Innholdsfortegnelse for Mar-22 i Who Do You Think You Are?

I’m sure I’m not alone in spending a lot of the past month testing out the 1921 census. Yes there have been teething issues (we found pages of military entries without names attached, now thankfully fixed) and the transcription leaves much to be desired, but I’ve loved finding people I knew when I was a child. I also enjoyed Sara Tor’s article on female footballers (page 70) and looked up members of the Dick, Kerr team on the 1921 census, many of whom had no employment recorded. In fact it has been quite an eyeopener to see so many people recorded as “Out of work”. It certainly wasn’t the ‘Roaring Twenties’ for most. Do share your discoveries with us; we’d particularly like to hear about any brick walls that have…

IN PERSON (SUBJECT TO CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS) EXPLORING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY: GETTING STARTED 23 February a Charlton House, Greenwich t 020 8856 3951 w tinyurl.com/ getting-startedpauline-watson Pauline Watson explains the key resources for researching your tree in this event from the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust. £10. HIDDEN STORIES OF RENFREWSHIRE WOMEN WITH GLASGOW WOMEN’S LIBRARY 24 February a Paisley Central Library w tinyurl.com/ paisley-book-festival-mark Glasgow Women’s Library presents this workshop as part of the Paisley Book Festival. Participants can see the ‘Making Her Mark’ exhibition (find out more on page 50) and have fun with crafts to create mementos of a Renfrewshire woman from history or their own life. Free – donations welcome. JARROW & HEBBURN: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE BEDE GALLERY COLLECTION Until 2 April a South Shields Museum & Art…

Family history website Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk) has added a new collection of Royal Air Force Operations Record Books (ORBs). The collection covers 1911–1963, and contains 751,751 records in total. The records are also available on TheGenealogist (thegenealogist.co.uk) and in unindexed form on The National Archives’ website (nationalarchives.gov.uk/ help-with-your-research/research-guides/royal-air-force-operations). A smaller selection covering the Second World War only is on Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk), but cannot be searched by name. ORBs were designed to record the activities of RAF units in the same way that War Diaries do in the British Army. They can be searched by name and reveal details such as rank, unit, role and service number. They are accompanied by digitised images of the original documents. For example, an ORB from No. 22 Squadron for 21 December 1940 includes a recommendation…

A free archive in memory of British nurse Edith Cavell has launched online. Cavell was born in the village of Swardeston, Norfolk, where her father was vicar, in 1865. She worked as a matron in Belgium before the First World War. When Germany invaded Belgium she returned to the country and helped nurse injured soldiers, regardless of nationality. Cavell also became involved in helping smuggle Allied soldiers to safety, rescuing about 200 men before she was caught by the German authorities and executed in October 1915. Swardeston resident and amateur historian Nick Miller has created the virtual Swardeston Archive (edithcavell.org.uk/swardeston-archive), with the help of a £7,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The archive launched on 3 December, the day before Cavell’s birthday. It consists of images of approximately…

The handbill from the National Railway Museum that I am looking at is a flimsy sheet of pale blue paper that advertised cheap excursion fares and special trains on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on Whit Monday, 25 May 1863. The destination named in big bold letters was not a seaside resort, which we might perhaps have expected, but instead the industrial town of Blackburn. Why would anybody want to go there on an excursion? The world was opening up for our mid-Victorian forebears The answer is that “a GRAND REVIEW of the Artillery and Rifle Volunteers” was to be held in the town’s park during the afternoon. A special train would leave Colne at 11.30am and, calling at eight intermediate stations including Burnley and Accrington, would arrive at Blackburn…

1 USE ‘ADVANCED SEARCH’ ON THE BRITISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE The specialist site britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk offers more search options than Findmypast. It’s easier to do precise searches, choosing what to include and exclude, with an ‘Advanced Search’ of the British Newspaper Archive (BNA) than Findmypast. So, although ‘Pro’ subscribers to Findmypast have access to the same collection, it’s a good idea for them to search BNA first then look up the specific articles on Findmypast. 2 TRY DIFFERENT KEYWORDS TO COMBAT PROBLEMS WITH OCR Don’t miss relevant results because of mistakes caused by incorrect optical character recognition. Digitised newspaper archives use OCR to power searches, but it often misreads words, including surnames. When searching, think about the other words that might be included in the story. You can also try surname spellings that…

1 SEARCH BY A PARTICULAR PLACE On the homepage click ‘Search’ then ‘Records’. Enter the name of a country in ‘Search by Place’ to see what is available, including courses, guides and records. 2 BROWSE IMAGE-ONLY RECORDS Some records, such as Norfolk Poor Law Union records, have not been indexed yet but can still be viewed. Others require you to be at an affiliated library. 3 UNDERSTAND JURISDICTIONS Find parish, Poor Law, ecclesiastical, legal and other jurisdiction boundaries in England with the England Jurisdictions 1851 map: familysearch.org/mapp. 4 FIND FAMILY HISTORY BOOKS On the homepage click ‘Search’ and then ‘Books’ to discover a rich and growing collection of digitised volumes and indexes for family historians.…

English common law has always allowed a person to take and use a new surname. This could be done, perfectly lawfully, without drawing up any formal record. Currently, it is perfectly legal for anyone aged over 16 to start using a new name, as long as the change is not being made for any fraudulent purpose, or would result in a financial loss to, or avoiding an agreement with, another. In 1901, the judge Lord Lindley held that, “Speaking generally the law of this country allows any person to assume and use any name, provided its use is not calculated to deceive and to inflict pecuniary loss.” Current legislation regarding changes of name is complicated and varies in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Detailed information is available on…

During the 19th century the use of multiple or ‘double-barrelled’ surnames began to become more common. In earlier times the surname of the other family, usually the mother’s, was given as a forename. Usually, this was to perpetuate a family name that could have died out in the absence of male heirs. Sometimes it was to show the union of two important families. Many double-barrelled names are written without a hyphen, which can cause confusion – for example, prime minister David Lloyd George and the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Rather than changing one family name for another, both were used perhaps eventually becoming hyphenated. Several old British families have triple-barrelled names. In 1972, George Jerzy Heronim Bank, formerly Georgius Heronimus Bankowski, changed his name again, to Georgius Heronimus de Bankow-Ritterbank-Bankau.…

The headline “Suspected murder on board ship” grabbed Hazel Garas’ attention. She was doing a general search of newspaper archives for her great great grandfather William Oliver Ross, and found him mentioned in the Newcastle Courant on 21 June 1878. The fishing smack had no washing or toilet facilities, except for a bucket “William was the mate of a fishing boat called Milo ,” Hazel explains. “The article revealed a gruesome story regarding his brother-in-law, John Perfect, who died on board ship. I was intrigued because nobody in my family had mentioned the possibility of a murder.” Hazel, who is a retired teacher from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, began tracing her genealogy 20 years ago, and shared her photos in our ‘Family Album’ section in September 2020. “Seafaring runs in…

Did George Hardstaff change his name? Q My husband’s great great grandparents were George Hardstaff and Maria Merchant. According to censuses, George was born in Hulland Ward, Derbyshire, in 1812 and Maria in Ible, Derbyshire, in 1814. I have a baptism record for a Lucy Maria Merchant born 13 August 1814 in Ible and her burial record as Maria Lucy Hardstaff, so I am pretty sure this is her. I have also discovered a marriage record for a Maria Merchant to George Fox on 25 September 1831 in Muggington, Derbyshire. Are George Fox and George Hardstaff the same man, and if so, why did he change his name? Margaret Bicknell A Changes of surname occurred for many reasons. For example, a child known by their stepfather’s surname might revert to…

What regiment were these soldiers in? QI found this photograph among my grandmother’s things after she died, and believe that one of the soldiers was a brother or another male relative. Can you tell me anything about them? Brian Taylor A The photograph that you’ve supplied shows two privates of the Territorial Force (TF) Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). It was probably taken either at annual camp or just after their embodiment (call-up for war service) in August 1914. The TF, created in 1907, consisted of part-time soldiers responsible for home defence in war. However, they were invited to volunteer for service abroad, and the Imperial Service Badge (ISB) was created in 1910 and issued to men who accepted this liability. Fewer than 10 per cent of men took it…

BOOK Divorced, Bigamist, Bereaved? Rebecca Probert Takeaway, 2015 Rebecca’s guide sets out the underpinning law, and explains when a divorce could be obtained. WEBSITES ANCESTRY w ancestry.co.uk The website has digitised and searchable case files in the collection ‘England & Wales, Civil Divorce Records, 1858–1918’, which is available at bit. ly/anc-divorce . THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES w tinyurl.com/ tna-guidedivorce Find out more information about the case files held at TNA, and what records survive from later periods.…

1 HEADING Here you will find the name of the ship, the port in England or Scotland sailed from, the destination port in Australia, and the date of embarkation. 2 RESIDENCE The families’ Scottish residence is recorded; many of them would have been neighbours. Emigrants had to pass a series of moral ‘qualifications’, such as to be sober, and were also required to be capable of work. 3 FAMILIES Whole families were prioritised for emigration. The majority of travellers originated from the Isle of Skye, but emigrants from other islands and the western coast were also assisted. 4 ESTATE OWNER Helpfully, the names of the estate owners are also recorded on the passenger lists, which can assist with searching for further records. Landlords contributed to the fares, but the emigrants…

BOOKS An Unstoppable Force Lucille H Campey Natural Heritage, 2008 This is the definitive book for finding out about Scottish emigration to Canada. Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors, 2nd Edn William J Roulston Ulster Historical Foundation, 2018 Learn about the sources for finding forebears in 17th-and 18th-century Ulster. The Highland Clearances John Prebble Penguin, 1969 This edition of the classic text about the forcible migration of so many from the Highlands can be borrowed for free from the Internet Archive: tinyurl. com/arch-prebble. WEBSITES A BRIEF HISTORY OF EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION IN SCOTLAND w tinyurl.com/john-gray-emi This useful article from East Lothian Council’s John Gray Centre includes links to recommended websites. ELECTRIC SCOTLAND w electricscotland.com/ history/world.htm This site’s ‘Scots Diaspora’ section has useful resources concerning the worldwide settlement of Scots. CHRIS PATON is based…

Suffolk’s county town Ipswich started life as the small port of Gippeswic, the name coming from the river Gipping and the old Anglo-Saxon word for dwelling wic . It would fall under Viking rule in the 9th century, be recaptured by the English in the 10th, and would flourish as an exporter of wool and cloth. Indeed today the likes of Bury St Edmunds, Clare, Hadleigh, Ipswich, Lavenham, Long Melford and Sudbury are known as the Suffolk Wool Towns – historic settlements whose early prosperity was powered by the medieval wool trade. One the experiences archive project of Jewish has investigated refugees It’s all change on the ground for genealogists with ancestors who lived in Suffolk. The county archives has three branches in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Lowestoft. Ipswich…

The prose writings allow us a deeper insight into the events in the diary Over 250,000 women served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during the Second World War, providing essential support to the British Army. One of these women was Henrietta ‘Hetty’ Munro (1912–1989), who went on to work as a writer, antiques dealer and more. The Highland Archive Service now holds Hetty’s papers. As trainee archivist Jamie McCaffrey explains, they include a short story she wrote, which offers a poignant glimpse of a wartime love affair. WHO WAS HETTY MUNRO? Henrietta Munro, better known as Hetty, was born in Thurso. She is remembered across Caithness as the owner of the antiques shop The Ship’s Wheel, as a member of the ATS (see the photograph on page 81), and…

WW1 PETER DOYLE Uniform, 176 pages, £20 A must for anyone who is interested in the history of the First World War, this wonderfully written book provides a complete history of the organisation, distribution and reaction to the metallic gift box that was first distributed at Christmas 1914. Peter Doyle uses contemporary reports, documents and photographs to take the reader through the whole concept of how a young Princess Mary – the only daughter of George V and Queen Mary – came up with the idea of sending a gift to every soldier and sailor who was on active service for the first Christmas of the war. The book also features the accounts of soldiers and sailors who received the royal gift, and goes into detail about how the tins…

BAPTISM RECORD The Anglo-Italian Family History Society was created in 2002 to help family historians whose relations migrated to the UK from Italy. Its website anglo-italianfhs. org.uk contains useful advice, links and a wide range of resources, although some of them are restricted to the society’s members (annual membership costs £6). This includes a database containing transcriptions from censuses and baptism, birth, death, marriage and occupational records. Here we found various life events for Maria’s family, including a transcription of the record of her baptism on 3 November 1889, which took place six weeks after her birth. WORKHOUSE RECORD We found lots of records for Maria’s siblings and parents, who were in and out of the workhouse during the latter part of the 19th century; the family was sometimes split…

PAUL BLAKE Paul is a regular contributor to our ‘Q&A’ section and the author of Tracing Your Insolvent Ancestors. On page 25 he explains why and how people changed their names. REBECCA PROBERT A British legal historian with a keen interest in family history, Rebecca is the author of Marriage Law for Genealogists and on page 56 she shares her expertise in divorce records. CHRIS PATON A genealogist, writer and blogger, Chris explores the resources available to those researching Scottish migrants including free records. You can find out more on page 62.…

The National Library of Scotland is looking for volunteers to take part in three transcription projects. Two of the projects, involving transcribing street names and related features on Ordnance Survey maps of Edinburgh in the 1890s and transcribing place names in the Roy Military Survey of Scotland maps (1747–1755), will create free datasets to appear on the library’s site maps. nls.uk. The third involves tracing the routes of footpaths in maps of Scotland from c1900. Please visit maps_transcription_nls. mailchimpsites.com and register your name and the project(s) you’re interested in before 11 February.…

The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham has launched a new version of its Wiltshire Community History website at apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory. Features of the updated website include an A-to-Z of all 260 civil parishes in the Wiltshire Council area, as well as the ‘ghost village’ of Imber, with information about their history. There are also collections of historic photos and digitised books, guides to the maps and documents at the centre, and information about local folk arts, which includes copies of folk songs and plays plus singers’ biographies.…

So much family history material has now gone online, you could spend days adding ancestors and attaching records to your family tree without a hitch. But sometimes you just can’t find a record, even though you think it must be there. There can be lots of reasons for ‘hidden’ records, and the tips on the next five pages will add some tools to your genealogy toolkit that will help reveal them. However, searching like a pro is also about discovering fascinating records that are slightly off the beaten track. It’s easy to get stuck using the same websites day in and day out, but looking elsewhere and unleashing your curiosity can reap amazing benefits. I would love to hear what tips you have found most useful in your research. Send…

1 USE ‘ADVANCED SEARCH’ Findmypast’s powerful ‘Advanced Search’ facility lets you add details to reduce irrelevant results. You can specify birthplace, occupation, address and other household members, among other options. 2 SELECT ‘EXTRA (ADDRESS)’ It’s not worth paying £2.50 to view a transcription when you can see the image for £3.50. Selecting ‘Extra (Address)’ will give the address plus any extra pages, and includes the enumerator’s map and route. 3 COMPARE HANDWRITING If you can find someone in the 1911 census but not in 1921, check how they filled it in. Imagine how a transcriber or OCR might misread their handwriting, and search for that name in the 1921 census.…

1 KEEP IT SIMPLE Visit discovery.nationalarchives.gov. uk and click the ‘Advanced search’ link at the bottom of the search box. Complete the basic text fields to see how many results come in before adjusting your search parameters accordingly. 2 KNOW THE DEPARTMENT All of the collections at TNA are organised by government department reference, eg ‘ADM’ for naval records created by the Admiralty. You can view an alphabetical list at discovery.national archives.gov.uk/browse . 3 REFINE YOUR RESULTS Return to the ‘Advanced search’ page and add references to limit results to specific collections, eg ‘WO’ for the War Office and ‘AIR’ for the RAF. Click ‘Search’ and then refine by date to reduce results or select ‘Available for download only’.…

Those with difficult or unpronounceable foreign names often found it advantageous to use a name that was easier for the general population to handle. Frequently, those with foreign names wanted to conceal their origins. In the run-up to the First World War, numerous aliens and others who had foreign-sounding names received increasing ill-treatment, and many resorted to taking names that sounded more ‘British’. This is why George V changed the royal house’s name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917. In 1916, aliens from enemy countries residing in Britain were forbidden to change their name; this ban was extended to all foreigners in 1919. The only exceptions were: if the change of name was assumed by royal licence; with special permission from the home secretary; or when a woman took her…

ARCHIVES COLLEGE OF ARMS a 130 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BT t 020 7248 2762 w college-of-arms.gov.uk Visit to view applications for change of name under royal licence. PARLIAMENTARY ARCHIVES a Houses of Parliament, London SW1A 0PW t 020 7219 3074 w archives.parliament.uk The archive’s holdings include copies of Acts. You can search its catalogue via the homepage. THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES a Bessant Drive, Richmond TW9 4DU t 020 8876 3444 w nationalarchives.gov.uk TNA’s records of changes of name include printed Private Acts. BOOKS An Index to Changes of Name WPW Phillimore and EA Fry (compilers) Phillimore & Co, 1905 A digitised version of this essential reference work is available for free from the Internet Archive (archive. org). You can download it at tiny url.com/arch-phillimore-index . Change of Name,…

ANCESTRY w ancestry.co.uk If your relation was a mariner, search Ancestry’s collection ‘UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824–1910’. Records from 1913 to 1917 were destroyed, but Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk) has the collection ‘Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1918–1941’. BRITISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES w britishnewspaperarchive. co.uk As Hazel discovered, it’s always worth searching old newspapers for ancestors’ names. THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES w nationalarchives.gov.uk TNA at Kew has Foreign Office files of correspondence covering the consuls of Bremen, Bremerhaven and Hamburg that provided the essential information Hazel required.…

If you identify the location in Italy where your ancestors came from then the state records can be searched using the Italian state archives’ website Antenati, which was redesigned in November last year: antenati.san.beniculturali.it/?lang=en. State records are divided into three historical periods: Napoleonic civil status (1806–1815); Restoration civil status (1815–1865); and Italian civil status (1865 to the present). The records of births over 100 years old and marriages/deaths over 70 years old are shown where available, and are listed by town or commune within the province. Since 2011 the Italian state archives have been collaborating with FamilySearch to digitise records. Once records have been published on Antenati, FamilySearch can publish them too – although they are often only accessible at Family History Centers – before they are indexed by volunteers.…

A church court could issue a ‘divorce from bed and board’ Divorce records can be a particularly rich source of insight into the dynamics of a relation’s family life and the reasons behind the failure of their marriage. However, to understand what records are available, researchers will need to have a basic knowledge of the law. In England and Wales, it has only been possible to obtain a divorce in the modern sense – a judicial decree terminating a marriage – since 1858. Before that time, a church court could rule that a marriage had never existed and so grant an annulment, or could issue a ‘divorce from bed and board’ that allowed a couple to separate but not to remarry. There also existed the expensive (and rare) option of…

Findmypast has released the 1921 census of England and Wales among much fanfare and, although there have been some complaints about transcription errors (see page 11), on the whole it has been an exciting time for family historians, giving us the opportunity to see relatives at home who we remember in their old age. However, since records need to be paid for individually, the cost of searching for family on the census can soon add up, so it is important to set yourself a budget. After your free search, you can choose between a record transcript or a record image for a particular result. As well as being cheaper than the image (£2.50 rather than £3.50), the transcript also includes a historic map of the area and a description from…

John Dunmore Lang was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and Calvinist entrepreneur, and acted as a thorn in the side of the colonial administrations in both Sydney and London. Born in the Renfrewshire town of Greenock in 1799, Lang was raised in the nearby town of Largs, Ayrshire, before being educated at the University of Glasgow. In 1822 he was ordained as a minister by the Presbytery of Irvine, and then emigrated a year later to Sydney, becoming the first Scottish Presbyterian minister to preach in New South Wales. Upon his arrival in Australia, Lang was so horrified by the immorality he found there that he returned to Britain on several occasions in order to encourage Presbyterian ministers and teachers to move to the colony of New South Wales, as well…

Many of us have ancestors who vanish from official records. In such circumstances, it’s always worth investigating whether your relatives were globetrotters. David Hubber had two brick walls in his family tree, which he overcame thanks to a French record. The trail led to the glamorous French Riviera and the racetracks of Paris. MY BRICK WALL My great grandmother Ada Owens was a colourful character, given to wearing lots of jewellery and hats with fruit on them. She was born in Woolwich, Kent, in 1860, to labourer Thomas Owens and his wife Eliza Seaward. Ada passed away when I was almost four years old, so I have some distant memories of her. She was an adventurous woman. In 1880, she travelled to South Africa to work as a nurse in…

Born in St Helens, Merseyside, in 1905, the fourth of seven children, Lily Parr grew up playing cricket, rugby and football with her brothers. She joined Dick, Kerr Ladies in 1919, aged just 14, having been poached from St Helens Ladies, and remained at the club until 1951. In 1920, Parr and her team became the first female footballers to play abroad. They were also the first to wear shorts. Nearly six feet tall and potty-mouthed, Parr was a force to be reckoned with. A strong left-footer, she once broke a man’s arm with a powerful penalty. By the time Dick, Kerr Ladies disbanded in 1965, they had scored about 3,500 goals – and Lily Parr was responsible for almost 1,000 of them. Outside football, Parr worked as a nurse…

917 The Kingdom of East Anglia, which at the time was under Danish control, becomes part of Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Elder’s England. 1190 Antisemitic violence against the Jewish community of Bury St Edmunds leads to the massacre of nearly 60 people. c1473 Thomas Wolsey is born in Ipswich. Henry VIII appoints him lord chancellor in 1515. 1622 A pair of horses owned by the Marquess of Buckingham and Lord Salisbury take part in the first recorded race at Newmarket. 1665 A naval battle about 40 miles east of Lowestoft involving more than 200 ships ends in victory for the English fleet and defeat for the Dutch. 1878 Pioneering balloonist, parachutist and Britain’s first female pilot Edith Maud Cook is born in Ipswich. 1911 Local suffragette Constance Andrews organises the…

ALDOUS This East Anglian name comes from the Middle English female personal name Aldus. BLOWERS This occupational surname relates to workers who operated bellows in smithies. ELLISTON This variant of Elston is most common in Suffolk. FISK In 1881 this name appears frequently in Eyke, Ipswich and Lowestoft. GARNHAM Suffolk was home to about 40 per cent of all of the Garnhams recorded in the 1891 census. GARROD Derived from the Norman personal name Gerald, this surname is common in Suffolk and Norfolk. GODBOLD This comes from the Germanic personal name Godebald meaning both ‘good’ and ‘courageous’. GRIMWOOD This surname also traces it origins back to a Germanic personal name, in this case Grimward. LAST In 1881 Ipswich St Clement had the most Lasts. NEWSON This is the most common…

NUCLEUS: THE NUCLEAR AND CAITHNESS ARCHIVES a Wick John O’Groats Airport, Wick KW1 4QS t 01955 602444 w highlifehighland.com/nucleus-nuclear-caithness-archives Hetty Munro’s papers, along with historical archives of the county of Caithness dating from 1469, are held at the Wick branch of the Highland Archive Service, which is open on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 10am–12pm and 2pm–4pm. It is recommended that you book an appointment and order documents at least two days in advance of your visit.…

First broadcast in 2007, BBC Radio 4’s Tracing Your Roots both highlighted fascinating stories and offered practical advice to those exploring their family histories. Presented by Sally Magnusson and Nick Barratt, it ran until 2011 and there are 16 episodes available to stream or download via BBC Sounds. Explore programmes devoted to such subjects as what you can learn about a single street from the census and, that most frustrating of brick walls, forebears who vanish without trace.…

Thousands of women and children worked for a pittance in match factories during the Victorian period. Conditions were appalling and many workers suffered necrosis of the jaw, caused by inhaling the toxic fumes of white phosphorus. A 14-hour day was not unusual and punitive fines were imposed for dropping matches, talking or having dirty feet – many of the women worked barefoot because they couldn’t afford shoes. She had an admirable stubbornness to improve her children’s lives In July 1888, employees at Bryant & May in Bow, East London, went on strike for 10 days and the factory closed. The strike generated huge support and the workers were victorious, negotiating better pay and the abolition of unfair deductions. Their success was celebrated and paved the way for other unions. Kim…

Findmypast adds Far East directories and chronicles Family history website Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk) has added a collection of Far East directories and chronicles covering 1833–1941. Consisting of more than 70,000 records from various books, the collection provides listings of active corporations, foreign residents and government agencies of all nationalities in such places as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines. TheGenealogist adds 1911 census to Map Explorer Family history site TheGenealogist (thegenealogist.co.uk) has added the 1911 census for England and Wales as a new layer on its Map Explorer tool. Users can select the census as a record set and compare it to historic map collections, such as the 1910 Lloyd George Domesday Survey, in order to research the history of their house or see who was living…

Transcriptions of 125,000 records from Ireland’s County Cavan have been put online by married couple Michael McShane and Catherine Kerr. They have transcribed the 1821 census of Cavan, the titheapplotment books from c1832 and the 1841 census of Killashandra parish, arguing that the transcriptions available from the National Archives of Ireland (nationalarchives.ie) have “considerable issues”. The records can be viewed at cavantownlands. com/towns-of-cavan.…

A new website has launched to connect people with old photographs of their forebears. The founders of Ancestor Photos (ancestor.photos) have purchased several thousand cartes de visite , with the name of the subject given, from sales rooms in the UK. Cartes de visite are albumen prints of an individual pasted onto robust card and measure approximately 2.5 inches by 4 inches. They were popular between 1860 and 1910. The photographs are mostly from the UK, but some are from the USA, Canada and Australia, plus there are a few examples from British India and South Africa, and of British people visiting Europe. Details of 6,291 cards are available in a database on the website, including the name of the person, the name of the photographer, the town where it…

1 USE QUOTE MARKS Putting “quote marks” around a search makes Google search for a precise phrase. This can be useful when searching for a name by reducing irrelevant results. It also works for searching many databases such as newspapers on Findmypast. 2 SWAP FIRST NAME AND SURNAME AROUND, AND TRY SHORTENED VERSIONS Our relatives are frequently listed in indexes with their surname followed by their first name. If using quote marks to restrict results when searching for a name (see the first tip above), don’t forget to also swap names around and try common abbreviations, for example ‘Geo’ for ‘George’. 3 USE A MINUS SIGN (-) TO REDUCE IRRELEVANT RESULTS Try this advice if your ancestor has the same name as someone famous who dominates the search results. If…

1 FIND EXTRA FUNCTIONALITY IN THE BIRTH AND DEATH INDEXES The General Register Office’s free birth and death indexes (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/ content/certificates/indexes_search.asp) are invaluable. The birth indexes show the mother’s maiden name back to 1837 (also now available on Findmypast), so you can check that you have the right birth entry or search for all births from a couple. The death index gives age at death back to 1837. 2 USE FREEBMD TO SEARCH ACROSS A NUMBER OF YEARS OR WITHOUT A SURNAME FreeBMD (freebmd.org.uk) is more flexible than the GRO’s indexes because you can search a wider period, across more areas and without a surname. Combine both sites when searching for quicker, more accurate results. 3 USE THE SCOTTISH BMD INDEXES ON FAMILYSEARCH ScotlandsPeople (scotlandspeople.gov.uk) is the only place where…

The full title of the essential reference for any family historians who suspect that their ancestor changed their name is An Index to Changes of Name Under Authority of Act of Parliament or Royal Licence and Including Irregular Changes from 1 George III to 64 Victoria, 1760 to 1901, compiled by WPW Phillimore and EA Fry, and first published in 1905. The work is regularly cited as the principal source for the period covered, but unfortunately it isn’t as all-encompassing as is often assumed. The entries are taken from several sources: • Changes by royal licence, 1760–1901, that were publicised in the London or Dublin Gazette only. • Changes by Act of Parliament, 1760–1901. • Notices that were published in The Times, 1861–1901. • Notices that were published in other,…

What did William do in India? Q I have been trying to find the First World War service record of my grandfather William Vaughan. I know that he served in India and was a sergeant with the South Wales Borderers. I have some photos of him during his time in India, and would like to know where he was based and what he did while he was there. Tony Sumner A I also searched for William’s service record online, but had no luck. Most likely it was lost in the 1940 fire that destroyed over 60 per cent of British Army service records. His Medal Index Card (MIC) is downloadable on Ancestry (ancestry. co.uk) and from The National Archives’ (TNA’s) website (nationalarchives.gov. uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/ british-army-medal-indexcards-1914-1920), and transcribed on Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk). It…

ANCESTRY w ancestry.co.uk/search/places/europe/italy/ The subscription website has a growing number of parish and civil BMD records for Italy, as well as other material, although you will need Worldwide membership to access the records. ANCOATS w ancoatslittleitaly.com/surnames.html This website focuses on Italian surnames found in and around Manchester’s Little Italy. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA w newadvent.org/cathen Here you’ll find information on the “entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine”. ITALIAN GENEALOGICAL GROUP w italiangen.org This is a New York-based research group, with a focus on tracing Italian heritage in the USA. ITALIAN NAMING TRADITIONS w tinyurl.com/italiangenealogy-names Learn more about naming customs and traditions from this page of the website Italian Genealogy. ITALIAN OCCUPATIONS w tinyurl.com/italian-occupations View a list of common occupations in Italy along with their English translation. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND…

1 COURT The Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division was created in 1873. From 1860 divorce cases were generally heard by a single judge. 2 PETITIONER The spouse petitioning for divorce, in this case the husband, is always listed first. 3 HOLLIDAY William John Holliday was the ‘corespondent’, the person with whom Florence is alleged to have committed adultery. 4 INTERVENTION The queen’s proctor intervened to argue that there was evidence of collusion and the decree nisi should be rescinded. 5 DISMISSED The dismissal of the petition meant that John and Florence remained legally married. There is no evidence that they ever reconciled before their deaths in the 1930s. 6 CLOSED UNTIL 1995 Files are closed for 100 years from the end of the year in which the case was heard,…

BRITISH SETTLERS IN ARGENTINA AND URUGUAY w argbrit.org This site’s records from Scottish communities include baptisms, marriages and burials from St Andrew’s Scots Church in Buenos Aires. PASSPORT APPLICATIONS 1851–1903 w bit.ly/fmp-passports-1851-1903 Findmypast’s database ‘Index to Register of Passport Applications 1851–1903’ has many Scottish applications. Note that passports did not become compulsory for travel until 1914. SCOTS ABROAD w nls.uk/catalogues/scots-abroad These National Library of Scotland databases list correspondence, journals and photos from emigrants who sailed to Canada, the USA and Australasia, as well as to Argentina and Chile.…

1 FAMILY TREES w en.geneanet.org Geneanet has a large database of trees uploaded by the site’s users. As is often the case with online trees, you may find mistakes, so it’s best to check any information against official records. 2 FRENCH LIFE w gallica.bnf.fr Gallica is the digitised library of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. Its huge collection of newspapers, photographs and recordings can help you build a picture of French life. 3 VITAL RECORDS w en.filae.com Known as the état civil , French birth, marriage and death records were recorded from 1792 onwards. Search these as well as census returns at this reasonably priced subscription website.…

BOOKS The History of Women’s Football Jean Williams Pen & Sword, 2021 Explore the story of the sport. Women’s Football Tim Tate John Blake, 2016 Tate traces the game’s origins. MUSEUMS BRIGHTON MUSEUM a Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton BN1 1EE t 0300 029 0900 w brightonmuseums.org.uk The exhibition ‘Goal Power! Women in Football’ runs from 18 June to 25 September 2022. NATIONAL FOOTBALL MUSEUM a Cathedral Gardens, Manchester M4 3BG t 0161 605 8200 w nationalfootballmuseum.com The museum honours Lily Parr. PODCAST THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL w tinyurl.com/dead-hist-foot The women’s game is discussed in this episode of Greg Jenner’s podcast You’re Dead to Me . WEBSITES BRITISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE w britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Explore local and national media responses to women’s football. DICK, KERR LADIES w dickkerrladies.com This history of the team…

CEMETERIES INDEXES w tinyurl.com/east-suff-cem View indexes to Beccles, Belle Vue Park, Bungay, Halesworth, Kirkley, Lowestoft, Southwold and Wrentham cemeteries. CHURCHWARDENS’ ACCOUNTS w tinyurl.com/srs-wardens This PDF contains accounts from St Peter’s, Ipswich, for 1563–1664, transcribed by Suffolk Records Society. CHURCH RECORDS w tinyurl.com/fs-suff-church Search an index to Suffolk parish entries via FamilySearch (familysearch. org ), which are mostly drawn from Bishops’ Transcripts. MARRIAGE LICENCES w tinyurl.com/arch-lic The Internet Archive has a 1903 collection of marriage licences from the Archdeaconry of Suffolk for 1613–1674. ROLLS OF HONOUR w tinyurl.com/avsfhg The Alde Valley Suffolk Family History Group site includes transcribed names of fallen soldiers from both world wars. TRADE DIRECTORIES w tinyurl.com/sco-dir-suff The University of Leicester’s site Special Collections Online includes county directories dating from 1839 and 1912.…