Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i Family Tree UK

Winston Churchill’s first weeks in office as Prime Minister were marked by his famous wartime speech in which he declared, ‘we shall fight them on the beaches’ following the evacuation of Dunkirk in May-June 1940. Now, following ‘extensive conservation and intricate repair’, a painting owned by Churchill that depicts that famous rescue of troops has gone on public display for the first time at his former home, Chartwell in Kent. The oil on canvas painting by wartime artist Ernest Townsend shows some of the 300,000 soldiers evacuated safely from France following Nazi Germany’s invasion. It was gifted by the artist’s son to Churchill in 1947. In the years after the war, with thousands of gifts being offered to Churchill from around the world, the sheer volume meant he could not…

The free to use collection is comprised of various records held by The National Archives detailing refugees and individuals taken as prisoners of war during major conflicts around the globe. The records contain the names of military personnel, civilians, diplomats, missionaries, and merchant seamen from nations all over the world. While the records are housed at The National Archives, the events included took place all over the world. Conflicts include: • Napoleonic Wars, 1747-1889 • Crimean and Boer Wars, 1795-1951 • World War I, 1913-1918 You can start your search with a name and approximate date, and information you may find within the records could include date of birth, event date, service number, military unit, ship or prison camp, and conflict. Find out more about the record series included in…

The release of the 1921 Census for England and Wales in January 2022 has shone a spotlight on the inter-war era and nothing illuminates the past more vividly than family photographs depicting recent ancestors, close relatives and even perhaps ourselves as youngsters during those years. Home cameras & snapshot photography During the 1920s and 1930s the general public’s experience of photography was changing as, following wartime trends, many households acquired home cameras. Like professional photographers, dedicated hobbyists who had been practising photography since the late-Victorian and Edwardian era still favoured traditional glass plate apparatus that required considerable expertise and special facilities. However, typical post-war enthusiasts were more interested in the end product than learning complicated technical processes. For a new generation of amateur photographers, the Kodak Box Brownie (launched in…

So you have made some progress in constructing a pedigree, and in tracing your family’s history. You have used sources such as the census, civil registers, and probate records to discover relationships, to trace the work that your ancestors did, and to identify the places your ancestors lived. You have discovered that tracing your family has made history come alive for you. And in all likelihood you have become interested in the places and communities where your ancestors lived and worked. You have become aware that your ancestors shared and helped to shape the human experiences of some rural parish, market town, or great city. The stage has been set for you to develop your interest in local history. What is local history? It has a dual focus. It is…

M y wife and I recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary by embarking on a six-day road trip in the English countryside, visiting some of the places that our ancestors lived, married, worked and died in, and – while we were away – Ifound myself reflecting on how much of our research today, by contrast, is carried out in our own homes. We spend hours sitting in front of a computer searching for documents and viewing the results of our searches as digital images on a screen. We’ve started to think of leaving the house to view original documents in a library or record office as a daring adventure in which we find ourselves playing the part of a modern-day Indiana Jones or a Lara Croft. It’s important that we…

Your family photos Michelle Paget asks: Please can you can help with this wedding photograph of my 2x great-grandmother, Kate Elizabeth Lewis, b.1860 in Shropshire, who married Joseph Thomas in 1883 in Burnley, Lancashire. It measures about 16.5cm x 10.6cms. I’d like to know if what she is wearing was common, as she doesn’t look British to me, and seems quite regal. I particularly admire Kate as she had to run their farm and look after six children for many years alone when Joseph left to be a gold miner in Transvaal, South Africa. The farm was in a very rural part of Shropshire near the Long Mynd. I am intrigued to learn what Jayne thinks about Kate’s wedding dress. Jayne Shrimpton replies: This is indeed an intriguing query, in…

What happened to Austin Sparks?... Where DNA & paper trails work together I have finally discovered what happened to my elusive distant relation Austin Sparks. I didn’t have to find him. It’s not as though he is a direct descendant, not finding him would not have effected my family tree, he was not a brick wall that mattered, but…there is always the question at the back of my mind: what happened to Austin Sparks? Firstly, let me explain who he is and where he fits in to my tree. Austin Sparks was born in Anstey, Hertfordshire; his birth was registered in the first quarter of 1853. His parents were George Sparks, a carpenter, and Lydia Gipps. Austin was the middle child of nine, the second son. His eldest sister Mary…

Working with the East and West Sussex Record Offices, the records on Ancestry hold detailed information about the ancestors of many East and West Sussex families and are searchable by parish on the Ancestry website, with baptism, marriage and burial records available. Wendy Walker, County Archivist at West Sussex Record Office, said: “Archives are full of stories waiting to be told and the parish registers are where so many of these stories begin. Within their pages lie the hidden lives of people in the county dating back over four hundred and fifty years. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Ancestry and our colleagues in East Sussex to make this major resource for Sussex history available to people all over the world.” Explore the collection at Ancestry: www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/recentcollections…

There are currently two priorities: the priority state and reviewing families. The priority state will continue to change as the project moves towards its completion; for instance at the time of going to print the focus was on reviewing the remaining families in Florida. The reviewing families task allows volunteers to review the 1950 US Census by working on their own ancestral group, if they wish. Find the current priority tasks at the top of the page: https://familytr.ee/priority…

The first news was of the launch of the interim database of the Society of Genealogists’ (Sog) Memorial Card Collection. In 2016 and 2019, Phillip Jones donated the collection of cards he had been acquiring from collectors and antique fairs since the early 1990s. You can run basic searches of the full Memorial Card Collection of 4,500 and 8,500 digital images, and later this year, when it is integrated as part of SoG’s new digital content system, you will be able to do more advanced searches. It is worth checking the cards in this collection for ancestors or friends of neighbours of members of your family. Cards like these form a useful resource beyond the basic genealogy toolkit of church records, registration certificates, and censuses. Find out more at www.sog.org.uk/ourcollections/featured/memorial-cards…

Why are you thinking about embarking on a photogenealogy journey? Your motivation may just be the pleasure of getting organised – the dream of many family historians. Or you may have a specific goal in mind: to protect your legacy, to put faces to names in your family tree, or just simply to be able to find your photographs. Whatever your goal, take some time to think about it and make a Photogenealogy Plan1. Employing the old adage: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! This first step is broken into two smaller, more manageable portions: 1. Gather and back-up digital photographs 2. Gather physical photographs. 1. Digital photographs. Gather: Think about the locations where you may have family history photographs stored as digital files. An…

JENNY HOLDEN WRITES: I have tested on MyHeritage and my brother with LivingDNA. I have had several confirmed matches on my mum’s side but none on my paternal side. I’m wondering why this is. My paternal grandmother was illegitimate so is it possible to find my missing great-grandfather from our DNA tests? KAREN REPLIES: Jenny had attached a tree to her DNA results on MyHeritage and this was giving hints to possible matches. It was clear there were no paternal matches. Was this a case in which Jenny’s father was not who she expected? In this case, no. ATTACHING A TREE The tree she’d attached to her DNA test results covered her maternal side only; once a more detailed tree was added, paternal matches also appeared. This highlights the importance…

ancestry.co.uk What was the Derby scheme? QWhen researching my grandfather, Edwin Henry Hollins born Leytonstone in 1890, a soldier in the Royal Fusiliers during WWI, I found he enlisted under the Derby Scheme, service number 10748, 15th Battalion RF, but another record says his number was 47986, 9th Battalion RF and a prisoner of war. However, the Royal Fusiliers website only mentions the 1st, 2nd and 4th Battalions in WWI, so what is the Derby Scheme and what were the 9th and 15th Battalions? Mrs Sandy Pattenden AThe Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) actually raised no less than 47 battalions during WWI, of which 26 went overseas to fight. I’ve sighted the Royal Fusilier website you found, which only describes the three pre-war Regular battalions that fought in France.…

W ebegan the ‘Genealogy Gadgets’ series in the June issue, and thank you to everyone who has submitted their thoughts so far. They’re shaping up to be a truly intriguing collection of tools for using as we go about our family history. Please do continue to send in details of further gems you enjoy, and, equally, if there is something you’d like to learn about, do suggest that too. This issue we have covered tips on converting old Family Tree Maker files to newer usable formats, searching for births & deaths, the advantages of Custodian software, and a web tool to help you create attractive digital family tree charts. CAN I TRANSFER MY FAMILY HISTORY FILES TO FAMILY TREE MAKER 2019? Angela writes: Many years ago I used Family Tree…

The transcripts include British Army personnel and some dominions armies’ personnel. They also contain some recommendations for members of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines. Reasons for recommendations vary, including gallantry in the face of the enemy, ‘meritorious service’ (not in the face of the enemy), or distinguished service. Covering the years in the lead up to World War II and beyond, the records reveal soldiers’ names, units, ranks, home addresses, and often poignant descriptions of the actions that warrant an award. Explore at https://tidd.ly/3xo0O92…

Iain Swinnerton passed away on 24th May 2022. A former soldier, genealogist, industrialist, magistrate, and Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, he was also a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Extremely well-known in the family history community he had genealogy friends from around the world, was a founder member of the Guild of One-Name Studies , and also a frequent contributor to Family Tree and its sister publication, Practical Family History. His books included: Keeping Your Family Records, Identifying Your World War One Soldier from Badges and Photographs, The British Army: Its History, Tradition and Records, Basic Facts About Heraldry for Family Historians. Iain was Founder and President of the Swinnerton Family Society (established 1974), which today hosts a collection of Swinnerton related publications and research, tracing the Swinnerton family back…

As an amateur family historian of over 35 years, my tree has extended far and wide but when putting them into context, I will stop at nothing. Walking the footpaths they trod, visiting churches where they were baptised, married or buried, looking for their former dwellings, being equally disappointed when not finding their houses and elated when they are still extant in whatever guise. I consider myself lucky inasmuch as my husband, although not the slightest bit interested in my hobby, will indulge me holiday visits to the various record offices or history centres I need to research in, provided he can visit a steam railway – and, believe me, there are many located quite neatly nearby. For as much as many records are now helpfully online, there is always…

The BAFHS was founded in 1975 with an operating area of Avon County, a municipal authority created the previous year to include Bath, Bristol and the northern and southern parts respectively of the historic counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, extending out to the towns of Thornbury, Radstock and Weston-super-Mare. The society currently has a membership of about 1,000, more than half of whom live outside the area, including outside the UK. Members enjoy a wide range of services provided both to them and to the general public. The centre of the society’s business is our research room housed within Bristol Archives in a converted former tobacco warehouse in Hotwells, in sight of Clifton Suspension Bridge. The resources available are detailed on our website; these include local civil and church records,…

ONLINE EVENTS Beginning your family history with Ancestry, 1 August Come to this introductory presentation on using Ancestry.com Library Edition and learn how you can utilise it to search historical records and trace your ancestors. Starts 6.30pm AEST (9.30am UK time). Register at https://familytr.ee/yarra Remembering 1947: the inheritance of partition, 5 August Discover the extraordinary stories of those who survived and witnessed the largest mass migration in the world, in this online talk from the UK National Archives. Ahead of the 75th anniversary of Partition, oral historian Aanchal Malhotra draws on her decade-long research in India, Pakistan and the UK, to understand how Partition is not yet an event of the past. Join her in looking at how its consequences manifested within family, community and nation, and how its memory…