Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Who Do You Think You Are?

With one child at university and my youngest about to start his final year at school, it might look like my family are coming to the last years of their education, but learning continues throughout our lives. So this month, we’re hoping to encourage all of you to try out some of the fantastic educational opportunities on offer for family historians. From one-hour tutorials to postgraduate qualifications, there’s plenty to choose from and by way of inspiration on page 18 we’ve asked tutors from a range of courses to share a favourite tip with our readers. We’re also marking the publication of a major new dictionary of surnames with an article by the editor about how family names have developed and the changes we can look out for as family…

Email wdytyaeditorial@immediate.co.uk Write to WDYTYA? Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST THE PERILS OF NOT CHECKING SOURCES When I began my family history research on the internet in the early 2000s, I was so excited to find references to any of my ancestors and connections, I was naive enough to expect them to be correct, and was less than rigorous in checking sources. I have learnt my lesson and have gradually built a stronger tree with references and sources incorporated. So I apologise to anyone who may have picked up any misinformation from me at that earlier time. As someone who is now more careful, I wanted to mention two recent encounters with misinformation. Firstly, while researching my great grandfather Joseph Phelps Gardiner, a missionary in Canada 1857–1872, I came…

Archaeologists from MOLA Headland Infrastructure working on HS2 are inviting the public to help transcribe 57,639 burial records that hold key details about the lives of Londoners in the 18th and 19th century. Volunteers will be able to take part via zooniverse.org/projects/mola/stories-of-st-jamessburial-ground. The records relate to the burial ground at St James’s in Euston, where more than 20,000 burials were carefully excavated between 2018 and 2021. Participants will use the project website to decipher handwritten burial records, logging such information as name, address and cause of death.…

The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) has announced a new series of its family history podcast. Each episode features AGRA experts sharing useful tips on an aspect of family history. The first episode, entitled Commissioning Effective Research, will be released on 1 September and will look at how to commission a professional genealogist and ensure the best value for money. Five further episodes, launched on the first day of each month, will examine legal and chancery records, Welsh ancestors, manorial and estate records, Liverpool ancestors and the Poor Law, chaired by our editor Sarah Williams. The podcast will be available on agra.org.uk and via the usual podcast services.…

Before lockdown I often visited churches and cathedrals, mostly to study the history, architecture and decoration of the building. But my attention would invariably be diverted by tombs and monuments, tablets and grave slabs, with their inscriptions and effigies. There’s something compelling and also very moving about the urns and cherubs, skulls and flowers that decorate monuments from 200 or 300 years ago. I can’t resist reading the descriptions and the factual details of these long-deceased worthies. Have you noticed that the men were, without exception, upright pillars, strong, courageous, devoted to their family, beloved by all who knew them? They were servants of the community, servants of the Crown, servants of their country. And that the women were without fail gentle, devoted wives and mothers? I speculate about what…

The adoption of hereditary surnames was a long and drawn-out process The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, which outlines the origins of surnames found in Britain today and is based on The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland (2016), has recently been published. I was a member of a team at the University of the West of England whose project ‘Family Names of the United Kingdom’ (2010–2017, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) provided the research for both dictionaries. Having spent a number of years looking into the origins and development of surnames in Britain and Ireland, we were able to develop new methods and approaches for identifying and understanding changes in name forms and making conclusions on surname etymologies. In…

BOOKS The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain Edited by Harry Parkin OUP, 2021 This definitive new surname dictionary is 1,040 pages long. The Poll Taxes of 1377, 1379 and 1381 Carolyn C Fenwick OUP, 1998–2005 Published in three volumes, these transcriptions of 14th-century poll-tax returns for England are a good source of medieval surnames. Surnames and Genealogy: A New Approach George Redmonds New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997 Learn how surnames can change. Surnames, DNA, and Family History George Redmonds, Turi King and David Hey OUP, 2011 The authors explore a range of issues related to surname history. SOFTWARE BRITISH 19TH CENTURY SURNAME ATLAS Archer Software, 2015 This Windows-based CD-Rom displays distribution maps for all of the surnames and forenames found in the 1881 census of England,…

Q My grandfather Thomas Mercer was born on 18 November 1886 on Ancoats Lane (now Great Ancoats Street) in Manchester. His brother Charles (Charlie) was born in Manchester in 1889 or 1890. Their father was Charles Mercer, a file cutter who was born in Manchester in 1856, and their mother was Ellen (surname unknown), who was born in either Droylsden or Ashton-under-Lyne c1850. I can’t find a marriage for Charles and Ellen, or a record of a birth or baptism for either Thomas or Charlie, which I need to progress their mother’s branch of the tree. Maureen Fahey A As the 19th century progressed, more and more parents registered the births of their children through the civil registration process, which began in 1837. Indeed, experts now suggest that, once the…

ARCHIVES WALES w archives.wales Search an online catalogue (via Archives Hub) to collections held across Welsh archives. FINDMYPAST w bit.ly/fmp-wales This is the landing page for Findmypast’s Welsh baptism, banns, marriage and burial records. FLINTSHIRE WAR MEMORIALS w flintshirewarmemorials.com Explore the county’s First World War memorials. A Llandudno database is provided by Conwy Archive Service: bit.ly/llandudno-mem. GLAMORGAN ARCHIVES w glamarchives.gov.uk This is an excellent county-level resource – don’t miss the ‘Indexes and Transcriptions’ page. NATIONAL MUSEUM WALES w museum.wales Learn about the digital exhibitions and material created by such museums as the Big Pit National Coal Museum and the National Slate Museum. NORTH WALES BMD w northwalesbmd.org.uk/index.php This useful site is the result of a collaboration between genealogical societies in Clwyd, Gwynedd and Montgomeryshire. THEGENEALOGIST w thegenealogist.co.uk The site launched…

If a governess worked for a member of the aristocracy or landed gentry, information about her dates of service and pay, as well as letters between her and members of the family, might be found in their archives. Some records remain with the families themselves, while others are deposited in local archive centres or major collections like the British Library. Try searching Discovery, the online catalogue of The National Archives in Kew: discovery. nationalarchives.gov.uk. If an ancestor was assisted in some way by the Governesses’ Benevolent Institution (GBI), then you might find information in the London Metropolitan Archives. LMA holds the organisation’s records from 1841 to 1991, including the records of individuals who received annuities, and those who were provided with accommodation in their homes for aged and temporarily unemployed…

Researching a Merchant Navy ancestor in the Victorian era can be rewarding, because there is a wealth of records available. Yet it’s important to realise that the crew of a ship consisted of more than seamen and officers. For example, if your forebear was a cook, engineer, carpenter, nurse or waiter then you might find them in Merchant Navy records. Similarly, if your ancestor was a strong man such as a railway navvy, miner or labourer then he might have joined the Merchant Navy as a stoker (‘fireman’). Some footmen or maids became ships’ stewards or stewardesses. However, for all members of the crew there is a complication when it comes to research: the vast majority were only employed for one voyage at a time. Once their ship returned to…

ANCESTRY w ancestry.co.uk You’ll find National Maritime Museum records and application forms in ‘UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850–1927’. FINDMYPAST w findmypast.co.uk National registers are in ‘Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1835–1857’, which includes series BT112, BT113 and BT116 from TNA. THEGENEALOGIST w thegenealogist.co.uk Apprenticeship registers (1824–1910) are in the ‘Occupational’ category (sub-category ‘Apprenticeship, Merchant Navy’).…

1 APPRENTICESHIPS Ancestry’s collection ‘UK, Articles of Clerkship, 1756–1874’ includes the ‘Registers of Articles of Clerkship and Affidavits of Due Execution’: bit.ly/anc-arts-clerks. 2 INNER TEMPLE RECORDS You can search barristers who were admitted to the Inner Temple in London as far back as the 16th century at archives.inner temple.org.uk/names/browse/admissions. 3 THE LAW LIST A directory of English and Welsh lawyers was published yearly between 1775 and 1976. The Law Society has a complete set, and offers a paid research service: lawsociety.org.uk.…

ARCHIVES THE FRIENDS HISTORICAL LIBRARY  a Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081, USA t 001 610 328 8496 e friends@swarthmore.edu w swarthmore.edu/ friends-historical-library The library’s extensive collection includes the family papers of Anna Braithwaite Thomas. THE LIBRARY OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS a Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ t 020 7663 1000 w quaker.org.uk/resources/ library The library holds a copy of St Stephen’s House: Friends’ Emergency Work in England 1914 to 1920, compiled by Anna Braithwaite Thomas and online at bit.ly/st-stephen-anna, plus a typewritten manuscript of her unpublished autobiography. BOOK Germans As Minorities During the First World War Edited by Panikos Panayi Routledge, 2014 Find out more information about the experiences of German minorities around the world. WEBSITES THE ANGLO-GERMAN HISTORY SOCIETY w agfhs.com Discover…

TRADE DIRECTORIES  w tinyurl.com/special-dir-cumb The county’s directories on the University of Leicester’s website Special Collections Online can be found under Cumberland and Westmorland. MEMORIAL INSCRIPTIONS  w tinyurl.com/ cumbgov-mis Explore local cemetery indexes and memorial inscriptions, usually available as downloadable spreadsheets or PDFs. BMDS  w cumbriabmd. org.uk Search local indexes to births, marriages and deaths recorded in the Barrow-in-Furness registration district. WW1 INDEXES  w tinyurl.com/cumb-gov-news Discover details of servicemen (mainly in the Army) featured in Cumbrian newspaper articles. PARISH REGISTERS  w tinyurl.com/ fscumbria This is FamilySearch’s collection of parish material covering Cumbria between 1538 and 1990.…

ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES BARROW ARCHIVE CENTRE AND LOCAL STUDIES LIBRARY a Ramsden Square, Barrow-in-Furness LA14 1LL t 01229 407377 e barrow.archives@cumbria.gov.uk w tinyurl.com/cumb-gov-balsc Here you’ll find material for Westmorland, plus the portions of Cumbria that were formerly in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Important collections include the records of Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Hodbarrow Mining Company and Millom Hematite Ore and Iron Company. CARLISLE ARCHIVE CENTRE a Lady Gillford’s House, Petteril Bank Road, Carlisle CA1 3AJ t 01228 227284 e carlisle.archives@cumbria. gov.uk w tinyurl.com/cumb-gov-cac The centre has material from parts of historic Cumberland north of the Derwent, including Carlisle, Keswick, Penrith and Maryport. There are records of Church of England parishes as well as nonconformist churches, alongside records of the Diocese of Carlisle, and the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral. CHESHIRE…

Helen Parker-Drabble was a child when she was first told of her grandfather’s refusal to doff his cap to the Duke of Bedford’s estate manager. “Walter Parker grew up in the village of Thorney in Cambridgeshire, where the estate manager was a very important man,” Helen explains. “Why did my grandfather take such a bold stance, and what were the consequences of his action?” It’s hard to imagine the impact his mother’s addiction had on Walter “I wanted to know who Walter was and what had shaped his personality,” she adds. “At the age of eight, I tried to record an interview with him about his life. It was a disaster – I couldn’t get him to speak at all. “The changes that occurred in his lifetime were astounding. I…

ADVERTISING t 0117 300 8803 e andy.williams@immediate.co.uk EDITORIAL t 0117 300 8621 e wdytyaeditorial@immediate.co.uk Q&A QUERIES e wdytyaquestions@immediate.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS AND APP FAQS t 03330 162120* t +44 1604 973728 (overseas) w buysubscriptions.com/customer-services/contact w buysubscriptions.com/customer-services/FAQs WEBSITE QUERIES e wdytyaeditorial@immediate.co.uk *UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed-line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances (if offered by your phone tariff). Outside of free call packages call charges from mobile phones will cost between 3p and 55p per minute. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am–5pm.…

India embarkation lists published on Find my past Find my past (findmypast.co.uk) has added a new collection of 100,000 embarkation lists to British India in the 19th century. The records, dating from 1871–1889, reveal the movements of British soldiers who sailed to the country. Details of each soldier include his year of birth; date of enlistment; date of embarkation; regiment; rank; service number; and the ship he sailed on. The transcriptions are based on documents in series IOR/L/MIL/15 within the India Office collection held by the British Library. Society of Genealogists appoints new CEO The Society of Genealogists has announced the appointment of a new CEO after June Perrin retired last year. Dr Wanda Wyporska joins the society after leading The Equality Trust for five years. A historian and visiting…

Young genealogists from around the world have joined forces to launch a website catering for the needs of researchers who were born between 1995 and 2010. The Hidden Branch (thehidden branch.com ) includes a blog, episodes from a podcast and details of the founding members, with online resources coming soon. The group describe themselves as “the new generation of genealogists who grew up in the digital age”. They can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.…

Records of more than 78,000 US soldiers who were killed in the First World War have been published on Fold3 (fold3.com). The USA entered the First World War on 6 April 1917, and an estimated 117,000 soldiers from the country lost their lives before the end of the conflict on 11 November 1918. The new collection is compiled from cards that were used to record the soldiers’ date and place of burial. The original records are held by the US National Archives. The records were indexed using the crowdsourcing platform Zooniverse (zooniverse. org), and are accompanied by images of the original records. The transcription project was funded by a Global Impact Award from Google and a grant from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, a philanthropic non-profit organisation. The records include…

As pupils head back to school and students start a new term at university, it’s time to think about how we can all learn more. Just by reading this magazine you will increase your knowledge and improve your research skills, but courses and tutorials can open new avenues. They are also an excellent way to meet new people and share ideas. Whether you want to dip your toe in with one-off lessons or get a formal qualification, there are lots of options (see page 23). And there’s no need to worry about transport or social distancing, because these educational institutions were providing distance learning long before Covid-19: the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS) first launched its popular Correspondence Course in 1961! Take inspiration from the following tips from…

AVOIDING NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS Changes can occur not just to make a name seem less indecent, as with bowdlerisation, but to dissociate it from any negative connotations. This explains why Death has often been altered to De’Ath or Deeth. BOWDLERISATION This occurs to make a name seem less indecent or rude, for example the surname Bastard has sometimes become Barsted or Barstead. FOLK ETYMOLOGY This change occurs when a surname is associated with a more familiar word or form, for example Titchmarsh has sometimes been associated with the word titmouse, leading to the surname form Titmus. METANALYSIS This involves two sounds being transposed and can be seen in Fairthorne, which has developed from earlier forms like Frethorn. SHORTENING Some surnames have been shortened by abbreviation, contraction or reduction. Cases can be…

Who was William Farrands? Q My great great grandfather William Rollin was born c1811. Census records from 1841 to 1881 show his wife as Susannah, also born c1811 in Littleborough, Nottinghamshire. In the 1851 census, the entry for Susannah and the children (William is not at home) also lists William Farrands, aged 66, “Father” (I presumed Susannah’s). In the 1861 census, William and Susannah are together, again with William Farrands, aged 76, “Father”. But the birth certificates for the couple’s twins, born in 1844, lists their mother’s maiden name as “Whitaker” and I have found what I believe is her baptism record with parents Benjamin and Mary Whitaker. I found a marriage record for William Rollin and Susanna Wittaker at Sturton le Steeple, less than three miles from Littleborough. It…

Can you tell me when this photograph was taken? QI found this old photograph of a soldier in a box of albums that belonged to my grandmother. No one has any idea who it is. I’m hoping that if you can tell me when and where it was taken, then I may be able to uncover who in my family tree it is. Philip Williams A This is a lovely photo of a colour sergeant in the Royal Engineers (Volunteers) taken in the 1880s, probably while on annual camp. The Volunteer Corps was created in 1859 in a slightly panicky reaction to a perceived threat of war with France. They were to serve at home only, and were very localised. By 1862 there were about 172,000 Volunteers, of whom nearly…

James VI of Scotland embarked on a long journey from Edinburgh to London in April 1603, in order to claim the crown of England and Ireland. His cousin Elizabeth I had died on 24 March, and it was believed that a new union between the nations would bring about lasting peace. But along the way, something irked him: the wooden bridge that he used to cross the River Tweed was in a shambolic state, and at risk of collapse. Keen to build a symbolic link between his kingdoms, James approved the creation of a new stone structure, which would be funded by the Crown. Surprisingly, not only is the resulting bridge still in use today, but intricate details of its construction – and the names of the people who built…

BOOK People, Place and Power: the Grand Jury System in Ireland Brian Gurrin et al Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, 2021 This digital book details another of Ireland’s most important local bodies the Grand Jury, which also dealt with criminal and administrative matters. It can be read for free at tinyurl.com/gurrin-gjs. WEBSITES BRITISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE w britishnewspaper archive.co.uk The British Library’s newspaper collection may provide further details of cases that were heard before the petty-sessions courts in Ireland. IRISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES w irishnewsarchive.com Search for legal cases in more than six million pages from Irish newspapers reaching back to 1738.…

BOOKS Other People’s Daughters Ruth Brandon Orion, 2008 Subtitled The Lives and Times of the Governess , Brandon’s book features information about a selection of governesses from the 18th to 19th centuries. The Guide to Service: The Governess George Stephen Charles Knight and Co, 1844 This is just one of a number of contemporary publications aimed at governesses that are available for free from the Internet Archive: bit.ly/arch-governess. The Victorian Governess Kathryn Hughes Hambledon, 1993 This is an excellent exploration of the governess’ life and work. A 2001 edition of Hughes’ book is widely available. FELICITY DAY writes about social history, and is particularly interested in the Georgian era…

1 DESCRIPTION This includes height, eye and hair colour, plus ‘marks’ such as tattoos. Henry Thomas had a crucifix on his right arm. 2 ROYAL NAVY SERVICE Robert Hearn had served six years in the Royal Navy, so you could investigate his naval career. 3 APPRENTICES Stephen Mager started his career as an apprentice in 1836, so you should be able to find his Merchant Navy apprenticeship record. 4 ISSUED AT Everyone on this page registered at Liverpool. This was a good place for seafarers to find work – it doesn’t necessarily mean that they lived in the area. 5 ROLE The abbreviation “S” means that Robert Hearn was a seaman. Other possibilities include “Ck” (cook), “2M” (second mate), “A” (apprentice) and “C” (captain). 6 DESERTION Robert Hearn deserted his…

BOOKS Masters Under God Richard Woodman History Press, 2009 Woodman tells the story of the British Merchant Navy from 1817 to 1884. Tracing Your Merchant Navy Ancestors Simon Wills Pen & Sword, 2012 Find out how you can explore the lives of your seafaring ancestors at all stages of their careers. WEBSITES LLOYD’S REGISTER OF SHIPPING w bit.ly/lrf-register You can use this free resource, which was first published in 1764, to identify ships and follow captains’ careers. Learn more from Simon’s ‘Record Masterclass’ in our Summer 2021 issue (number 180). THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES w tinyurl.com/tna-merc There are more than 20 research guides that can help you to uncover information about the lives and deaths of the Merchant Navy employees in your tree. WRECK REPORTS w bit.ly/sth-wrecks View inquiries for many…

Cumbria was created in 1974 from Cumberland and Westmorland, as well as parts of West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire. This means that sources for Cumbrian research are spread far and wide. Indeed, the main archive service runs four branches across historic Cumberland and Westmorland. vulnerable During the members lockdowns of the staff community assisted The lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 put the team under considerable strain – staff were redeployed towards assisting vulnerable members of the community, and the remainder were based at home. This allowed them to work on new catalogues, and compiling indexes to digitised records. During periods when staff were back on site they continued to catalogue and re-box records, while at the same time dealing with a higher than usual number of inquiries from researchers…

BOOKS Census of England and Wales 1901 HMSO, 1904 This report is freely available from the Internet Archive at tinyurl.com/arch-ew-1901. Census of Ireland, 1901 HMSO, 1903 Ireland’s report can also be found on the Internet Archive: tinyurl.com/arch-ire-1901. A Clearer Sense of the Census Edward Higgs HMSO for the Public Record Office, 1999 This is the classic work on the Victorian censuses. The Scottish Census Report 1901 HMSO, 1902 The Internet Archive has this report too: tinyurl.com/ archsco-1901. It is also available via scotlandspeople.gov.uk.…

WATCH SLAVERY — RIJKSMUSEUM rijksmuseum.nl/en/stories/ slavery Free This English-language ‘virtual exhibition’ from Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum uses artefacts from its collections to tell the stories of 10 individuals involved in the Netherlands’ centuries-long slave trade, whether they benefited from the system or fought against it. Many of the videos are presented by individuals who have family links to the trade. LISTEN IN OUR TIME tinyurl.com/bragg-booth  Free In this episode of the long-running Radio 4 series In Our Time, Melvyn Bragg and historians Emma Griffin, Sarah Wise and Lawrence Goldman discuss social reformer Charles Booth and his ground-breaking survey recording poverty in Victorian London. The survey notebooks and the accompanying maps are an invaluable record for family and social history research. DOWNLOAD GLOUCESTERSHIRE, BRISTOL 1933 KELLY’S DIRECTORY tinyurl.com/s-n-kelly-bris  £17.45 Discover your Bristol…

DR HARRY PARKIN A senior lecturer at the University of Cheshire, Harry spent three years working on the ‘Family Names of the United Kingdom’ research project. He talks about surnames on page 24. CHRIS PATON Chris is a regular contributor and appears twice this month, sharing tips as a Pharos tutor on page 18 and giving a masterclass on records of Irish petty sessions on page 52. JANET SACKS Janet has published books about child migrants and Victorian childhood, but on page 68 turns her attention to the work of the Quakers who helped Germans in the UK during WW1.…

Parish and probate records from the county of Staffordshire have been released on more family history websites after an exclusivity contract between Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk) and Staffordshire and Stokeon-Trent Archive Service came to an end. Findmypast had digitised and indexed millions of parish records held by the archive service. Free family history website FamilySearch (familysearch.org) and Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk) have both now also published the same indexes, although not yet the images, to the records. These comprise over three million records from 1538 to 1812; and almost six million records covering 1813 to 1900. The records are a crucial source for researchers tracing milestones in the life of Staffordshire ancestors and famous people from the county. For example, searching for potter Josiah Wedgwood in the records reveals his baptism on 12 July…

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has identified a 19th-century botanist whose books were found among their collections thanks to help from members of the public. RHS librarians were sorting their collection of 50,000 books and papers ahead of a move to their new facility at RHS Wisley, Surrey, when they found a four-volume set of The English Flora by Sir James Edward Smith. In the front they discovered a cartoon of a woman made of plant elements, captioned “Miss Allen, La Botaniste”. Other annotations indicated that the book was given to Isabella Allen by her friend Mrs Green in 1830. Seeking more information, the RHS shared the story of the book’s discovery in an appeal on the BBC News website on 27 June (bbc.co.uk/news/ science-environment-57601841). Jess Hudson, rare books archivist…

PICK OF THE MONTH Trace female forebears and wanderers ANCESTOR JOURNEYS: BROADENING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY HORIZONS 4–5 September w tinyurl.com/sog-anc-journeys In this two-day virtual conference hosted by the Society of Genealogists (SOG) and the educational charity the Halsted Trust, the focus is on overcoming the challenges involved in tracing women ancestors and wanderers. The conference will kick off with a talk by Dr Janet Few on ‘Forgotten Women: Researching the Marginalised Women on Your Family Tree’. Other talks include ‘Breaking Down Brick Walls With DNA’ by Mia Bennett and ‘When Harry Met Dotty: In Search of the Fullers Across the US, China, India and Europe’ by Dr Nick Barratt. There will also be the chance to connect with fellow family historians in breakout rooms for discussions as well as a…

We would like to thank the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS), Pharos Tutors, the Society of Genealogists (SOG) and the University of Strathclyde INSTITUTE OF HERALDIC AND GENEALOGICAL STUDIES w ihgs.ac.uk/courses The IHGS has a comprehensive programme of online tutorials. Its Correspondence Course in Genealogy has been running since 1961, and is aimed at those who want to learn the correct methodology for carrying out research. PHAROS TUTORS w pharostutors.com Pharos Tutors runs more than 40 online genealogy courses including anytime courses, tutor-led options and more advanced certificate courses. Prices start at £34.99. SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS w societyofgenealogists.arlo.co/w The society’s offerings range from one-hour talks to half-day events and courses on a vast number of topics. Prices range from £6.50 to watch a prerecorded talk to £150 for…

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR CEMETERIES IN SOUTH ASIA w bacsa.org.uk BACSA’s very helpful site has a searchable database of burial records of the British in India. BRITISH INDIA OFFICE COLLECTION w tinyurl.com/fmp-brit-ind These records on Findmypast span from the 17th century to the 20th century, and include East India Company employees, military personnel and members of the civil service. You may also find baptism records, wills and pension records. FAMILIES IN BRITISH INDIA SOCIETY w fibis.org The society’s wiki includes an unmissable guide to locating records in the region and elsewhere: wiki.fibis.org/w/ Indian_Libraries_and_Archives.…

Who are the subjects on this tintype? Q While clearing out my mother’s things, we found a tintype photo. It’s printed on a thin metal plate. No one knows who the subjects are. However, I think that the photograph probably depicts my great great grandfather, his brothers and possibly my 3x great grandfather Charles Everett. Can you date the image and tell me whether these identities are likely? Colin McGill A Judging from its appearance this is indeed a ‘tintype’ photo, or ferrotype – a photographic image struck directly onto an iron plate. The format was patented in the USA but produced here broadly between the 1870s and 1940s, the heyday being the late 1800s/early 1900s. Tintypes provided cheap photographs for the lower-middle class and working class. Often taken at…

SHARE YOUR FAMILY ALBUM If published you will receive Vivid-Pix Restore Image Improvement Software worth $49.99. To see how Vivid-Pix Restore can transform your photos and documents visit vivid-pix.com for a free trial. Email our art editor on robbie.bennie@immediate.co.uk using the subject line “Family Album”. We need between eight and ten good-quality, high-resolution images. Each image should be accompanied by a caption of between 20 and 40 words.…

Welsh Newspapers Online (newspapers.library. wales ) is a free resource from the NLW that allows anybody with an interest in the history of Wales and its people to explore more than 120 titles from a rich collection of pre-1919 newspapers. Digital technology allows the researcher not only to browse and read digital copies of the original pages but also to search for words, names and dates in 15 million articles over 1.1 million pages. This adds significant value to the paper collection and means that family historians can discover innovative ways to exploit this collection and uncover countless nuggets of genealogical information, which would otherwise remain hidden within heavy bound volumes in Aberystwyth. Birth, marriage and death notices, marriage reports and obituaries include ordinary people as well as the gentry,…

Only a scattering of upper-class families employed female tutors for their daughters in the 17th and early 18th centuries. By the Victorian era, however, it was not only aristocrats relying on a governess, but the majority of moneyed middle-class parents as well. A live-in governess was both a sign of their own social status, and a means of instilling in their daughters the skills needed for their future married life in a safe and suitably domestic environment. What had once been a relatively niche profession was booming by the time of the 1851 census, when some 25,000 women were working as governesses. Many governesses had similar backgrounds to their pupils. Often the daughters of professional men – vicars, merchants, military officers, surgeons and solicitors – some had been deliberately educated…

Timelines are a great way to provide a linear view of an ancestor’s life from birth to death. If you’re looking for a simple, flexible and free application to produce timelines on your Windows or Linux PC, the aptly named Timeline is the app for you. Ubuntu users can install it through the Software Centre, while Windows users should click the ‘Latest release’ link at thetimelineproj.sourceforge.net/installing.html#windows to download the installer file to your PC. Next, double-click the setup file and skip through the installation process (tick ‘Create a start menu’ when prompted). Once complete, leave ‘Launch Timeline’ selected and click ‘Finish’, or launch the app from the ‘Start’ menu. Familiarise yourself with the tutorial offered – which will give you a quick tour of the program’s capabilities – and then…

Robert Browne Whytock was a Scot who went to sea at 17, where he had a career of mixed fortunes. He took up an apprenticeship in 1871 with a well-known shipping line called Smith & Sons, but two years into his training he deserted his ship at New York. Perhaps the shipboard discipline was too harsh, or maybe he simply wanted to explore the USA – we may never know. After three months ashore, Whytock somehow found work as a seaman on both US and Scottish ships. He also began studying for exams to become a ship’s mate. He failed on his first attempt in 1877, but tried again and was successful. Unfortunately, life as an officer proved tough. On only his second ship as mate, his vessel was wrecked…

Britain was a land of potential for the burgeoning middle classes in the late 18th century. Commerce, the legal profession, teaching and the clergy offered social mobility for those with education and drive. Jean Thomson has discovered a Georgian ancestor who left behind village life to become a powerful and wealthy man. His journey leads us to the shady world of the debtors’ prison. MY BRICK WALL My 3x great grandfather William Jones was the youngest of eight children, born in 1754 in a Welsh inn. He died in 1834 as marshal of the King’s Bench Prison in Southwark in London, and left a huge fortune. William’s grandchildren knew very little about where he came from in Wales, or how he made his money. My father Ian loved history, and…

Anna Braithwaite was born in Banbury, England, on 6 August 1854. She was the second of nine children of Joseph Bevan and Martha Braithwaite, a leading Quaker family, and was named after her paternal grandmother who had been an influential Quaker minister. Anna’s father was also a minister, who spent a lot of time in the USA attending Quaker conferences. Anna was educated at the Friends school in Kendal, Westmorland, and Bedford College, London. In 1878 she married Dr Richard H Thomas of Baltimore, Maryland, a graduate of Haverford College, which was founded by Quakers. From that time on, her life was rooted in the USA although she travelled to Britain frequently. Anna was a writer and peace activist and involved in many Quaker concerns. She was recorded as a…

1762 Seaton Iron Works is founded on the north bank of the River Derwent. 1775 Poet Thomas Gray’s journal of a tour of Cumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire is published posthumously, and becomes one of the first popular guides to the Lake District. 1799 William Wordsworth moves to Dove Cottage in Grasmere. 1897 Vickers enters the naval market by buying the Barrow Shipbuilding Company. 1901 Vickers builds the Royal Navy’s first submarine, the Holland 1 , at its shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness. The vessel is 63 feet long. 1930 Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons , set around a fictional lake derived from Windermere and Coniston Water, is published. 1930 Henry Segrave breaks the water-speed record on Windermere, reaching 98.76 mph in his boat Miss England II. 1941 A series of Luftwaffe bombing…

BEATYThis surname is associated with the England–Scotland border. BRAITHWAITE This is a village in the northern Lake District, west of Keswick. COULTHARD In 1881 this surname crops up regularly in census districts across Cumberland and County Durham. FEARON This is an occupational surname for a blacksmith or someone who works iron. GARNETT Garnett is an occupational name for a maker or fitter of hinges. IRVING The roots of this name lie in Irving, Dumfries and Galloway. KIRKBRIDE This is the name of a village and civil parish in Cumbria. MARTINDALE This is a habitational name, from a parish between Ullswater and Haweswater. PATTINSON In 1881 Patterdale in Westmorland and Penrith in Cumberland had the highest concentration of Pattinsons. ROUTLEDGEProbably from Routledge Burn, a water feature in Cumbria.…

Emmeline Pankhurst was born Emmeline Goulden on Sloan Street, Moss Side, Manchester, on 15 July 1858. Her parents were prosperous and politically committed. Pankhurst was to become active in the Women’s Franchise League and the Independent Labour Party. In 1879 she married leading radical Richard Pankhurst, a much older man who was already an established lawyer. They had four surviving children, but in 1898 Richard’s death devastated the family both emotionally and financially. They moved to a house in a poorer neighbourhood of Manchester, 62 Nelson Street, and Pankhurst found work as a registrar of births and deaths. She was irritated by the women’s suffrage movement, which had made progress only towards the local-government vote for women. She founded the militant Women’s Social and Political Union in her living room…

ANCESTRY.CO.UK £ Index and images for England and Wales, index-only for Scotland. Occupation indexed only for Scotland. Irish census index links to images on census.nationalarchives.ie. CENSUS.NATIONALARCHIVES.IE Free Index and images for all of Ireland are free to search here. Select ‘More search options’ to search by occupation, religion etc. FAMILYSEARCH.ORG Free Index shared with Findmypast for England and Wales. Occupations not indexed. Irish index links to images on census.nationalarchives.ie. FINDMYPAST.CO.UK £ Index and images photographed from the originals rather than microfilm for England and Wales, index-only for Scotland. Occupations indexed for the whole of the UK. Irish census index links to images that are freely available on census.nationalarchives.ie. SCOTLANDSPEOPLE.GOV.UK £ Images and an index of Scottish censuses. THEGENEALOGIST.CO.UK £ Index and basic images for England and Wales, index-only for Scotland. Occupations indexed for the whole of…

What was the process of researching and writing Escape From the Ghetto like? The process of me seriously writing the book really started around 1988, when I went to Poland to meet my dad’s cousin. We were in the Jewish offices in Ëódz and I just said to him, “So, you were there on the day my dad got out of the ghetto.” He replied, “Yes.” And I said, “Tell me what happened.” He told me pretty much exactly the same as my dad had told me, and I thought, “Well, this is quite something.” At that point I decided that I needed to try to corroborate and establish as fact as much as possible of my dad’s story, and I did. I made the journey under slightly less exacting…

BIRTH CHUWLÀFDWH Many Jamaican birth, marriage and death records can now be downloaded free of charge from FamilySearch (familysearch. org ). The record of Frank Hill’s birth is part of this collection. It took place on 25 November 1910, although his first name wasn’t registered until later as you can see from a note added to the birth certificate: tinyurl.com/fs-frank-hill. THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVE The online digital archive of The New York Times reaches back from the present to 1851 (tinyurl.com/nytimes-dig-archive). The archive can be searched for free, but downloading an article incurs a charge. The newspaper regularly reported on events in Jamaica and we located a story from 6 November 1942 that mentioned Frank, who had been arrested for his political activities: tinyurl.com/nyt-frank-hill. THE GLEANER ARCHIVE Based in…