history or
co.uk/how-to-guides/webinars who would like to improve their skills. Class dates: 7, 14, 21 and
28 September. Pre-booking essential. Visit https://familytr.ee/
Researching your Ancestors in England in the Long 18th beginning
Century, Starts 1 September
This series of classes will look at resources and techniques for The Future of Family History, 9 September
researching ancestors in what is called the Long 18th century from Please allow two hours, including joining and Q&As, for this online
c 1690-1837. Students are expected to have used genealogical presentation from the Institute of Genealogical and Heraldic Studies
sources such as parish records and be reasonably familiar with (IHGS) by Dr Nick Barratt. Nick will begin by looking at the impact of

72 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

the TV series Who Do You Think You Are?on the way we approach
genealogy and then look at the themes that spin out of the television
series - connectivity, data, education, relevance and wellbeing. ĞŐŝŶŶĞƌƚŽWŽƐƚŐƌĂĚƵĂƚĞůĞǀĞů
10am. Tickets £10. https://familytr.ee/barratt ŽŶůŝŶĞĞĚƵĐĂƟŽŶŝŶŐĞŶĞĂůŽŐLJ
• Other IHGS events in September include: An Introduction to
Heraldry, 7th; Blazoning, 13th; A Merchant Seaman in the Family,
16th; and Tracking Down Your Railway Ancestors, 22nd. Tickets £10
tŽƌůĚůĞĂĚŝŶŐĐŽƵƌƐĞƐŝŶ'ĞŶĞĂůŽŐŝĐĂů^ƚƵĚŝĞƐ
each. Times vary. For further details see https://shop.ihgs.ac.uk/
courses/online-tutorials-and-workshops Our programme covers sources from across the world with an
ĞŵƉŚĂƐŝƐŽŶƌĞƐĞĂƌĐŚǁŝƚŚŝŶƚŚĞƌŝƟƐŚ/ƐůĞƐ͘
British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa
conference, 19 and 20 September x 'ĂŝŶĂƉŽƐƚŐƌĂĚƵĂƚĞĞƌƟĮĐĂƚĞ͕ŝƉůŽŵĂŽƌD^ĐŝŶ
'ĞŶĞĂůŽŐŝĐĂů͕WĂůĂĞŽŐƌĂƉŚŝĐĂŶĚ,ĞƌĂůĚŝĐ^ƚƵĚŝĞƐ͘
On the theme Irish Lines & Female Finds, this online conference
explores Irish records, female ancestors and genetic genealogy x &ůĞdžŝďůĞŽŶůŝŶĞĨŽƌŵĂƚ͖ƐƚƵĚLJĨƌŽŵĂŶLJǁŚĞƌĞĂƚĂŶLJƟŵĞ͘
through fifteen sessions over eight days, with fourteen international x ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐĚĞŐƌĞĞŵĂLJŶŽƚďĞƌĞƋƵŝƌĞĚĨŽƌĞŶƚƌLJ͘
speakers. For more information or to register, go to:
x ĞǀĞůŽƉĞĚďLJƉƌŽĨĞƐƐŝŽŶĂůŐĞŶĞĂůŽŐŝƐƚƐǁŝƚŚĐŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƟǀĞ
https://bifhsgo.ca
ĨĞĞĚďĂĐŬƉƌŽǀŝĚĞĚďLJĂƐƐŝŐŶĞĚƚƵƚŽƌƐĂƚĂůůůĞǀĞůƐ͘

Genealogy and Social History: Know Your Ancestors, x KŶůŝŶĞƉĂƌƚƟŵĞĂŶĚĨƵůůƟŵĞWŽƐƚŐƌĂĚƵĂƚĞĞƌƟĮĐĂƚĞ͕

25 September
ŝƉůŽŵĂĂŶĚD^ĐĐŽƵƌƐĞƐ͕ĐŽŵŵĞŶĐĞŝŶ^ĞƉƚĞŵďĞƌĂŶĚ
KĐƚŽďĞƌϮϬϮϭ͘;dŚĞƐĞĐŽƵƌƐĞƐĂƌĞǀĞƌLJƉŽƉƵůĂƌƐŽƉůĞĂƐĞ
The Register of Qualified Genealogists (RQG) annual conference
ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚƵƐƌĞŐĂƌĚŝŶŐĂǀĂŝůĂďŝůŝƚLJďĞĨŽƌĞĂƉƉůLJŝŶŐͿ͘
will this year take place online via Zoom. The free conference will
feature main speakers Professors Helen Johnson and Heather x Or take an 8 week beginner to intermediate class; topics
Shore, Melanie Backe-Hansen and David Annal. Several short ŝŶĐůƵĚĞ'ĞŶĞƟĐ'ĞŶĞĂůŽŐLJĂŶĚƵƚŽƐŽŵĂůE͘
paper presentations have been designed to support participants in
developing their genealogy and family history skills and knowledge. Find out more;
Find out more at https://www.qualifiedgenealogists.org/2021- ǁǁǁ͘ƐƚƌĂƚŚ͘ĂĐ͘ƵŬͬƐƚƵĚLJǁŝƚŚƵƐͬĐĞŶƚƌĞĨŽƌůŝĨĞůŽŶŐůĞĂƌŶŝŶŐ
conference Ăůů͗ϬϭϰϭϱϰϴϮϭϭϲ͘ŵĂŝů: ƐĐŽƐŚΛƐƚƌĂƚŚ͘ĂĐ͘ƵŬ

Horatio Bottomley: swindler of the century?, 25 September 7KH8QLYHUVLW\RI6WUDWKFO\GHLVDFKDULWDEOHERG\UHJLVWHUHGLQ6FRWODQGQXPEHU6&

Manchester & Lancashire FHS present an illustrated biographical talk

on the life of Horatio Bottomley, Editor of the popular weekly journal
‘John Bull’, a demagogic MP and financier turned fraudster. This Gill Blanchard @ Past Search
virtual presentation will be given by Jef Page, President of the Ilford BA. MA. PGCE (PCE). AGRA Member.
Historical Society,experienced freelance lecturer and guide for over Professional Family History and House History Researcher.
25 years at the National Gallery in London. Qualified Tutor. Author of Research Guides,
Biographies and Local Histories.
Runs 2-3pm. Tickets £0-£3. Book at https://familytr.ee/Horatio E: gblanchard@pastsearch.co.uk
Research Services W: www.pastsearch.co.uk
The Really Useful Family History Show, booking now open Past Search Learning W: www.pastsearchlearning.co.uk
The Family History Federation’s Really Useful online show is now Tutor led. Dedicated learning hub. Written course materials.
Practical guidance and continuous feedback. Weekly live discussions.
open for booking. The event takes place on 12 and 13 November and
includes workshops, talks, ask the expert session and family history 15 Week Tracing a House History Online Course
Learn how to research the history of any property or
society stands. Tickets are priced at £10 each. Benefit from a special place whatever its age and origins.
price of £8.50 until 31 August – just quote Helen21. Show details at
Writing Your Family History Online Course
www.fhf-reallyuseful.com A series of three 12 week modules
Bring your ancestors to life on the page and craft your writing skills

FAMILY TREE BOOTCAMP STARTS 29 SEPTEMBER

Family Tree’s popular DNA bootcamp, tutored by DNA expert

DNA
Michelle Leonard returns. Join us every week on Zoom and learn how
to use DNA to take your family history further. The 8-week course is
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connecting with others who share the same DNA and how to unravel

Bootcamp
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The course includes a DNA Workbook, the chance to put your DNA
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to Family Tree subscribers). Register at www.family-tree.co.uk/store/
downloads/family-tree-magazine/dna-bootcamp/

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 73

SHARING YOUR VIEWS

Your
letters
Puzzles posed, and good points raised
My British ancestors’ homes which they operated. I
The wonderful article about house discovered the tavern’s
histories by Melanie Backe-Hansen location with the
(FT June) reminded me of the fun assistance of Allan Jennings, co-author Wayne Shepheard
I had finding homes of many of my of Pubs of Royal Leamington Spa. He The graphic Editor: It’s really interesting to hear of
British ancestors. Living in Canada, sent me a copy of a part of the 1952 by Wayne your research, Wayne, into your ancestors’
they were places that I might never get Leamington Board of Health map. It Shepheard homes. The problems with house
to see in person. is the only map that shows the name includes part numbering changes, and the usefulness
Until recently, I thought I knew of the pub. of a Board of of records relating to drainage were both
the location of the home of my 3x These maps are an important source Health plan, topics that came up several times during
great-grandparents, Thomas and Mary in locating houses in the mid-19th published with our recent House History Show – other
(Smith) Pearson, in Leamington Spa, century. Following the proclamation kind permission people will relate! Those keen to learn
Warwickshire, and, following their of the 1848 Public Health Act, they of Warwickshire more about ancestral homes will be
deaths, also where my 2nd great- were mandated to assist in cleaning Library Service pleased to learn that the October issue of
grandparents, Charles and Susannah up and paving streets and installing collection, Family Tree is being themed as a house
(Davis) Pearson, lived. A photo of the sewers and water supply lines that Warwickshire history special, so we look forward to
home passed down to me through my would help prevent such scourges as County Record returning to the topic soon.
grandfather gave me a clue. cholera that had been experienced Office. Ref
You can read about my search for in previous decades. Maps were Number Can you think of a
the home and see the old photo on published at a remarkable 10 feet CR1563/190/17 better answer?
my blog post at Discover Genealogy: to the mile (1:528) for 35 towns in A head of household in the 1911
https://familytr.ee/discover England and Wales 1848-1857. Census of Pudsey, George Harold
In many documents produced By 1861 the Pearsons had moved Noble, had been married twice, the
during the 1880s and 1890s for both across the street and owned a bakery first time in 1890 to an Elizabeth
Thomas and Charles, their primary at what would later be #58 Leam Harrison, and by her had two
residence was at #58 Leam Terrace Terrace East. This house along with children, Walter and Rose. Elizabeth
East. So, what could go wrong with three other houses appear to have then died, and George Harold
just looking up the address? Well, lots been built around 1850. Two cottages remarried, to Hannah (sometimes
as it turns out. behind this home and business were Anna) Maria (sometimes Marie)
The earliest censuses did not record also probably purchased by them Emsley, in 1899. This was also
building numbers. The later ones had about this time. Three others would Hannah Maria’s second marriage –
entirely different numbers: what was be built later and together would be she already had a daughter, Maud
number 58 in 1891 was number 12 called Pearson’s Buildings. Lilias Emsley, who appears in 1911
in 1871 and number 166 in 1911. The photo of how the building as George Harold’s step-daughter.
Around 1905 Leam Terrace East was looked was sent to my grandfather by Hannah Maria’s maiden name (i.e.
merged with Leam Terrace West and his aunt, one of his mother’s sisters. when she married Joseph Emsley in
the whole street was renumbered. On the back she wrote: “Our old 1892 as a spinster) was Wilcock.
To sort out the neigbourhood, I had home the house you lived at until The census then shows five children
to look through all the lists noting you was 5 years old. I had made having been born to this new marriage
street intersections, large versus small new shop double fronts.” The photo and still living: Anna, Claire Evelyn,
residences, unique terrace names and accompanied a letter dated 1944 and George Harold, Dorothy Marie and
backstreet enclaves. I matched up the building pictured is numbered Ethel Louise, during the 12 years.
names of neighbours, to get an idea of 166 and would have been taken So, everything fits exactly. The
who lived in the same house for long possibly around 1930. mother’s maiden name for Walter and
periods of time. A combination of photos, census Rose is Harrison. For Dorothy Marie
On the 1851 Census Thomas and records and other documents gave me and Ethel Louise, it is Wilcock. But
Mary were shown living on the east confidence that I had confirmed the for Anna, Claire Evelyn and George
side of Leam Terrace East, in the location of the Pearson home and the Harold, it is Gibbons. Furthermore,
same building as the Railway Tavern other properties they owned nearby. Hannah Maria’s daughter by her first

74 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 HAVE YOUR SAY
marriage also has Gibbons as the educated at charitable schools, they would like to recommend to shed
mother’s maiden name. I thought they Making contact Bancroft in Essex, Christ’s Hospital light on social history.
might have been illegitimate within To get in touch and Westminster City. My husband’s I would like to recommend A
marriage, but they are not registered with any of our grandfather was educated at Bancroft London Child of the 1870s by M.V.
with the two surnames; nor is there letter-writers, and had to leave at 17 as poor children Hughes. Mollie Vivian Hughes says
any marriage between a George please email were not educated any higher. He did at the beginning that this is a true
Harold Noble and anyone helen.t@family- manage an extra year, went on to work story and that the names are also
surnamed Gibbons. tree.co.uk and we as a civil servant in various forms that correct. (Her grandchildren are surely
Tracking back for an explanation, will forward your the education department took, and alive?). I will admit her childhood
Hannah Maria had been born on 1 correspondence he finally retired with an OBE. We must have been very different from
September 1870, with no mother’s were always told that this was for his most Victorian childhoods and quite
maiden name on the birth entry. The work in getting grants for university wonderful, until her father was killed
1871 census shows her at 7 months, students. in a London fog.
living with her parents, Joshua and Now I am taking an interest in Half way through she speaks
Sarah, sisters Eliza (28), Ruth (20), history I realise that he must have of her mother’s home (her mum
Ellen (9), and brothers Isiaah (sic, 18) been working during two of the was a Vivian) near Camborne in
and Simeon (13), the last of whom most interesting periods of change in Cornwall. I Googled the house,
was a witness at her wedding in 1892. education at government level, but ‘Reskadinnick’ which does indeed exist
There can be no doubt that this is the it is extremely difficult to find out as an upmarket B&B and has lovely
correct family – but 27 years between exactly what civil servants worked on, pictures. M.V. Hughes has written
the sisters? A mother aged 51? Hannah unlike politicians. sequels, although I have not read these
Maria was actually the daughter of her ‘I have Going further back it appears yet. However, for a picture of life in
elder ‘sister’, Ruth, but brought up to been to that the great-great-grandfather the suburbs of London at this time
believe that Joseph and Sarah Wilcock had become a widower with three and then in the wilds of Cornwall, I
were her parents, appearing as such in
many young children, who went to live feel that A London Child of the 1870s
the 1881 and 1891 Censuses. seaside with another relative and spent some is hard to beat.
So, the solution was obvious – resorts, but time in an infant asylum. The great- My second recommendation is
mother Sarah’s maiden name must Porthcawl great-grandfather also spent time in Searching for England by H.V. Morton,
have been Gibbons, and the registrar’s is the limit’ a workhouse. I now suspect this is who wrote between the wars. It shows
question about maiden name must what my husband’s grandfather did a beautiful adventure driving and
have been misunderstood. Alas, it was not want to revisit. How things have stopping over much of the country,
not to be – she was born changed. We feel really proud of how featuring architecture and villages
Sarah Wilson. those boys moved on. and local people. H.V. Morton was a
Back to 1911. What could have I am still trying to piece together highly thought of journalist for various
happened to change an apparent the past family history and how newspapers. His writing is to die for,
fiction for her first four children, but the boys were chosen for their or so I think. He wrote others which I
her true, maiden name, Wilcock, for schools. With the current interest hope to find second hand as Penguin
the last two? Joshua died in 1899, in social mobility is this something paperbacks.
Sarah in 1909, so their deaths were that I should spend more time on Ann Crichton-Harris
not the immediate trigger. researching and I would value any Editor: Thanks for the recommendations.
Colin Rogers pointers to help with this. – they sound a treat, and very specific
Editor: Things like this are extremely Pat Arculus too (as we don’t want a broad brush, but
tantalising. If anyone has a brainwave Editor: You make the very tomes that are closer to our individual
or can deduce an answer, please do good point, about ancestors ancestors’ experiences if possible don’t we).
email us and we will forward your who would, in the past have If anyone else would like to share further
ideas. been sources of shame, but ideas of good social history books to read,
which now we are proud of. please just email in.
Downs & ups in family history A topic that ties in very well
My husband’s grandfather never to Janet Few’s article this Indecent bathers
wanted the family history researched, issue. Following the July article on Victorian
but his son asked me to do it. Very Ancestral social mobility is and Edwardian seaside holidays by Dr
guiltily this has taken me too long to an excellent topic – if any Anna Maria Barry, I thought fellow
get round to. Basically I have found readers can recommend useful readers may enjoy this newspaper
that his grandfather was one of five resources, books, etc for Pat, clipping (see right) dating from the
sons born between 1891 and 1907 please email us and we’ll Porthcawl News, August 1916.
in London, the youngest died aged forward the information on. David Swidenbank
nine. Their father was a carter who Editor: That is delightful, David. What
became an electric tram driver in Social history a shame that the ‘Disgusted’ letter writer
Wandsworth. recommended reads decided to remain anonymous, as we
What I am finding interesting Recently Family Tree asked shall never know which of our ancestors
is that three of the four boys were readers if anyone had books was so charmingly affronted.

www.family-tree.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 75

 The house history special

INCLUDES:
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PLUS:
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Susie Douglas considers the ethics of writing a life story
• & all your must-read regulars
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THOUGHTS ON... REAL, ARCHIVE QUALITY, DUST...

Ledgers! Actual ledgers...

‘Who, in their right mind, has ledgers?’, Diane Lindsay wonders as she heaves said tomes
around her study, and tries to establish the sorts of windows her neighbour had in decades
past. It all makes perfect sense, if you read on...

I
t happens every time. Every file, weighs a ton. It didn’t help.
time I sit down to write As many of you will know, Family
an article or plan a talk or Historians never sleep, and once we
investigate some aspect of local get on a case we worry our searches
lore for a visitor. Even when I to the bone. Like Sherlock Holmes,
just switch on the computer to pay a Eliot Ness or maybe Deputy Dawg,
bill or order a new cheese grater from I’ll get my quarry in the end. When
Amazon. I tell myself I’ll just flex I find it, it will almost certainly say
my hands or wake up my brain, and nothing about windows. However, as
I vow it’s only for five minutes and I always excuse the hours browsing
then I’ll get down to work. The truth on the computer, time researching
is, like that first Malteser; once you (or poking about in records to avoid
get the taste it’s well-nigh impossible housework) is never wasted. I did
to take ‘Just one more little look’ find one new fact, gleaned from the
at some Family History. In fact, it’s 1939 Register. (And no, I don’t have
very likely to end up in a Marathon.* a ledger. Yet). My long-suffering
(You’ll find an awful pun there if husband was only marginally
you’re old enough!) impressed to hear that one of the
My latest binge did indeed start Postmasters who lived in our house
with a local quest. A neighbour married the daughter of the house
is currently battling a case of
As many of you will know, I was looking for. I do like a happy
replacement windows with planners.
Like many houses hereabouts, hers
Family Historians never sleep ending.
Nevertheless, it seems to find
has had many facelifts over the the now neatly A3 landscape lever- out more, I’ll have to wait till
centuries. It’s a moot point which arched and page-pocketed ledger is so The Genealogist website extends
new look should take precedence. I incredibly heavy to lift and turn I’ve its brilliant new Domesday Index
wondered if I might find something had to clear a big table in my study project to rural Warwickshire. For
of interest in the 1910 Lloyd George and buy myself a Fitbit to build up much of the London area it seems
Domesday Survey for the village. In enough strength to search through it like a joy to search and easier on the
a couple of instances there’s a little for any length of time. Who in their biceps and triceps. Meanwhile I’ll be
map or handwritten note tucked into right mind has actual ledgers? With tottering around collecting steps on
the information, even in one case a real archive quality dust on them? (I Editor’s note: my new Fitbit, building up muscles
sketch of an exterior. I have the full hardly dare mention the PCC village Apologies to strong enough to lift heavy tomes
photocopied set of Field Book entries wills, obtained on another costly trip the illustrator and working off the damage from all
for this village, gathered I might to Kew and now sporting their own Ellie Keeble, to those Maltesers.
say at considerable expense to both A3 portrait ledger.) Diane, and to *Now Snickers!
pocket and mental processes years Given that the 1910 Survey, which you the readers
ago, in the glory days of regular visits has no genealogical information but for accidentally About the author
to the National Archives at Kew. You can nevertheless yield interesting switching the Diane Lindsay has been addicted to
wouldn’t expect anything else from trivia about the land and dwellings illustrations for last family and local history for more years
an addict, would you? of our ancestors, was conducted month and this. than she cares to admit, still teaches it to
Unfortunately, I bragged too soon. between 1910 and 1915, I reasoned So that you can anyone who will listen, and often slips it
My house is easy to find, number 37 that I might find more information if enjoy the illustration cheekily into her creative writing class.
in the schedule, but not, alas, in any I checked who lived in the house in we should have She has enough brick walls to keep her
kind of easy order; I couldn’t track 1911. And before you ask, of course published last month going for many years and plans to live
down the house in question. There I have village census print outs in please find long enough to knock down every one.
are 270 holdings in this village alone, ledgers. The 1911 one, even though a miniature of She finds it very hard to take herself
and no house numbers. In addition, only A4 size in a gigantic lever-arch it above. too seriously.

82 SEPTEMBER 2021 www.family-tree.co.uk

 JOIN US FOR

DNA
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STARTING ON 29 SEPTEMBER 7PM

A packed 8-week DNA Bootcamp from Family Tree
Tutored by Michelle Leonard of Genes & Genealogy
DNA Bootcamp tickets to the 8-week online course include:
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