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

ADVERTISING 0117 314 8823 andy.williams@  immediate.co.uk EDITORIAL 0117 314 7400 wdytyaeditorial@  immediatemedia.co.uk Q&A QUERIES wdytyaquestions@  immediate.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS 0844 844 0939* wdytya@  servicehelpline.co.uk WDYTYA? APP SUPPORT apps.immediate.  co.uk/support WEBSITE QUERIES wdytyaeditorial@  immediatemedia.co.uk *Calls to this number from a BT landline will cost no more than 5p per minute. Calls from mobiles and other providers may vary. Overseas subscribers call 01795 414697…

On your letters page (issue 119) you ask if anyone else has found a death ascribed to ‘wearing’, defined as exhaustion. My great great grandmother Mary Ann Flood was born in Maidstone Barracks, the daughter of a cavalry sergeant. She was two years old when her father rejoined his regiment in India in 1812, and she travelled there with her parents sailing round the Cape of Good Hope to Madras. Her father died after only three years there – the average life expectancy for Europeans in India. Her mother was ‘recycled’ within the regiment, as was customary, remarrying to a sergeant major. Mary herself was married at 13 to a captain in the East India Company Army (the age of consent for girls was 12 in those days under English…

227,000 monumental inscriptions from 209 burial grounds across Scotland have been published on findmypast.co.uk 56 members of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) are now believed to have been killed in WW1 – see antique golfscotland.com 115 years – the maximum natural limit of most human lifespans, according to a recent article published in the scientific journal Nature . See bit.ly/ LifespanStudy 4 years’ worth of editions of The Jewish Chronicle (1905-1908) have been made available to explore at the genealogist.co.uk 147 records relating to people accused of witchcraft in Scotland in 1658 have been added to ancestry.co.uk thanks to the site’s partnership with the Wellcome Library…

Volunteer researchers under the guidance of the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership (DVLP) (discoverdearne.org.uk) have spent thousands of hours accessing sources and checking records in order to compile the first complete list of those who died in the disaster of 1866, ‘extending’ the death total to 383 that is already appearing on some internet sites. However, this conflicts with the official report, the records of the NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) and my own research findings. Caution and independent verification is required for any new findings. The complex task included the elimination of duplicate names, dealing with confusing spelling errors as well as the addition of miners’ names missed from previous listings. Sources such as death registers, certificates, the 1861 census were used in combination with burial records and newspapers. An…

Irish presenter Liz Bonnin was born to a French Martinican father and Trinidadian mother with Indian and Portuguese ancestry. Such an exotic cultural mix is a reflection of the diverse populations that settled in the Caribbean, whether by choice or by force. The history of the Caribbean islands was dominated by sugar and slavery from the 16th century, when the first European colonies were established there. African slaves were transported to the islands in huge numbers by the 18th century, and slavery was not abolished in the British Caribbean until 1838, in the French Caribbean until 1848 and in the Dutch Caribbean until 1863. Unfortunately, researching slave ancestry using documentary sources is often complicated and might not be possible at all before these dates. Even after slavery was abolished, family…

Following the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean, indentured labourers willing to work cheaply were shipped from India and China to replenish the workforce. Passenger lists from the 19th century told Liz Bonnin where her Trinidadian ancestors came from in India. Their passage was paid, but they were contracted to work on the same plantation for years. The National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago (natt.gov.tt) hold registers of Indian immigrants who arrived between 1845 and 1917 – information about them and lots of other useful guides for researching ancestors from these islands can be found at trinidadandtobago familyhistory.org. As with slave ancestors, if you can establish which family or estate they worked for then it’s worth searching for estate records. Those that have been brought back to the UK…

We’ve been inspired by the new Who Do You Think You Are? series on BBC One to challenge our readers to trace their family tree back to their great great grandparents in just 12 weeks. If you’ve already followed the steps in the last two issues then you should be well on your way, having spoken to extended family, pulled together a family archive, got to grips with the major genealogy websites, ordered some birth and marriage certificates and found your ancestors on the census. We’ve also explored military records, newspaper articles and the best ways to store your data. If you missed the first two parts of this guide, turn to p9 to find out how to get back issues or visit our website where we will be publishing…

TRISTAN RECORDS The University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg has archived birth, marriage and death records for Tristan. View photos of the registers at historical papers.wits.ac.za. SOUTH AFRICAN RECORDS After the lifeboat disaster, the families on Tristan da Cunha were offered the chance to emigrate to Cape Town. Find records of South African ancestors at familysearch.org. ISLAND LIFE Discover more about what it’s like to live on the world’s most remote island at tristan dacunha.org.…

Jane Horrocks is a Lancashire lass, proud of her Northern roots, and wanted to learn more about the strong working-class women in her family. One of these was her great grandmother, Sarah Cunliffe. While looking into her life, Jane was surprised to learn about a forgotten brother of hers, Ernest, who emigrated to Australia and she wanted to explore his life in more detail. He seemed to be the black sheep of the family as he left shortly after Sarah married a strict Methodist and became a billiard marker in Queensland (an occupation associated with gambling). We followed Ernest’s life using a variety of records. We found him leaving the UK in 1910 using extant passenger lists that are available on Ancestry and Findmypast. Many Australian state archives have passenger…

‘During the Second World War, the hospital was opened up to the public’ Mining town memories A former miners’ hospital in Caerphilly is being transformed into an innovative new community centre. Alan Crosby learns more about the project This month, we look at a fascinating project in South Wales, where a new community resource is based in the former Ysbyty Glowyr Cylch Caerffili – the Caerphilly District Miners’ Hospital. Coal mining was notoriously dangerous, and at the time of the First World War the industry had a truly appalling safety record. In 1913 Britain’s worst ever mining disaster took place at Senghenydd, near Caerphilly – 439 men and boys died. Towards the end of the war, in a self-help initiative to improve medical care, the miners of the Caerphilly district…

Nonconformist citations Unlike Church of Scotland records, citations for nonconformist entries are not found at the top of the page, but in the index entry only. Lawful children This register records baptisms and marriages, using similar terms to Church of Scotland records such as ‘lawful’ daughter (i.e. legitimate). Early records Not all Free Church events were registered so early. Civil birth records from 1855 will note the marriage date if a marriage entry is missing. Reading the banns From 1834 onwards, banns for nonconformist marriages had to be recorded by the Church of Scotland. This 1844 Free Church record is a separate marriage entry. Denominations Some Free Church and other nonconformist records have been indexed within FamilySearch’s IGI. Relevant denominations will be noted in brackets after the parish name. Kirk…

National and local newspapers Reports of hiring fairs in the local and national press often contain detailed accounts of goings-on, and plenty of colour. The Times Digital Archive (thetimes.co.uk/tto/archive) and the Nineteenth Century British Newspapers database are usually free to access using your library card, while the subscription-based British Newspaper Archive website (britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) contains increasing amounts of 20th-century material. Photographic archives Many pictures of Victorian and Edwardian hiring fairs have now been digitised. The Historic England Archive website (historicengland.org.uk), is a good place to start, while local online photographic archives often have a wealth of material. For example, the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire website Picture the Past (picturethepast.org.uk) has images of the Nottingham Goose Fair through time. Local archives Records of hiring fairs are held by most local archives and record…

ABLE-BODIED Those aged between 16 and 60, judged fit for work and therefore not to require the assistance of the Poor Law. CASUAL A vagrant or tramp. They slept in casual wards, generally in appalling conditions. ‘THE HOUSE’ An alternative name for the workhouse. ‘OFFERED THE HOUSE’ When outdoor relief was denied, applicants could be ‘offered the house’. This was often unfavourably received. OUTDOOR RELIEF Assistance provided outside the workhouse. For example, small pensions for the elderly or visits from the medical officer. PAUPER Men and women from the lowest strata of society, who were unable to support themselves. WORKHOUSE TEST The principle that workhouse conditions should never exceed those of “an independent labourer of the lowest class”.…

PRISON RECORDS Many prison records are stored at The National Archives (see discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk or local archives), with Findmypast and Ancestry both holding collections. You can trace the criminal careers of your miscreant forebears through prison registers and calendars, records of inmates held in floating prison ships known as hulks (sometimes prior to transportation), or the records of transportation themselves and you might find a photograph. TRIAL REPORTS These can reveal a lot about an ancestor’s situation – even the words they spoke at their trial. Newspaper archives are a good place to find details of a trial (britishnewspaperarchives.co.uk or findmypast.co.uk). Records of assizes are held at The National Archives, while quarter and petty sessions can be found in local archives. Old Bailey Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org) has detailed proceedings of cases held…

South Wales Beryl Evans shows how to search for your ancestors’ records in the industrial heartlands of South Wales The South Wales region includes some historic counties ranging from Pembrokeshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east with Carmarthenshire and Glamorganshire in between. This was the industrial area of Wales – Merthyr Tydfil was the first industrial town in Wales and there’s a rich maritime past too, with Pembroke‘s naval dockyard and global trading ports dotted all along the southern coast. South Wales is still the most populated area of Wales today. South Wales is still the most populated area of Wales today The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth is home to numerous collections relating to the whole of Wales, including some for the South Wales region. They…

APP Evernote Scannable Evernote iOS and Android, free This clever app created by Evernote allows you to scan documents quickly and easily using your mobile phone and convert them into PDFs. Perfect for when you’re out and about, or if you want to share some research with a fellow genealogist. DOWNLOAD Seen? Heard? Records of Children in 19th Century Ireland family history podcast Aoife O’ Connor www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com, free In this podcast from the Irish Family History Centre, Aoife O’Connor looks at the lives and records of children in 19th century Ireland, beyond census records and births, marriages and deaths. EBOOK Planning a Future for Your Family's Past Marian Burk Wood Amazon Kindle, £2.40 Every now and then, it's a good idea to give your family history records a spring clean.…

LONDON 20th-Century Perspectives 30 November SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS sog.org.uk/events 020 7553 3290 In this afternoon lecture, Else Churchill will discuss the best resources for plugging gaps in your 20th-century research, including the 1939 register, divorce records and more. Introduction to Family History Sources in Asian and African Studies 15 December BRITISH LIBRARY fibis.org/events hrs-training@bl.uk Tracing ancestors who lived in Asia and Africa? Learn about the records on offer at the British Library with this free training session, in partnership with the Families in British India Society. SOUTH-EAST Wills and How to Read Them 26 November IGHS, CANTERBURY ihgs.ac.uk/courselist 01227 768664 The Institute of Heraldic & Genealogical Studies hosts a one-day workshop on getting the most from wills and historic probate records. Cost £45 (booking essential). Christmases Past 7 December QUEENSWAY…

Ernest clearly had a gift for storytelling and he uses technical terms in his writing Many of us have seafaring ancestors, however, few of us are lucky enough to gain personal insight into the dramas and dangers of their daily lives. Robin Richards has found a prolific author in his genealogy – his great uncle, the Reverend Ernest Richards, was a journalist and a sailor. He left behind a written legacy of novels, articles and an autobiography which are treasured by the family today. “Ernest was born in 1871 in Ettingshall, Bilston, South Staffordshire, the seventh of 10 children,” Robin explains. “Aged 14, he went to work for his brother, William, who owned an iron and brass foundry. As ‘general factotem’, Ernest’s duties included sweeping the floors, keeping the men’s…

At last the new series of Who Do You Think You Are? has arrived (apologies to all our regular readers who have been promised it ever since the Olympics came to an end – and what a long time ago that now seems!). If you are picking up this issue because you have been inspired by the series to start your family tree, then I hope you enjoy the guide by Laura Berry, one of the genealogists for the TV show. You can catch the first eight weeks of her 12-week challenge on our website or see page 9 to order back issues if you want it in print. Laura has also provided us with a brief guide to Caribbean research to tie in with wildlife presenter Liz Bonnin’s episode.…

‘Did these places have anything to do with the festive season?’ Mappy Christmas! Alan Crosby investigates the stories behind some of Britain’s most festive place names What’s in a name? Thinking about Christmas, I remembered how as a child I was much amused by the name Christmas Pie. It’s a little hamlet between Guildford and Farnham, which we drove through en route to walks in the Surrey hills. And I recalled the equally distinctive Christmas Common, high in the Chilterns outside Watlington in Oxfordshire. Such strange names – funny to a small child and intriguing to a local historian long afterwards. Did these places have anything to do with the festive season? In his history of English field names, the aptly named John Field suggests that Christmas Pie owed its…

Immediate post-disaster commemorative items included pottery wares (emblazoned with images from the Illustrated London News ), printed poems and religious tracts and bibles were presented to widows and parents by the Relief Fund committee. After years of public subscription and debate, an obelisk was placed in Ardsley churchyard in 1879, over a grave said to contain 35 of the miners. Following the Cadeby pit disaster of 1912, in which 53 rescuers were killed, philanthropist Samuel Cooper was inspired to fund a retrospective memorial in tribute to Parkin Jeffcock and other heroes of the rescue parties at the Oaks Colliery, and to the bravery of Mammatt and Embleton. A bronze Gloria Victus winged female figure carrying a naked and dying male body stands above the base in front of a tall…

Oral history is invaluable for researching Caribbean roots. It’s vital to talk to as many relations as possible to try to find out when your relatives left the Caribbean if they emigrated, and exactly where they came from. If any relations settled in the UK then it may be possible to order a marriage certificate from the General Register Office here to find out what their fathers’ names and occupations were. Ships’ passenger lists for people arriving in the UK up to 1960 can be searched on Ancestry (search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx? dbid=1518) and in the mid-20th century these sometimes provide dates of birth and additional information about citizenship. A fair amount of research can be done online now, aided by free genealogy websites like caribbeanfamilyhistory.org, but it’s always best to try to visit…

Manumission records created when slaves were freed can be found in local archives, and registers listing slaves and their owners in the British Caribbean between 1813 and 1834 are available on Ancestry (search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx ?htx=List&dbid=1129&offerid=0%3a 7858%3a0). Further records of the Slave Compensation Committee may be found in series T 71 at The National Archives in Kew, where there are also reports of protectors of slaves from Trinidad, St Lucia, Guyana and so on within Colonial Office files. Slaves rarely had surnames so there is a higher chance of finding information for slave owners than their slaves. The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership has a database of owners and their associates at ucl.ac.uk/lbs. There are records and registers of slaves held in Martinique at www.patrimoinesmartinique.org but, again, you need…

‘They sailed out, heading eastwards around the island’s Big Point. None of the crew would ever be seen again’ Tristan da Cunha is the world’s most remote inhabited island, a tiny speck on the map lying 1,500 miles from its nearest neighbour, St Helena, in the South Atlantic. For many years, it was the haunt of pirates and buccaneers, who would roam the seas searching for merchant vessels bound for the Cape of Good Hope. In the 1810s, a more peaceable community was established there, and following the Battle of Waterloo the British government annexed Tristan as part of its Cape Colony. A garrison was based on the island in 1816, just in case Napoleon attempted to abscond from St Helena. Former sailors were encouraged to settle on the island…

MEET OUR EXPERTS PAUL BLAKE co-wrote Discover Your Roots and is a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists (SOG). YVONNE HAUSHEER runs My Swiss Past and can be contacted by emailing info@myswisspast.ch. EMMA JOLLY is a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA). ANTONY MARR is a member of the Association of Genealogists and researchers in Archives (AGRA). 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. PHIL TOMASELLI is a military family history expert and the author of Tracing Your Air Force Ancestors. MIKE TRENCHARD is a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA). Was my Hanover…

Help with who, what, where, why this group photo was taken? bit.ly/2dK8wOH I found this photo among my parent’s pictures. The reverse states “Photo: E Simmons, Herne Bay”. Can anyone offer ideas as to who this group of people might be, what they did, where it may have been taken and when? I’m intrigued by the two women seated on either side of the two men seated in the centre. Lettice99 Death and burial of my paternal gr. gr.grandfather bit.ly/2dK7CSg I have hit a brick wall regarding the date of death and burial of my paternal 2x great grandfather William Cownley Brumwell. He was born on 17 October 1792 in Newcastle upon Tyne and baptised on 17 December 1792 at St Andrews, Brunswick Place, Newcastle. He moved to Kendal and…

“Trade unions went on a long journey from illegality to respectability during the 19th century. By 1900, there were more than two million members in some 1,300 different unions in existence, and membership had expanded beyond the skilled crafts to cover new types of workers, including the emerging white-collar occupations, unskilled jobs and female workers. The Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick (www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc) is by far the largest repository of trade union records in the UK – and what a wealth of information they have for those researching our ancestors’ lives! Records vary from union to union and from one year to the next, but among the treasures at Warwick you may be lucky enough to find membership registers, information on the benefits paid out during periods of…

The plot The number refers to a place on the plan at the back of the book, so it should be possible to locate the exact plot belonging to the landowner. Acreage Land measurements were given in acres, roods and perches (see top tip, p57). Freehold Freehold property could be disposed of as the possessor of the freehold wished, without having to refer to the manor courts in the way that copyholders did. Allotments ‘Allotment’ was the term used for the share of land ‘allotted’ to an individual by the Enclosure Commissioners during the enclosure of land, mainly at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century (see p56). Copyhold Entitlement to ‘copyhold’ land was listed in the manorial court rolls and the tenant was provided with…

WEBSITES • The National Archives nationalarchives.gov.uk • The National Records of Scotland nrscotland.gov.uk • The National Archives of Ireland nationalarchives.ie To find local archives  discovery.nationalarchives.gov. uk/find-an-archive Although many land records are not collectively online, some initiatives to index local areas are evident for example: Feet of Fines – An index to Worcestershire Feet of Fines is available online at the Society of Genealogists (sog.org.uk). • 1910-15 Valuation Office Survey online Gloucestershire Archives’ new project to put its survey records online is at glos1909survey.org. uk. The Badsey Society in Worcestershire has transcribed the field books for Badsey, Aldington, Blackminster and Wickhamford at badsey.net/history/vs.htm. Look out for other local projects. • The National Archives guidance to the Valuation Office Survey  nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/valuation-office-survey-land-valueownership-1910-1915/#18244valuation-office-survey-land-valueownership-1910-1915/#18244 Books • Old Title Deeds, Alcock, NW, Phillimore, 2001 • The National…

‘Starved by a gradual process in the house or by a quick one out of it’ Until the 1940s workhouses dotted around the country, but today these buildings have largely been demolished or incorporated into hospitals. Although some workhouses date from the 18th century, most were built in the mid-1830s or later. The Poor Law Reform Act of 1834 established Boards of Guardians to administer welfare provision across England and Wales. Central to this was the creation of workhouses to house the poor. Behind the legislation was the belief that the poor were able to work, but some preferred to scrounge off the taxpayer. After 1834, denied the support of the parish, the poor now had to find work or be admitted to the workhouse. Charles Dickens wrote that the…

• Surviving letters Workhouse correspondence can be found at The National Archives (series MH 12). It includes application forms from aspiring workhouse masters, teachers and medical officers. • Employee registers Registers of union employees (series MH 9), covering 1837-1921, contain dates of appointments, salaries and, sometimes, reasons for leaving. • Newspaper archives Newspapers detail appointments (and dismissals), obituaries and retirements, plus revelations of poor treatment of inmates (britishnewspaper archive.co.uk). • Board minutes Minutes of boards of guardians mention staff appointments, and these are normally found at local record offices. • Workhouses.org.uk Peter Higginbotham’s excellent website devoted to the poor law, workhouses.org.uk, has illustrated histories of each union, links and bibliographies, and a section on the lives of workhouse staff.…

1783 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE TREATY For some, the Treaty of Paris proved the British Empire was at an end. It was Britain’s final admission of defeat in the American War of Independence. The treaty, signed on 3 September 1783, had been in the offing since British forces under Lord Cornwallis decisively lost the Siege of Yorktown in Virginia in 1781, where an army of 7,000 surrendered to the rebel American colonists and their French allies. When the news reached the Prime Minister, Lord North, he paced the room exclaiming: “Oh, God, it is all over!” Certainly it was the end for North, who resigned shortly after. King George III felt Britain could never recover from such a setback and would fall “into a very low class among the European states”. He…

1682 Bartholomew Roberts (Barti Ddu), a successful Welsh pirate who raided 470 ships off the Americas and West Africa, is born in Casnewydd Bach, Pembrokeshire. 1717 Copper smelting starts in the Swansea Valley and the area is soon given the name “Copperopolis” – the heart of the world copper industry. 1765 Cyfarthfa Ironworks, Merthyr Tydfil, opens. It later becomes the largest ironworks in the world in the 19th century. 1797 Jemima Nicholas, a local heroine of Fishguard, helps to defend her village against the last invasion of Britain by the French, allegedly rounding up 12 drunken French soldiers armed with only a pitchfork. 1804 The Cambrian is the first weekly newspaper to be published in Wales. It aims to help promote Swansea’s commercial growth. 1839-43 The Rebecca Riots, attacks…

Norfolk’s War: Voices of the First World War by Frank Meeres (Amberley Publishing, £14.99) This well-researched book by Frank Meeres gives a fascinating picture of Norfolk during the war, featuring letters from the trenches and overseas battles, accounts of life in Norfolk War Hospital and photos from the period. Even if you don't have a personal connection to Norfolk, the first-hand experiences make great reading. The Women’s Royal Naval Service: A World War Two Memoir by Brenda Birney (Amazon, £5.99) Brenda Birney’s stories of life in the Women’s Royal Naval Service are well worth a read if you have a Wren ancestor. Her lively tales of her work and social life during the war while she was stationed in the UK and Italy are recalled in vivid detail. She even…

Oaks Colliery Disaster: 150th Anniversary Events November 2016 – February 2017 BARNSLEY discoverdearne.org.uk/events-and-activities 01226 772139 On 12 December 1866, two huge explosions tore through the Oaks Colliery in Barnsley, killing 383 miners and volunteer rescuers. To mark the 150th anniversary of the disaster, the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership is putting on a series of commemorative events across the local area. This includes a major exhibition at the Experience Barnsley Museum & Discovery Centre (30 November 2016-8 February 2017), along with a packed programme of talks, workshops and walks, each listed at the website address above. To learn more about the Oaks Colliery Disaster, turn to p17.…

Wearing answer Regarding the term ‘the wearing death’ in November’s edition of the magazine, I think you will find that ‘wearing’ was Phthisis or any other consumptive disease, aka consumption, Tuberculosis (usually pulmonary). Bob Dearden, by email Editor replies: Thanks for the answer, Bob. I notice the term is included on archaicmedicalterms. com  mentioned on p26. No death certificate I have just received the latest WDYTYA? (119) and seen the Q&A letter regarding no death certificate. I have had a similar problem. Thomas Huddleston was living in Market Weighton in the 1841 census but does not appear in the 1851 census, while his wife and children were still living at the same address. His death is not in the GRO index. However, the parish registers for…

ONLINE Accidents and disaster information can be accessed by referring to the following online sites, each having useful links: • For Scotland scottishmining.co.uk • For Wales welshcoalmines.co.uk • For England dmm.org.uk healeyhero.co.uk (especially useful for mine rescues) MUSEUMS • National Mining Museum (Scotland) nationalminingmuseum.com • Big Pit National Coal Museum (Wales) museum.wales/bigpit • National Coal Mining Museum (England) ncm.org.uk BOOKS • History’s Most Dangerous Jobs: Miners, Anthony Burton (The History Press, 2013). • Great Pit Disasters, Helen & Baron Duckham (David & Charles, 1973) • South Yorkshire Mining Disasters (two volumes): Brian Elliott (Pen & Sword Books, 2006-2009) • British Coalminers in the 19th Century: A Social History: John Benson (Holmes & Meier, 1980) • The History of the British Coal Industry (five volumes) (Oxford University Press, 1984-1993) MINES INSPECTORS’ REPORTS…

A large number of births, marriages and deaths registered in Jamaica and Barbados have been scanned and made available at familysearch.org. Just register for a free account to see the digital images. You’ll find records for other areas of the Caribbean too by using the ‘Research by Location’ map on the ‘Search’ page. Church registers of baptisms and marriages in Martinique, Guadeloupe and other French Caribbean islands can be searched online for free at anom. archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/ caomec2, and the available records can be very detailed. Anglican churches in the British Caribbean did not start to admit slaves until the 1820s. As a result, African-Caribbean people were more likely to worship at a nonconformist chapel instead, so you may need to search the records of the local Baptist, Methodist and Moravian churches. Locating…

probate, land and church records in local archives. Newspapers and colonial gazettes are also worth searching. Le Journal Officiel de la Martinique is freely online along with other published sources via the Bibliothéque Nationale de France website gallica.bnf.fr. In theory, everything in the regional Departmental Archives in the French Caribbean has been duplicated and copies deposited at the Archives Nationales d’Outre Mer (archivesnationales.  culture.gouv.fr). This includes colonial compensation records of payments made to owners by the government when slaves were freed, and ‘actes notaries’, being legal records and wills. Some records have been digitised at anom.archivesnationales. culture.gouv.fr. In the British Caribbean, colonial ‘Blue Books’ recorded the names of local civil servants, and these may be accessed at some university libraries such as the Senate House Library in London.…

ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES The National Archives Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU 020 8876 3444 nationalarchives.gov.uk Holds documents created by UK government departments and the principal courts of law, including records from the Home Office, Foreign Office, Board of Trade, Admiralty and War Office. The British Library 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ 0330 333 1144 bl.uk Receives a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland, including newspapers. It has a big collection of manuscripts, maps and sound recordings and holds India Office records too. National Library of Wales Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3BU. 01970 632 933 llgc.org.uk Holds books, maps, manuscripts, archives, and photos documenting the history of Wales, including newspapers and parish registers. National Records of Scotland HM General Register…

In the 1800s, British ships sailing to southern Africa, India and Australia might call at Tristan da Cunha to take on water, and to barter or carry out repairs. It was a tough life on the island because its remoteness meant that supplies of all kinds were scarce and farming was hard work, so the arrival of these ships was essential to the economy. But shipwrecks happened even in remote locations. In 1821, for example, the Blenden Hall wrecked on neighbouring Inaccessible Island. The crew and 84 passengers were in a desperate situation for weeks because no one knew they were there, and the island was desolate and uninhabited. Starving, cold and quarrelsome, they eventually built a raft and alerted Tristan to their plight and were rescued. The islands were…

‘He manoeuvred his tank in order to outflank the gun, but it was hit almost immediately afterwards’ One hundred years ago, tanks were deployed for the first time during the Battle of the Somme, at Flers-Courcelette, and an era of armoured warfare began. The Tank Museum at Bovington in Dorset is the site of the Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps (later the Tank Corps) training camps, which relocated from Norfolk in 1916. In addition to housing a collection of over 300 tanks, the museum also holds a large archive, including papers relating to individual soldiers. Mike Silvester, gives us an insight into the documents of a soldier who might inspire other family historians to research their own ancestors who served in tank crews. Which document have you chosen? In 2013,…

The National Library of Scotland has a page describing holdings relating to trade unions (www.nls.uk/catalogues/labour-history/1), organised by occupation. So under ‘Engineers’ we learn that the NLS has some records from the Amalgamated Engineering Union, Edinburgh District Committee (1915-44), while for ‘Railwaymen’ there are the branch records of the National Union of Railwaymen. Swansea University Archives looks after the South Wales Coalfield Collection (swansea.ac.uk/library/archive-and-research-collections/richard-burton-archives/ourcollections/southwalescoalfieldcollection), which includes the South Wales Miners’ Federation, and material from local lodges of the NUM. It also has records of other miners’ institutes and cooperative societies. The National Archives has details of unions registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies (from 1870) and the Chief Registrar of Trade Unions and Employers Associations (from 1971). It has material relating to the Ministry of Labour or search discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk for…

The Church of Scotland split on many occasions, but why was the issue of patronage such a thorn to so many of its ministers? Just prior to the Scottish Reformation in 1560, John Knox had visited Protestant reformer John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, and been heavily influenced by the religious statelet that he had established there. Calvin’s concept of a ‘Godly Commonwealth’, where the state and the Church worked hand in hand, but with the Church calling the shots on issues such as education and discipline, was the model that Knox brought back to Scotland. Knox fully expected the state to play second fiddle to his new Presbyterian regime. The struggles with the Episcopalians, who very much wished for state control, made it difficult to assert the new Kirk’s primacy.…

Hiring could be a difficult business for employers as well as workers. John Roberts, a farmer from Weston, Lincolnshire, found it hard to retain good farm servants for long. His handwritten account book, now preserved by Lincolnshire Archives reveals his high turnover of servants during the 1860s and 70s. Roberts’s account book shows that in just 12 years he hired three male ‘agricultural’ servants, yet nine female general servants and maids of all work. Their names are all carefully recorded, as well as the agreed 12-month term. The entries are interspersed with Roberts’ daily life, from notes showing his partiality to “Plumb [sic] Cake” to hints of his weakness for drink (“Attended Horncastle Fair. Got pepperd [sic]”) and dentistry woes (“Paid Mrs Roberts for Artificial Teeth”). Roberts visited the Spalding…

How long have you been doing your family tree? In 1986 my dad, although very keen on discovering more about his ancestry, only had a few documents, mostly baptisms and marriage records. He was interested in tracing our Irish ancestors and I foolishly volunteered to discover as much as I could. Fast forward to the present day, and I can truly say that the journey has been both frustrating and rewarding. I have learnt not only about Irish genealogy, but Irish history as well. There’s never been a better time to trace your Irish roots – some excellent sources are now available in archives and online. What had you previously found out about your Irish ancestors? I traced my Irish ancestors in Britain by locating them on the census returns,…

There are so many online resources available such as free access to 15 million articles from over a million pages in Welsh newspapers up to 1919 at newspapers.library.wales. The National Library of Wales offers free access to probate records proved in Wales before 1858 at llgc.org.uk/ index.php?id=6838. Most archive offices have free access to Findmypast and Ancestry, which will enable you to explore parish registers, census returns and many other historical collections relating to Wales. Familysearch.org is another site that gives access to collections of Welsh interest that may not have previously been found, through familysearch.org/search/collection/2040546. These include digital images of pre-1837 marriage bonds among other collections. People’s Collection Wales (peoplescollection.wales) allows you to search for photographs, sound records, documents, videos and stories about the history and heritage of Wales. You…

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…

The Spyglass File by Nathan Dylan Goodwin (Amazon, 286 pages, £7.99) This book is excellent and keeps you gripped from the beginning. There are two aspects to the story: the forensic genealogist Morton Farrier investigating his latest case in the present day and the flashbacks showing what actually happened. This makes the whole book more interesting as you are not just told the dull facts, but the whole case is brought to life, especially as it reads like a crime novel, complete with the requisite villain! I had never thought about the benefits of a novel to help with family history research. As well as being a very good read, there are lots of hints to help you (along with the resources that Morton used), especially if you are researching…

PICK OF THE MONTH WDYTYA? returns Who Do You Think You Are? Thursday 24 November BBC One After initially looking as if it would air earlier in the year, the 13th series of WDYTYA? is finally making its way to our screens in late November. The first show, featuring Danny Dyer is one of the undoubted highlights among the 10 episodes. The public image of the EastEnders star is that he’s a bit of a geezer, but this turns out to be a little misleading. Dyer, it turns out, is directly descended from key figures in British history, including royalty. The second show features Amanda Holden. The actor and Britain’s Got Talen t judge lost contact with her father when her parents divorced and knows little about his…

Measuring worth When researching your ancestors’ lives you may come across monetary values such as their salaries. It’s useful to know how much these amounts would be in today’s world and this can be done for free here measuringworth.com/ppoweruk. 1 First, navigate to the homepage to begin the conversion. This page explains the methodology behind the calculation and the grey box on the right-hand side allows you to enter the values you wish to convert. The left-hand side gives you options to convert US and Australian values too. 2 Next enter the amount you wish to convert. For example you may be looking to see what the value of £300 in 1800 would be today. Enter 1800 for the “initial year”, £300 for the “initial amount” and 2016 for “desired…