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.

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.

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 a 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.

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