Introduction to Sally's Family History Hints

Alice Wills nee Toogood
Sophia Webb nee Locke


Sally's Family History Hints


Hertford Street, Portsmouth about 1924

15th March 2017


I have been tracing my family tree for about twenty years. My mother had started looking at her family in the 1970s before resources were available on-line. About 1996 we shared the cost of our first personal computer. Mum then purchased from Family Search disks for the 1881 Census. This was despite the fact she could not get to grips with the computer. That was where I came in! She would go through her papers and tell me what she needed to lookup. One afternoon as I sat waiting for my next instructions I decided to do some investigating of my own.

Knowing the names of  my paternal great grandmothers (In plain English, Dad's grandmothers) I entered their details. The photographs of Alice and Sophia are at the top of this page. On the 1881 Census they appeared as young wives and mothers. Sophia was not in Southampton as I expected but in London. Alice was shown with two of her children but not her husband. These facts raised some interesting questions. I then found an Eliza Locke in Southampton. She was 77 years old and working as a gatehouse keeper. So, she had been born before Trafalgar and Waterloo. I thought she might be Sophia's grandmother. Time would show that Eliza was the second wife of Sophia's grandfather. Sophia's father being a child of the first marriage. From then on I was hooked and have been searching for my ancestors ever since.


My ancestors lived in all the countries that make up Great Britain. They came not only from the mainland but also the Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight. Many of their relatives emigrated to other parts of the world. Their lives were altered with the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Others went off to fight battles overseas. Some of these returned. I have my fair share of heroes, criminals, bankrupts and lunatics. Many of my ancestors had their lives effected by circumstances beyond their control. They were an average British family.

So, what can I do with all this research and information? I have decided to try and write it up in this Blog. It will make me get in order all the pieces of paper, photographs and family trees I have collected. Other people may find the stories interesting. My plan is to include my sources and hopefully this will help someone just starting their research. I also intend to give hints along the way. I might even meet some distant relations! More things to look up! 

First Hint ðŸ˜‰
When looking at family relationships like Sophia, her father and her grandfather's two marriages draw a rough family tree. It helps to keep the grannies in the correct order. You are also more likely to attach the children to the correct parent. This is particularly useful if the family keeps on using the same first names.


 Ann Sophia Sweetingham(1) m James Henry Locke m (2) Eliza Howell
 ⬇                 
Henry James Locke             
⬇                
Sophia Eliza Locke            
                 







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