How can maps helps genealogist?

Maps are a valuable asset to anyone carrying out research into their ancestry. They show use what we can no longer see.

Map of Sheffield from 1822. Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com

For anyone interested in a particular area an old map can be invaluable. The census records are a fantastic source of information to us as it tells us exactly where our ancestors live. But that’s all it does do. If you don’t know the area it really means nothing to you. So this is where maps come into play. Now in some cases using online maps such as Google Maps is great as you may be able to find the street your ancestors lived on and using Street View you might even be able to see the house they lived in. But what if the area has changed? Then what, well this is where old maps come in. By looking at the old map you might be able to see the street they lived on and then can compare it to a modern map and find you where the street used to be.

But you might say where can I see old maps. Well there are some websites that sell old maps and I have to say I use the Alan Godfrey collection (www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk). This site sells maps for most regions of the UK and range from one inch to the mile and much more detailed where you just buy the one for the area of the city you want. So for Sheffield there are 24 maps covering the areas of the city. If you don’t want to purchase a map then your local library probably has them for your town or city.

Another way maps can assist you in your research is by allowing you to plot where all the members of your ancestor’s family lived. This can show where families lived in relation to one another and can demonstrate how families stayed in similar areas and probably worked in similar places which may also be on the map. I know within my own ancestry many families stayed closed by each other with children marrying and living on the same street. So by plotting this on a map you can have a visual representation of where everyone lived. You could even annotate the map by putting names of ancestors on it.

Another great benefit of using maps is that they can show how an area changes over time.

Map of Sheffield from 1905. Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com

If you look at the map of Sheffield from 1822 and then compare it to the map of 1905 you can see how much the city grew. On the 1822 map you can see field near the town centre where as by 1905 the field are now built on. Show this demonstrates that the lives of anyone from Sheffield must have change. So in near 90 years, which is approximately 3 generation any Sheffield ancestors will have gone from living in a small town to living in a city. So my 5 times great Grandparents would not recognise the Sheffield my Great Grandma, who in turn would probably not recognise the Sheffield of my childhood, although at least some of the same building would have been present. So it gives you a good idea of how places evolved over the years and show how you ancestors may have moved around the area they lived in to follow the work.

All in all I find maps a great source of information. They seem to put life into where your ancestors lived and gives you a true insight into their lives especially if they can be used with modern maps and road views so you can even see the homes they lived in. 

Is finding all my ancestors possible?

It’s a question many ask about genealogy. Will I be able to find all my ancestors and how far back can I go? Some seems to think you can go back to time immemorial, but can you?

Well unfortunately the answer is no you can’t. The records only go back so far. But don’t be downhearted as you can get a long way back.

                                   Thomas Cromwell. Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com

Up until 1538 it was more than likely that only people born into the aristocracy who would have had their baptism, marriage or burial registered by the family. In 1538 Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII right hand man decreed that in the new Church of England all baptism, marriages and burials would be recorded by the parish priest at the local church with copies being made and sent to the bishop every three months. Thus the parish records came into being. This system continued until 1837 when the present system of receiving birth, marriage and death certificates was introduced when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne. Baptisms, marriages and burial were still recorded by the church when the events took place, but the official registration was still required.

So if you’re really lucky you may be able to get back to 1538. But a note of caution is needed. A lot of the records this far back are really difficult to read and they may be in Latin! This means that not only with you have to translate the date but also the names. For example it’s not too bad with my name Sarah as in Latin it’s Sara but some other names are really different. Walter in Latin is Ualterius and Louisa is Ludovica. Also the condition of the records may be so bad that when they are viewed they can have unreadable areas.

Different styles of writing and damaged paper can make reading records difficult.

If we consider Dronfield in Derbyshire the records began in 1560 but the church itself was built in the 12^th century. So we see there is a large discrepancy between when the church was built and the records began. This means you will miss out on so many ancestors, probably approximately 13 generations at 30 years per generation. Don’t be upset though as if you think about it up to the present day you can probably go back approximately 15 generations and 15 is better than nothing as it’s still over 4.5 centuries.

You also have to take into account what information is given in the parish records. There was no set format for the records, it was what the vicar or his clerk decided to include. This means it will vary, sometimes greatly, between the parishes.

For baptisms in most cases you will get the child’s given name, his parents given names and his father’s surname, so for example the basic information you may get is:

John son of John and Mary Smith baptised 1 January 1600

You may get lucky and find that the mother’s maiden surname is included. In the later records you got information such as where the family lived and the father’s occupation.

Marriage records are the ones that can be most annoying. It is not uncommon to just find that John Smith married Mary in the parish on a certain date. This gives so little information. Again the later the records the better as the woman’s maiden surname was included and perhaps the abodes or even father’s names and occupations for the couples.

Burial records in general were just the person’s name and when they were buried, but in some cases the place of death was recorded and even their age at death. I have even come across some records which stated what the person died from.

So all this means that just because the records are available doesn’t necessarily mean they are of any help and so you may not be able back to the 15 generations. With so little information in the records if your ancestors moved about you would have difficulty finding them.

But don’t give up hope, half the fun is the search. The old adage search and ye shall find is the mantra most genealogists adhere to. You never know what you will find until you look, so look and you may be pleasantly surprised as to what is available.

Interview with an ancestor

I was considering the other day what questions I would ask any ancestor I could meet and so I decided to write a fictitious interview with one of my ancestors.

Allow me to introduce my guest today Percy Staton.

Hello Great Grandpa and thank for doing this.

Can you tell me when and where you were born?

I was born on the 19^th March 1878 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire and I was baptised at Worksop Priory on the 1^st of May 1878.

Tell me about your parents and siblings

My dad was Frederick Staton and he was from Eckington Derbyshire. I don’t remember him as he died when I was only a year old. He was the organist at Worksop Priory. My mum was Anne Taylor who was from Holbeck Woodhouse in Nottinghamshire. She left Worksop to find work after dad died and I lived with her Mum and my Aunt and Uncle in Worksop. I was mum and dad’s forth child. I have a sister named Edith born in 1872, a brother called Harry (Henry) born in 1874 and a sister named Arabella born in 1876.

What was your occupation?

I moved from Worksop to Peterborough in the late 1890’s to become a dental assistant. I went to Peterborough as my elder brother Henry Hamilton Staton was a Dental surgeon there. He had trained under our uncle Richard Payling who was the husband of our Mum’s sister Sarah. I spent my entire working life in Peterborough where I was a dentist and a maker of false teeth.

Where did you live?

In 1881 I was living with my Mum and sister Arabella on Potter Street in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. By 1891 I was living with my Grandma on Cheapside in Worksop and I was at school. In 1901 I was now living in Peterborough, Northamptonshire on Russell Street where I was lodging while working as a dental assistant. In 1911 I was living on Eastfield Road in Peterborough with my family and I was a dental mechanic and maker of false teeth. In 1939 I was living on Broadway in Peterborough with my family and I was still a dentist.

Tell me about your family

I married Eva Dent the daughter of William Thomas Dent and Louisa Payling on the 12^th August 1902 at St Peter’s church, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. We were both 24 years old. 

We met in Peterborough where Eva was a milliner. Just as a side note Eva was distantly related to my brothers mentor Richard Payling as Richards Cousin was Eve’s mother Louisa. Small world isn’t it. Together we had 2 children. Our first child was born in 1905 and was a son named Frederick after my father. We had our second child in 1912 a girl named Margaret. Sadly my wife Eva died in 1918 from an appendicitis. I remarried the following year. Her name was Evelyn Butler and she was 20 years younger than me. Later that year we had a daughter named Edith (Betty). My son Frederick was a quantity survey, my daughter Margaret was the manageress at a sugar factory and Betty was a hairdresser. All of my children married with Frederick and Betty staying in Peterborough, but Margaret moved around the country with her husband until settling in Sheffield.

The Staton Family

When did you die?

I died on the 23^rd November 1944 at my home in Peterborough. I was 66 years old. My cause of death was Paget’s disease. This is where my bones don’t renew themselves and become brittle and misshapen. I wish I could have lived a bit longer at least so I saw the end of WW2 and have lived to see my grandchildren.

This is a great way to remember you ancestors and can be a great way to get children interested in their ancestry. They could do a similar interview with their grandparents.

How did technology affect our ancestors?

It’s something I’ve wondered about over the course of my research. How would the development of new technologies have impacted on our ancestors?

Technology comes in all shapes and sizes. We mostly think of developments in electronics but there are so many more.

In the earl 1800’s the Jacquard loom was developed. This used a punched card to control the loom and made making more intricate designs in fabric possible. This would have been revolutionary to our ancestors as they could have patterned clothes rather than the boring plain ones. This would have made life much brighter as they could have had more decorative homes.

A punch card for a Jacquard loom

In the 1820/30’s a major development happened when Michael Faraday started to develop the electric generator. Just think what this would mean for our ancestors. Eventually they would be able to use electric lights. Just think what a difference this would make. Until electric lights they had to use reed lights, candles or oil lamps. All of these came with their own problems. Reed lights smelt and all produced smoke and caused rooms to get dirty quicker. Once they could have electric lights all these problems would be solved.

What about photograph which was developed in the first part of the 19^th century. Just imagine being able to have a photo of your loved ones to have as a keepsake. People could have photos of their children and some even had a photograph taken of their children if they died young, really, they posed the dead child and had it photographed. I love old photos of my ancestors they just look so funny. I know they had to stay perfectly still for up to 30 seconds but the facial expressions are just funny.

If you look at these two photos you can see that you could look normal like my great, great grandad but his wife decided to go for the Queen Victoria look or she was constipated!

In the 1870’s the telephone was invented by alexander Graham Bell. Now admittedly it would have taken a long time to filter through the country, but how cool would it have been for our ancestors to pick up the phone and call a friend or family member who lived away from them. Before you would have had to write a letter and wait for a reply whereas now they would be able to phone them up and get a reply to any questions straight away. It would also mean they could have phone for help. If your ancestor was a farmer they would have been able to phone the vet to come and help them and the vet would have been able to drive out to the farm and help (admittedly the car would be much later but still the vet could come by horse).

Later the same decade Thomas Edison made the phonograph. Now if you were lucky enough to be able to afford one you could play music in your home. No more would you have to go to the concert hall to hear music. You could listen to what your wanted not what was being played. Mind you there were probably still arguments among families over what they wanted to listen to. Dad wants Beethoven and the kids want Brahms.

The 1890’s saw the first screening of moving images. Can you imagine being able to watch a film for the first time. It must have been revolutionary for our ancestors to see.

The 1900’s brought the start of household appliances. The dishwasher had been invented in the 1890’s but the vacuum came about in 1901. No more sweeping, now your could do electric sweeping. Admittedly you’d have to pump the machines bellows while pushing it about but it was still progress. The washing machine came along later the same decade.

Think of the advances in medicine which came along in our ancestor’s life time. Some major developments came about. Small pox vaccinations, pasteurisation, anaesthetics for surgery and penicillin. How many of our ancestors survived because of these. I know my great Grandma would have survived if penicillin had been around in 1918. She died from an appendicitis and peritonitis. If she could have had penicillin she may have survived.

So we think of technological advances being modern but it isn’t. Technology has been developing since man first began to change things and will continue on into the future.

Death of Richard the Lionheart

The 6^th April 1199 brought to an end the short but eventful reign of Richard the Lionheart when he died from an arrow wound he incurred during the siege of Chalus Castle in France.

I’m sure you’ve all probably heard the legends of King Richard I of England. He’s well known for his crusades in the Holy Land and being the King during the time of Robin Hood, but what about the rest of his reign.

Well ironically Richard spent very little of his reign in England. Most of it was spent either on crusade, in captivity in Austria or fighting to hold on to or regain his lands in France lost by his brother and Regent Price John.

Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com

Richard was born in Oxford on the 8^th September 1157. He was the 4^th child of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was never expected to be king as he had 2 older brothers but they both died before him. When he was just 12 he was created Count of Poitiers. He was crowned King on the 3 September 1189 after the death of his father and was King until his death on the 6 April 1199. During the same period Richard was Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes. It’s a good job he didn’t need to live in all these places to hold the post or he’d have to move about all the time.

Richard is usually portrayed as tall and well-built and being very strong. He more than likely had reddish hair like his father and brothers. Was he really tall is unknown. Some sources have him at over 6 foot 5, but his brother John was only around 5 foot 5 so who knows.

Richard was the beloved son of Eleanor and she usually sided with Richard over most things including against her husband. During Richard’s reign his mother had great influence over Prince John who acted as regent. In fact when Richard died from the infected arrow wound it was in his mother’s arms, not his wife’s.

Yes Richard was married in name. On the 12^th May 1191 Richard married Berengaria of Navarre the daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. Berengaria was the choice of Richard’s mother for a bride. They married in the Chapel of St George, Limassol, Cyprus. His sister Joan was the widow of the King of Cyprus and he settled the issue of her inheritance from the new King while he was passing on the way to the crusades.

The marriage was not an affectionate one. It was most likely a marriage of convenience for Richard, but probably not for Berengaria who is rumoured to have loved Richard. She did stay with him in the Holy Land for some time but left for France and did not see him again until his release from captivity in 1194 after 2 years. After this she was reunited with Richard when he lived in France on and off from 1196 – 1199. She is the only Queen consort never to reside in England during her tenure. She did visit after Richard’s death. She died in Le Mans, France in 1230 where she was nun. The couple didn’t have any children as some believe the marriage wasn’t consummated although there is little evidence for this.

The Abbey of Fontevraud, France

So what happened to Richard after his death? Richard is actually buried in 3 places. His entrails were removed and buried where he died in Chalus, France. His heart was embalmed and buried in Rouen Cathedral in France opposite the tomb of his elder brother Henry the Young King and his body was buried in Fontenvraud Abbey at the feet of his father. His mother was buried alongside her husband King Henry II and Richard’s sister in law Isabella of Angouleme was buried alongside him, thus some people think it is Berengaria. I recommend a visit to the abbey as it’s a really nice place.

But what of the man who shot the arrow that killed him? Well Richard immediately pardoned him and event gave him money. After Richard died his men killed the man in the most horrific way he was flayed alive and then hung.                                 

Easter in the UK

So Easter is upon us again and you can celebrate with religious festivals or eating far too much chocolate. But what things did your ancestors get up to? Well you may be pleases to hear that the UK has a proud tradition of doing some really weird things over Easter.

                                                   Cute bunnies and eggs says Easter to me

Well if your ancestors were from Yorkshire they may have taken part in the World Coal Carrying Championship. In this event held in the Yorkshire town of Ossett a sack of coal weighing 1 hundredweight or 50 kg for men and 20 kg for women has to be carried from the Royal Oak pub to the maypole in Gawsworth, a distance of just over 1000 meters, as fast as possible. This event has been held since 1963.

Your Leicestershire ancestors may have taken part in the ancient art of bottle kicking. The first mention of this event is in the 1770’s. In the event the villages of Hallaton and Medbourne  fight over three barrels of beer. Each side has to try and get the barrels to their village in a rule free contest that usually end up in blood and pain for the contestants after several hours, but it’s OK as the villages share the beer!

What about in Lancashire well you ancestors may have taken place in Nutters Dance. This is similar to Morris Dancing but the men where black and white costumes and have dirty faces. So any ancestors from the town of Baccup may have done this on Easter Saturday. In fact any ancestors from a more rural community may have taken part in Morris Dancing throughout the country. These dances have been taking place since the 1400’s and involve a group of usually me dancing to music fiddle music accompanied by a drum. The men where white with brightly coloured ribbons tied to them and bells on their legs. They carry hankie or clubs. Some believe the dances are fertility dances to encourage the crops to grow. These days the dances are usually done outside pubs and involve drinking much beer in rural villages in England but there are now sides (the name for a group of morris men) throughout the world.

Morris Dancing

Ancestors who lived near Smithfield in London may have taken part in the practice of the widow’s charity. It was in effect a form of helping the poor. People would place 21 sixpences (a sixpence was about 2.5 pence so in total is about 50p) on to the tombs in the grave yard. This money was then distributed to 21 poor widows of the parish. Your ancestors could have been the givers or the receivers.

My personal favourite is the ancient art of egg rolling. In this people stand at the top of a hill and roll their eggs down a hill. The first to the bottom wins. This is done throughout the UK but in particular in Preston, Lancashire. In the Bedfordshire town of Dunstable they use oranges instead of eggs. I suppose an orange would survive better than an egg.

Each town or village probably had some sort of tradition they carried out. Some may have distributed relief to the poor, others may have had festivals and plays. In reality Easter, aside from the religious significance meant that winter had lost its grip on the land and new life began to spring up. Easter became a time for celebration as the days got longer and warmer. The harsh conditions were over, food was going to become more plentiful and the people had a reason to look forward to the summer to come.

So however you spend Easter, be it with an egg hunt, a bonnet competition, religious practices or just eating far too much chocolate until you feel sick have fun!

                                     

Death of the Tudor Dynasty

On the 24^th March 1603 Queen Elizabeth I died at the age of 69 thus bringing to an end the Tudor dynasty (sort of). The dynasty had run from 22 August 1485 when Henry Tudor of the house of Lancaster defeated King Richard III of the house of York during the Wars of the Roses. The house of Tudor gave us King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Jane, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Each had their own beliefs and campaigns and caused turmoil in the land, but who was the greatest Tudor?

The 6 Tudor Monarchs. All images courtesy of ancestryimages.com

Well it could be argued it was Henry VII as he was the start of the family being the monarchs of the land. Henry reigned from 22 August 1485 – 21 April 1509. He was the nephew of King Henry VI. He fought alongside his father Edmund Tudor, his uncle Jasper Tudor and his grandfather Owen Tudor in the wars of the roses. He united the houses of Lancaster and York when he married Elizabeth of York the daughter of King Edward IV. He united England and Scotland again through the marriage of his daughter Margaret to King James IV of Scotland. He boosted the country’s economy through his policies and gained much revenue from taxes. Many called him the greatest miser in the land as he didn’t always spend the revenue on the land. He created alliances with Spain and thus their supporters and he was a devoted family man who was devastated by the death of his wife.

Was it Henry VIII who reigned from 21 April 1509 – 28 January 1547? Well he probably is the most well-known of the Tudors, mainly by his happy use of the executioner. He took England away from the influences of the Catholic faith and the influence of Rome when he declared himself head of the Church of England. He forged alliances with France through the marriage of his sister Mary to King Louis XII, although he still fought with them on occasions and maintained the alliance his father established with Spain through his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. He was a great supported of the tournament in his younger years and was consider a great jouster. He was also a keen real tennis player. He did away with some of the strong taxes his father implemented although in later years his fondness for war, particularly with France, left the country nearly bankrupt. He also greatly supported the England’s food industry singlehanded through his love of eating. Although he was considered an evil tyrant he had a fondness for merriment and loved dressing up and surprising people. All in all Henry was probably a confident and insecure man all at the same time.

King Edward VI is probably one of the less well known Tudors. Edward reigned from 28 January 1547 – 6 July 1553. He reign was mainly carried out by his protector Edward Seymour who was his mother’s brother. Edward was just 9 when he came to the throne. He was the first monarch of England to be completely protestant. He is probably best known for troubles his death caused when he named his cousins eldest daughter as his successor. King Henry VIII named Edward as his heir and then the descendants of his sister Mary and her husband Charles Brandon. Edward didn’t want his catholic sister Mary to inherit the throne and since both she and his other sister Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate then Jane Grey was his heir.

Jane Grey was queen for 9 days in July 1553. She was the great granddaughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York through their daughter Mary and her second husband Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Jane’s parents were Frances Brandon and Henry Grey who were the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. Jane married Guilford Dudley in May 1553. When Edward VI died she was proclaimed Queen. Unfortunately Mary Tudor, Edward’s sister and much of the country didn’t like this so uprisings ensued. Mary matched on London and took the throne with the help of the Privy Council. Jane and her husband were sent to the tower along with Jane’s father in law the Duke of Northumberland. All were executed the same year. Jane was just 16 or 17.

Execution of Jane Grey. Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com

Mary I reigned from 6 July 1553 (the date her brother Edward VI died) until the 17 November 1558. He reign is probably best remembered for her persecution of those of the protestant faith. She turned England back to Rome and set about burning at the stake many protestant bishops and supporters including her father’s great friend Bishop Thomas Cramner. She was given the nick name Bloody Mary as a result of the high number of deaths, mostly under the Heresy act which made Protestantism illegal. As a result nearly 300 people were burnt to death and many hundreds fled the country. Mary survived the Wyatt rebellion which was a plot to take the throne away from her and replace her with her protestant half-sister Elizabeth. Mary had Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower of London, but she had to release her. Mary had an ill-fated marriage to her Spanish cousin Phillip and suffered several phantom pregnancies. When she died she reluctantly left the throne to her protestant half-sister Elizabeth.

Elizabeth I or Good Queen Bess reigned from 17 November 1558 until 24 March 1603. She brought England back to Protestantism although she didn’t prosecute Catholics as she had a policy of religious tolerance. She fought off the Spanish Armada in 1588 and made her famous speech at Tilbury docks to the troops where she stated: “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England too”. She also supported the new Protestant King of France against the rest of Catholic Europe. She famously refused to marry as she didn’t want her husband to take the throne over her. This lead to problems with the succession after she died. She was convinced that those who had a claim to the throne were trying to take it away from her. She forbade her cousins from marrying and kept them close so she could control them. It even lead to her having her Catholic cousin Mary Queen of Scots being executed, although Elizabeth claimed she did mean for her to be killed. In the end she had to choose a successor virtually on her death bed and chose her cousin Mary Queen of Scots son James VI of Scotland. She was also rumoured to be one of the first people in England to have a guinea pig as a pet.

So who was the greatest? Well for me it’s Henry VIII every time. Yes he had issues and liked to solve his problems in a permanent way but boy did he know how to have fun! But then Elizabeth had a guinea pig and I love guinea pigs!