Findmypast Record Collection

Findmypast Entire Record Collection is open for free from November 10th - November 14th for researching one's heritage. This is a beautiful opportunity for researching your family and to see what they have to offer and determine if you want to have a subscription. Also, you this opportunity may help you with a brickwall. Check it out at Findmypast

Remember it only lasts from November 10th through November 14th.

The Joiner Marriage Index

 I attended a Zoom genealogy class where the presenter introduced us to a website where one can research the Joiner marriage index, which focuses on records before 1837. The current online searchable marriage records are 3,154,329 from 5,581 parishes in 38 counties in England and Wales. 

The search cost begins at Ł2.29 for a single marriage record up to a max of Ł52.19 for 500 marriage records. The site notes the information provided is an index of the marriage records from parish registers and no marriage certificates. 

If you are new to genealogy, you may wonder why you want to use an index when you cannot access the marriage certificate. Indexes may provide you directions on where to obtain the marriage certificates.

If you have hit a brick wall in your research, you may want to check out this site to possibly have a breakthrough. You may access the site by clicking The Joiner Marriage Index. 

The Workhouse

As I have done my own family research, I have learned a great deal about those that have passed on before me. One of my great-great grandmothers Joan Taylor, lived in England in the 1800's. Her life had many challenges. She was married when she turned 21 years of age. Joan and her husband George Storey had 3 children, with the last one being born 2 years prior to the death of her husband. Joan remarried to a Joseph Carman  in 1833 and had 5 more children. Her second husband died at the age of 51 leaving Joan, age 50, with the task to raise the children. As far as I can tell, Joan never remarried. Near the end of her life in 1881 in the Morpeth Northumberland Workhouse. She was alone and without means to support her self and lived the remainder of her life in the Morpeth Northumberland Workhouse.

You may be wondering "What is a workhouse?" Simply put a workhouse was place that was under the jurisdiction of the government or parish, that provided room and board for vagrants and the poor. The workhouses seperated families as soon as they entered into the workhouse. The husband, wife, and/or children were not allowed to speak to each other and could be punished if they tried to communicate. The people that entered into the workhouse were segregated by age and sex. The workhouses provided homes for unwed pregnant women, elderly, or ill people would enter into the workhouse for assistance.

Some of the people that entered into the workhouses were there only for a brief period of  time and others would enter and leave the workhouses several times during their lives.  One such person was the famous actor, Charlie Chaplin. He lived briefly as an inmate of the Lambeth Union workhouse with his mother and siblings. If you would like to learn more about Charlie Chaplin's life in the workhouse system click Workhouse memories and then click on the picture of Charlie Chaplin.  I you would like to the site and learn more about the workhouse system, click on The Workhouse. If you would like to search for your ancestor, click  the Workhouse records.

Skype Community Research Pages

FamilySearch has launched several new Skype  Research Communites which has a sister site on Facebook for most of the Skype  Research Communities. You may be asking what is Skype, or you may be wondering how would a Skype Community be able to help you with your research.  Skype is allows you to video call and/or SMS chat with anyone on Skype for free.  So how is this going to help you?  FamilySearch has developed several Skype Research Communities including:
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
England
Ireland
Mexico City, Mexico
The United States of America to include Illinois, Missouri, New York, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Hemet, California.
These groups are designed to encourage you to ask questions and help others.  I personally have been in conversation with someone from Germany who has been helping me with the Danish language and helping me understand how to utilize a Danish (language barrier for me) map website.  The person you are visiting with can share their screen with you so you can watch what they are doing and/or send you files.  If you don't have a video camera on your computer, that is ok.  Skype also allows for SMS chatting (instant messaging), which allows you to visit and help each other.  The communities are friendly and everyone is willing to answer questions.  Come and learn how to join the fun by clicking on Join a Skype Research Community

Training Videos from FamilySearch

FamilySearch has done it again. They are making it easier for one to find and learn more about their ancestors by providing online training. The first in the series of online training is learning how to research for family in England. The lessons are taught via video that is viewable on the website in addition to pdf files that provided. The lessons are divided into five sections: Lesson 1 - Research Overview, Lesson 2 - Census Records, Lesson 3 - Civil Registration, Lesson 4 - Church Records, and Lesson 5 - Find Your Ancestors. I viewed the first in the series and it was done well and the handouts are great. If you would like to learn how to research in England, click England Beginning Research Series. Have fun learning!

Where's the Hundred of Frome?

When I first came across the website regarding the Hundred of Frome, I didn't understand what "The Hundred" of Frome meant. I started researching online and discovered that (according to the Oxford dictionary) the term "Hundred" is used in England as well as Ireland referring to a subdivision of the shire or county. The Hundred of Frome is located in Somerset England and consists of the following parishes and locations:
Beckington, Berkley, Cloford, Elm, Frome Selwood, Laverton, Lullington, Marston Bigot, Nunney, Orchardleigh, Rode (Road), Rodden, Standerwick, Wanstrow, Whatley and Woolverton and the neighboring areas of East Cranmore, Leigh upon Mendip, Mells and Witham Friary and the Peculiar of Buckland Dinham.

This website provides valuable information for the genealogist researching in the areas listed above. Searching for ancestors in this location is made easy by clicking on the tabs across the top of the site. The tabs include locations, families, censuses, church records, property records and others. Records that are available to searching, are transcribed or donated by volunteers. David Smart, the web author, welcomes you to contact him regarding contributing information that pertains to this site.

If you would like to research in this site, click Family and Local History in Frome Somerset.

Do you have a Ticket to leave?

When I first saw the phrase "Ticket to Leave" it made me think of the Beatles song "Ticket to Ride". The only similarity that the two phrases have is the word Ticket. A ticket by definition is a slip of paper that allows one admission or entitlement to a service. So you may be wondering what a Ticket has to do with genealogical research. Could it be a ticket for boarding a ship to emigrate?

A "Ticket of Leave" was a document given to convicts in Australia to work and live in a given area of the colony prior to their sentence was completed or if they were pardoned. Those convicts that were given a "ticket of leave" (TOL) could own property and be self-employed, but they were required to attend church and appear before the judge when it was required. As previously discussed in an earlier post regarding convicts to the Fremantle Prison, the convicts were expected to work off their sentences. Ticket of Leave male convicts were allowed to marry or to bring their families over from England. The Ticket of Leave provides the genealogist with valuable information including birth year, previous occupation, their native country, year and place the person was tried and convicted, and also information regarding the transportation ship they were on to Australia. Another piece of information which is included on the document is a physical description of the person convicted.

This Ticket of Leave information was discovered on a website called Convicts to Australia - A Guide to Researching your Convict Ancestors. This website allows you to search the name of the ship, convict, pensioner guards, convict tales and also by the woman's name. The easiest way to these databases is through the link on the top that is titled "Search These Lists Online". Once you click on the the Convict Ships to Australia link you will need to look to the left of the page that loads to broswe the names of the ship. The other databases have a drop down list for the ships located on the upper right hand side of the page to assist in browsing. All of the links provide a search box on the upper right hand of each page where you can type in your search terms.

Now if you do not have a convict in your family tree, don't feel left out. The "Convicts to Australia" website will allow you create your own personal convict under the link "Claytons Convicts". This just for fun, but it will even create a fun story to go along with the name you choose. Another great feature of the site is the Convict tales. This link provides a brief biography of various individuals. Please note that not all of the convicts in the databases are included in the Convict Tales section. The biographies that are presently at the site are ones that have been contributed by researchers to the site.

If you would like to learn more about Convicts to Australia or the Guards, click Convicts to Australia. Have fun!

Wiltshire Downton Parish Mass Exodus to Canada

In the 1836 the Downton Parish sponsored a mass immigration to Canada. Approximately 220 individuals from Downton Parish and approximately 60 individuals from the Standlynch and Whiteparish set sail for Canada on the King William ship left on the 380 ton King William. According to the webmaster of this site, the number of people leaving was approximately ten percent of the population of this parish. You might wonder why a parish would sponsor such a bold move as assisting with the immigration of their parishioners, but if you review the history of the community at the time the reason for the mass exodus is clear. During the 1830's, the Downton Parish geographical area was experiencing a severe economic depression with several of the laborers unemployed. The unemployed laborers resulted from the introduction of new threshing machinery for the farming community. The Parish leaders did not see an obvious solution for the unemployment, so they came up with the idea to send the poor laborers to the colonies where they could find work and land.

The Wiltshire to Upper Canada, The Downton Story website provides one with more information regarding the circumstances and immigration process for this small group of immigrants. The site also includes an extracted ships list for the King William ship that is available for review. If you would like to see if your ancestor is located on this list, please click The Downton Story and then click on emigrant list. Have fun!

Is it a Case of Street Racing or Road Rage in 1693?

Street Racing and Road Rage are very common terms in our modern day society, especially here in Southern California. We can read about these problems in the newspaper or watch the actual event on newscasts one of the multiple video websites like youtube.

I am sure that you are wondering what does street racing or road rage have to do with genealogy research. While I was researching on The Proceedings of Old Bailey London site, I came across an entry regarding a couple of men who were tried and convicted of manslaughter because of driving their "carts" fast. Street racing does not seem to be limited to cars or even to our current day. Below is the entry:

Adam Martyn and Richard Norman Carmen, were both tried for killing one Jane Austin a Child on the 26th of July in Cannon-street; they were driving their Carts hastily along the Street, striving which should get formost; and Martin's Cart drove Norman's Cart upon the Child, and squeezed it to death. The Prisoners said that they were driving in haste, and did not think to do any hurt, and laid the fault one upon another. The Court directed the Jury, telling them, That tho the Prisoners were about their lawful Imployment, yet they ought to be careful how they drive their Carts; and altho the Fact could not reach their Lives, yet it might be a warning to others, and they must not think to escape: So they were found guilty of Manslaughter. ---Adam Martyn, Richard Norman Carmen, Killing > other, 6th September 1693

Their punishment was branding where they would either be branded on the cheek or thumb with the letters "F" - Felon, "M" - Murderer, or "T" for theft.

I posted previously in of May 2007 regarding the LCCC or The Proceedings of Old Bailey London. At the time of the post, only the transcribed information was available for viewing. The site now contains accounts from the Old Bailey Proceedings from 1674 to 1913, and of the Ordinary of Newgate's Accounts, 1690 to 1772. The site has over 210,000 trials and biographies for approximately three thousand men and women at Tyburn. All of the proceedings have been extracted and have viewable original documents, free of charge; please note that when viewing the original documents, the writing style is an older English where the "s" looks like a "f". Usually this does not pose a stumbling block as you can generally understand the wording as long it is read in context.

At first glance you might think that this site would have only information regarding the criminal aspect of the time, I was pleasantly surpised to find information regarding various communities including Jews, Huguenots, Chinese, Gypsies and other Travelers to name a few. The information provided under these various communities helps to elucidate the migration patterns, employment, and challenges of each group. One of many other reasons to visit this site is that there is a glossary provided that defines the terms of the various crimes and punishments for the time period.

Do you have an ancestor from that may have lived in England that you just haven't been able to find from the time period of 1674 to 1913? One that you have traced through several census or parish records and then all of a sudden they vanished? Maybe they were one of the people accused of road rage or street racing in their day and time. You also just might find one of your family members as a victim or witness in one of the crimes of the day. If you have hit a brick wall in your research, you might want to look on the harsher side of life during these time periods by searching Old Bailey Online. Have fun!

FamilySearch Record Search

If you haven't checked out the FamilySearch Record Search site, you are missing out. The FamilySearch Record Search site is currently in the pilot stage, but they welcome one and all to research the information that is currently available.

I have posted about FamilySearch Indexing and how many indexers are working feverishly on indexing the thousands of microfilm and fiche in the Salt Lake Family History Library. The result of the indexing can be viewed at FamilySearch Record Search. The 1870 United States Census has just begun to show up on the site and the 1900 United Census is almost completely up. Each of the indices that are located on the left side of the page have both the index and the images available to searching. The indices located on the right side of the web page have only the images and not the indexes categorized by specific locality and type of record.

Other records in various stages of completion that are available for searching include US and state census records, The Freedman Bank, Civil War Pension Records, Germany, Norway, and Mexico Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials and Cheshire England, Church of England Baptism, Marriage, and Burial records to name a few.

These records are available for searching for free. If you would like to browse or search these records, check out FamilySearch Record Search. Have fun!

Online Domesday Book

If you are new to genealogical research, you may wonder what is the Domesday Book. According to the Wiki on FamilySearch, the Domesday Book is a compilation of land records that were kept beginning in 1085 by William The Conqueror when he invaded England. This record contained information about the tenants and subtenants of the land England to be utilized in assessing taxes to support William The Conqueror.

The reason that the information on this site is valuable to the genealogist and family historian is because "The Domesday Book provides extensive records of landholders, their tenants, the amount of land they owned, how many people occupied the land (villagers, smallholders, free men, slaves, etc.), the amounts of woodland, meadow, animals, fish and ploughs on the land (if there were any) and other resources, any buildings present (churches, castles, mills, salt houses, etc.), and the whole purpose of the survey - the value of the land and its assets, before the Norman Conquest, after it, and at the time of Domesday. Some entries also chronicle disputes over who held land, some mention customary dues that had to be paid to the king, and entries for major towns include records of traders and number of houses."
The Domesday book contains approximately 13,418 localities.

Th Domesday Book Online site provides you information regarding some of the major landholders and are in an extracted format on the website. You can view the major landholders by clicking Domesday Land Holders. This site will provide you information regarding the Domesday Books and provide historical information regarding the 11th century that will assist in your understanding on the times. Place name origins, a timeline, glossary and many other links are provided to enrich your knowledge and provide you with links to research. The information contained in the Domesday Book is available through the National Archives Domesday Documents Online. When you search in this database, you will be provided a brief summary of information which contains the major landholders in the region of your research. This condensed summary does not provide you with all of the tenants, subtenants, etc. so you might want to order the document. In order to view the document, it requires a payment by most major credit cards in order to view the document. In general, it appears that the cost of the documents is approximately 3.5 pounds. Please note that if you are paying from outside of the UK, you most likely will incur a conversion fee from the credit card as well.

We are very fortunate to be able to view these old documents online from the comfort of our homes rather that paying for a trip to the UK, hotel rooms, etc. All in all I think that the rates that are reasonable; however, I would make sure you know the local that you are trying to research to avoid making the mistake of searching in the incorrect location. Have fun!

The Cotswolds Genealogy Site of England

One of my favorite things to do in researching my family is to put flesh on their bones so to speak. I want to come to know them and try to understand a little bit about how and where they lived. I have found a site that helps to give life to your ancestors dates and places.

The Parish Churches of the beautiful Cotswold area provides one with an inside look to the various parishes throughout the area. The site provides greater than 8,ooo images of 833 parishes. These images include the exterior and interior of the parish including pictures of the beautiful stained glass windows. Adding pictures where an ancestor was christened, baptized, or married increases the reality of my ancestor's life. The parishes are included in the following counties: Gloucestershire, Bath and north-east Somerset, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire, with the largest portion of the pictures available for the Gloucestershire area. If you would like to view some of these parish pictures click Parish Churches of the Cotswolds Area. Have fun and enjoy the great photography!

United Kingdom Mormon Pioneers

As we all know, history is a very important part of a family history. Where were our ancestors born? Where did they live? Where did they marry? What was their lifestyles?

The British Mormon Historical Society has developed a website titled Mormon History - Dedicated to the British Latter-Day Saint History. This site is dedicated to providing historical information regarding the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the United Kingdom. The information provided on this site includes historical accounts of some of the newly converted members, missionaries, and mission presidencies.

The website has several pages including information regarding Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and England. A few countries that are also included on this site and not readily apparent, are listed under the side tab(link) titled LDSEP Archive. The LDSEP Archive is an older version of this site titled the LDS European Project. I have used the LDSEP site prior to it's incorporation with the British Mormon Historical Society website. The countries included on the LDSEP Archive are Denmark, Sweden, England, Wales, Ireland, and Switzerland. Like the current Mormon history website, LDSEP has information regarding missionaries, members, and mission presidencies.

Both the LDSEP and Mormon History site contain biographies of various missionaries, members and mission presidencies. I you have LDS immigrant ancestors from the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark, this site would be a great place to learn about the history of the church in the ancestral areas. If you would like to search the Mormon History - Dedicated to the British Latter-Day Saint History site click Mormon History in the UK. To research in the LDSEP site, click LDS European Project. If this link does not work properly you can also go to the site by clicking the LDSEP link (located on the lower left hand tool bar)on the home page of the Mormon History - Dedicated to the British Latter-Day Saint History site.

Have fun searching!

Bristol Home Children and Immigration

Can you imagine having your child taken away from you because you are struggling financially to provide for them? Or can you imagine abandoning your child because you can not provide for them? Now imagine that your child would be sent away to live in foreign country and you would not know what happened to them. This was the plight of many children and struggling families from the city of Bristol England back in the late 19th to early 20th century. The Bristol Home Children and Immigration website provides an excellent resource for genealogists who may be searching for that missing child of an English family. Shirley Hodgson, the author of the website tells the plight of these young children who ultimately were from Workhouses, Industrial Schools, Reformatories and Ragged Schools in Bristol and also the Bristol Emigration Home for Girls and catapulted into a new life far away from their family and friends. The reason for the separation and or abandonment was mainly due to the socio-economic climate found in Great Britain at the end of the 19th century.

According to the author, Shirley Hodgson, "All the cities of Great Britain were facing problems of housing a large population, in certain areas houses with multi occupancy had become slum housing and it seemed that the streets were full of children, dirty, ragged and quick to steal food or goods that could be sold. They were stunted in growth, deformed by rickets and plagued by infections which affected their faces and bodies. Much of the labouring work was found on a daily basis, a man might get two days work in a week which would not be enough to feed his family. Mothers also worked; children were left to look after each other while parents were out, it was a very fine balance which would upset if a parent fell ill or even died. Families sold furniture to buy food and when that was all gone they sold what clothes they possessed so even if offered free schooling, the children were unable to go because they lacked clothing. When Mary Carpenter left Red Lodge Reformatory to walk from Lower Park Row, down Christmas Steps through Lewins Mead and into the narrow lane called St James Back, where she set up her ragged school, she was passing through a slum area bordering onto the docks. The children were left to run wild on the streets, they camped in dark doorways, made alleys their homes and lived on what food they could find.

The Bristol police brought many of these children before the magistrates, they were sentenced in the Petty Sessions Court, vagrants and petty offenders were sent to the Industrial Schools, persistent truants were sent to the Truant School in Kingsdown, the Boards of Guardians were asked to take some children. Many of the street children were eventually sent to the workhouse where they were settled into school buildings. The workhouses became full and as it was cheaper to send a child to Canada than keep him or her until they were 16 years of age, emigration was sought as an alternative. It was the considered opinion of many people that the fresh air and good farm food of Canada would give the children a fresh start in life."

Bristol Home Children and Immigration provide in PDF format a list of the children that were forced to immigrate to Canada. The information provided in this database includes: the full name (nicknames if available) and their birth date or emigration date with approximate age listed at the time of the passage. If you would like to further investigate this site, please click Bristol Home Children and Immigration to be directed to the home page. Have fun!

Gazetteer of British Place Names

The Gazetteer of British Place Names maintained by the Association of British Counties, is another excellent resource for Family Historians and Genealogists to research that will provide information regarding the current location of historical records repositories, which will decrease the amount of time trying to locate the proper place to request for records.

According to the website, the authors state that this site has advantages over on-line gazetteers because of the following reasons:

"1) Firstly, it has the most comprehensive coverage of any on-line gazetteer in that it covers the whole of Great Britain and contains over 50,000 place-name entries. It contains commonly accepted spelling variations of place names including an exhaustive coverage of Welsh and Gaelic spellings. It provides full details of the correct county for places both prior to and following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1843."

"{2) An important feature of the Gazetteer is that the places it lists in Column 1 are settlements (e.g. villages, hamlets, towns, localities) rather than administrative areas (i.e. parishes, townships, tythings etc.). Many gazetteers aimed at genealogists only include the names of these latter types of administrative areas. Within a parish there can be several separate settlements each with its own distinct name and identity. In some cases these would be recognised on Census Reports as "townships", "tythings" etc. and they may appear in gazetteers in this guise. However, large numbers of identifiable "places" do not fall into these categories and usually do not appear in Census Reports (or in the various on-line gazetteers based upon these). This is particularly true in the case of the large number of new towns and villages which developed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of these never gave their names to parishes. However, most parishes did give their name to the main settlement within them. Hence, these parish names do appear in the Gazetteer."

Also discussed on this site is a discussion regarding the term counties in the early 1970's where the Local Government Act abolished the counties, when in fact they had abolished the "administrative counties" and "county boroughs" created by the LGA 1888 and create a whole new set of local government areas." The key word here is "administrative" and "local government areas." The change did not effect the geographical counties. If you would like to read more about the challenges of English Gazetter research, please click Notes for Historians and Genealogists.

If you would like to search the index, please click
Gazetteer Index.>

Hidden Treasures in Northumberland Communities

I came across a wonderful website with hidden treasures for those researching the Northumberland County of England. The website Northumberland Communities is designed for helping the reader understand the heritage of the Northumberland Communities by reviewing and learning about the history of the Northumberland county. The hidden treasures are located the descriptions, militia rosters, pictures and various documents that are available for each of the 76 communities located in the Northumberland county of England.

The website states the following.

"The project focuses on the history of 76 Northumberland communities – small ports, market towns, villages, larger towns and villages that have developed as a result of mining industries and one New Town. Original source material has been selected and digitised for each of these communities. This includes maps, plans, estate, court, church and school records, photographs and oral history recordings.

It is intended that individuals, groups and educational establishments will use this digitised material as a starting point for understanding the development of Northumberland communities and that this material will provide a base for studying the County’s history. "


Although the documents located on this site are far from a complete collection. I am posting this for the lucky ones that might browse through the documents and find their ancestors. For the rest of us, the historical information and pictures will help us to understand our heritage, the challenges they faced, and help us to pinpoint the 76 historical communities in Northumberland.

If you have ancestors from Northumberland, love history, and learning more about the place and times of your ancestor, I would recommend checking out Northumberland Communities. Have fun learning!

Need a Old Map England, Wales or Scotland? This site is for You!

How many times have you been researching for one of your family members and hit a brick wall because you can't locate the place of their birth, marriage, death or residence? We all know that borders, names of cities, towns, and streets have changed through the ages. What can you do? Well the best solution is to try and find a map of the area and the time period you are researching. This can be a task in and of itself but the Genmaps website is a great resource for the England, Wales, and Scotland maps. Genmaps has maps and charts for each of the counties in England, Wales, and Scotland ranging in years from the 1300's to the 1900's. Each of these maps are available for use by genealogists but the commercial use of the images is forbidden without the permission of the copyright holder.

The owners of the website encourage the viewer to contribute a digitized format of their old maps of the area if they desire to share. This is a wonderful community effort of assisting others in their research. If you would like to browse their maps, click GenMaps. I am sure that you will find some hidden gems. Have fun!

Historical Directories of England and Wales

Directories are a wonderful primary source of information for the genealogist and family history enthusiats alike. Directories can help you locate people in your family tree in a particular place and time aiding in finding more about your ancestors. The directories can be from an institution, society family associations, schools, professions and telephone directories to name a few. The Historical Directories of England and Wales contains digitized directories from England and Wales covering the time period between 1749 and 1910. This site is searchable by location, time period or by key words. I have found that the keyword search is more efficient if you are looking for a particular person. If you are interested in researching at this site, please click here to go to the site. When you arrive at the site, I would suggest that you view the brief tutorial on how to search the database. Enjoy!

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London

For those of us with Black Sheep in our family in London, The Proceedings of the Old Baily, London is a website that provides digitized documents with transcription of these documents in a database that is search able by name, keywords, location, crime, verdict and sentence. The crimes range from murder, treason, religious crimes and many other crimes that were brought to trial such as thievery. Even if you do not have any "Black Sheep" in your family, this site provides and interesting insight into the time periods that these records cover.

The database has over 100,000 trials ranging from April 1674 to October 1834. The project staff are currently digitizing and indexing the trials from December 1834 to April 1913 for this Old Bailey Court which was renamed to the Central Criminal Court. The projected completion date for the digitization and indexing of these records is September 2008.

If you would like to visit this site, click here.