Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Who Do You Think You Are?

For the past couple of years I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing the celebrities on stage at Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE. It’s a real honour, but it does keep me busy preparing before the show. I’m particularly excited by this year’s mix as I loved the Danny Dyer episode and can’t wait to hear how the show was researched and put together on the Thursday. I was also bowled over by Sunetra Sarker’s episode, so I’m looking forward to asking her about her experience on the Saturday. However this year, we are also inviting two stars from the hit living history series Victorian Slum to talk about their experience. Mandy and Heather both wanted a closer understanding of their ancestors lives and it will be interesting to…

I can’t tell you how shocked I was when I bought the February edition of WDYTYA? to see the face of my detective great grandfather on the cover! He is pictured on the left. My great grandfather James Beattie Anderson (JBA) was born in New Machar, Aberdeenshire, in 1864. The records I have for him show he spent 83 days in the Scots Guards before joining the Kent Constabulary for seven months (I would love to know why he only spent 83 days with the Scots Guards, but sadly his records have not survived). JBA then moved to the Reading Constabulary in 1881, where he married his wife, Mary Ann, and there he stayed until his retirement as a detective inspector in 1914. We grew up hearing the story of…

£2.5m has been earmarked for a new culture centre in Conwy that will house the county archives. Full story at bit.ly/ConwyCentre 2 family historians, Dr Terrence Punch and Zita Kelly, have been appointed Honorary Life Members of the Irish Genealogical Research Society. See bit.ly/IGRShons 18,548 historic records from mental health institutions across Scotland can now be searched free of charge at scottish indexes.com 103 is the age difference between Bradford resident Hilda Hanson and her new 3x great grandson, Finley. No other British family is thought to span six living generations 30,000 family historians attended RootsTech 2017 between 8-11 February. Some talks from the event can be streamed for free at rootstech.org…

‘It was a terrible accident. There was obviously no 999 to call in those days’ For Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Alison Burtt, the fact that her father, William Allison Macdonald Hartley, was the only child of an only child meant that he was the one person she could ask about the history of his side of the family. But he had nothing to tell and so the mystery deepened. That might have been the end of her journey had Alison not made a discovery 35 years ago that unlocked a tragic past. “I had just got married,” Alison says. “I was doing some sewing and wanted to get a piece of material from a box of offcuts that my mother kept in the loft. “I went…

Quaker FHS (qfhs.co.uk) has pages explaining Quaker records, from ‘removals’ and ‘settlements’ – records created when Quakers moved from the jurisdiction of one monthly meeting to another – to digests of births, marriages and burials. An important Quaker collection resides at Leeds University Library (library. leeds.ac.uk/special-collections/collection/718), and the website has information about Quaker record keeping, an online catalogue, and the Quaker Collection Index. The Baptist Historical Society site includes a page dedicated to genealogy (baptisthistory.org.uk/discover/family-history), with a tablet-friendly design, plus links to other bodies, such as the Baptist library and archive at Angus Library in Oxford (theangus.rpc.ox.ac.uk). This is also worth a visit, with lots of background information about Baptists, the collections, and a family history database with details of over 4,000 missionaries. The Familysearch guide to nonconformist records (family search.org/learn/wiki/en/England_Nonconformist_Church _Records) is…

T wile is an online service – now completely free to use – that makes it easy for you to create, edit and share your family history, including photos, milestones and other memories, through a series of attractive timelines. Start by visiting www.twile.com and clicking the ‘Register’ button – provide a name, email address and choose a strong password before clicking ‘Sign up’, or log in with your Facebook account. Once done, you’ll be prompted to create a new timeline, or import data from your FamilySearch account or a GEDCOM file. If you want to begin with a blank slate, click ‘Create a new timeline’ and follow the wizard to input your own data, plus that of your parents: names, key dates and a photo of yourself to get things…

Location Various details about where the census was taken .The description of the enumeration district, found at the start of each book, is usually very informative. Street The name or number of house (numbers became the norm in towns during the 19th century) helps when matching entries with directories. The schedule number to the left is not to be confused with a house number. Inhabited These two columns show whether the houses are inhabited or uninhabited or being built at that time (introduced in 1861). Names Names and surnames (more than one forename or initials are often given in this column). Relationship Shows an individual’s relationship to the head of the family (including servant, lodger, visitor etc.). Condition This shows whether a person was married or unmarried, widower or widow.…

BOOKS The Intellectual life of the British Working Class This book by Jonathan Rose (Yale University Press, 2010) explores British working-class experiences of self-improvement and learning. Lipsticks and Library Books; The Story of Boots Booklovers Library Jackie Winter (2016) uncovers the history of the hugely popular Boots Library. ORAL HISTORY It’s not easy to find historic personal stories relating to public libraries, so you’ll need to be imaginative. Try the Mass Observation archive (www.massobs.org.uk) or ask older relatives what their local library meant to them. To start the conversation, research fiction titles published in different decades to see if a quick plot summary or character’s name will open that door to long-forgotten memories. Do they remember the card system for recording loans? ARCHIVES Search The National Archives Discovery catalogue (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk)…

There are many stories of people surviving more than one shipwreck, but Southampton fireman Arthur John Priest was miraculously rescued from four shipwrecks in just five years. Arthur signed up to join the Titanic in 1912, aged 22, and was paid £6 a month as a fireman. He probably considered himself fortunate to get a job because lots of men were being laid off at the time. After the ship hit the iceberg, Arthur raced up on deck, but when he got there the lifeboats had gone and so he had to swim for it in the freezing waters of the Atlantic. Luckily, he was picked up by a lifeboat and survived. When the First World War started, Arthur served as a merchant navy fireman, and in early 1916 he…

Both parish registers and bishops’ transcripts held here are due to be published by Ancestry in mid-2017 Wiltshire As the county archive service celebrates its 70th birthday, Jonathan Scott traces top resources for Wiltshire roots This year marks the 70th anniversary of Wiltshire’s county archive service. And for this issue’s bonus online selection, the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre (WSHC) team has provided a generous spread of images showing off some of the treasures preserved here during those seven decades. These include the marriage settlement of Jane Seymour and Henry VIII from 1536, extracts from an album of photographs relating to record-breaking Wiltshire aviator Mildred Mary Bruce, a 13th century seal, one of the earliest maps of the county, a Victorian diary recording a voyage to Calcutta, and a page…

Ceremonial Swords of Britain by Lt Colonel (retired) Edward Barrett MBE (The History Press, £26) Britain is a country steeped in tradition and ceremonial swords are a fascinating part of our heritage. Edward Barrett has travelled around the country and spent seven years writing this book, which is the most comprehensive guide to ceremonial swords that you’re likely to find anywhere. Dadland by Keggie Carew (Vintage, £8.99) Carew’s father was an unorthodox character who lived on his wits and charm. As his memory began to fail, Carew undertook the task of trying to record his life story before dementia took hold. This Costa award-winning story takes a dramatic turn as she learns about his dangerous wartime career as a guerilla behind enemy lines in France. Joseph, 1917 By David Hewitt…

LONDON A Woman’s War 30 March THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, KEW  bit.ly/WomansWar 020 8876 3444 Join experts Elisabeth Shipton, Dr Samantha Philo-Gill and Louise Bell for an afternoon of free talks focusing on the changing role of women during the First World War. Tracing French Genealogy 1 April SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS  sog.org.uk/events 020 7553 3290 Do you have connections across the Channel? Get to grips with the basics of French genealogy with this course led by Anne Morddel, covering parish records, civil registration and more. SOUTH-EAST Guild of One-Name Studies Conference & AGM 31 March – 2 April BOTLEY PARK HOTEL, SOUTHAMPTON  one-name.org 0800 011 2182 Entitled ‘Port & Starboard’, the Guild of One-Name Studies’ 38th annual conference has a distinctly nautical theme, with talks on the history of the Royal…

‘Once the project is complete, 100 million records will be available to explore online’ Catholic records go online for the first time Over three million previously inaccessible Catholic records from Britain and the USA can now be searched on Findmypast, with more material due online in the future Over three million Roman Catholic Church records have been published online for the first time thanks to a new digitisation initiative. Launched in February, the Catholic Heritage Archive on findmypast.co.uk provides access to a large tranche of records from the Archdioceses of Westminster and Birmingham dating back to the mid-17th century. The collection also features material from the US Archdiocese of Philadelphia (1757-1916), as well as more than 10 million Irish Catholic parish records, which were first released on Findmypast in 2016.…

‘Over 350 handwritten pages listing every item in the house’ A late -Victorian inventory of the contents of a country house in the East Midlands revealed to me a great deal about the ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ world which has over the last 40 years become so popular as a historical theme on our screens. The house (now in the process of conversion to luxury apartments) was where an aristocratic family, whose main estates were far away, went for the hunting season. Hunting was a central element in the calendar of the aristocracy and gentry, and this family liked the sporting life so much that eventually they lived most of the year there, rarely venturing north to their ancestral home, but making use of the railways to visit their London house for…

1 Type a place name into the search box. Ignore the ‘Layers’ tab at this stage and press ‘Search’. 2 On the left you’ll get a list of parishes. Select a parish and a box will appear over the map. 3 This box gives the date of foundation of the parish and start dates for parish registers and bishops’ transcripts. 4 Click ‘Jurisdictions’ for details including the civil registration district or ‘Options’ for further searches. 5 On the right, select the type of map you’d like to see: street map, satellite image or old Ordnance Survey map. 6 Above the map there’s a dropdown menu giving the option to see jurisdictions outlined on the map. There are many different ways of getting to the information but this seems to be…

Tickets bought online at whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com are cheaper than tickets bought on the day, and if you are coming with someone else, then use our 2-for-£26 offer to save money (bit.ly/WDYTYA2for26). We’re also giving you the chance to win tickets on p11. It is worth buying workshop tickets online (£2 each) as they are £3 on the day. Use the timetable opposite to help you choose your talks, plus there is more information about the talks and the speakers online. You can also pre-buy the show guide, which includes a map, timetable and guide to exhibitors. There’s a lot to fit in at this event, so consider buying a two or three day pass. Pre-booked entry plus three workshops £22 Pre-booked adult entry one day only £18 Pre-booked adult entry two…

Fatal accidents on the railway were not uncommon in the 19th century, although they killed and injured significantly fewer people than shipping, coal mine explosions, or road vehicles. In 1862, The Lancet asserted that “Railway travelling is more free from danger to life and limb than any other mode of conveyance”. Despite this, the associated fear and publicity was great due to the novelty of this terrifyingly fast transport (up to 40mph) and the obvious drama of a crash. There was also a widely held and well-founded belief that railway directors focused on profits rather than safety. Excursion train accidents were always more likely as they were long – up to 60 carriages – and interrupted the flow of traffic. Signalling could be basic, as in the Church Fenton accident,…

ALISON TOPLIS writes on the history of clothing and is an honorary fellow at the University of Wolverhampton. JOHN FOWLER is a member of the Association of Genealogists and researchers in Archives (AGRA). STEVEN SMYRL is a member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland (formerly the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland). PHIL TOMASELLI is a military family history expert and the author of Tracing Your Air Force Ancestors. STEVE THOMAS is a genealogist with more than 20 years of experience and regularly appears on TV as an expert. JUDITH MOORE is a member of the Association of Genealogists and researchers in Archives (AGRA). SYLVIA C MURPHY is a Sydney-based genealogist with over 20 years of international research experience. EILIR ANN DANIELS is a member of the Association of Genealogists and researchers…

One of the sadder stories that Warwick discovered was about the life of his paternal great grandfather, Dennis Manning, who died when his grandmother, Edith, was only a child. Warwick was intrigued that Edith never really knew him and decided to learn more. When he delved into this he learned that Dennis died tragically in a mental hospital in 1918. We firstly discovered the place of Dennis’ death, Croydon Mental Hospital, by ordering his death certificate, which also gave the cause of his death and mental illness – tertiary syphilis. We researched more by obtaining his admission records. Dennis’ record gave more information about the length of his disease and its symptoms. Croydon’s records were found among the collection at Bethlem Museum (museumofthemind.org.uk). This website also has a great online…

Most family historians concentrate their research on the adult lives of their forebears. Apart from birth records and occasional appearances in the census, we spend a lot of time looking for marriage, death or work records that reflect adult life. There is an assumption that children left few marks on official records but this is not true, and as more records go online it has become easier to fill in the details. Birth and census records form the cornerstones of any family history research, but this feature will look at other childhood resources from health and education to criminal and Poor Law records. Even work records can apply. As with any records, not all are online, but it is worth looking at what is available, even if it doesn’t cover…

How long have you been doing your family history? I started researching my family tree about eight years ago when my partner and I started thinking about a family. I thought it would be good to be able to tell our children where they had come from and what made them who they are. Our son came along in 2010. When he was young, the family history research got put on the back burner, but earlier last year I picked it up again. What had you managed to uncover before hitting your brick wall? I had progressed well on a number of lines of the family. The earliest records I have traced are from before the Civil War on my wife’s side of the family: Thomas Beare, son of Edward…

1227 Salisbury receives its city charter under the name New Sarum. This continues to be its official name until Salisbury City Council is established in 2009. 1632 Christopher Wren is born in East Knoyle. He will become one of England’s most celebrated architects, responsible for rebuilding much of London after the Great Fire of 1666, including St Paul’s Cathedral. 1810 The Caen Hill Locks, a flight of 29 locks that rise 237 feet in two miles, are constructed. Designed by Scottish engineer John Rennie, they complete the Kennet and Avon Canal. 1813 Isaac Pitman is born in Trowbridge. An English teacher, he will develop the widely used Pitman shorthand system. 1835 Parliament approves the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. Chief engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel also oversees construction…

APP OldNews USA Revgenea Software LLC Google Play, free If you’re tracing family in the US, this app could prove invaluable. OldNews USA allows you to search 11 million newspaper pages from 1789-1922, using the Library of Congress Chronicling America collection. To find a person, all you need is a name, a date range and a location. EBOOK Take Control of Your Digital Legacy Take Control Books Kindle, £12.47 What records and memories do you want to leave behind for your family? Joe Kissell guides you through the process of collating your digital legacy, from photos and personal documents to online accounts. Decide what you want to pass on and learn how to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled after you've gone. DOWNLOAD Voices of the First World War BBC,…

Welsh wills The comedian Greg Davies learnt about his Welsh roots and that he could claim descent from the first Prince of Wales. If you have Welsh ancestors then you can find many records for them on the National Library of Wales website (www.llgc.org.uk). 1 The website has many records including probate documents and marriage bonds. Some can be viewed for free, but others must be accessed at the library (or through its document copying service). Go to the homepage and choose the option for ‘More NLW resources’ under the ‘Discover’ box. 2 Choose the option to search wills towards the bottom of the page. You’ll be taken to the search page for wills. Enter the person’s name and a date range, then press ‘Search’. In this case, we’re seeking…

Transcription errors Having spent quite a few years researching my family tree, starting when the only access to sources was from the various archives or official departments, today it is a lot easier to see many of the actual documents online without travelling hundreds of miles. The problem still exists regarding transcriptions, which is very frustrating for a lot of researchers when you are sure the person should be there. It is unfortunate the cost of subscriptions to the major genealogy sites can be a bit off-putting and prohibitive. While they all seem to have the same basic data, I have noticed that the quality of transcription can vary greatly. Having a subscription to the three main companies, I have found some names not shown on one site were found…

‘Even a simple internet search opens up new possibilities’ Maps are often one of the last documents consulted in a family history search, but there’s an argument for moving them further up any list of priorities, particularly now that so many can be accessed online – and free! They can be used as a research tool, a source of information about an area or an individual person, and to provide inspiration for a wider search. The free online collections at The National Library of Scotland and the British Library are phenomenal and even a simple internet search opens up new possibilities. The British Isles has been divided into different administrative areas during its history. The same village could be covered by different church and state jurisdictions simultaneously. This is difficult…

ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARIES ANCESTRY  ancestry.co.uk Phillimore’s Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, gives county maps, parish and ecclesiastical boundaries for England, Scotland and Wales. FAMILYSEARCH  maps.familysearch.org Familysearch has free online maps of England. You can superimpose boundaries on present day and old Ordnance Survey maps. ROOTSWEB  www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fianna/guide/land-div.html A guide to Ireland’s administrative divisions. BOMB CENSUS MAPS BOMB SIGHT PROJECT  www.bombsight.org Explore the Blitz in London. THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES  nationalarchives.gov.uk Areas bombed in the Second World War, chiefly for London. Also found in local archives. BRITISH EMPIRE MAPS THE BRITISH LIBRARY  bl.uk/maps/articles/the-map-of-the-worldin-the-20th-century Scroll down the page to find the Navy League Map of 1901. ENCLOSURE ACTS BERKSHIRE RECORD OFFICE  berkshireenclosure.org.uk Enclosure maps are at local archives with some at TNA. A few archives, like Berkshire Record Office, are making them available online.…

PROBATE RECORDS Wills were made by both rich and poor and there are examples right back to the 14th century. They often reveal details of the family structure and any property owned. You can also infer relationships based on who inherited what! RATE BOOKS In order to fund poor relief and other services, from the end of the 16th century property owners were required to pay a ‘rate’ based on the value of their holding. This was recorded in rate books, which are found in parish, overseer’s or church warden’s accounts. The books can be used to trace the history of a property. By the 18th century, rate books show ownership, sometimes its location, rates collected and notes on the owners and the property. After 1834, both the owner and…

Dating a 1900ish Sunday School outing group photo bit.ly/2lghQ4o I believe this was taken around 1900, probably in Kent. It won’t be possible to work out the location, but any help dating it? You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of the two older ladies in the front row would you? GClark40 Thomas Alexander Barnet bit.ly/2kwIaTL Can anyone help trace my wife’s great grandfather – Thomas Alexander Barnett born c1862 and married to Evelina Starkenburgh? I believe they were both born in India and they lived and died there. They had eight children, all of whom emigrated to various parts of the globe and who are now deceased, but I have no information regarding their occupations or residence (other than the general area of Madras). I can find…

“The National Archives (TNA) holds a huge collection of nonconformist registers available online at BMD Registers (www.bmd registers.co.uk). These records were originally deposited with the registrar general in 1841, in response to the nonconformist plea that their registers should have equal status with Anglican parish registers. Not all registers were deposited and another collection was made in 1857. Bearing in mind that nonconformists (other than Quakers) had had to marry in Anglican churches since 1754, and that many of their congregations did not have their own burial grounds, the majority of these registers record baptisms (or sometimes, as in the case of Baptists, births – the Baptists did not baptise their babies). Quaker marriage records, however, are included, and are much more detailed than those of other denominations. “The database also…

VISIT • British Schools Museum 41/42 Queen Street, Hitchin SG4 9TS www.britishschoolsmuseum. co.uk Only monitorial schoolroom left in the UK. • Scotland Street School Museum 225 Scotland Street, Glasgow, G5 8QB glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/  scotland-street • Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability The Langdon Down Centre, Normansfield, 2A Langdon Park, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 9PS langdondownmuseum. org.uk Museum and Royal Earlswood Asylum collection. WEBSITES • British Home Children Database 1869–1932 (Library and Archives Canada) bit.ly/2jDmjJT • Children’s Homes childrenshomes.org.uk • Education in England educationengland.org.uk • Workhouses  workhouses.org.uk BOOKS • Tracing Your Ancestors’ Childhood by Sue Wilkes (Pen and Sword, 2013) • Young Offenders: Juvenile Delinquency 1700–2000 by Pamela Horn (Amberley, 2010) • New Lives for Old: The Story of Britain’s Child Migrants by Roger Kershaw and Janet Sacks (The…

When you combine possible lies with the numerous mistranscriptions evident in all the online datasets, searching for the entries you want is not always straightforward. When entering place or personal names, alternative spellings need to be considered as do diminutives or nicknames and the use of wildcards (use * to replace a letter or letters). Some providers handle this problem better than others. Try entering just a surname or forename, perhaps with other information such as date or place of birth. This is easier to do on TheGenealogist (thegenealogist.co.uk) and Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk). Also try just the county of birth and forget any other detail. Similarly, with ages think well outside any known date of birth. Online providers have all created their own indexes and transcripts and had to deal with…

’Stokers worked in the bowels of the ship in the engine room where there was no daylight’ Stokers on board a ship had the physically demanding job of shovelling coal into the furnaces that fuelled the engines. The word ‘stoker’ usually referred to men who followed this line of work in the Royal Navy. Men in the merchant navy, working on commercial ships like cargo vessels or liners, were called ‘firemen’ instead. Stokers or firemen toiled away in the bowels of the ship in the engine room where there was no daylight. It was a hot, noisy and claustrophobic role, and it was also dirty work, hence men working here were often known as ‘the black gang’. Until the late 1830s, the role had never been heard of. Ships were…

The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre website has been revamped recently and two useful places to start are the first steps (www.wshc.eu/first-steps-in-family-history.html) and next steps (www.wshc.eu/next-steps-in-family-history.html) pages. There’s also the planning a visit page (www.wshc.eu/planning-a-visit.html) and the online catalogue (calmview.wiltshire.gov.uk/CalmView). Wiltshire’s school admission registers (for local authority funded schools) are available via Findmypast’s national school registers 1870-1914 (www.findmypast.co.uk/school-registers). Parish registers and bishops’ transcripts are due to be published by Ancestry in 2017 and Ancestry are also completing the digitisation of the probate collection. The wiltshirebmd.org.uk website was created by the Wiltshire FHS in collaboration with the local registration office. It represents an incomplete index to the original registers of births, marriages and deaths held at Wiltshire Register Office. The Wiltshire FHS website is also worth visiting (wiltshirefhs.co.uk). Wiltshire Community History…

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…

Holding the Home Front: The Women’s Land Army in the First World War by Caroline Scott (Pen & Sword, 214 pages, £19.99) Holding the Home Front is a well-researched book covering the 1860s to 1930s, mainly focused on 1914-19. The book describes the state of agriculture before the First World War, which is necessary to understand the following chapters. It then gives an insight into the different phases of the Women’s Land Army and the difficulties faced by those wishing to volunteer. The many quotes from land girls give a glimpse into their daily lives and the attitudes of their employers. However, as the author states: “We can only hear the voices of the village women secondhand.” The accounts are mainly from educated women, rather than local women returning to…

PICK OF THE MONTH A century remembered Britain’s Wartime Treasures – Imperial War Museums at 100 March BBC Two This year marks the centenary of the founding of the Imperial War Museum. Initially intended to mark the sacrifices made during the First World War, it first opened its doors to the public in 1920, when it was housed at the Crystal Palace on Sydenham Hill. Over the years, its remit has expanded and, with an emphasis on conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth, it now aims “to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and wartime experience”. Its collections are spread over five sites: IWM London in Southwark, the Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast, IWM North and IWM Duxford. The…