Tuesday 30 May 2017

How Google books can help with your research


Google books can be a very useful website to help with your family history
research. The search facility is easy to use. All you need to do is enter the
topic you want to explore. Basic searches for a place , a surname, an
occupation will produce a list of books, journals and magazines. You can
also search for information about institutions such as workhouses or
hospitals. Details about Acts of Parliament also show up.

Your search will produce a variety of different suggestions. Occasionally you will find that a book is only available at a particular library or archive. Usually it will be possible to gain access on-line even if a book or journal is out of print. These items  can be downloaded to create your own reference library.

Here are a few examples of what is available.

Old tourist guides will give details of an area when your ancestors lived there. This link should take you to a guide book for the Isle of Wight dated 1846.

This pamphlet from 1862 gives details of the poor law medical relief
available on the Isle of Wight.

Here a 1844 document has information about the House of Industry.

A copy of The Farmer magazine gives details of the activities of seeds man Mr Toogood of Southampton.

This pamphlet from 1837 reflects on the Factory Act and the cotton industry.

There are also details of court documents which might be difficult to obtain elsewhere.

I am distantly related to Robert Emond, the Haddington Murderer. Just by typing his name into a search engine it is possible to obtain a wealth of information. Books containing the details of his life, crime and trial are widely available. When I looked for the family name in Google books  something else appeared. This link gives details of the Court of Session held in Scotland. It shows that after Robert's death his sister pursued his wife for money she claimed Robert owed her. It is also interesting in that it tells how the wife's time in prison had damaged her health. She was to be allowed out of prison until her health improved. Then she was to be detained again. 


A summary of Robert Emond's crime and trial can be found on the right. ➨
Also, brief summaries of his family and that of his wife Mary Munro.➨

My 4x great grandparents, Robert Emond and Sarah Waite, being his
grandparents.  


Hint 😉  There are a wealth of hidden documents. You only have to search.

Saturday 27 May 2017

How ebay can help with your genealogy research


Everyone who likes a bargain has used ebay at sometime. There are many
items advertised that could help you collect information about your
family and the area they lived in.



Here I am going to list some of the items you may find useful. Even if
you decide not to buy you can still browse and look at things that
interest you. The old photographs and postcards are particularly good
for researching fashion trends.

Family tree charts
Stationary
Scrapbooks
Family History Discs
Directories
Books
Old and recent maps.
Guide books
Postcards of places and people
Photographs of people and places
Pages from old magazines and books
Indentures of property and apprenticeships
Deeds
Certificates. Birth, marriage and death certificates do appear. There
                            are also certificates relating to achievements such as
                            swimming  or music. Others are connected to peoples'
                             occupations.
Documents
Adverts from businesses
Tradesmen's stationary
Letters
Mourning cards
Baptism cards
School reports
Military memorabilia

I found documents showing that a member of my family who worked
as a carter in the Scottish Borders had paid his "Road Money".
Unfortunately there was not any sign of a document showing that
he had paid his fine for allowing a cart to stand on a turnpike
unattended. 

Hint ðŸ˜‰ Other peoples' discarded items may turn into your treasure of
information.



Monday 24 April 2017

Finding helpful interest groups on Facebook

Interest groups on Facebook
22 April 2017
16:22
Today's post will look at some of the groups involved with a particular
interest or topic.

It seems that no matter what your hobby or interest you are bound to
find a page about it on Facebook.  Family history is no exception. As
with local family history societies you will find enthusiastic members with
knowledge to share.

Here are just a few of those I have used.

Stanley Camp Hong Kong 1941-1945
Internees and relatives sharing their experiences of being held at the camp.
I know two people, who are not related, with members of their respective 
families being interned at Stanley.

Pompey Pals
Dedicated to preserving the memory of the Portsmouth men who served
during the First World War. My great uncle, Albert Webb, who died at Ypres
in 1917 was a Pompey Pal.

Battle of Jutland
This group collects and shares information about the men and ships that
took part in the battle. It is closely linked to the Jutland Community
at https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/ (The digital archive set up by the 
Imperial War  Museum). My grandfather, Ernest Wills, served on HMS 
King George V. 

WW1 Photo Postcards of the Royal Artillery, RGA, RFA and RHA
On line photographs can be useful should you be trying to identify an
ancestor's uniform. My great uncle Charles Wills was in the Royal Artillery
at this time

These are just a few examples of the interest groups on Facebook. Just put
 in the name of the county, town or village your ancestors lived in and see
 what comes up.

Hint 😉No matter what your interest there will be some like minded
person out there who wishes to exchange ideas with you.

Sunday 23 April 2017

Using Facebook to further your genealogy research

In this post I am going to look at how Facebook can help with your genealogy research.
22 April 2017
15:37
Facebook may be useful for keeping in touch with your family and friends. 
Many businesses have pages that are used to keep in touch with clients, 
customers and employees. Small businesses often ask their customers 
to leave reviews for them. Social clubs, sports clubs and schools have
pages giving details of their activities. There are also a variety of sources 
which can help the family historian in their never ending quest for 
information. To be fair, no matter how much information we manage to 
gather we all  know there are still more interesting nuggets just screaming 
out to be found!

The most obvious pages are those belonging to local family history 
societies. You do not always have to be a member of a society to be 
involved in their Facebook page.  I am a member of the Isle of Wight 
Family History Society and part of their Facebook group.  Whereas with
the Glamorgan Family History Society I only belong to the 
Facebook  group. These pages post up  to date information that is
relevant in the local area. Other members are  always happy to help
with queries. Photographs of the area often appear and contributors
who still reside locally provide useful information. For example, telling 
you which school your great grandfather was most likely to have 
attended once you have found his address on the census. You can also
contribute to the page. A word of caution!  Members do not normally
mind if you copy photographs  for  your personal use. Including them in your published family history that becomes an international best  seller is something completely different!

In my next post I will show how Facebook groups relating to particular topics 
can help the family historian.

Hint 😉Facebook can help with your late family members as well as those
in the present day.

Sunday 16 April 2017

Details from an inquest reported in a local newspaper.

Poisoning Caution to Parents
In this post I will show what information can be gathered from old newspaper reports that might not be easily available elsewhere.
02 April 2017
16:42


Birth, marriage and death announcements in newspapers are particularly helpful to the family 
historian. Not only do they support information on certificates they can also give details of
 family relationships and places of worship. Newspapers also contain details of inquests.  As
 can be seen here they can reveal a great deal of information about our ancestors which might
not be available elsewhere. The twins in this report are the children of my great great uncle 
William Toogood.  

The Isle of Wight Observer 28 February 1863 and Hampshire Telegraph 21 February 1863
"Poisoning Caution to Parents"  (Summary)

 Inquest into the deaths of five week old twins William and Edith Toogood at the George Inn. 
Both babies were small and sickly from birth. They were particularly restless at night. Their mother 
Edith Toogood told how she and her husband William were suffering from severe lack of sleep. 
Edith Snr spoke to her own mother about this. The twins' grandmother advised purchasing some
poppy syrup and giving each of the babies a small dose .As Edith Snr had often seen her mother give
 the syrup to her own children she felt confident about deciding on the dose to give. So Edith sent 
her brother, a boy aged nine or ten years, to the druggist to purchase a penny's worth in a cup. At 
eight in the evening she gave both babies half a teaspoon. Shortly afterwards baby William became 
ill. Edith sent her mother to fetch the parish surgeon, Mr Leach. This surgeon would not attend as 
it was so late. The grandmother then fetched another surgeon who attended. It seems this was 
the first time they had contacted a surgeon as they were normally cared for by a local woman, 
Mrs Denness,  during confinements. Dr Savage placed the little boy in a warm bath but he died 
at  10.30 pm. Shortly after little Edith became unwell. Despite Dr Savage's efforts she died at 5am.


 Information collected from the article
Evidence was given regarding the dose the babies had received. The druggist had not given any 
advice. Edith Snr said that judging by the amount she had seen her mother give to her siblings she
felt half teaspoon was safe for the weak twins. Dr Savage said that he thought the dose 
administered was too strong for such weak babies and this was the reason for their deaths. It was 
decided that the druggist's syrup must have been a much stronger mixture. A verdict of accidental 
death was recorded.  The Coroner said the it was sad that mothers were not more careful when 
administering opiates. A great number of children had been lost in this way. 


The newspaper articles show that the inquest was held at an inn. This was the usual practice at the
 time. It also gives details of the twins' general health as well as the effect the poppy syrup had on
them. In giving her evidence the twins' grandmother, Susan/Susannah Honeybunn, shows the way
 in which the family usually dealt with their health issues. It appears that they only consulted 
someone else for help during confinements. The article gives the names of both the local surgeons
 as well as that of the local woman who acted as midwife. I wonder how many Newport babies she
 delivered over the years? . Perhaps alarmingly for us is the fact that such a young child was sent to
 collect the syrup  in a cup. This child was probably Charles Honeybunn. Dr Savage stated why he
 thought the twins died  but post-mortems are not mentioned. 

Hint😉 Old newspapers can give an insight into the day to day lives of our ancestors.

Sunday 2 April 2017

Using newspapers to collect information about your ancestors' working lives.

In this post I will show some examples of newspaper entries which give details of my ancestors' day to day working lives.

Examples of information that can be obtained from newspapers
01 April 2017
16:29
In my previous post I referred to the fact that Mary Magee and her family were car proprietors in the Isle of Man. Until the 1881 Census her husband (my 3x great grandfather) William Magee described himself as a labourer. In 1881 he was a car proprietor. The summary of the newspaper entries given below are all evidence of his involvement with the carriage trade.

Isle of Man Times 29 May, 26 June, 17 July 1875
Pony for sale. 13 hands. Apply to William Magee, 4 Tynwald Terrace.

Isle of Man Times 27 March 1875
William Magee allowing a donkey to wander on the public road unsupervised. Fine 2 shillings and 6 pennies plus costs.

Isle of Man Times 5 November 1881
Missing Pony. William Magee, 4 Tynwald Terrace.


William Magee Snr died in 1882. The following extracts refer to his son William Magee Jnr.

Isle of Man Times 16 August 1884
Loss of valuable horse belonging to William Magee. Fell over bridge. Wall was only 18 inches high. Broke back.

Isle of Man Times 14 August 1886

Douglas Town Commissioners appeal for stand for car proprietors. Signatory William Magee, Lake, Douglas.

Isle of Man Times 3 June 1893
William Magee Grocer. Dispute with visitors over dog-cart they had hired.

Isle of Man Times 17 February 1894
Advertisement William Magee 10 Bridge Street. Selling cart, wagonettes, Irish car, pony and a large quantity of swede and turnips.


It was not just my Manx ancestors who were having problems with their livelihood and choice of transport.

From the Scottish Borders.
Southern Reporter 6 September 1860
William Emond allowing cart to stand on turnpike unattended. 2s 6d or 2 days prison.

Whilst on the Isle of Wight my great great grandfather seems to have been involved in an early episode of road rage.
Isle of Wight Observer 1 September 1866
Alfred Vanner the driver of Mr Vanner's coach was charged with assaulting Edward Wills. Edward was the horse keeper of Mr Wavell's coach. Newport Sunday 19 August. Fined 5 shillings with costs

www.findmypast.co.uk  For newspaper articles.

Hint😉 Some family history sites allow you to buy a subscription for a certain period of time. This could be a week, a month or a year. If you are watching the pennies and intend to buy access for a short period of time keep a list of items you need to look up. When you have accumulated a fair few then purchase your access. 

Hint😉 Keep an eye out for the free access periods sometimes offered by sites. These two sites are very good for promoting these offers. www.rootschat.com  www.genealogydiscount.co.uk

Friday 31 March 2017

Using newspapers to collect information

In today's post I will outline some of the information you can gather from old newspapers


Newspapers can provide a wealth of information about your ancestors' lives. These are available on the web through various sites. The most obvious being Find My Past, the British Newspaper Archive and Ancestry. The Times Digital Archive can also be accessed. Hampshire Library's website allows members to access this site free of charge via a link. It is worth checking if other libraries offer a similar service. You can visit your local library where the librarians will be able to advise you what is accessible . Local newspapers allow access to their archives. You may even be able to use copies of the actual newspapers. Check out what is available at your local records office or museum. Obviously some on-line sites require payment. Make sure you have a clear picture of the costs involved. Once you have obtained an item that is relevant to your family you may want to crop the actual article. This makes it easier to use and you can put a paper copy in your records. Victorian newspapers tended to be broadsheets packed with typeface.

Census records and certificates can provide a good skeleton of facts about an ancestor. News articles help to put flesh on the bones. One of my great great grandfathers was a multiple bankrupt (amongst other things!). Reports of the various court cases he was involved in read like a script of the trials. This includes the laughter that broke out in the court room when his integrity was referred to. You may find details of their businesses, social lives, court cases and family announcements. Details from a funeral announcement in an Australian newspaper helped me to find more recent relations. Their birth records were inaccessible due to the time limits on public access to Australian civil records.


In my next post I will use examples from my research to show what you could discover. 

Hint😉 You can find little nuggets of information about your family in unexpected places.

Thursday 30 March 2017

Solving a Family Puzzle


On today's post I am going to tell a story about my 3x great grandmother, Mary Magee, and show the various sources I used to investigate it.


Did Mary Magee own the Crescent Hotel?

There has always been a story in the family that my 3x great grandmother Mary Magee owned the Crescent Hotel in Douglas, Isle of Man. She was said to have bequeathed it to another branch of the family. One relative was even said to have visited the hotel meeting the distant cousins. Over many years I have managed to untangle the story. Mary's sole link to the hotel is that it was for a while the residence of her executor. Although at one stage she does appear to have held a licence for a common boarding house. The story in itself is quite tangled and interesting. Rather than tell it here I have created a page for it that can be found to the right of this post. See  "Mary Magee and the Crescent Hotel". I intend to refer to it in later posts.  Therefore a separate page will be more accessible. See also ➜" The Family of William and Mary Magee" .

Here I am going to show all the sources of information I used. 


Sources of Information for Mary Magee and the Crescent Hotel
28 March 2017
16:54
Will of Mary Magee: My mother obtained a copy from the Isle of Man many years ago.

Census 1841-1911: Ancestry www.ancestry.co.uk, Find My Past www.findmypast.co.uk , Isle of Man Museum (www.imuseum.im )

Newspapers: Isle of Man Museum

Property Deeds: Isle of Man Museum

Photographs of the streets the Magees lived in:  Isle of Man Museum (These gave some idea of the types of properties they could afford.)

Details of banking in the Isle of Man:
Manx Notebook http://isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/sx1925/mb.htm
RBS Heritage Hub http://heritagearchives.rbs.com/companies/list/isle-of-man-bank-ltd.html

Mary Magee's marriage details:  Find My Past (typed summary), Family Search (image from church register) https://familysearch.org 

Death and Burial of William Magee Senior (Mary's husband): Find My Past (typed summary), Family Search (image from church register),  Isle of Man Museum (typed summary)

As can be seen the sources were extensive and varied. Although they do give some idea of the material available to the amateur family historian. There are many record offices around the country that contain similar archives.

 Hint😉 Many family stories are true. Others contain some element of truth that has been altered over the years. Approach these stories from various view points. Collect as much evidence as you can to prove and also disprove the story. Then try to analyse all the facts you have gathered and so draw your own conclusion.