statistics – The Nosey Genealogist's: Help Me With My Family Tree

23/09/2014

Injured Services Men Records From First World War Go Online

Great news from the team at TheGenealogist. You can now find records of injured First World War servicemen online for the first time.

Over 1.3 million records from daily and weekly First World War casualty lists have been released online by TheGenealogist. This vast collection of unique records cover all ranks to help you discover more about your injured ancestor’s wartime service.

The new records include career soldiers, volunteer Pals battalions, war poets and even a future Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. The collection covers both those who died of their wounds and those who recovered and returned to the front.
The records are a great resource for finding out what happened to an ancestor during The First World War. Details include:- the name of the injured serviceman, his regiment and rank, the date he was registered as a ‘casualty’ and often his home town or place of enlistment.

These records also work with TheGenealogist’s unique ‘SmartSearch’ feature, which allows you to link to the comprehensive range of other military records available on TheGenealogist. Many of the wounded servicemen received medals for their actions and with a few mouse clicks you can discover whether your ancestor received any commendations, such as in the Military Medals records available online on TheGenealogist.

The First World War affected people from all backgrounds who were bravely wounded in the line of duty. Daniel Laidlaw, a career soldier from Little Swinton in Berwickshire, re-joined the army aged 40 as a Piper in the 7th Battalion, The King’s Own Scottish Borderers , 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division.

At the Battle of Loos, troops of his battalion were ordered by General Douglas Haig to attack the heavily fortified German positions in their sector. The Scottish troops, facing a thick cloud of chlorine gas, were hesitating but Piper Laidlaw climbed out of the trench and under fire began playing his pipes to inspire the troops and they successfully resumed the attack. He was wounded in both legs but had carried on playing for as long as he could, his Casualty Record can be found on The Genealogist along with a SmartSearch link showing that Laidlaw was awarded a Victoria Cross for his bravery.

Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist comments: ”The sheer number of records in this latest release show how brutal The First World War was. Record keeping at the time must have been a real challenge, but thanks to TheGenealogist’s SmartSearch technology, when you find a casualty record, you can instantly see if other records, such as medals, appear on the site.”

The new 1.3 million records of the wounded are available as part of a Diamond Subscription.
To find out more about the ‘First World War Wounded Collection’ see the dedicated page on TheGenealogist.co.uk/ww1-wounded. There you will find photographs, stories, statistics and a free search facility.

Disclosure:Compensated affiliate links used in this post.

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07/09/2014

First World War medal winning heroes now available online at TheGenealogist.co.uk

I’ve heard from the team at TheGenealogist about their new medal release that gives full details of heroic soldiers and their deeds in the First World War and The Second Boer War to aid you in your search for more information on your ancestor’s war exploits.

Analysis of these newly released Distinguished Conduct Medal records uncovers stories of heroism and exceptional bravery from ordinary soldiers. The medal was instituted in 1854, but the desperate fighting and struggle of the First World War saw the medal awarded to a larger amount of soldiers for the first time.

TheGenealogist.co.uk has released complete new records of Non Commissioned Officer’s and Other Ranks who were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in The First World War and The Second Boer War.

Uniquely these new records show full details of the Recipients Medal Card combined with a link to The London Gazette which in numerous cases contains full details of the heroic deed that won them the medal. The Gazette is the one of the official journals of the British Government and can be classed as one of the oldest surviving English newspapers.

The records contain full details of the soldier awarded the medal –their name, rank, regiment, date of medal citation and details of their heroism in battle, all easily found using ‘SmartSearch’ on TheGenealogist.
Men from all walks of life found the strength and resilience to summon up acts of courage to go above and beyond the call of duty.

The first Battle of Ypres reached a crisis point for the British at the end of October 1914. The 1st Division were being driven back and the 1st Coldstream Guards had been wiped out in the fighting. At a critical moment, Sergeant J. Kirkcaldy of the 26th (Heavy) Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (as seen in the illustration), brought up fresh horses under a terrific shellfire to replace those already killed. His gallant conduct saved a transport wagon. Details of his DCM Medal award can be found on TheGenealogist:

On October 20th 1914 at Chateau de Flandre, Sergeant Forwood of the 3rd East Kents (The Buffs) found himself in a desperate situation. Initially buried alive when a German shell hit his machine gun position killing or wounding his comrades, despite receiving numerous wounds himself, he managed to escape and report the situation to his headquarters to ensure their position was covered. His DCM award appeared in the London Gazette in early 1915 and an artist’s impression of the trauma he suffered is illustrated here.
His full details and link to the London Gazette are all found in the new DCM records on TheGenealogist.

Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist concludes: “We are continually making more historic military records available and our new DCM Collection with its link to the London Gazette brings all the information together for the family historian. Our collection of military records goes from strength to strength with more to come.”
To find out the extreme bravery of our soldiers and their courage in the line of duty see the dedicated page on TheGenealogist.co.uk/DCM. There you will find photographs, stories, statistics and a free search facility.

Disclosure: Compensated affiliate links are used in this post.

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16/09/201216/09/2012

Multiple baptisms in Record Office

When I was in the Devon County Record Office the other week looking for ancestors to put in my family tree, I came across a job lot of children bearing my surname and all being baptised on the same day in 1811. Now as far as I can tell this multiple baptismal party are not direct ancestors of mine, but their record interested me all the same.

I had been looking for a John Thorn, at around the turn of the century from 1799 to 1805, and had noted on the familysearch.org website that there was such a christening in 1811 for a child born in 1803. (“England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J79W-GBY : accessed 16 Sep 2012), John Thorn, 23 Jul 1803; reference , FHL microfilm 917191.)

There can be many reasons for a late christening and indeed some people were not baptised until they were adults.

Archive Church Register — A Church Record from the Archive

While in the DCRO I followed up this lead by looking at their microfiche copies of the original St Petrox, Dartmouth church registers. What I found was that there were actually 5 children, all being the offspring of a John and Mary Thorn, being baptised that day and the original records gave the explanation for this in a note by the vicar.

“The above 5 children were born at Little Bay, Newfoundland.”

Dartmouth, it would seem, has a long history of men sailing across the other side of the Atlantic to the rich cod fishing grounds. A tradition that is mirrored in the island of my birth, Jersey.

While my interest was raised by the partial explanation for the multiple baptism in the records, I searched the web for details of Little Bay, Newfoundland. It would seem that there is still a place with that name in today’s Canada, but there was also a previous settlement in Newfoundland that is now called St Georges, but previously had the same name as well.

Dartmouth-history.org.uk has several documents that explain the development of the town and its harbour. It would seem that the Newfoundland trade was greatly reduced by the the Napoleonic wars, the number of ships annually involved dropping from 120 to 30 by 1808Â Â (see:Â http://www.dartmouth-history.org.uk/content_images/upload/Nfland_fishing.htm)

Also this same site notes that… “the dominant families in Dartmouth for over 100 years were the Holdsworths and Newmans, both of whom acquired land in Portugal and Newfoundland, and became prosperous in the triangular trade between England, Newfoundland and Spain/Portugal/the Mediterranean.” While my family were humble mariners, much like the family I had identified in these church records.

I have ruled out that this family group are my direct ancestors by the dates given in the parish registers for their births. Of course, often in a church record you only get the baptismal date, but because the vicar was doing a batch of little Thorns at one time he has very usefully included their birth dates!

I wonder if this family, having been making a living in Newfoundland for some years had found the reduction in trade, caused by the Napoleonic wars, forced them back to England? Then, having put up in a small community like Dartmouth, they had come under pressure to christen their brood of children. Or perhaps there was no church at Little Bay that they felt able to use.

Who knows the answer to these questions; but this little example shows how family history, as opposed to genealogy, can be about the stories that are behind the bland statistics of births, marriages and deaths.

The websites that I am using the most at the moment are Find My Past and The Genealogist.co.uk. To take your family history further I highly recommend that you too consider a subscription to these websites. Take a look now and see what great data sets they have to offer:

Disclosure: The Links in the above are Compensated Affiliate links. If you click on them then I may be rewarded by Findmypast.co.uk or The Genealogist.co.uk should you sign up for their subscriptions.

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26/08/2012

Family Tree – Recolections by Relatives

When we family history researcher’s begin on the family tree research we are usually told to start by gathering what we know about our relatives. Once we have done this we then need to go and talk to the older members of our family to see what they remember and to gather any stories that may be relevant to our task.

This week I’ve been visiting my parents, cousins of various degrees and also my sister and family. It was on the occasion of a big family celebration which involved a party in a hotel. On such gatherings as these I am always on the look out for more memories of the past, that my older relatives can provide me with.

What was different this time was that some of my younger cousins were asking me for my memories of our relations who have passed on! Nonetheless, I was also keeping an ear open for any juicy snippets of information from the older folk that I could pick up and investigate further.

One such story was a recollection by my dad of visiting his grandfather at Paignton Harbour some time in the 1930s. It has to be before 1935 as great-grandfather Sidney Thorne died in March of that year aged 70 but I have no precise date.

The story is that Sidney, a carpenter/joiner, was working on the building of a boat in Paignton harbour and my dad was told it was a lifeboat.

My research shows that the nearest RNLI lifeboat station was at Brixham, a nearby fishing port that served all of the Torbay area. This station had a lifeboat from 1922 – 1930 that was replaced by one called the George Shee, a Barnett Class boat built in Cowes in the Isle of Wight in 1930 and it remained there until 1958

So at first sight this story looks as if it may be wrong.

But what if the boat was being repaired or it was not a RNLI lifeboat? There certainly were some boat-builders operating in this Devon harbour and so I have an interesting new line to investigate.

What this story does do is bring a bit more colour to the life of my great-grandfather’s life which until I was told the story I was unaware of. Family history is all about telling the story of our ancestors moving past the dry old statistics of their birth, marriage and death dates.

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01/04/201103/04/2011

Where Have All the Egg-Merchants and Lunatic Keepers Gone?

Ancestry.co.uk home page on screen — Disclosure: Compensated Affiliate.

I regret to inform you that Egg-merchant and Dealers, Lunatic Keepers, Bee Dealers, Ice Dealers and Well-Sinkers have sadly disappeared from Britain!

Some interesting findings have been released by Ancestry.co.uk regarding professions that can be traced in the 1841 census, or soon after, that were then compared with current UK employment data in the 2010 Labour Force Survey.

According to Ancestry.co.uk, whose site is one of several that hosts a UK Census Collection:

“ ‘Teacher’ is the occupation that has grown the most in popularity, with the number of teachers employed increasing by an enormous 131,000 per cent between 1841 and 2010 â€“ in real numbers from 1,105 to 1,449,000.

Next are journalists, increasing by 42,000 per cent (520 people to 217,000) between 1841 and 1901, while the number of builders has increased by 9,000 per cent (9,188 people to 821,000).

Other professions that have also grown in popularity range from high flying stockbrokers, dentists, accountants, medical professionals and solicitors to the more modest builders and hairdressers. Even the much maligned estate agents have shot up in number by 748 per cent since the 1840s.”

Do you remember when, as a child, we would say “When I grow up I want to be a…” and we would name a job or profession we fancied?

So, do you think that these statistics show us that not enough children hankered after being a Bee Dealer, an Ice Dealer, an Egg Merchant? And can we also assume that many probably said “I’m going to be anything but a Lunatic Keeper”?

I wonder what people will have put down, as an occupation in the recent census, that in a hundred and seventy years will have disappeared from Britain in 2181?

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06/12/201006/12/2010

Research Tips for Assembling a Family History

Use the following steps to discover your genealogy.

1.Â Every portion of a family history should be as complete as possible.Â Strive to assemble a precise account of each family’s history.Â In the future, we will be the ancestors.Â Those who follow us will appreciate working with correct and detailed information as they research their family tree.

2.Â Avoid being a copyist. DoÂ pull together as much documentation as you can for proper evaluation. Just because it is in in print or on the internet does not make it a true statement.Â Many earlyÂ family histories were based onÂ incorrect research.

3.Â AÂ family genealogy,Â to be useful should citeÂ the sources that were collected in the records.Â Use a reference bibliography and do your own genealogy research,Â when ever possible.Â Another person’s interpretation of the data may not be accurate.Â Copying another person’s error only makes it that much worse .

Sources ofÂ information fall into two categories, secondary and primary.Â Primary sources are those statements or records, written or verbal, made at or near the time of the event.Â The information will be an eyewitness or from someone closely associated with the happening. TheÂ quest to find primary sources should be obvious. A secondary source comes from someone not present at the time of the event, orÂ from one not closely associated with the occurrence.Â The recording perhaps would have been made later, from memory.Â Information sources are found in many places including vital records, census and obituaries.

4. Do not hesitate.Â Living relatives can provide eye witness versions which may never be found elsewhere.Â Â A life time of “tomorrows’ may be required to find the answer to a questionÂ that you should have asked.

5.Â With records,Â there are two criteria in judging credibility.Â Are the records original, or copies?Â An original record is the first recording of an happening inÂ accordance with the prescribed law or custom.

The event may be noted in more than one original records.Â The birth of aÂ infant could be recorded in Vital Statistics, in the Church Register,Â and perhaps in a Family Bible.Â These records would be considered as originals because,Â they are the first entry ofÂ that birth in thatÂ locality.Â A copied record is one that has beenÂ transcribed, compiled, or copied from another record.Â The other record may have beenÂ an original, or it may have been a copy.Â Whenever a copy isÂ transcribed there is a chance for error.Â Every new copy, increases the chances of errors.

6.Â A certified copy is considered an official copy, but it is a copy, and is subject to error.Â ThisÂ problem has beenÂ reduced with the wide spread use ofÂ electronic scanning or photocopying .Â Â AÂ scan of an originalÂ record should be consideredÂ as good as the original.

7.Â No genealogy is consideredÂ close to completion unless family tree research is done for eachÂ individual of the family.Â No one should be unnoted and no one should be eliminated.

8.Â A name should be recorded as the entire name.Â Avoid using ditto marks.Â Always record the complete names of the childrenÂ on a family group sheet or in your computer database.Â When If a person has been known by a name other than the given name,Â include it.

9.Â If you find aÂ nickname has been used, such asÂ Betty, on some documents, and or nickname for the same person onÂ other records, ensure you make note of the two names.

10.Â A child born out of wedlock assumes the mother’s name most frequently.

Use these ten tips to guide your genealogy know how.

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27/06/201027/06/2010

Steps to Researching Your Genealogy

Employ the following ten steps to discover your family tree .

1.Â Every section of a family’s genealogy should be as complete as possible.Â Endeavour to compile a precise account of each family.Â Looking forward, our descendants will be researching us .Â Those who come after us will appreciate having correct and detailed information as they research their genealogy.

2.Â Avoid being a copyist. DoÂ collect as much documentation as you can for proper evaluation.Â Â Just because it is in in print or on the internet does not make it a correct statement.Â Many earlyÂ genealogies were based on wishful thinking.

3.Â AÂ family genealogy,Â to be useful, should cite the sources that were collected in the records.Â Use a reference bibliography and, when ever possible, assemble your own genealogy research.Â Another person’s interpretation of the information may not be accurate and duplicating someone’s error only perpetuates the mistake.

Sources ofÂ data fall into two categories, primary and secondary.Â Primary sources are those statements or records, written or verbal, that were made at or near the Â time that the event occurred.Â The information will be an eyewitness account or from someone closely associated with what happened. The quest to find primary sources should be a priority. A secondary source comes from a non-witness, orÂ from one not associated with the occurrence.Â The recording would have been made at a later time, maybe from memory. Sources of information will be found in many different types of documentations including vital records, census and obituaries .

4. Do not hesitate and leave it too late.Â Living relatives can give eye witness accounts which may never be found elsewhere. Â Many years may be needed to find the answers to questionsÂ that you could have asked.

5.Â With records, as with sources,Â there are two factors in judging credibility.Â Are the records copies, or originals ?Â An original is the initial recording of an happening in accordance with the prescribed law or custom.

The occurance may be recorded in one or more orginal records.Â The birth of aÂ child could appear in Vital Statistics, in the Church Registry and in a Family Bible.Â All of these records would be classified as orginals because, in each case, it was the first entry ofÂ that birth in that vicinity.Â A copied record is one that has been transcribed, compiled, or copied from another record.Â The other record may have been a copy, or it may have been anÂ original.Â Each time a copy isÂ transcribed there is a possibility for error to creep in.Â The more times that the document has been copied, the greater the possible number of errors.

6.Â A certified copy is considered an official copy, but it is a copy and is, therefore, subject to error.Â This issue has beenÂ partially eliminated with use ofÂ scanning or photocopying . AÂ scan of an originalÂ document can be considered the same as the original.

7.Â No family history is consideredÂ complete unless research is done for eachÂ individual of the family.Â No one should be unnoted and no one should be excluded.

8.Â A name ought to be recorded as the entire name.Â Avoid using ditto marks.Â Always record the entire names of the children in your computer database or on a family group sheet.Â When if a person has been called by a nickname,Â include it.

9.Â If you find aÂ nickname has been used, such asÂ Beth, on some documents, and a different name for the same person onÂ other records, ensure you make note of both the names.

10.Â A child born to unwed parents assumes the mother’s name in most cases.

Use these 10 tips to guide your genealogy know how.

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Tag: statistics

Injured Services Men Records From First World War Go Online

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First World War medal winning heroes now available online at TheGenealogist.co.uk

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Family Tree – Recolections by Relatives

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