Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2022 i Family Tree UK

More than one million records from Edinburgh, including documents detailing volunteer regiments in the Army, migrant Exclusive to access online at Ancestry, the five collections have been published in association with the City of Edinburgh Council. Each collection helps bring family stories to life and will allow people across Edinburgh and beyond to discover more about their ancestors’ lives and experiences. Included are the Edinburgh Army Attestation Registers, 1796-1857 – www.ancestry.co.uk/search/ collections/62349/ – aset of records containing information such as names, occupations, parishes, and regiments movements and passport records, are now online at Ancestry of 10,000 army recruits taking their oath of allegiance in Edinburgh. Those enlisted came from all over the world and were recruited from the age of eleven through to veterans in their fifties. These records…

Norfolk baptisms Nearly 4,000 records have been added for the year 1922 into this existing collection. Including original images, the new records cover the parishes of King’s Lynn, St Margaret with St Nicholas, Cromer, Diss, Great Snoring and Holt. Explore at https://tidd.ly/3Sun6xK Norfolk Banns & Marriages Records for the year 1938 have been added, covering South Lynn (All Saints), Lowestoft, Wells Next the Sea, Norwich and Brundall. Around 3,500 marriages, and around 4,400 banns have been published this week. Remember, some couples might have multiple banns entries. Explore at https://tidd.ly/3Swf6wp Norfolk Burials 290 additional records for 1997, including the parishes of Edgefield, Middleton, Wilby, Fring and Twyford. Explore at https://tidd.ly/3UXpIGg…

But who was the bride? Deborah King has sent me a rather unusual copy of a marriage register entry that she discovered whilst looking for a marriage for Charles Guy in 1851. Deborah already knew the first name of the bride was Sarah, but she was bemused to see the bride’s name in the copy of the marriage register on Ancestry was Caroline Charlotte Webb. Initially confused, when Deborah looked closely, she could see that the register was actually signed by Sarah Roberts Whitby, but the bride’s name in the entry was clearly Caroline Charlotte Webb. Like all things family history related, it’s only by looking at the small details that we can find a possible explanation for what’s happened here. The next entry in the register, for another wedding…

One of the prizes for the ‘Trace Your Military Ancestors’ competition was to have the military service of a chosen ancestor researched by a military expert. Winner Lindsay Seels chose her grandfather, John Cotton. Lindsay Seels: I am delighted to win such a fantastic package as I have been going round in circles trying to research my grandfather’s record during WW2. His name was John Cotton, he was born on 9th December 1913 in Sheffield. During the period of WW2 he lived at 101 Fern Way, Watford, Hertfordshire, England. I know he was in Burma and I also have a copy of a certificate given to him in the “Mediterranean Base Section” School of Mine Warfare and Demolitions. It states he was Lance Corporal John Cotton of 1st Battalion Buffs.…

The Letter Home by Rachael English This novel, inspired by true events, tells the story of a mother’s sacrifice to save her child from starvation in the Irish Famine. Young mother Bridget Moloney had faced the heartwrenching experience of leaving her baby daughter with relatives to save her from starvation, and starting a new life in America. The story moves seamlessly between Bridget’s story and that of her current-day descendants in the UK and US as they become aware of their ancestor’s bravery and start to unravel her story. Family historians will enjoy the well-crafted tension as Bridget’s life story is pieced together because, just as in family history, one small clue leads to new information and connections. • Published by Headline Review at £7.99 (paperback), £8.99 ebook. ISBN 9781472264695.…

What about your memories? Following the sudden unexpected announcement of the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II we witnessed scenes that had not been performed for 70 years. Immediately prior to her sudden and extremely sad death I had come down with Covid. As I was recovering and watching the various broadcasts it caused me to review how my family tree records reflected my own family’s relationship to such events of mourning, celebration and activity, and where were these family tree records. I realised, to my shame, very little was included. I started putting pen to paper to rectify the situation. My parents both served, and married whilst in the RAF, during World War II. They will have both sworn allegiance to King George VI. In 1951, I was born…

From energetic pioneer and advocate of the early release of the 1911 Census for England and Wales to his similarly tireless Freedom of Information campaigning that saw the 1939 National Register for England and Wales become available to the public, Guy Etchells’ contribution to the family history scene was truly immense. Beyond that Guy was a careful and compassionate researcher, as he painstakingly collected data for the Stillbirth Register, which now stands at 10,000 entries, and in his digitisation work for his business Anguline Research. Guy was remarkable in both his generous spirit, and willingness to help others gain more from their research, and was keenly and actively involved in pursuing his family history knowledge until the last days of his life. A humbling example to us all, and a man…

Millions of virtual and in-person attendees will gather for keynote addresses, how-to classes, the latest technologies, and the opportunity to connect to their family – past, present, and future. Jen Allen, director of events at FamilySearch, said: ‘RootsTech really is about uniting and connecting. We help you connect with your family first and foremost, but also to connect with stories and discovery experiences through your family history. On a grander scale, we connect like-minded people who want to gather and learn similar things. We also connect you with new knowledge, learning, innovation, and services that will help you make new connections to your family history.’ Registration is now open for the 2023 event. The online event is free and the three-day, in-person experience is $98. Register at RootsTech.org.…

After an exciting year exploring the 1921 Census, discovering where earlier generations lived and worked, we might now delve deeper and consider what really made our interwar ancestors and relatives tick: what did they do for fun and relaxation? Notwithstanding the severe economic downturn suffered in traditional industrial areas, after World War I in betteroff districts of the north and midlands, much of southern England and parts of Wales, life for many was rosy. New types of job were emerging, housing was becoming affordable, many workers enjoyed more leisure time, the cost of living was low and mass production brought to ordinary people an unprecedented choice of consumer goods, from home appliances to children’s toys. Old, elite pre-war conventions were also crumbling and, with sports and entertainment personalities setting new…

How do I identify my great-uncle William Hanson in the WWI Medal Rolls? QI have found a brother of my Grandad (Edward Bernard Hanson 1896-1963) who is William Hanson (1875-1939) on the National Roll of Honour of the Great War. Edward Hanson is listed in the Royal Garrison Artillery, address 121 Marroway St. Ladywood Birmingham and on the same page is William Hanson, Sapper Royal Engineers, at the same address, where I first learned he existed. It states he received the 1914 Star with Mons clasp, plus other details, but no service number given. His WWI service record has not survived and I can’t identify him in the campaign medal cards, there being too many of this name. I hope an expert can help? About the national roll Dave Hanson…

Due to my fondness for storytelling and recording everything that ever happened to me, my family and the world, I doubt I shall ever be that golden oldie who sits with a wide-eyed younger generation at my feet telling tales of yore whilst they gasp in admiration at the life and times of old grandma. That ship has sailed anyway, the grown-up grandchildren having yawned through it all years ago and great-grandbaby Ida, nearly one, as yet more interested in things to bang, squeak and chew. Sadly, like most of us, I didn’t ask enough at anyone’s knee, because I didn’t then know the right questions. Although I probably know more about my husband’s Scottish family history than he does, having found a soulmate in his mum, a raconteur par…

The Archives and Records Association (ARA), who run the campaign, are inviting people to post images from their own ‘archives’ along with the daily themes and, as a finale to the week, ‘Your Archive’, handing over the social media feed to anyone who has intriguing old photos, diaries, albums or letters in their own ‘collection’ to share. If you’d like to share items on Family Tree’s social media, please e-mail rachelb@warnersgroup.co.uk The ARA are also running a number of free events for the public to find out from experts how they can get the best out of archives for their own research, whether that’s into family history, local history or that of marginalised communities. There will also be an insight into the work of archive conservators, who will also give…

On 19 June 1921, the British Government carried out its 13th national decennial census since 1801. Across England, Scotland and Wales, enumerators dropped off census schedules to heads of households across the three countries, and, once filled in, collected them again shortly after census night. The information from these schedules was extracted by civil servants over many months and years after, to help inform government policy on several fronts, until the point where the exercise was carried out again in 1931. However, for privacy reasons, the schedules and enumerators extracts were kept from public access for 100 years, following the 1920 Census Act. On January 6th 2022, FindMyPast (www.findmypast. co.uk) released digitised versions of the 1921 Census for England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. However, the…

Things we’re told about our ancestors when we’re children can stick fast in the mind. Particularly if they conjure up a vivid image and have a hint of horror about them. So it was with my mum and her great-grandfather, John Anthony Riboldi. His eldest son, also John, was born in London in 1861 and lived with my mum, her parents and siblings in Lancashire during the 1920s and ‘30s, when Mum was a little girl. She remembers her grandfather as a very kind but quiet man, who rarely talked about his past, but one day he told her that when his father John Anthony Riboldi died, ‘we danced on his grave’. Quite a picture… And, of course, being so young when she heard this, Mum took it literally and…

Electoral Register for the Goring (Oxfordshire) Polling District showing 'Occupation Voters' for the parish of Southstoke and Woodcot, 1885. London Metropolitan Archives & Guildhall Library. Ancestry UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893 ESSENTIAL SEARCH SKILLS TO MASTER We frequently refer to certain documents as ‘family history sources’ but do we ever stop to think about what we actually mean when we use the phrase? It’s not as if the documents that we use in our research come with a label attached to them saying ‘This is a family history source’! So, what is it that we’re looking for? What makes something a good source for family historians? What makes a good source? Of course, there’s no right or wrong answer but I think that our ‘wish list’ should include…

Jonathan Conibere picks up John Smith’s idea of using a tablet and digital pencil (see p60-61 FT November 2022), and shares the ways in which he employs them in his family history. For Jonathan his need was to be able to use his laptop as usual but with the graphics tablet alongside for taking notes and importing etc. Jonathan explains: The paper problem Most family history buffs end up with piles of notes, printed images and numerous pads of A4 paper scribblings. Packing away at the end of a ‘session’ can be a huge pain – papers can got lost and out of order at the very least. There must be a way around this I told myself, but not using folders and indexes etc – that would just complicate…

Your family photos Ian Grant writes: This photograph was amongst my grandfather’s photos that were kept in an old shoe box and were passed to me several years ago: my grandfather died in 1971. There is nothing written on the back of the photo and I have no idea where it was taken, although my family all hail from the Banffshire area of Scotland. Unfortunately none of my relatives has been able to identify these children: my father (died 2013) had no idea who they were and neither does his youngest brother recognise them. Please can Jayne Shrimpton give me some idea of the date of the photo, which should help me to identify these ancestors. Jayne Shrimpton replies: An amateur snapshot This is an amateur snapshot set outdoors at…