Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Who Do You Think You Are?

As we mark the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, many of us with ancestors who served during the conflict will want to find out more about the part that they played. Unlike First World War records, some of the most important resources you will need are not yet online, which makes Phil Tomaselli’s guide to researching Army ancestors even more important (page 16). It’s one thing to know you have a Second World War veteran in the family, but it’s something else to go all the way back to the English Civil War! Turn to page 49 where we reveal some fascinating online resources that may uncover a Cavalier or Roundhead in your tree. Finally, as series 16 of Who Do You Think You Are?…

BELFAST GAZETTE TIP I enjoyed the Record Masterclass on accessing Gazettes online in your August issue, and wanted to share another reason for using them. Of great value to those of us interested in Irish records is the listing of tenancies subject to the terms of various Land Acts. From the 1880s onwards they facilitated the transfer of millions of acres from primary landowners to qualifying occupiers. The 1925 Northern Ireland Land Act became the enabling legislation in the six counties, and the Belfast Gazette listed the tenancies to be purchased by the Land Commission, showing owners, tenants, postal addresses, and rental and annuity values. Pictured below is an extract from the Belfast Gazette of 14 December 1928 showing my grandfather’s tenancies for plots in the townlands of Mullyard and…

A rare ‘Peterloo cane’ belonging to a protester caught up in the 1819 massacre has been donated to Manchester’s People’s History Museum by his descendants. The cane, which was donated by the family of Charles Worsley, is now on display in the exhibition ‘Disrupt? Peterloo and Protest’. The exhibition is part of a programme of events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the massacre of political protesters on 16 August 1819 at Manchester’s St Peter’s Field. Dr Shirin Hirsh, a researcher at the People’s History Museum, said that the cane is “a vital piece of history”, because few artefacts from the massacre survive. Worsley, a joiner from Withington in south Manchester, was among approximately 60,000 people who joined a demonstration calling for parliamentary reform to allow more working-class people to vote.…

Two unique historical resources capturing the details of life in 18th- and 19th-century Scotland are now free to view online at stataccscot.edina.ac.uk/ static/statacc/dist/home. The Statistical Accounts of Scotland were surveys carried out from 1791 to 1799 and from 1834 to 1845. They compiled detailed information on every parish in Scotland, including censuses of the number of people working in different jobs and descriptions of the agriculture, climate, religion and social customs. Images of the original records, arranged on a map of the parishes, will be hosted by the University of Edinburgh Library for a period of two years. Researchers no longer need a subscription or a user account to use the website.…

This is obtainable from the Army Records Office in Glasgow for a modest fee, and nothing else will give you the level of detail that a full record will provide. You may learn about wounds you weren’t aware of, disciplinary proceedings, places you never knew they served, and medals you didn’t know they had. Using the service record as a basis, you can discover other records that will show you what they (or at least their unit) were doing on a daily basis.…

Although there was censorship (most of it voluntary) of the national press during the war, there was much less of local papers. Small stories appeared at the time, but if you know that your relative took part in a major event such as D-Day then it’s worth looking on major anniversaries when veterans seem to have been more inclined to talk. Try findmypast. co.uk or britishnewspaper archive.co.uk . Local libraries usually hold old newspapers too, often on microfilm.…

BOOK Churchill’s Army 1939–1945: The Men, Machines and Organisation Stephen Bull Conway, 2016 This introduction to the Second World War Army as a whole puts into context the way of life and experiences of Army ancestors. MUSEUMS THE ARMY MUSEUMS OGILBY TRUST a 58 The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2EX t 01722 332188 w https://www.armymuseums. org.uk The trust’s website provides links and information about the many regimental museums throughout the country, which contain all kinds of information about what our relatives did during the war. THE NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM a Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HT t 020 7730 0717 w nam.ac.uk This museum’s collection includes a large number of regimental and campaign histories, archives, photographs, prints and drawings, providing a rich picture of soldiers’ daily lives through the…

My mother first told me when I was a young man of a relative who had been executed in the 19th century,” says Dennis Knight, who lives in Chatham in Kent. “I showed scant interest because other things, including a young family, occupied my attention. Fifty years later, after Mum died, I went through her possessions and found a postcard that sparked my curiosity.” ‘Agricultural labourers were enduring harsh wage cuts and being laid off due to the introduction of machinery’ The old postcard contained a sinister clue. It was a photograph of a headstone from the church of St Michael and All Angels in the idyllic Berkshire village of Lambourn. The inscription read: “Here lies the body of John Carter of this parish, labourer, who in defiance of the…

There are several types of record that can help you learn more about criminals, and many of these are now online – ancestry.co.uk and findmypast.co.uk, in particular, hold prison registers (taken from The National Archives in Kew) that can contain a wealth of information – see this month’s Record Masterclass on page 54. If your ancestor was in prison at the time of the census, you should be able to confirm where they were held. Quarter session records and assize records can be found in local archives, while details of petty sessions and more serious offences may appear in local newspapers.…

Who did George serve with during the First World War? Q I have been researching, on behalf of a friend, to find the military record for George Arthur Prentice. I have a black-and-white photograph of him in uniform, but have not been successful in identifying either the tartan or the cap badge. To date, I believe I have located a George Arthur Prentice in four Scottish regiments! My friend is keen to find out about George’s war service, as he never spoke of it on his return. I attach a copy in the hope you may be able to shed some light on this problem. Ralph Porter A This is a studio photograph of a highland soldier, most probably of one of the Cameron Highlanders Kitchener volunteer battalions taken early…

BRITISH CIVIL WAR SIEGES w bit.ly/civil-war-sieges The interactive map on this informative website lets you find out more about particular sieges. THE CROMWELL MUSEUM w cromwellmuseum.org Located in the former Huntingdon Grammar School building where Cromwell was educated, the collection comprises documents, portraits, clothing, miniatures, arms and armour. THE HARTLIB PAPERS w dhi.ac.uk/hartlib/context This is the searchable online edition of 25,000 17th-century manuscripts brought together by Samuel Hartlib (c1600–1662) in his quest to “record all human knowledge”. THE HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT w historyofparliamentonline.org Learn more about the birth of Parliament with this excellent interactive resource. THE JOHN HAMPDEN SOCIETY w johnhampden.org The society is dedicated to promoting the study of this 17th-century Parliamentarian. Its website includes a family tree. THE PUTNEY DEBATES w oll.libertyfund.org/pages/ 1647-the-putney-debates Visit the Online Library of…

BOOKS A History of Nursing Louise Wyatt Amberley Publishing, 2019 This new social history covers the Middle Ages to the present. A History of the Nursing Profession in Great Britain Brian Abel-Smith Heinemann, 1960 This extensive history is out of print, but worth tracking down. WEBSITE THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING LIBRARY w rcn.org.uk/library/archives/ family-history This site has lots of useful tips for tracing nurses. You can also search and browse digitised journals (1888–1956) that list appointments, promotions, retirements, marriages and deaths of nurses.…

ARCHIEF VAN DE PORTUGEESISRAëLIETISCHE GEMEENTE w bit.ly/arch-van The archive of Amsterdam’s Portuguese-Jewish community is now almost entirely digitised. Section 5.2.6 has the vital records of congregation. You can download the website’s English manual via bit.ly/arch-van-manual. ARQUIVO NACIONAL — TORRE DO TOMBO w digitarq.arquivos.pt The national archive of Portugal holds Inquisition, parish and other historic records. Much of its collection has now been digitised, including the annotated processo on page 65. A simple search would be for someone’s name plus the word judaísmo. RAMBI — INDEX OF ARTICLES ON JEWISH STUDIES w bit.ly/rambi-index Before the internet and the digitisation of documents, Sephardic history was the exclusive domain of academics. Family historians should always check for previous research, and review the bibliographies.…

ARCHIVES BRITISH LIBRARY w bl.uk/catalogues/evanion The British Library in Kew holds the Evanion Collection of material relating to Victorian entertainment and everyday life. This includes posters, adverts, notices and handbills. BRITISH MUSIC HALL SOCIETY w britishmusichallsociety.com The society’s London archive includes ephemera such as song sheets, posters and even some costumes. Access by prior appointment only. BOOKS British Music Hall: An Illustrated History Richard Anthony Baker Pen and Sword, 2014 This detailed look at music hall includes contemporary illustrations and artist profiles. British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who’s Who From 1850 to the Present Day Roy Busby Paul Elek, 1976 Busby profiles many of music hall’s star performers. WEBSITES ARTHURLLOYD.CO.UK w arthurlloyd.co.uk This website is full of information about the history of music hall, including singer Arthur Lloyd. BRITISH NEWSPAPER…

1312 Dundee is recaptured by Robert the Bruce after being occupied by English forces for several years during the First War of Independence. 1314 At the Battle of Bannockburn Robert the Bruce’s forces defeat an army led by Edward II of England. 1765 James Ivory is born in Dundee, and will become a famous mathematician. He shares his name with his father, who was a well-known maker of watches and clocks. 1797 Keiller’s marmalade, thought to be the first commercial brand of marmalade, is manufactured by James Keiller in Dundee. 1799 James Bowman Lindsay, inventor and pioneer of incandescent lighting and telegraphy, is born near Arbroath. 1879 A violent storm in late December leads to the collapse of the Tay Rail Bridge; 59 people lose their lives. 1905 Scottish publishing…

BAIRD This occupational name from the Gaelic for ‘bard’ (or ‘poet’/’minstrel’) crops up frequently in Stirlingshire. BEVERIDGE Common in Fife and Kinross-shire, the name relates to the Middle English word for drink. DEWAR This occupational name for a custodian of holy relics crops up frequently in Fife and Perthshire. HUNTER Many Hunters are recorded in the counties of Clackmannshire and Stirlingshire in the 1881 census. MUIRHEAD The origins of this habitational name lie in the moors of southern Scotland. PATERSON Although this is a relatively common name throughout the UK, the highest proportion recorded in the 1881 census were living in Clackmannshire. ROBERTSON This patronymic is used across Scotland, but the clan name is most often found in Fife and Perthshire. STEWART This is an occupational name for the administrative…

ON CHAPEL SANDS MY MOTHER AND OTHER MISSING PERSONS LAURA CUMMING Chatto & Windus, 320 pages, £16.99 Written by the Observer’s art critic Laura Cumming, this book combines the childhood memories of Betty, the author’s mother, with Betty’s search for answers in later life. The subtitle My Mother and Other Missing Persons neatly sums up the essence of this story. Betty searches for her identity, years after discovering as a teenager that she is not who she believed herself to be. The revelation that she was kidnapped when she was three becomes another mystery to be solved. Almost everyone who touched Betty’s life holds secrets, and are often not who or what they initially appear to be. The truth is elusive, despite the events described happening tantalisingly at the fringe…

1891 CENSUS RETURN Census returns record exactly who was present at each household on the night that the census was taken. The 1891 census lists the name, age, profession and place of birth of each individual recorded, and allowed us to research Kate’s maternal great great grandfather, Alfred Lidman. The return stated that he was born in Sweden, therefore proving that she has Scandinavian roots. You can find census returns dating from 1841 to 1911 on ancestry.co.uk (where we sourced this document from bit.ly/anc-lidman), findmypast. co.uk and thegenealogist.co.uk. The 1921 census returns will be available in January 2022. ARMY SERVICE RECORD Kate’s paternal 3x great grandfather William Colquhoun was a military man who eventually became the governor of Dartmoor Prison. We found his service record on findmypast.co.uk at bit.ly/fmp-colquhoun. You…

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If you have a family connection to the passengers or crew of the Mayflower, then Devon Family History Society wants to hear from you ahead of the 400th anniversary of the ship’s voyage. The Mayflower left Plymouth for America in September 1620, carrying the first Puritan settlers. There were 102 passengers, from England and Leiden in the Netherlands. The society is keen to trace descendants of the ship’s passengers and crew who stayed behind in England or the Netherlands. You can view an interactive map of the names and origins of those on board at mayflower400uk.org/education/ mayflower-passengers-list-an-interactive-guide. If you think that you are related, email Maureen Selley via secretary@devonfhs.org.uk. The society will host the Mayflower International Genealogical Conference in Plymouth Guildhall on 29 August 2020.…

The Lives of the First World War website is now permanently available at livesofthefirstworldwar. iwm.org.uk. Launched by Imperial War Museums in May 2014, the website provided a free platform for individuals and organisations to upload information about the lives of soldiers and civilians who contributed to the British war effort, as well as digitised photographs and documents. There are records of more than 7.7 million people in total. The website was closed on 19 March this year, but was relaunched as a permanent digital memorial on 28 June. Project manager Charlotte Czyzyk said: “Ultimately it’s a memorial. It’s a place where people can go and find out more about these individuals and reflect on their lives. But it’s going to be fantastic for family historians in the future. They can…

When we’re working on family history our attention is sometimes caught by a personal story that doesn’t involve our own forebears, but seems just too interesting to ignore. This happened to me in May, when I was visiting the village of Burnham Deepdale, on the north coast of Norfolk. In the churchyard is the grave of Dorothy Cremer, a single woman aged 64, who died on 9 June 1834 and was buried three days later. The burial register, a standard post-1812 book pre-printed with spaces for the relevant information, gives no other details. However, an internet search soon sketched out the framework of her family. The Bishops’ Transcripts (BTs) show that she was baptised on 12 September 1771, the daughter of Charles and Jane Cremer. They give no other information…

Women served as volunteers in the Second World War until conscription was introduced for them in 1941. In the Army they generally served in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) as clerks, drivers and mechanics, in radar stations and decoding units, and operating antiaircraft guns. In June 1943 there were 210,308 officers and servicewomen in the ATS. Their service records are in the same Glasgow MOD office as their male counterparts, and unsurprisingly you’ll need to provide similar details if you want to obtain them. The records follow the same format as those of their male colleagues. So as well as an enlistment document giving personal details and a physical description, there should be a Service and Casualty Form which will show the units they were attached to (most ATS…

Early records about the Newfoundland fisheries are in the colonial series CO1 at The National Archives (TNA) in Kew, indexed by year; however, they have not been digitised. The records include some Newfoundland censuses, mostly from the 17th century. For example, CO1/38 enumerates named inhabitants and visiting British ships in 1676. Unfortunately, the captain is the only person named on the ships. Ship censuses from the West Country in the 16th and 17th centuries include many vessels that sailed to Newfoundland. These are in series SP15 and SP16 at TNA, and often identify their captains and owners. The Devon and Cornwall Record Society (www.devonandcornwallrecord society.co.uk) has published ones for both counties in Early-Stuart Mariners and Shipping: The Maritime Surveys of Devon and Cornwall 1619–35 (£25 from boydellandbrewer.com; also available in…

THE LOCAL LIBRARY w reading.gov.uk/centrallibrary A local-studies specialist at Reading Central Library shared their knowledge of Carter’s case. NEWSPAPER REPORTS w britishnewspaperarchive. co.uk Historical newspapers contain in-depth reports of crimes, inquests, trials and executions. PRISON RECORDS w berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk Dennis obtained details of John Carter’s execution from Reading Prison. The prison is now closed, but Berkshire Record Office has a collection of its records.…

Can you tell me more information about these two photographs? Q These photographs were among my grandfather Robert Barr Hunter’s property, but there is no name on them. I think the first photograph was taken c1914, in Blyth, Northumberland, and that my grandfather was in the Leicester Regiment, Medical Corps. The second photo, taken around the same time, has nothing to indicate who the lady was. Again, it was taken in Blyth, and is linked to our family. Loretta Cusworth A These are formal studio portraits by commercial photographers. Without viewing the backs of the card mounts, I cannot confirm the location: are studio addresses printed on the reverse? They may be postcard photographs, the most popular format of the early to mid-20th century. However, the appearance of your relatives…

Eveling family bit.ly/eveling Hello. I am an experienced researcher but new to this forum. Could anyone please help with the Eveling family of Hannover. Diedrich came to England from Hannover about 1840. He married in 1844 in London and I have the family after that. His father also Diedrich was born in Hannover about 1790 and married an Irish lady called Ann. Any information or help greatly appreciated. Hbhnewcastle Where in India? bit.ly/tom-taylor-nash My great grandfather, Tom Taylor Nash, was born about 1859 and married in 1891. He is described as a “Volunteer”. I know from his reservist records for WW1 that he had served in the Cape Mounted Rifles during the Boer War, so I assume that he had volunteered for that unit. My mother remembered a number of…

Many of us have ancestors who worked in service, but records of their lives can be hard to find. However, Florrie Hamer (1903–1994), a housekeeper to the gentry in rural Wales, left a remarkable legacy – a scrapbook recording life on the country estate where she worked. Helen Palmer, county archivist at Ceredigion Archives, told us what the scrapbook reveals about Florrie’s life. WHO WAS FLORRIE HAMER? Flora Matilda Sophia Hamer was born on 14 September 1903, on the Gogerddan Estate near Aberystwyth. She was always known as Florrie. She was a child of a family who had worked on the estate for generations, and her whole life was devoted to working for, and simultaneously recording, the lives and times of her employers – the Pryse family of Gogerddan, the…

BOOK Criminal Ancestors David T Hawkings The History Press, 2009 This guide explains how to go beyond prison registers and find your ancestor in other criminal records. WEBSITES CARMARTHEN GAOL FELONS REGISTER, 1844-1871 w welshlegalhistory.org/ carms-felons-register. php This searchable database created from the Register includes photos of prisoners from c1860. PRISON HISTORY w prisonhistory.org The 19th Century Prisons database shows you where you can find the surviving local and convict prison registers (including hulks).…

Before 1921, it’s difficult to trace nurses who were working between the censuses and who left nursing before the next census. Try the Hospital Records Database to find out whether staff records are available for the hospital you’re interested in (nationalarchives.gov. uk/hospitalrecords). The Nursing Registers list nurses alphabetically by surname, and include their registration date and number, their residential address, and where – and when – they qualified. Importantly, the registers contain information about Victorian nurses who were still working in the 1920s. The digitised registers are on Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk) from 1898 to 1968 for England, Wales and Ireland; these include Burdett’s Directories from 1898 and a Royal College of Nursing register (1916–1923). For Scotland, the period covered is 1921–1945. The originals can be seen at the Wellcome Library and…

My ancestor and namesake, David de Mendoza, was an ordinary man who lived through extraordinary circumstances. Mark Wright (pictured), in his episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, discovers that he too is a direct descendant of David de Mendoza, although down a different line. The WDYTYA? team contacted me last year when they found the connection, and I helped them by linking their research to mine. Mark and I are sixth cousins, twice removed. Our shared ancestor was born in Jaén, an Andalusian olive-oil town, in 1660 into a ‘New Christian’ family. He was baptised as Antonio, but on some documents is described as Juan Antonio. This can cause confusion with his brother Juan. His parents had the surnames Castro and Morales, so it is not clear why…

ARCHIVES THE LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES  a 40 Northampton Road London EC1R 0HB t 020 7332 3820 w search.lma.gov.uk The LMA holds the archive of the Bevis Marks Synagogue (LMA/4521), although access requires prior written permission. You can download the catalogue in PDF format at bit.ly/l-bev. SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS  a 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7BA t 020 7490 8911 w sog.org.uk The society has the library of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. BOOK Bevis Marks Records Multiple editors Oxford University Press, six volumes, 1940–1997 This crucial publication has the birth, circumcision, marriage and burial records of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation of London to about 1900. Copies can be found at major libraries. WEBSITES SEPHARDIC GENEALOGY. w sephardicgenealogy.com This website provides links to Sephardic genealogical…

1814 NAPOLEON EXILED After 20 years of almost continuous war, Napoleon Bonaparte was at last defeated in 1814 and exiled to the island of Elba. The Battle of Leipzig in 1813, in which 600,000 soldiers took part, resulted in the emperor withdrawing with his remaining army of 70,000. ‘The men are unequal to the circumstances,’ the emperor said On New Year’s Day 1814 the Prussians crossed the Rhine, threatening France, but declared that they were the enemies only of Napoleon, not the French people. Napoleon’s loyal forces in February 1814 fought four victorious battles in six days, but it was to no avail. Some French still supported the old regime; others felt that they could save themselves by sacrificing Napoleon. In Paris the Senate declared Napoleon deposed, and invited back…

ROLLS OF HONOUR w bit.ly/arch-rolls The Internet Archive (archive. org) has several digitised volumes of First World War rolls of honour featuring servicemen from the area, including this example from Arbroath published in 1921. BURIAL RECORDS w clacks.gov.uk/community/ burialrecords/ This search facility allows you to find records of relatives interred in cemeteries within Alva, Clackmannan, Dollar, Greenside, Muckhart, Sunnyside, Tillicoultry and Tullibody. DUNDEE DIRECTORIES w bit.ly/arch-dundee The Internet Archive (archive.org) also has 12 Dundee directories. The earliest dates from 1809, and boasts “a list of the merchants, traders, &c.in Dundee and suburbs, alphabetically arranged”. PERTH AND KINROSS DATABASES w culturepk.org.uk/ archive-local-family-history/searchable-databases Here you can explore a number of free finding aids, indexes and transcriptions, including the ‘Militia Collection’ and ‘Perthshire People & Kinross-shire Kin’. POST OFFICE DIRECTORIES w digital.nls.uk /directories…

DOWNLOAD FAMILY HISTORY FEDERATION REALLY USEFUL INFORMATION LEAFLET 2019  bit.ly/fhf-download Free The Family History Federation has updated its free 28-page leaflet on starting your family history, with a Q&A section, a beginners’ family tree, a guide to DNA research, and listings for useful family history societies, websites and events. APP A SCANBEE  iOS £2.99 ScanBee is a useful app for storing images of family history records, allowing you to turn your mobile device into a portable scanner, scan documents into a high-quality PDF file, and share them via email and other apps. You can also apply image-enhancing filters and organise multiple scans in a single PDF. LISTEN DNA TESTING: IS IT WORTH IT? BBC Sounds Free This episode of BBC Radio 4’s Beyond Today podcast looks at the rise of…

Douglas Johnstone discovered buried treasure while looking through his grandmother’s box of family photographs. “I found a list of names scribbled on a piece of paper. They were my paternal ancestors, the Wood family, and Grandmother had provided details of marriages, children and emigration,” Douglas explains. ‘Passengers were crammed in dark, damp conditions, and the air stank of vomit and unemptied chamberpots’ The Woods were a family of wool-sorters who lived in Leicester. Top of the list were John Wood (b1784) and his wife Frances Cope, who had 12 children including Douglas’ 4x great grandfather Thomas Wood. “Intriguingly, next to his brother William Wood were the words ‘New Zealand cabinet’.” Curious to discover more, Douglas did some research online, and found William on the 1841 census. “He was born in…

PHIL TOMASELLI Phil contributes to our Q&A section every issue (page 42), but this month he has also written a guide to researching your Second World War Army ancestors (page 16). ROSALIND CRONE As the project lead for the Open University’s Prison History website, there’s not much Rosalind doesn’t know about prison registers. Enjoy her fascinating masterclass on page 54. DAVID MENDOZA David is a highly respected expert on Sephardic genealogy and worked as a researcher on Mark Wright’s episode. Find out more about their records on page 63.…

Oxford records added to Deceased Online Family historians can now purchase 55,671 burial records from Oxford’s four cemeteries from deceased online.com . There are over 20,000 records from Rose Hill Cemetery and 17,000 from Wolvercote, as well as smaller collections from Botley and Headington. They cover from 1894 to 2016 and include digital scans of registers up to 2007, computerised data from 2007 to 2016, maps showing the section in which the grave is located, and details for each of the graves and their occupants. Research uncovers names of conscientious objectors The names of 400 First World War conscientious objectors (COs) have been revealed in an exhibition at the new museum in Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire. In 1916–1917 hundreds of COs stayed at the castle. Most trained in the…

EAST SUFFOLK FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY ANNUAL FAIR 14 September a University of Suffolk, Ipswich w suffolkfhs.co.uk/index.php/ fairs/fair-2019 e sfhsfairs@suffolkfhs.co.uk This fair features stalls from the Suffolk and Bedfordshire Family History Societies, Suffolk Record Office, the Suffolk Heraldry Society and genealogy supply companies, as well as family history talks, a helpdesk and a research room. Free admission. PALAEOGRAPHY COURSE – BEGINNERS Starts 17 September a Norfolk Record Office, Norwich w bit.ly/palaeographynor t 01603 222599 If you want to take your family history research further back but are finding Stuart and Tudor handwriting difficult to read, this eight-week course is for you. £40. LONDON IRISH ANCESTRY DAY 14 September a Society of Genealogists, Clerkenwell w bit.ly/sog-irish t 020 7553 3290 Roz McCutcheon and Jill Williams present two sessions on researching Irish ancestry.…

Researching Second World War Army ancestors is rather different to researching First World War ones. Although records survive pretty much intact, very few are available online. This is mainly because of data protection and other privacy considerations, because some veterans are still alive. This makes the opening of large blocks of records impossible, in case details of living people are released accidentally. There are also few of the kinds of records that can be used without a service record. There are no medal rolls or medal cards, for example, that might offer clues. A soldier’s pay book, if you have one, will give a lot of information, but this is still best used as a source of information (such as Army Number) that will help you obtain the service record…

Former soldiers’ personal recollections can be invaluable for capturing what a relative’s comrades were thinking, and for finding eyewitness descriptions of major events and humorous incidents. The Imperial War Museum employed a team of interviewers who spoke to thousands of veterans in the 1960s and 1970s, while regimental museums hold autobiographical accounts and memoirs. Finally 15 years ago the BBC created a huge online archive of reminiscences (bbc.co.uk/history/ ww2peopleswar/categories).…

From the 16th century until the early 1800s, many British fishermen, merchants, labourers and ship-owners earned substantial seasonal incomes from fishing over 2,000 miles away. Their focus was Newfoundland, off the east coast of modern Canada. It was a long and potentially dangerous journey in the days of sail, but the financial rewards could be considerable because of the abundance of cod there, which were easy to catch. It all started in the 15th century. In 1496 Henry VII commissioned John Cabot to cross the Atlantic and explore the coast of North America. The following year Cabot sailed from Bristol and discovered the fishing grounds off Newfoundland where, he remarked eagerly, the waters were “swarming with fish”. They were said to be so numerous that it was possible to catch…

ARCHIVES THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES a Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU t 020 8876 3444 w nationalarchives.gov.uk You can uncover details of fishing vessels travelling to Newfoundland here, along with some early Newfoundland censuses. THE ROOMS - ARCHIVES a 9 Bonaventure Avenue, PO Box 1800, Station C, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 5P9 e information@therooms.ca w therooms.ca This cultural centre and archive has records relating to Newfoundland and Labrador; its online catalogue is at bit.ly/rooms-cat. Staff will search its pre-1892 records for a baptism, marriage or burial entry for $C20. BOOKS Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World Mark Kurlansky Vintage, 1999 Kurlansky describes the livelihoods and nations that depended on “the most profitable fish in history”. Fishing and Fishermen: A Guide for Family Historians Martin Wilcox Pen…

Are these men from a shore station or medical facility? Q This photograph was among my dad’s effects. It shows a group of military personnel somewhere in the Far East – given the fact my dad was recuperating after a shipboard accident, I think it was somewhere in Ceylon, and I wonder if it shows the patients and medical staff of the facility where he was recuperating. He was, however, also drafted to shore station HMS Lanka with periodic duty at Beach Signal Station 1 (it doesn’t say on his record what his duties were). Could this photo be a picture of the staff here? My dad worked at HMS Lanka between June 1942 and May 1945. Nick Lewis ‘Army and Navy staff often operated together at shore establishments overseas’…

Was my mother’s natural father a railway employee? Q My mother, Joan Alma Ayrton, born on 8 April 1924, was illegitimate – she only found out at 18. Her mother was Frances Kate Seager (b1894 or 1895), and her father was named James Ayrton. My mother also had a brother named James Ayrton (b1918) – they shared the same father. My mother last saw her father when she was six – all I know is that he worked for the railways, he was quite a bit older than my grandmother, and she may have worked as his secretary. On my grandmother’s death, my mother destroyed all the papers regarding her background. I have tried for years to trace my grandfather or his descendants, as I am sure he was married,…

Mum as a baby My mum Cynthia Marjorie Grossman is shown here in Gibraltar in 1926, sitting on her mother Marjorie’s knee. My grandfather Harold Grossman was stationed at the barracks there. A royal portrait In 1930 my grandmother Marjorie sadly died, and two years later Harold married Mary King. This photo shows Arthur, Mary, Harry and Ena King. They lived in Plumstead in Greenwich. My Granpy Harold has jokingly awarded himself extra medals with a strip of coloured card. Tragic tribute Dad’s uncle and namesake Samuel Hutton Lawson died in the Royal Naval Division in WW1. Joseph Grossman Mum’s grandfather Joseph was born in Vienna in 1850. My mum’s grandmother  Emily was born in 1858. Her father was a ship’s steward. My parents’ wedding, 1950 Samuel and Cynthia met…

“I, your humble petitioner, Anthony Davy in the Parish of Aston in the county of York, desires you to accept this humble petition… beseech you to grant your poor petitioner, in his great distress and poverty, some small tribute or relief…” There aren’t many searchable name databases for the common people in 17th-century Britain, but www.civilwarpetitions.ac.uk is a unique and exciting resource, part of the academic project ‘Conflict, Welfare and Memory During and After the English Civil Wars, 1642–1710’. It is a collection of petitions from injured soldiers, their wives and their families, asking for help in the aftermath of the war, which resulted in more deaths per head of population than the First World War. Some petitions give the bare facts, but others tell harrowing stories of a war…

From ancient times, men and women in religious orders tended the sick. In the 18th century, patients in the new general hospitals were nursed by women who were usually illiterate and untrained. They changed beds, cleaned the wards, and fed the patients. These nurses had years of experience, but they also had a reputation for drunkenness. This, and the menial nature of the role, meant that nursing was no job for ‘respectable’ women. From the mid-19th century, ward maids or ‘scrubbers’ were introduced to clean wards. These women could be promoted to nurses after a period of good service. It was Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) who first set about trying to reform the British nursing system. She trained as a nurse in Germany in the 1840s, and during the Crimean War…

Have you ever found yourself invited to a relative’s house only to discover a cache of treasured memorabilia, from photos to documents, waiting for you? If you’re lucky, you might be granted permission to take it away with you to scan at home, but in many cases that won’t be practical – and that’s definitely true if you want to scan crucial records at your local archive. Thanks to smartphones and tablets, you possess a camera that has a much higher resolution than your flatbed scanner. If you lack steady hands, you can pair your mobile device with a tripod and mount to ensure that your images are pin-sharp (search ebay.co.uk for ‘phone tripod’ and you’ll find loads of options for under £10). Using your mobile device’s camera app is…

1 ABBREVIATIONS These are frequently used, for example here xn stands for New Christian 2 PLEADING IGNORANCE Prisoners were held in isolation, not knowing why they had been arrested or who had denounced them. They needed to be careful about what they said, to protect relatives. Here Violante claims that she doesn’t know where her parents were born. 3 MARGINALIA Note that important information, often including names, was written in the margin. Here we have “Pais [Parents] Simão Lopes Samuda Leonor da Silva”. 4 UNKNOWN GRANDPARENTS Violante also claims that she doesn’t know her grandparents’ names ( não sabe os nomes ). Again, it’s more likely that she is trying to protect them. WHAT HAPPENED TO VIOLANTE? Violante was “reconciled to the Catholic Church”, with confiscation of property, at an…

Scandinavian migration has brought a steady influx of migrant workers, academics and families to the UK since the 1800s. Indeed, the results of DNA tests suggest that the average Briton is 9.2 per cent Scandinavian. Settlers clustered in the West Highlands of Scotland, East Anglia, West Lancashire and the Wirral. Bryony Parsons’ Norwegian ancestor lived in Bootle, just over the River Mersey from the Wirral, but the rest of his life story was a mystery. MY BRICK WALL I’ve always known that I had a Norwegian connection via my maternal grandfather. A DNA test confirmed that both myself and my mum have Norwegian genes – 7 and 18 per cent respectively. Using ancestry.co.uk, I traced our Norwegian ancestry to my 3x great grandfather, Andrew Christian Reid, who was born in…

Born in Hoxton in 1870 as Matilda Alice Victoria Wood, Marie Lloyd made her first stage appearance at the Grecian Assembly Rooms in 1885 singing My Soldier Laddie and Time is Flying. Lloyd specialised in innuendo, and could inject sauciness into the most seemingly innocent of lyrics purely by deploying a particular look, a tone of voice or a cheeky wink. Songs such as She’d Never Had Her Ticket Punched Before took on an entirely new meaning. The skilled deployment of a double entendre made her reputation, and proved to be a trademark throughout her lengthy career. Lloyd’s personal life was as colourful as her performances. She was divorced by her first husband in 1905 on the grounds of adultery. Lloyd married her lover, Alec Hurley, in 1906 but by…

The 1969 Wheatley Report sought to replace the patchwork of county, city, burgh and district councils across Scotland with a unified two-tier system of regional and district councils. Tayside was one of nine resulting regions that existed between 1975 and 1996, but after just two decades it was split between the council areas Perth and Kinross, Angus, and the City of Dundee. Fife is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. And Perthshire’s lineage can also seem rather confusing. One of Scotland’s largest counties, the majority of historic Perthshire still lies within modern Perth and Kinross, aside from a handful of parishes that are now part of Clackmannanshire, and a southwestern section now in Stirling. DIGGING DEEPER…

For more than a century Kirkcaldy was a world-leading producer of linoleum, the two largest firms being Barry, Ostlere & Shepherd and Michael Nairn. Fife Museums looks after objects, photographs and archives stretching back to the 1840s. These include samples, pattern books and more than 500 pictures showing factory life. Most are held at Kirkcaldy Museum & Art Gallery (the building was given by linoleum manufacturer John Nairn; onfife. com/kirkcaldy-galleries-museum), while Kirkcaldy Central Library has records and images (onfife.com/ venues/kirkcaldy-library). Material from a factory in Newburgh can be seen by appointment at St Andrews Museum (onfife.com/venues/st-andrews-museum).…

What inspired you to write this book? I’ve always been interested in my family tree, because my mum was one of those mines of information that had loads of photos with everybody’s names written on the back. But I’m adopted, and while I’ve had a really happy life and a happy upbringing with quite devoted parents, I always used to wonder, “Is there a biological family out there?” Whenever I told people that I’m adopted they always used to say, “Oh you poor thing, have you ever found your real family?” So that used to play on my mind a bit, because I used to think, “Are my parents imposters then?” That’s how the book started. My first degree was in psychology, my PhD was in ethics, and I had…