Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Family Tree UK

At the forthcoming Royal Free Association (RFA) meeting on 21st November, there will be a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first classes held at the London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW). But why was the commencement of classes at LSMW on 12th October 1874 so important to opening the profession of medicine to women in the UK, and why should the 150th anniversary be celebrated? After all there are other notable anniversaries: • In 1859, Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman entered on the General Medical Council (GMC) Register – but this was under ‘grandfather’ or should it be ‘grandperson’ rules, and conferred no rights for other women. • In 1866, Elizabeth Garrett took the qualifying exam of the Society of Apothecaries, and was entered onto the…

It’s hard for us to believe it today, but the church wasn’t optional for our ancestors. In the past, the church was an integral part of village life, in which moral supervision and judgement were in the hands of the local parish priest, the parish churchwardens, the parish constable and the parish overseers. As family historians, we must be thankful for all the records left behind by those recording the day-to-day workings of the parish, hidden away in the parish chest. In June, I highlighted some of the hidden gems that can be found within the parish records and this month I have a few more of the more unusual entries that can be found, when you unlock the secrets of the parish chest. We start with a document that…

PS We have published Phil’s article in the centre of the magazine so that you may pull it out, if you wish, to keep and refer to for top-notch research practice! Sources and Method: both very important When I think about challenging family history problems – those knotty “brick walls” that have defied our attempts to solve them for months or perhaps years – I think about two basic divisions of genealogical knowledge and skills: • sources • and method. Knowledge of sources, what they are and how to access them is vital for uncovering information about our ancestors. But how we use that information is entirely a question of method. The processes of analysing information, extracting evidence relating to our research question, categorising evidence, linking and collating evidence, and…

Reflecting back on the last time York Family History Society appeared in the Spotlight feature, so much has changed. The society is a registered charity, founded in 1975, with the laudable purpose of promoting genealogical research in and around the city, and now has members across the world, including in Australia, Canada and the USA. Social media has enabled the society to become a bigger presence and to reach the many people who have an interest, but perhaps need a little support, to direct them down the right path for their research. The society is still run by keen volunteers, and new people have joined the committee recently to get involved in moving its work onwards, as colleagues from the earlier group have retired or moved on. There has been…

Your family photos Walter Davies writes Could you please possibly help for with the date and perhaps the sitting location of this photograph? It is made of metal, with size approximately 3” x 2”. When passed on to me it was contained in a disintegrating, burgundy frame with gilt tooling on its narrow outer frame. The shape of the original frame can just about be detected on the metal. The picture must have been of some significance within the family as it had been displayed by means of a string hanger. I would be very grateful for any information that you can provide. Jayne Shrimpton replies: This photograph struck directly onto metal is a tintype or, more correctly, a ferrotype, for the metal is a thin sheet of iron. Tintypes…

George Henry Blower Southard When my great-grandfather was born in Islington in 1858 his name was registered as plain Henry Southard. His father was Joseph Southard, a plasterer from the Exeter family of plasterers who lived in and around Summerland Street, St Sidwell’s. Joseph had moved to London shortly after the death of his first and much older wife Barbara in 1839. Joseph lived in Islington and married London-born Matilda Blower in 1853. My great-grandfather Henry had an elder sister, Matilda Blower Southard, born in 1855 and a younger brother, Charles, born in 1861 just before the census. However there were different people at Charles’ Islington birth address in the 1861 Census and I can’t find the family in it at all. What I do know is that they had…

I made this record card (see below right) 50 years ago when, as a student at the Royal Free Hospital (formerly the London School of Medicine for Women), I started this project. The project was then in abeyance until three years ago when it was revived by my next-door neighbour (Paul Robinson) who is an expert on family history. Over the intervening five decades years, family history research has been transformed – with the digitalisation of records and internet access. About the unrelated cohorts project Much family history research has been undertaken into extended families, but, until now, there has been less focus on unrelated cohorts (unrelated individuals that nevertheless share a common link e.g. a profession). This article features a project on the first 106 women (106 by 31…

The records of our military ancestors are an enormously rich source of biographical and genealogical material. As well as allowing us to reconstruct the fascinating stories of their service in the British Army, they can provide us with vital clues about their families and their origins. In this month’s Family Tree Academy I want to explore the records that we can use to research the lives of the thousands of soldiers who served in the long 19th century, covering the period from the Napoleonic Wars (1793 to 1815) right up to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The focus is on those who served not as officers but as ‘other ranks’, ie privates, drummers, corporals, sergeants etc in the ‘foot’ regiments and the equivalent ranks in the…

What are Ancestry Pro Tools? Ancestry offers different memberships which cater for their users’ needs (Figure 1). There are the monthly or yearly memberships called ‘Ancestry family history memberships’ which allows access to record sets (like census returns and parish registers) at different levels. If you have taken a DNA test, this membership also allows you to access relationship tools such as shared matches, Thrulines and Common Ancestor Hints. If you are only interested in accessing your DNA tools, Ancestry offers Ancestry DNA Plus (currently offered at £14.99 for six months). There is however a new kid on the block – Ancestry Pro Tools. Although US members have had this add-on since late 2023, it really only became available in the UK in June. How much do Pro Tools cost?…

Study club October meeting - Chancery records with Sarah Pettyfer Mon 14th October 6.30pm November meeting - Witch Hunts and the Little Ice Age with Wayne Shepheard Mon 11th November 6.30pm December meeting - Whatever happened to Aunt Gorda? with Phil Isherwood Mon 9th December 6.30pm DNA club October webinar - DNA correspondence skills Y-DNA know-how with John Cleary Wed 16th October 12.30pm November webinar - Defining a DNA test strategy, who should you test, what type of test etc with Donna Rutherford Wed 20th November 12.30pm December webinar - DNA: helping you tell your family stories with Michelle Leonard Wed 18th December 12.30pm Genealogy Gadgets club October webinar - Recording & storing your research with Lorna Kinnaird Thu 24th October 1-2pm November webinar - How to use Findmypast: a…

Introducing the Big Oxfordshire Names Database - spanning Medieval times to the 20th century The Big Oxfordshire Names Database (BOND) represents the next generation in Oxfordshire Family History Society’s family history data; collated, indexed and made available via the OFHS website to its members, to support their genealogical research. The BOND project was made possible through the collaborative endeavours of Project Manager Sue Honoré, Technology Kevin Poile and Publicity, Education & Training Angie Trueman, ably assisted by Jessica Feinstein, and supported by a “whole host of others helping out on transcribing, checking and testing”. This new, comprehensive database will bring to light ancestors across multiple sources. “The records in BOND go back right back into Medieval times,” enthuses Sue Honoré. “The earliest is I think 972AD, right up until the…

In the course of researching my ancestry, I have found that I am directly descended from at least nine mariners, the earliest of whom was recorded as a captain in 1772 and the latest of whom was a ship’s cook during the early 20th century. The term ‘mariner’ generally refers to merchant seamen as opposed to Royal Navy personnel, whereas the term ‘sailor’ generally refers to personnel in the Royal Navy. However, many sailors in the Royal Navy were also merchant seamen at some point in their lives. Additionally, some British merchant ships were commandeered for use by the Royal Navy, especially in wartime. Indeed, British maritime records can reveal information about a vast number of individuals. Many relate to mariners who lived in Britain’s former colonies and were active…

I often try to imagine what life was like for my ancestors. Not just the events of their own lives, but what was going on around them at the time. Mind, when I look at old photos of northern towns, and read about the overcrowding, the smoke, the poverty, the disease, I wonder they had time to think about anything much beyond existing day to day. Across the channel in France, though, things may have been un peu different for my 2x greataunt Catherine Mary Riboldi, aka Vicomtesse Mary-Kate Charlotte Ruinart de Brimont. In June 1888, just turned 21, she’d married her adoptive cousin André, and la Belle Époque must have been an exciting time to be alive – if you were wealthy, that is. The following spring, the grand…

After deciding to take a test, the most important question to answer is ‘what are my goals?’ as this will determine which test you should take. Do you want to: • Verify your family tree? • Break a brick wall? • Identify a mystery ancestor? • Connect with new relatives? • Discover your ethnic make-up? Perhaps you are simply curious and have no specific goal in mind: I call this ‘fishing trip testing’. Which test is most likely to be the best test to help me accomplish my goals? Autosomal DNA tests are best not only for ‘fishing trips’ but all the previous questions posed unless they concern more distant ancestry as five to seven generations is the acknowledged limit of autosomal reach. Autosomal tests are also the most popular…

ancestry.co.uk Please can you help me date & decode this photograph? Q I would be grateful for help with dating this photo of my relatives, who I believe to be Robert Cockman and his wife Bella. In addition I would like to gain a better understanding of the uniform and its badges. Robert, born 1872, joined the Gordon Highlanders in 1892, but his service record has not survived. Research at The National Archives (TNA) found he served in India and in South Africa during the Boer War and that Robert was a lance corporal by May 1894; corporal May 1897, sergeant August 1897 and colour sergeant in 1898. In 1902 he enlisted in the Border Regiment, rank lance sergeant, but died in Gibraltar on 27 January 1907 of a self-inflicted…

I was often called Dolly Daydream by my mum and even by teachers. I think she was a character in a girl’s comic, who spent too much time reading, thinking, and generally indulging in an overactive imagination. It’s a good job Mum didn’t know there was a medical name for it, otherwise I’d have been suffering from more than cod liver oil, and beastly built-up shoes for flat feet, till my early teens. Whilst I can see that, if excessive, it might become a nuisance, there must be many of us mentally scurrying off into the past in quiet moments, working over some ancestral problem. ‘Considering our options’ must be meat and drink to family historians. If you find me with a vacant stare this week, chances are I’m not…