Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2016 i Who Do You Think You Are?

It’s my last issue as acting editor before Sarah takes up the reins once more. I’ve really enjoyed putting together the magazine for you; it’s been great to hear your family history stories and feedback – good and bad! Anyway, this month we celebrate the release of the final tranche of Findmypast’s crime and punishment collection with a fascinating insight into the experiences of female prisoners in the 19th century. We also show you how to discover if there are any of your ancestors among them (p17). Debtors and bankrupts on your tree? Turn to page 51 for the best online resources for researching them, plus don’t miss our guide to using rate books to track down your family (p63). We also reveal how nursing records can help shed light…

Annie Urquhart bit.ly/2b7EW60 I am trying to find more details about my husband’s grandmother, Annie Urquhart. The only information I have is from my father-in-law’s birth certificate, which states that she gave birth to Douglas on 4 May 1919 at 28 Marloes Road, Kensington. She was a parlour maid and lived at 9 Blithfield Street, Kensington. I know that 28 Marloes Road was St Mary Abbot’s Hospital and part of the workhouse. I have no date of birth and would really like to find one for her. We think she originally came from the Black Isle. Any help would be appreciated. sheilau Searching for Belgian ancestors bit.ly/2b7FA39 I’m trying to trace the ancestry of the wife of one of my ancestors. On 13 March 1907, my granddad’s cousin, James Willis…

A new educational facility devoted to the stories of Holocaust survivors is to open in Yorkshire. Following financial backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association (HSFA) now plans to establish a Holocaust Heritage and Learning Centre at the University of Huddersfield. Estimated to receive 20,000 visitors each year, the centre will showcase an array of documents and artefacts relating to Holocaust survivors in the north of England and beyond. It will not only reveal how the atrocity affected the men and women themselves, but shine a light on how it has impacted their children and subsequent generations. “The legacy of the Holocaust survivors in Yorkshire is now secure and will be made available to pupils, students and the wider community for teaching and learning,” said HSFA…

‘ Occasionally parish registers do comment that the husband could not be the father ’ You may remember that in the last issue of WDYTYA? Magazine I wrote about the questions raised by DNA tests on the remains of Richard III – and specifically the discovery that his grandfather was unlikely to have been the son of his ‘official’ father, but instead another man’s child. These were prominent historical figures, and the DNA test was not the first time that the possibility had been aired, although the press got very excited. But what about our own families? We naturally assume that because a parish register records the baptism of William, son of John and Mary Smith, that John really was the father. The same goes for census returns. John Smith,…

1817 Shocked by a visit to Newgate Prison, Elizabeth Fry helps to found the Association for the Reformation of the Female Prisoners of Newgate. 1820 Corporal punishment, such as whipping and flogging, is abolished for women. It is replaced by imprisonment with hard labour. 1828 The Offences Against the Person Act abolishes the death penalty for the procurement of an abortion. 1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act places the responsibility for illegitimate children on mothers, leading to a rise in concealing births. 1835 The 1835 Prisons Act allows female warders for women prisoners and abolishes the use of irons and manacles. 1839 The Prisons Act 1839 recommends the separation of men and women in all prisons “in order to prevent contamination”. 1857 William Acton publishes Prostitution, Considered in its Moral,…

Writing your family history is a wonderful means of sharing research. However, it can be quite daunting to know how to put one together. The best ones are those that tell a story and are easy to follow. Ideally, a reader should feel they have either learnt something, or got to know the people in it, or both. Whether or not someone is a naturally talented writer I firmly believe that everyone is capable of putting together an engaging story about their ancestry. Our passion and interest in their lives and the past can be translated onto the page. What format? There is no right or wrong way to produce a family history. Most people start out by wanting to write a book. Unfortunately, many never achieve this goal. This…

• The Internet Archive  archive.org A great place to find free digital copies of old books, including histories of places and occupations that will help you add colour to your writing. • Archive Maps  archivemaps.com Use old maps to give you a sense of place. • British History Online  british-history.ac.uk Very useful site for primary documents, especially the Victoria County Histories that include detailed accounts right down to the parish level. • The Historic England Archive Historicengland.org.uk A useful source of photographs, mainly of regional buildings. Also try Francis Frith (francisfrith.com). • The Victorian Web  victorianweb.org/index.html Useful overview of the Victorian era with primary and secondary sources. • Vision of Britain  visionofbritain.org.uk Historical information over 200-year period, including maps and gazetteers. • Workhouses  workhouses.org.uk Descriptions of the history of workhouses…

MAIN WEBSITES Most family historians know of the resources available on ancestry.co.uk, findmypast.co.uk, forces-war-records.co.uk and thegenealogist.co.uk. You may need to deploy all of these to identify names that can’t be found on cwgc.org, which really is the place to start. NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM The 150-acre Arboretum, created to honour the fallen as a living memorial, is set to open a new Remembrance Centre in autumn 2016. Find out more at thenma.org.uk. LOCAL NEWSPAPERS Local newspapers are also invaluable, usually covering the planning for memorials and sometimes the arguments about them in detail. Findmypast’s growing collection is extremely useful, as is cymru1914.org, which draws on local Welsh papers. They also name local casualties and provide the kind of details required to positively identify a casualty. Many local newspapers are still only…

There were two emerging themes to champion emigration in the first half of the 19th century in the UK: firstly, to serve as a remedy for poverty and unemployment at home, and secondly, to provide labour and value to undeveloped areas in the US and, later, South Africa and Australasia. But it wasn’t until 1826 that an Emigration Committee was established to examine the conditions of the poor in the UK with a view to foster and promote emigration to the Empire. The colonies needed a steady supply of labour for them to fully develop. In 1851, the discovery of gold in Victoria and a booming economy meant that the numbers of immigrants increased dramatically from across the UK. It is estimated that since 1800, over one and a half…

GILL BLANCHARD is a member of the Association of Genealogists and researchers in Archives (AGRA). JANET DEMPSEY is a records specialist at The National Archives, concentrating on maritime and transport records. JUDITH MOORE is a member of the Association of Genealogists and researchers in Archives (AGRA). NICK PEERS is a freelance writer and technology expert who has been published in more than 40 magazines. REBECCA PROBERT is the author of Marriage Law for Genealogists: The Definitive Guide. ALAN STEWART is a family historian with 30 years of genealogy experience and author of Grow Your Own Family Tree. STEPHEN THOMAS is a genealogist with more than 20 years of experience and appears regularly on TV as an expert. JOHN WINTRIP is a member of the Association of Genealogists and researchers in…

Q My paternal 4 x great grandmother Susan Scholfield, was born in Tottington Higher End, Lancashire, to Betty Scholfield on 16 April 1793 and baptised 19 April 1793. Susan’s father is unknown so I assume she was illegitimate. I think her mother, Betty, was about 18 years old when Susan was born, which makes Betty’s birth year about 1775. I have found a Sarah Scholfield who is possibly Betty’s mother, but I do not know who Betty’s father is either. Could you help me to get further back on the female line, and am I on the right people with Betty and Sarah? Shirley Ann Langham, by email A Census returns tell us that Susan was born around 1793. The baptism at Edenfield parish (the only Susan Scholfield within ten…

Q I cannot find a marriage record for my great grandparents Amram Enoch Delves, born 1867 in Heathfield Sussex (sometimes known as Joseph Enoch or Enoch, or Amram) and Annie Nicholls née Gilbert. I know that they were married on 4 August 1887 because my great granddad signed a statutory declaration in 1939 stating the date of his marriage and that, although his son, my grandad, born in 1886, was registered at birth as Joseph Nicholls, he was always known as Joseph Delves. Annie was married before to an Allen Nicholls in 1884 in Thakeham, Sussex. I can’t find a divorce in the records on Ancestry and I think Allen Nicholls was in the Royal Navy and alive in 1901. Why would my great grandfather sign a statutory declaration and…

Smallpox was one of the greatest killers of the 18th century. The ‘speckled monster’ was an airborne virus that caused a severe pustular rash, fever and internal damage that proved fatal in up to 20 per cent of cases. Survivors could be permanently and horribly disfigured. Cowpox, a virus now known to be related to smallpox, caused a minor illness in cows that often transferred to their human handlers. Gloucestershire surgeon Edward Jenner heard a dairymaid remark: “I’ve had cowpox, so I shall never have smallpox. I’ll never have an ugly, pockmarked face.” This was a common countryside belief, and when dairymaid Sarah Nelmes came to Jenner with cowpox in 1796, he took the opportunity to inoculate his gardener’s son, eight-year-old James Phipps, with the pustular material from Sarah’s scabs.…

How long have you been doing your family tree? My parents were sent on a false lead in 1982 and stowed away their research. We had next-to-no knowledge of either side of our family prior to any grandparent, but this earlier work sparked my initial interest. I took up the challenge in 2001 and have been amazed by my globe-trotting ancestors’ lives. What had you found out before hitting your brick wall? My 3x great uncle John Howell May (1837-1919) from Deptford takes the prize for the most unusual life story. After running away from school and going to sea, he worked for the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in Hong Kong in 1860. As harbour master, John was stationed at most of the local ports during his service. He was…

Newspaper gems Like many family historians I am fascinated to know more about the stories behind the names on my family tree, and newspapers have really helped me to do this. My great grandfather was a court hair-cutter and perfumer on Piccadilly. A search of newspaper archives has not only revealed his regular adverts, which have given an insight into his products and clientele, but even uncovered stories about a visit in 1864 from the HRH Prince of Wales to see the newly-invented ‘Revolving Hair-brush’ machine, and a silly poem ( Punch ) about an umbrella left in his establishment. I have also been inspired by stories of characters of great strength, such as Harriet Laughton (my great great aunt), who, after a devastating fire at the London offices of…

I am intrigued by the photo on page 56 of your August issue. With the soil piled up on either side this is not a trench that could be defended. Furthermore, the men are unarmed and not wearing any equipment. In fact they look relaxed and off duty. There is no sign of the usual battlefield damage and paraphernalia. Could it be a shelter from enemy aircraft? Have you any information about the location of the picture? The photo on page 54 (right) is clearly staged, the last place a photographer would want to be is in front of a defensive position. Indeed one of the soldiers is more interested in the photographer than in any approaching enemy. Jeff Ward, Colchester Editor replies: Good points Jeff. I’m not sure why…

The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) is seeking new trustees to take up places on its Board. As well as increasing the number of FFHS trustees overall, the nationwide organisation is also looking to replace members who will be standing down from their positions over the next year. Applicants should already belong to a family or local history society and must be willing to take a ‘hands-on’ role by attending meetings and promoting the aims of the FFHS on a voluntary basis. A background in publicity, project support or education is also desirable. To learn more about the role of FFHS trustees and how to submit an application, navigate to ffhs.org.uk.…

116,475 people indexed more than 10 million records during the familysearch.org Worldwide Indexing Event on 15-17 July 101 years after his death, LCpl John Morrison of 1st Battalion, The Black Watch, was laid to rest at Woburn Abbey Cemetery in France. His remains were first uncovered by a farmer in 2014 7 collections of Somerset parish, gaol and school registers have been made available at ancestry.co.uk 80,074 entries have now been uploaded to the free Early Irish Marriage Index at irishancestors.ie 99 – the age of singer Dame Vera Lynn, who was invested as a Companion of Honour on 27 July. She is the oldest person to ever receive the title…

More than 2.5 million historic crime records have been published on findmypast.co.uk. Spanning 1770-1935, the fully searchable material has been digitised from original documents held by The National Archives (TNA) at Kew. This includes records from series PCOM 4, featuring details of female felons across England and Wales who were released on licence, including their convictions and any misconduct stemming from their time in prison. For case files dating from 1871 onwards, a mugshot photograph may be included, alongside any letters the convict penned themselves. In addition, Findmypast has published records from TNA series HO 26 and HO 27 (also searchable at ancestry.co.uk), providing information about criminal trials held within the county of Middlesex and across England and Wales respectively. These not only provide the names of the accused, but…

‘ Women managed gangs of child thieves, and acted as ‘fences’ for stolen goods ’ On 12 November 1883, convicted felon Elizabeth Bedwell was released from prison on licence. She had been sentenced to five years’ penal servitude, followed by five years’ police supervision, for stealing a watch and chain, and receiving stolen goods. Elizabeth, aged 27, was a habitual criminal, who used a number of aliases. She had committed a string of offences, including larceny and ‘uttering’ (passing) counterfeit coins, serving time in Fulham, Woking and Millbank prisons. Breaking the law In the 18th century, law and order was maintained by unpaid parish constables, assisted by night watchmen. When individuals broke the law, they were tried by local magistrates and, if convicted, held in local gaols or bridewells. In…

Registers of convicts in prison hulks (ADM 6) Search through 13,300 prisoners who served their sentence on board one of seven old ships that acted as floating prisons. The registers cover 1811 to 1843. Central Criminal Court: after-trial calendars of prisoners (CRIM 9) These calendars range from 1855-1949 and include details of over 176,000 prisoners, including their date of trial, verdict of jury, previous convictions and sentence. Quarterly returns of prisoners and miscellanea (HO 7, 8) The meat of this series is the lists of those in lunatic asylums between 1824 and 1874, as well as deaths of convicts who had been transported to New South Wales. Home Office correspondence and warrants (HO 13) Covering 1782-1871, over 250,000 records detail the name, crime and sentence of prisoners mentioned in Home…

1 Choose three or four people from your family tree. Write a couple of simple factual sentences about them. For example: Miles Camplejohn was probably born in the late 1600s. He married Mary Abbot in Riccall in Yorkshire in 1707, and died there in 1722. 2 Then their children: Miles and Mary Camplejohn had four children baptised in Riccall between 1708 and 1721: John, Robert, Elizabeth and Miles. 3 Then move on to the next generation: The next in this family line was their son Robert Camplejohn, who was baptised in 1711. He married Elizabeth Wright in Riccall in 1735. They had had nine children baptised between 1736 and 1756. 4 Repeat this process until every person in this line has something written about them.…

There’s scarcely a parish in the country without a war memorial (there are 53 ‘Thankful Villages’ in England and Wales that lost no men in the First World War and 14 that lost none in both world wars), so there’s a wealth of potential information and research to be done on the people inscribed on them and the communities in which our ancestors lived. Though there are war memorials predating the First World War, these were usually created by regiments to commemorate their comrades in a particular campaign (often placed in cathedrals or garrison churches – Winchester Cathedral has a number, especially to officers) though Cheltenham has one to local men who died in the Crimean War, and York to Yorkshiremen who fell in the Boer War. There was no…

DIARIES Although they have largely fallen out of fashion, diaries were once a key part of many people’s lives and can be of great interest to historians. Sadly, very few remain. Many have been destroyed, or simply get lost or are thrown away by relatives who might fail to appreciate their value. Of those that do survive, remember that they are one person’s view of events. They may not always tell the truth, knowingly or unknowingly. Some end up in archives. Try typing ‘diary’ and a surname, county or occupation into discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. WILLS Wills are fascinating. Not only can you see what your ancestor left – and from that infer their wealth and status. But you can see who they left it to and use that to see which relationships…

This month’s brick walls SANCHEZ/Spain I am having difficulty researching Sebastiana Sanchez, born circa 1862 in Algeciras, Spain. She married her first husband, James Ireland, on 27 June 1881 at St Andrews Church in Gibraltar where she was a domestic. On her marriage certificate she states her father is Andres Sanchez, a labourer in Gibraltar. James died in Egypt of enteric fever in 1882 whilst serving with the Argyles just before their daughter Georgina was born in Gibraltar. Sebastiana subsequently married Benjamin Hodgson in Simla India and, after his death, Joseph Hall Robinson. My problem is verifying any of Sebastiana’s ancestry. As well as the language issues and the Catholic Church records system, the Spanish use of names is causing me some confusion. Is anybody able to put me in…

“The Gazette (gazettes-online.co.ukgazettes-online.co.uk) is the UK’s official public record, and is comprised of three publications: The London Gazette, The Belfast Gazette and The Edinburgh Gazette. It traces its origins back to 1665 when King Charles II, having moved his court to Oxford to escape the ravages of the plague in London, approved the first issue of a newspaper called The Oxford Gazette. When the court returned to London early the following year the newspaper came with it and was first published as The London Gazette on 5 February 1666. For more than 350 years The Gazette disseminated government news, regulatory and legal information and details of military appointments and promotions. Almost from the beginning notices about bankruptcies began to be published and it quickly became standard practice to publish a…

Registration number This is the number by which the nurse was referred to in documentation such as employment records and Royal College of Nursing certificates. Name Arranged alphabetically, the full names of nurses are given, including middle names and maiden names if married. General part This is the main section of the Register; check the other sections if you can’t find your ancestor here. Permanent address This gives the address of each nurse; some are listed as living at the hospitals where they worked. Date and place of registration For nurses who qualified before 1922, the registration date is often many years later than the qualification date. Qualifications This shows when the nurse qualified and at which hospital. This can provide a lead to follow up.…

As you dig further into your tree, more questions than answers are raised. Whether you’re investigating small points of detail or something potentially huge, keeping track of that process can be tricky. This is where Wunderlist comes in – it’s a free online planning tool that can be used to manage everything from small, individual tasks to more complex projects involving multiple steps. Wunderlist can be accessed online at wunderlist.com, and you will also find dedicated free apps for Mac, PCs (Windows 7 or later) and mobile (both Android and iPhone/iPad). These are all linked together through your Wunderlist account, which means you can update your notes on one device, then access them on another – perfect when you’re in the field, for example (update on your mobile, get home,…

The principle that people who lived in a parish should contribute to its upkeep, in cash or in kind, is centuries old. Parishes largely ran their own immediate financial affairs and if they organised themselves well and didn’t offend the bishop, their neighbours or passing dignitaries (perhaps giving the last an uncomfortable journey by not repairing the local highways) few would interfere. A meeting of parishioners, known as the vestry, voted on whether money needed to be raised for a specific purpose, such as repairs to the parish church or to give help to the poor of their own parish. In 1592 a rate was imposed at county level to provide war pensions for injured soldiers and sailors but, apart from this kind of imposition, up to the 1600s the…

While conducting general research into life on the Home Front between 1914-1918 using the British Newspaper Archive (BNA, britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), I stumbled across the story of Alice Kaye. Using information like names, dates and location from that story, I continued searching the database and turned up half a dozen other reports that, collectively, presented a surprisingly detailed picture of the whole incident, from the discovery of her body to the execution of her killer. Out of curiosity, I started a fresh search for news stories using keywords such as ‘murder’, ‘killing’ or ‘tragedy’ during the period and was surprised to discover many more fascinating stories involving soldiers and their wives. By methodically using each newly discovered piece of information to narrow down the next search, it is remarkably easy to put…

AS SMOOTH AS A MILKMAID’S SKIN The saying refers to the now-proven protective effect of cowpox against the ravages of smallpox. BLESS THE WORK If butter was being churned and visitors didn’t say this, it was believed that butter wouldn’t ‘come’. BOG BUTTER Butter found preserved in peat bogs, sometimes several thousand years old. PANCHEON A wide, shallow earthenware bowl used for settling the cream from the milk. SETLASS A stone platform in the dairy used to stand bowls of milk while the cream rose. WHEY The liquid remaining from butter and cheese-making. Usually fed to pigs.…

CHINESE CUSTOMS SERVICE If one of your ancestors worked in Hong Kong for the Chinese Maritime Customs Service you may be able to find them listed on a database created at Bristol University. The records begin in 1875 and go up to 1948. For more details, visit the University’s website at bris.ac.uk/history/customs/resources/servicelists.html. PASSENGER LISTS The amount of information on these documents varies but sometimes it can be very revealing. They can include occupation, travelling companions and relative’s addresses in the country of departure. Passenger lists are available at ancestry.co.uk, findmypast.co.uk and familysearch.org.…

The county was often formerly known as the county of Southampton until 1959 Diarist Mrs Powys visited Southampton in the late 18th century, describing the medieval town as “one of the most neat and pleasant towns I ever saw... once walled round, many large stones of which are now remaining. There were four gates, only three now... one long fine street of a quarter mile in length... The centre was an elegant tavern, with assembly, card room, etc., and at each wing, hotels to accommodate the nobility and gentry. The tavern is taken down, but the wings converted into genteel houses.” This is the same Southampton that Jane Austen would have known. She holidayed there many times, lived there for three years, and today there are eight plaques dotted across…

Why doesn’t the code that’s printed in the magazine work correctly? Each bonus content code applies only to the issue of the magazine in which it’s printed. Make sure that you’ve clicked on the red ‘View content’ button next to the cover of the correct issue. Why isn’t the code box appearing? If nothing happens when you click the red ‘View content’ button, it’s possible that firewall or virus-checking software is stopping the website from running JavaScript. You can check to see if this is the case by temporarily halting these programs and then reloading the website. Why is the data only available for a period of six months? Due to the terms and conditions agreed with some of the firms that provide the bonus content for our magazine, we…

Birmingham’s War – Voices of the Second World War by Eric Armstrong (Amberley, 128 pages, £12.99) This book is a collection of comments from local men and women of the Birmingham area during the Second World War. Many of these thoughts and opinions had been submitted to a local church magazine The Westminster Chimes, published between May 1940 and April 1946. The words are from both men and women from the local area who had joined the armed services. The comments vary from those just joining up (sharing rooms and learning to salute), views across the ocean (a serviceman on his way to India), to those who have been taken prisoner and are thanking those back at home for their Red Cross parcels. The book is divided into separate months,…

Victoria probate records If your ancestors started a new life in Australia then there are many records you can search for. One such example is the collection of probate documents held by Victoria state archives, which can be viewed and downloaded for free. 1 Navigate to the homepage of the Public Record Office Victoria (prov.vic.gov.au) and choose the option to ‘access the collection’ on the top left-hand side of the page. Next click on ‘Wills and Probate records’ at the bottom of the page to begin your search. 2 Records between 1926 and 2014 cannot be viewed online but copies can be ordered. Click on the ‘Wills and Probate Index’ to begin your search. In this case, we are looking for John Townsend’s will, a man who died in 1890…

NOCTURNAL VOCALISTS AT BOLSOVER The peace of the residents of New Bolsover was rudely disturbed on the last night in August by noises in the street, as a sequel to which George Deakin, Walter Atkin and William Wood were prosecuted at Chesterfield Police Court on Saturday. The trio, said Sergeant Shopland, were shouting and bawling and singing rag-time and ‘Dixie’. (Laughter.) Such was the power of their vocal organs that he could hear them half a mile . away Atkin: I was singing “Nearer my God to Thee.” (Laughter.) The constable had received many complaints from the residents of late, said Sergeant Shopland. Defendants were warned as to their future conduct and ordered to pay the costs.…

In 1862, Elizabeth Bedwell was convicted of ‘uttering’ counterfeit coin and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. In the 19th century, the production of ‘base’ (fake coins) was a common crime committed by women – between a quarter and a third of those convicted of counterfeiting were female. In London, in 1840, women accounted for 36 per cent of those arrested for passing counterfeit coin into circulation. Coiners usually operated in the rookeries of cities where they could escape easily into the labyrinthine alleys. They kept guard dogs and a look out, known as a ‘crow’, for police officers, who often went undercover to infiltrate coiners’ dens. Initially coining was simple, involving the use of cut-outs from metal plates or from old pewter. Forgers also ‘clipped’ real coins and melted…

ARCHIVES • The National Archives Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU nationalarchives.gov.uk The main repository of UK historic crime records. • London Metropolitan Archives 40 Northampton Road, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 0HB www.lma.gov.uk Holds records for Holloway Prison. • The Women’s Library @ LSE Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE lse.ac.uk The most extensive collection of women’s history in the UK. WEBSITES • Wayward Women  waywardwomen.wordpress.com A blog devoted to Victorian England’s female offenders. • Police, Prisons and Penal Reform  parliament.uk An overview of the evolution of Britain’s criminal justice system. BOOKS • Wayward Women, by Lucy Williams (Pen & Sword, 2016) • Women’s Lives, by Jennifer Newby (Pen & Sword, 2011) • Prison Life in Victorian England, by Michelle Higgs (Tempus, 2007)…

E-BOOKS E-books are an easy way to share work and costs. See for example, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) at kdp.amazon.com or via an existing Amazon account at amazon.com and follow the link to ‘Bookshelf’. PRINT BOOKS Print books can be produced by local printers or online. Online companies provide guides to preparing a manuscript and most don’t require a minimum order. Two of the best are Blurb.com and Lulu.com. TEMPLATE-BASED BOOKS There are a number of template-based story books, including the Who Do You Think You Are Story. This adds historical events to details from your family history: whodoyouthinkyouarestory.com.…

An excellent example of the most useful type of memorial is at Coleshill, Oxfordshire. Set above the road near the village green it not only names those who gave their lives, but those who were wounded and those who served – a total of 74 men. It also, for each man, names their regiment, corps or service (such as RAF or Royal Navy). This makes it much easier to trace surviving service records (available on ancestry.co.uk or findmypast.co.uk), medal cards or Silver War Badge details. The great majority of men served in the Army but, although it’s right on the border of Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, only a few men served in either county regiment. Searching the CWGC website using initials and surname, it’s possible to identify the war dead using…

‘For 92 days they were out there with nothing but the open sea... limited rations, sickness and rats’ When we think about family history it’s usually the strong characters we unearth that stand out. Those who have overcome adversity, found greatness – or strayed onto the wrong side of the law – those are the ones that we share with friends and family. It’s rarely the sources themselves that stand out as talking points. But for one WDYTYA? Magazine reader the star of her research was a remarkable document: a 160-year-old diary that details one English family’s journey to find a new life in Australia. Not only is the survival of a diary from this date extremely unusual, the level of detail it contains about day-today life marks it out…

My Mary states her place of birth as Liverpool rather than Shropshire, making this link somewhat problematic Q I am writing to you in the hope you can help me with the various anomalies surrounding my great great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Dyson (née Blantern). In the census returns from her marriage onwards, Mary consistently gives her place of birth as Liverpool. I found the baptism for a child of the same name at St Peter’s church there on 1 October 1839 with the parents, John Blantern and Harriet. They were living at Anson Terrace with John employed as a porter. The next reference I found was in the 1841 census with the family living in Finch St, Liverpool. Sarah Anne, Mary’s older sister, aged three is also named. Mary married…

JAMAICAN RECORDS The TV chef Ainsley Harriott went back to his ancestral homeland of Jamaica to discover his roots. He managed to trace back his Harriott line four generations to his great great grandfather, James Gordon Harriott but was very shocked to learn that James was white and, further, a slave owner. We were able to find this information out thanks to the genealogical records held at the Jamaican Archives and also on familysearch.org. Ainsley visited the archives in Spanish Town and went through parish records to find the baptism of his great grandfather, Ebenezer Harriott. This gave Ebenezer’s father’s name as James Gordon Harriott and when Ainsley found James’ baptism it showed that he was a “white man”. Further records for James were found in the slave registers showing…

‘This volume puts faces to many Quaker names... at a time when photographs were unusual’ Members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers as they are often known, developed strong business and social networks in the towns and cities in which they settled. Birmingham, with a tradition of religious tolerance, was no exception and several Quaker families have had long associations with the city through their entrepreneurship, philanthropy and civic roles. These include prominent families such as the Cadburys, Taylors and Lloyds (founders of Lloyds Bank), and Sturges (anti-slavery campaigners). This month, Eleanor Woodward, tells us about a fascinating compilation of images from these and many less well-known Birmingham Quaker families. Which document have you chosen? Bull St Friends I have known is a volume of images of Birmingham…

The Court of Bankruptcy was established in 1832, where creditors could petition the Lord Chancellor for a Commission of Bankruptcy. Ten years later district courts were established for areas outside London. TNA has most records for the London courts, while district court records will be found at local archives. A good place to start is TNA’s Discovery (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk), to trawl court or prison material from archives across the UK. If debt was a perennial problem there may be other Poor Law or parish-level sources that can help. If your ancestor spent time in the workhouse, try Peter Higginbotham’s informative website workhouses.org.uk. You can explore transcribed descriptions of London prisons via London Ancestor (londonancestor.com/leighs/priprisons.htm), which include Fleet, Marshalsea, the New Debtors’ Prison and more, all taken from Leigh’s New Picture of…

A need for nurses to tend the sick poor in both urban and rural areas had been identified in the late 1850s. However, it was not until 1889 that a district nursing scheme was formally developed. In that year, the Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Institute (later called the Queen’s Nursing Institute) was founded, and their nurses became known as ‘Queen’s Nurses’. District nursing was run at a local level by the District Nursing Associations (DNAs), which had to raise sufficient funds to pay the nurses’ salaries. The cost was met by subscriptions and charity events, such as fetes and jumble sales. Members of each rural community paid yearly subscriptions to take advantage of the service offered by the district nurse, although the old and very poor were nursed without charge. Each…

‘The team have produced a superb booklet, detailing the events of the battle’ The Battle of Cambrai began on 20 November 1917 as a British offensive. Cambrai, in Northern France, was a key supply point for the Hindenburg Line: capturing the town and nearby ridge would threaten the rear of the German lines. But, despite initial British success, the battle slowed and on 30 November came the counter-attack, which saw the Germans sweep back across 13km of ground. British resistance was fierce: 828 of our officers and men were killed. The bravery was conspicuous, and especially that of D Battery, 276 Brigade 55th West Lancashire Division, who kept their guns active throughout the day – now the subject of a fascinating project. Sergeant Cyril Gourley from West Kirby, Wirral, was…

Address of the property If there’s no online name index look in parish registers, street directories or census returns to find where your ancestor lived. The rateable value of the property Used to work out the actual amount paid by the householder. Different rates This collection combines the poor rate with the church rate. It is interesting to note how much larger the contribution is for the poor rate. Ex[excut]ors of Mrs Rawnsley A clue to search for a will and a burial of Mrs Rawnsley. Note John Rawnsley, a possible relative, living next door. John Sutcliffe Jr A clue to the existence of another John Sutcliffe in the parish. 42 Gaol Lane Another address to search for Thos Greenwood. Note also pencil entries naming new occupiers, and alterations to…

‘Dairy work was mainly a woman’s job. Men were believed to lack the patience’ Dairy products first entered our diet 10,000 years ago, following the domestication of livestock. But in Britain, our appetite for milk, butter and cheese did not properly grow until the 17th century, when cattle keeping increased following the decline of the wool trade. Most farms kept a few cows, and rural labourers and craftsmen also aspired to keep one too, as a valuable boost to their income. Initially herd sizes were small as it would take around 10 minutes to milk one cow – twice a day, seven days a week. However, there was little market for liquid milk outside the locality due to the nation’s deplorable road network, which meant it soured before its destination.…

• British Newspaper Archive  britishnewspaper archive.co.uk Reports of dairy schools, farm sales, agricultural shows and employment issues often made it into the local press. The British Newspaper Archive can also be accessed via findmypast.co.uk. • The National Archives  discovery.national archives.gov.uk You can use The National Archives’ Discovery Catalogue to search for deeds, sales and information on specific farm or farmers held by record offices across the country. • Museum of English Rural Life  reading.ac.uk/merl The Museum for English Rural Life in Reading holds a fascinating collection of dairy utensils, pictured online. • Mrs Beeton  mrsbeeton.com A digitised version of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1861) includes chapters on dairy work and dairy foods. • Acton Scott Historic Working Farm  actonscott.com/historic-working-farm Acton Scott Historic Working Farm in Shropshire offers demonstrations and courses…

1299 A grassy area adjoining God's House Hospital is used for a game of bowls. Southampton's Old Bowling Green is the world’s oldest surviving example. 1415 Remember, remember, the 31 July. The Southampton Plot, a conspiracy to replace King Henry V, is uncovered. Within days the ringleaders are beheaded. 1620 The Pilgrim Fathers depart Southampton for North America aboard the Mayflower and Speedwell. While the Speedwell is forced to turn back, the Mayflower makes its first landing near Provincetown, Massachusetts. 1839 Southampton’s first railway station opens. It closes to passengers in 1966 and to freight the following year. The current Southampton Central opens as Southampton West in 1895. 1841 National mapping agency Ordnance Survey moves to Southampton just days after a fire destroys the former Tower of London headquarters. 1846…

The Birth of a Bicycle by Nicholas Clayton (Amberley, £14.99) Chesterfield’s Military Heritage by Gerry van Tonder (Amberley, £14.99) Victoria Crosses on the Western Front: Somme 1916 by Paul Oldfield (Pen & Sword, £30) The invention of the bicycle had a profound impact on 19th-century society. Through various incarnations, these machines gave people greater freedom of movement and the chance to indulge in a new leisure activity. While Nick Clayton’s book is heavily weighted towards the technological aspects, it offers an interesting insight into what our forebears would have ridden – from the short-lived ‘boneshakers’ of the 1860s to the mountain bikes of more recent times. When most people think of Chesterfield, they think of the twisted spire of St Mary and All Saints, looming over the town. However, in…

OUR PICK Demolishing Brick Walls 2016 16-17 September ST JOHN’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE   agraconference.com The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) will be hosting its first national conference at St John’s College, Cambridge, on 16-17 September. After registration on Friday afternoon, attendees will be treated to a meal in the historic college dining hall, followed by a talk from WDYTYA? Magazine editor Sarah Williams. The next day will see presentations from an array of speakers, including marriage law expert Professor Rebecca Probert, genetic genealogist Debbie Kennett and The National Archives’ military specialist William Spencer. To book your place, visit agraconference.com, where a variety of packages are available. LONDON Lambeth Heritage Festival Throughout September VARIOUS VENUES  lambeth.gov.uk/heritagefestival Led by Lambeth Archives in partnership with the Lambeth Local History Forum,…

‘George Monck, the Duke of Albemarle, was a pivotal military leader and political figure’ General George Monck was languishing in the Tower of London in 1644, taken prisoner by the Parliamentarians for leading Royalist troops at the Battle of Nantwich. His fortunes turned, however, and 15 years later he led an army south from Edinburgh to spearhead a momentous event in British history. Monck also became one of the finest admirals in British naval history. He is the first cousin, 10 times removed, of keen family historian Robert Griffiths. “I’m particularly intrigued by George because I was in the Navy for many years,” Robert explains. “He had an astonishing career, both on land and at sea.” Monck was born in 1608 into a family of Devon gentry. His father, Sir…