Very quickly, I called one of the phone numbers for Meritxell that I'd found the other day, and to my delight she answered! We had a wonderful 3 1/2 hour phone conversation all about what each of us knew about our family, and are corresponding by email now.

I love the internet...

Tracking Rose Ford's grandchildren Read More...

A while ago I posted that I'd found a tree online by John Fielding, who it turned out was the grandson of Lionel FORD, brother of my own great grandmother Daisy. I had tried to contact him without success last year, but yesterday I thought I'd try again via his children's Facebook accounts... And it worked! Read More...

This is a classic mistake which I thought I'd share to show how assumptions can be dangerous!

I found the Stanbridge family in the 1841 census living in Albion Street, Rotherhithe, consisting of James (age 53) and Ann (52), Sarah (23) George (18) and Eliza (10). I make a quick assumption that these last three are the children of the first two, on the basis of age.

Now I go back to find baptisms for them all. I find another 5 children baptised to James and Ann of Rotherhithe, with James listed as a carpenter, and while Eliza is there too, Sarah and George aren't. There is an Ann born the same year as Sarah's stated age, so maybe she was known as Sarah? But no George to be found with James and Ann as parents.

Meanwhile, I have traced George's marriage and children through the censuses and still have him as James and Ann's son. With LMA's fantastic baptisms, marriages and burial records availabile via Ancestry, I am able to view George's marriage certificate to Elizabeth Lush in 1845, but who is his father? George Stanbridge, also a carpenter!! He is likely to be a nephew of James who may have been adopted or just staying with the familiy at the time of the 1841 census - that is to find out...

There is a serious lesson here. The 1841 census did not record relationship to head, although subsequent censuses did, so do not assume that just because householders share surnames, they are necessarily closely related... This was an elementary mistake, but one I'm sure many of us make too often.

I now need to find Sarah's marriage to find out who her father is.

Old maps - I love this site! It's an old map of London (other world maps available too) laid over google maps, so you can see exactly where your ancestors lived, and what it there today. It helped me place 'cottages' and 'alleys' which no longer exist.
Oral histories at the British Library - this is an amazing collection of sound recordings of people talking about their own pasts from a range of British locations. It is to record accents and dialects, so it gives you an idea of how your ancestors may have spoken, as well as finding out about their daily lives in the early 20th Century.
Currency Converter from the National Archives - find out what a will or salary might have been worth back then.
Deptford Pigots 1840 - trade and persons directory transcribed by Janet & Richard's Genealogy, this is great for those of you researching in this area of London/North Kent.

While I've not updated my blog for a few months, I have been very busy researching and managed to get hold of some amazing photos and fill in gaps for many of my ancestors.

I have also started on a transcription project at the Oxfordshire Record Office, working on Quarter Sessions for 1837 which, while none of my family have links to Oxford, is fascinating and inspiring all the same.

There are some fantastic new websites out there to help genealogical research and I'll post my favourite soon.

Wishing you a healthy and prosperous 2010.

Long day, but lovely to spend it by the seaside, especially in town where my grandmother grew up. Broadstairs first, and I found the house she lived in. The name of the house on the gate that I have from photos has long gone, but of only 5 similar houses, hers had a stone wall under fencing. The fencing is now a hedge, but distinctive nonetheless. It is in a very quaint part of Broadstairs (St Peters) and it was a short walk to St Peter’s Churchyard, where her father was buried. He died after a long period of invalidity (asthma, mostly) which is why they moved to the sea to be away from London in the early 1920s. Although I had the number and row of his grave, the row numbers outside the ‘main’ walled churchyard aren’t marked. We trailed up and down the rows looking for his name but to no avail. The parish office was shut and the vicar’s assistant didn’t know about the graves. In the end I asked a very kind lady who was laying flowers on a nearby headstone. I asked her if she knew the row/grave number so I could reference it and miraculously she did (after ringing her son at home)! We were then able to work backwards and get to the approximate location of Frank Edmund Phillips’ grave. Although the churchyard has undergone a huge clear-up of trees, weeds and bushes, our grave is not marked. It could be that it never was (although I would find that very hard to believe) or that it simply deteriorated through years of neglect. What a shame. I’m calling the parish office when I get back to double check where the grave should be.

Certificate arrived yesterday. Read More...

Durham Miner website Read More...

Tough lives in Tynemouth Read More...

...and that’s what the power of the internet (or just the eternally curious) rewards you with. Now I have some names from John’s website (see previous blog post) I have been able to fill in more gaps. I even have a wonderful scan copy of Margo’s husband’s war record (Leslie FIELDING). I’ll upload it soon.

But most notably I’ve found descendants of Lionel Frederick FORD, son of Lionel & Dorrie and brother to Margo & Gloria through his obituary in 2007, which I found on the Sydney Morning Post website:
"Late of Gymea.
Dearly beloved husband of Hazel, Valma (both deceased) and Ruby.
Much loved father and father-in-law of Bob & Rhonda, Margaret & Terry and Stephen & Jenny. Loving Grandpa to his eleven grandchildren and many great- grandchildren. Loving brother of Margo and Gloria.

Aged 88 years.

Sadly missed and Loved by all.
LIONEL'S family and friends are invited to attend
his

Funeral Service in the West Chapel, Woronora Crematorium
Linden Street, Sutherland, on Tuesday (January 30, 2007) at 11.30 a.m.”

What’s amazing is that Gloria and Margo were still alive in 2007! Is there a chance I will be able to speak to them? Write to them? It’s so wonderful to know that I have more cousins out there descended from our FORDs back in Rotherhithe.

I thought I’d just google “Gloria Averil” in case the “May” was superfluous, and hey presto! I came across not just ‘my’ Gloria Averil, but her family too! I had Lionel and Dorrie with 3 children, but I never knew their son’s name. I also had Margo as Gloria’s sister, which could have been Margery, Margaret, Margo etc.. Anyway, I stumbled across this website (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/f/i/e/John-Fielding/index.html) which documents the FIELDING family. Margo (Margaret Rose, it turns out - Margaret after her maternal grandmother, and Rose after her aunt?) marries Leslie FIELDING, and it’s their son John Edward FIELDING who has done the website. It has been invaluable to gather not just burials, births and marriage information, but also to find out that I have living relatives in Australia, something which would have been very hard to do without John’s website information.

I have emailed John to find out more, and hope he will get back to me. As it stands, there are very few known descendants from Daisy’s siblings: Charles & Evelyn (4 children - not previously known about, so will be very hard to trace); Lily & Fred (no children); Rose & Arthur (Russell 2 daughters are in Canada, although I have managed to trace which school they attended); Captain’s sons Lionel (deceased) and Donald (not known?) have children scattered across Europe now; Donald’s only surviving child Frank has Leanne and Neil - both in Australia; and now Lionel’s great grandchildren, Jason & Janelle.

Serving FORDs in Australia Read More...

Tracing the FORD family forwards in Australia Read More...

Death certificate arrived Read More...

Sojourn to France in 1914. But why? Read More...

Reconnecting with my 3rd cousin, David Spender. Read More...

Piecing together my g.g.grandparents’ last days. Louisa in an asylum? Charles in Devon? Read More...

Finding my g.g.grandmother’s surname Read More...

Found Charles (b. 1861) in the 1861 census in Hunwick.. Of course! Charles’ son is listed as having been born in Hunwick, Durham, so no wonder they were there in 1861. Interestingly they are listed as BARENS, not BARNES. Pronunciation issue no doubt!

BARNES in Tweedmouth Read More...

Myra’s burial at Brompton Cemetery Read More...

Found Esther and Christiana BARNES in the 1901 census in Northumberland. I have them baptised on the same day, so I’d guessed they might have been twins and they are living with each other, unmarried, living on their own means. In a family full of Janes and Johns, having unusual names helped place the rest of the family in previous censuses.

STANAWAY and PETERS Read More...

Found in the Naval records Read More...

Finding my 7 x g. grandparents Read More...

Australian records Read More...