Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

PasturesNew

The problem with a Mary Ann is that she could easily be any combination of Mary, Mary Ann, Mary Anne, Maryann, Maryanne, Ann, Annie.

And that's not even looking at the fact she appears to be a furrener, so could be Marie in some spots

Looking back, it's exciting when you trace back and find people in the 1911 Census. Then it's a bit of a joy getting them all back to 1841. Then you're on your own. Parish Records are incomplete (getting better as more are being transcribed and online), but getting back to 1800 from 1840 in itself is an achievement.

Add in the complexity of somebody coming/going in and out of the country, with scant records taken at the time, if at all, then available/not transcribed, or online .... and sometimes you either need to take 2 years out and sit in the records office yourself, or wait 20 years until some other bugg4h's done it

... and that's not mentioning furren languages, even the English parish records are often in scrawly Latin and Greek and Latin/Greek mashups done by a variety of uncaring/slack/lazy vicar types.

vivatifosi

Re family history records...

I had a conversation a while back about workhouse records. A lot of the county archives have workhouse records that can be accessed. Where there is a risk that the person is still alive, not much can be given away, but there is a lot in the records.

We are in the midst of a large project to digitise our records as we have huge numbers of paper records. I don't know much about ours and the timescales as I don't work in that area, but it is something that is a challenge for many (probably most) authorities. So it is interesting to go back to collections and recheck to see if anything has been added. Particularly if it can then be accessed online.

I have said many times before, the place I work for is very forward thinking and good at these types of projects. Sadly it doesn't follow that others will be the same, but it is worth looking back every year or so.

A lot of the big record deposits were digitised early... eg the wills at the Nat Archives and some of the big London collections, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Another tip for people looking further back in their family trees is to use archive.org and google books as these yield different search results. Given that you are looking at hugenots O&H, some of these may be in French. However I'm guessing that where you live, this may not be a problem (oh, and welcome by the way!)

bugslet

CKhalvashi wrote: »

Bradford is horrible, whilst parts of Leeds (next door) are lovely

Saltaire is beautiful as well, just north of Bradford - Old mill town with a philanthropical mill owner that built lovely cottages. not as lovely as Port Sunlight by me, but worth a visit none the less.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Well I feel like a right muppet.

.

Bl00dy thing is pushing 300KG, and damned near impossible to pick up again, especially in confined spaces.

Time for some Ibuprofen and bed.

That sound spainful - no idea how you manage to right something that weighs that much either.

Generali wrote: »

It's my wedding anniversary this weekend. 17 years. As the old joke has it, I'd be up for parole by now.

Happy Anniversary Gen, no mean achievement:T

vivatifosi

I don't know the north particularly well, but I really like that area north of Leeds around Harewood and up to Harrogate. I think Durham is beautiful too. On the western side I really like the Forest of Bowland.

Although we have beautiful places round here, such as the Chilterns AONB, the places I've mentioned in the north somehow feels less busy and more tranquil.

vivatifosi

Happy Anniversary Gen and Mrs Gen

silvercar

Generali wrote: »

So to be clear you put it up the back alley to get some practice in for some African bush.

Rain, rain, rain today. At least I don't live down south, they've got some nasty storms coming their way.

It's my wedding anniversary this weekend. 17 years. As the old joke has it, I'd be up for parole by now.

Happy Anniversary! Wishes for many happy and healthy years ahead!

Our pearl anniversary is towards the end of the year, that makes me feel really old. I have to keep reminding myself that we were really young when we got married.

PasturesNew

vivatifosi wrote: »

Re family history records...

I had a conversation a while back about workhouse records. A lot of the county archives have workhouse records that can be accessed. Where there is a risk that the person is still alive, not much can be given away, but there is a lot in the records.

That's one of the spots I'm at in one twig of the tree. Not even blood-related. It's my GG-gm's lot. She married a widow, with children. He then died and she wasn't interested in his kids as she had 5 of her own that she then dumped in the Workhouse. But, one of those orphaned children was just 16/17 when she did that - and she was "left" in the Workhouse when GG-gm took her blood children out and shacked up with a bloke (that might be my GG-gf).

It's a common name (s0ddin' Mary Ann!!), but she appears to have been a victim of a group sexual assault 3 years later - and, possibly, is still in the Workhouse in 1891. But, with a 1-2 year old baby.

Then nothing. She was one of my "disappeared" until I dug around and found the baby (wasn't obvious as I wasn't looking at the original Census scribblings).

So now I want to see the workhouse records to see where she came from, whose baby is it (although that might be in the Assizes records for b4st4rdy when I get round to buying them). She must be in the Minutes Book - and possibly a clue as to who she married. She's not in the next Census at all. I don't believe she/baby died. Which leaves me with three options:
- married
- shacked up/used bloke's name without marrying
- emigrated

And, I think, the Workhouse records might contain notes about where she went to when she left.

I've done loads of searches for her/baby even searching for anybody with just their first names anywhere in the country, but I can't find her/baby together using their first names (or derivatives thereof) to date. Mary and Elizabeth together, anywhere .... you try it.... soul-destroying

But I'll never know ..... unless I drive over there and look, or wait 10 years.

But, all I know is there's a "box of records" for the Workhouse. But a "box" could be the size of a double-decker bus, or two shoe boxes. And, I figure, it'll probably be something the size of an armchair .... so I'd need to think about being in the offices 2-3 days reading through every page + all the new ideas/records I come across that might also need checking. So maybe a week.

... or wait 10 years

It says "Surviving records of .... include: minutes; papers about property; financial records; records of the relieving officer; registers of births and deaths; records of vaccination. "

There should've been plenty written about her having a baby while (still) in the Workhouse; that wasn't playing the game was it!

vivatifosi

Ah, that's something I can help with... a box should never be the size of a double decker bus... because library or archive staff have to carry them. We're good, but we're no Geoff Capes. 'Elf and safety you know...

It's worth trying archive.org as some of the books have been bought and digitised and put on that. They would have to be out of copyright though.

bugslet

vivatifosi wrote: »

I don't know the north particularly well, but I really like that area north of Leeds around Harewood and up to Harrogate. I think Durham is beautiful too. On the western side I really like the Forest of Bowland.

Although we have beautiful places round here, such as the Chilterns AONB, the places I've mentioned in the north somehow feels less busy and more tranquil.

One of the perks of my previous incarnation of being a long distance van driver, was seeing pretty much all of the UK, bar Northern Ireland.

We live in a beautiful country, I'm always hard-pressed to say which bit is my favourite.

Waited at work till 6 p.m. for a delivery of tiles that never arrive ( I go home about 16.45). Ring the nice chap at Fired Earth and he tells me it was delivered at 2.45 yesterday and signed for by Hxxxxxx. But there's no-one by that name at Bugs Transport. None of my neighbours on the industrial estate have my tiles either. Nice chap at Fired earth has gone off on a mission to find them.

Kitchen - so near, so far!

michaels

I once worked for a housing association where they received IT equipment centrally, set it up then sent it out to local offices - someitmes these offices were within buildings such as 'halfway houses/bail hostels' In one case £x000 of equipment was sent to one such address, delivered when the office staff were out at lunch but helpfully signed for (illegible signature) by one of the residents and never seen again