Warwickshire History – What of Whatcote?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Ros

St. Peter's Church, WhatcoteIt’s been a long time since I last posted, and this is because I have recently moved house – to the very rural village of Whatcote in Warwickshire. Of course, being interested in all things historical, I have looked on the internet for any history linked to this village – but all I have found is that the Church of St. Peter’s was partly destroyed by a rogue German bomber on its way to blitz Coventry during the war, and that Cromwell stayed here before the Battle of Edgehill.  I would be very interested to learn more Warwickshire history specifically relating to this extremely beautiful area of countryside.

The village is close to the larger village of Tysoe, within a lovely expanse of open countryside between Shipston-on-Stour and Kineton, just off the A422, half way between Stratford-upon-Avon and Banbury.  It’s also close to Compton Wynyates, so that is going to be a must on our list of summer outings this year.

I can tell you that the dog is very happy because the variety of dog walks is unsurpassed – and there’s nothing she likes better than to be off the lead, exploring in a large open expanse of field!

A few drawbacks – I had to change my mobile phone network as I found there was no coverage here – and the time it has taken to set up a phone line and broadband is beyond belief.  Communications are mainly in place now, however, so it’s business as usual – and I am ready for lots of orders for tracing ancestors – and exploring any churchyards in this area would be a pleasure!

And if anyone knows anything about the history of this area, do please let me know.

Toodlepip.

Posted in History | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

English Occupations and Your Ancestors

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Ros

Whilst rooting around in your family history, you will learn what your ancestors did for a living – at least as far back to the early 1800s, and beyond if you are lucky. This is often one of the most fascinating aspects of discovering who your ancestors were. Whether they were a lowly agricultural labourer, or a highly respected surgeon, the curious and wide range of English occupations can lead you to further knowledge of how they lived their lives on a day to day basis. For some people it can be exciting to discover that a creative gene, such as writing or painting has made its way down to the present day.

Occupational information can be found on the census, back from 1911 every ten years to 1841, and sometimes beyond depending on the availability of records. Some earlier parish records did mention a man’s occupation, and other records, such as directories, wills, property deeds and tax records can also give occupational details.

Many of you will have come across occupations that are now obsolete, and will often need further explanation. What, for example, is a night soil man? Or a calenderer? Or a fag ender?

The first of these might have been found in any large town or city in the days before plumbing, emptying dry toilets. Not a job I would like to imagine any of my ancestors doing – but fascinating nonetheless.

The other two are connected to the textile industry, and will usually be found in those industrial areas where cotton was being produced – for example, Manchester. A calenderer was just a generic term for a textile industry worker. A fag ender was someone employed to trim off loose bits of cloth known as fags.

If you trawl through the census records for specific areas, you will of course find a wealth of occupations connected to that area’s industry. Sticking with Manchester for the moment, you will find many jobs associated with the cotton industry, and among the weavers, winders, packers and piecers you might also come across Fustian cutters (cloth workers who trim corded cloth), beamers (people who handle materials before weaving), billiers, billy roller operations or billymen (all terms for cotton spinners) or even an impleachers (cloth weavers).

When you find that an ancestor’s origins are in a particular area, it is worth while finding out about the major industries there, because this will no doubt have had some effect on your ancestor’s life, even if he (or she) was not directly involved in it.

For example, shoemakers are known everywhere – but a shoemaker working in Manchester would probably have had a different experience to a shoemaker who worked in a more rural area, or on the coast. Is he making shoes for factory workers, agricultural labourers, fishermen or for the well-to-do?

If your ancestor moved around, it was very likely it was to find work. Undertaking a bit of historical research on the local industries can give you a good indication of why your ancestor moved from one town to another, or from a rural area to urban. My own great-great grandfather started out as a bricklayer in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and moved to Birmingham where he became a builder and employer. You only need to find out about the building boom going on in Birmingham in the mid-19th century to work out why he made the choice to move!

There was a huge migration from rural areas to urban during the late 18th and early 19th century due to the industrial revolution and the growth of work in factories. By 1851 more people lived in towns and cities than in villages. Knowing this kind of information can place your ancestor into the backdrop of social and economic history.

Some occupations can lead you to finding further documentation. For example, workers in skilled trades may well have started out as an apprentice, and you may find the apprenticeship records at the local record office. These can give you further details about his origins and parentage.

If your ancestor worked for a big company, it may be worth finding out whether there are staff records in existence. If the company still exists, they may even keep their own set of archives.

Not only are occupations interesting in themselves – they can lead you to find out further information, whether it is more family records, or information about how your ancestor lived, and under what conditions. Much information about trades and occupations can be found on the internet, and there are many books about various trades and industries. The Society of Genealogists publishes a range of books entitled “My Ancestor was….”

Old English occupations are varied and wide-ranging, and they can tell you much about your ancestor. Make sure you always follow up this line of enquiry and find out as much as possible about what he (or she) did for a living.

Posted in History, Occupations | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Ancestor History – The car versus horsepower

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Ros

History of Transport - London Bridge 1900Just recently my lovely car broke down rather drastically, and I’ve had to go through the stress and hassle of getting rid of it and getting another one.  It got me thinking about life before the automobile, and whether things were that much different for our ancestors before the invention of the combustion engine.

I think that many of us probably hold a rather romantic view of the days of the horse and carriage.  It sounds like a much simpler, stress-free, slower way of life.  But how different was it really to today? This is just a light-hearted look at the difference between running car today, and running a horse and/or carriage in the 19th century or earlier.

Traffic Volume We complain of the amount of traffic today – but things were just as bad back in the 1890s, as the above photograph testifies, especially in the cities.  Like today, the more urban the area, the more traffic there was, and traffic jams were a continual problem.

Noise Another thing we might complain about in today’s modern world, is the noise of traffic.  But can you imagine a busy London street with the constant noise of horses’ hooves, the wheels of carriages on cobbles and the shouts (and cursing) of cab and carriage drivers?

Breakdowns We might be the ones cursing when our own cars break down (as I was on a dark, busy road a few days ago…) but when you were reliant on a horse, there was always the possibility of it getting sick, going lame or losing a shoe – or your carriage or cart might lose a wheel.  The garage services that are ubiquitous in almost every village today are the equivalent of the village blacksmith before the 20th century.

Maintenance With a car, you really only need to feed it petrol and water when it’s in use, and clean it when it gets dirty. With a horse you have to feed, water and exercise it daily, and it will also need regular grooming, as well as general care and attention (of course, some of us also stroke and talk to our cars – but that’s another story…)

EmissionsOK – you probably know where I’m going with this. Perhaps what comes out of a horse at the other end is more useful than the exhaust from a car – but can you imagine the amount of manure that must have been a constant problem on the streets of the cities? It must have kept street cleaners busy and must have added to the general mixture of smells of the 19th century urban district too!

SafetyIn this respect, we do have better safety systems – though what the difference in statistics are I can’t say. In the days of the horse, there were all kinds of dangers. A horse could fall, or shy and throw its rider, a carriage could overturn on those untarmacced roads, and street accidents, with pedestrians being knocked down by a horse, or falling under the wheels of a wagon, were fairly common. I’d be interested to know what the comparison statistics are, if there are any, so please leave a comment if you know!

Speed Well, I admit that if you’re driving anywhere other than a city (or the M25, or the M6 around Birmingham…), you’re probably going a few MPH faster than your average horse. But I very much doubt whether the traffic of big cities today is going that much faster than it was 150 years ago.

My point is, really, that if you live in an urban area, the only improvements we’ve made since the horse and carriage is in terms of comfort. We have heating systems, comfortable seats, radios & CD players, security and air bags, but the general upkeep and expense probably hasn’t changed that much in real terms!

So the next time you are cursing at your car, or the cost of petrol, remember that your ancestors were probably doing something similar – (though I do hope they were nice to the horse!)

Want to find out how your ancestors lived? Use my research services.

Posted in History | 2 Comments

English Genealogy – Finding your English roots

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Ros

One of the things I love about this job is that people are usually very appreciative when you find their ancestors!  This is particularly true of our friends across the pond in the New World of the United States, and also of our Antepodian cousins on the other side of the world.  English genealogy can prove difficult if you are several thousand miles away – but finding out about your roots in the Old Country generally proves to be extremely exciting and fascinating, even when you have to find someone else to do it!

Many of my clients are either American or Australian, and of course so many people in both these great countries have British genealogy.  How exciting to find out where and how they lived before they took the enormous decision to leave these shores for new lives.

Of course, it is not always possible to look into the minds of those ancestors and find out exactly why they made that decision – but by looking at their occupations, environment and lifestyles, you can sometimes get a very good idea of their reasons for leaving everything they have ever known behind them.

Unlike today, when we can stay in touch with friends and relatives through the phone and internet, and hop on a plane if you want to see them, those ancestors who emigrated to America or Australia knew they would never see their loved ones again, and were leaving the place they had known for good, without really knowing what kind of life lay ahead.  Not only that, but they usually had to face a dangerous, lengthy and extremely uncomfortable journey across often stormy seas in order to reach their destination.  That must have taken a lot of courage.

Of course, sometimes, people were sent abroad against their will – and many an Aussie will find an ancestor who was transported from England for some crime, whether minor or major.  It can be of great interest to find out details of your ancestor’s crime through trial and transportation records.

If you have English genealogy – or Irish, Scottish or Welsh ancestry – you can find much on the internet.  But at some point you will need to hire a local researcher to research the local archives for parish register records, wills, land records and other documents that can provide an insight into your ancestors’ lives.

A word of warning though.  Before you hire and English or British expert, you need to try and find out as much about your ancestor as possible, particularly if their name was a common one.  We may be a small country, but we have a fair size population, and trying to find a Thomas Brown of England, just isn’t going to work unless you have some idea of where he came from!

So, do as much as you can within your own country before asking for help over here.  The best kinds of records to look at will be the census records in your country.  Much of the time these will only give a vague place of birth, such as “England” or “Ireland” – but do look in every possible census to see if at any time they gave a more specific place.

Try to get hold of any death or marriage records.  I believe that death records in the United States give a lot more information than they do over here, and can give a clue to their origins.  Once you have a death date, you could also try looking for local obituaries in newspapers, which will often give details of a person’s origins.  The information on marriage records differs from state to state, but might give parents’ names, and possibly even origins if you are lucky.

Try also to find any immigration records you can find.  It is usually much more likely to find these records in the place of arrival, rather than the place of departure.  Ancestry.com has a good coverage of American and Australian passenger lists and other immigration records, so it’s a good place to start.  If you can find your ancestor here, you will often find at least where they sailed from, and very often where they were born.

Once you have as much information you can find from your own country’s records, then you are equipped to request searches into your UK roots.  However, sadly, there are cases where this information just cannot be found, and unless you are lucky enough to have a very unusual name, then it is unlikely you will be able to trace your Thomas Brown.

If you unsure, then you can always make an enquiry.  I am very happy to have a look at your case and give you some advice about the possibility of finding your ancestor.  You can email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.  Or, if you have more information about your immigrant ancestor, you could try one of my research packages on my research service page.

My main expertise is for English Genealogy – but I do have professional contacts in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, so I can help you wherever your ancestors came from in the UK.

Posted in Search services | Tagged | 2 Comments

Ancestor history: Taxes in the UK

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Ros

With taxation being a fairly topical subject – and also in the light of my last post – I thought it would be interesting to have a look at some of the taxes that our ancestors had to suffer in the past. Finding out about the taxes people had to pay in the past can enrich your knowledge of your ancestor’s history, including their financial standing or whether they owned any property.

Here are some brief details about some of the taxes that have been levied throughout history:

Hearth Tax 1662-1689

This was a tax of 2 shillings for each fireplace, hearth or stove in the person’s home. Some people were excempt, including paupers or if the house was worth less than a rent of 20 shillings per year. Most charitable institutions and industrial hearths were also exempt. You can usually find these records at the local county record office and at the National Archives.

The hearth tax returns that are available for search will include the taxpayers’ names, the amount they had to pay and/or the amount of hearths. Finding your ancestor’s name in these records can give you an idea of the size of house they lived in.

As you can imagine, this tax was extremely unpopular and evasion was common, so not everybody who was supposed to pay this tax will be on the lists.

Window Tax 1696-1851

Another unpopular one! This tax varied in form over the years, but in general it was a tax charged depend

ing on how many windows a house had. Again, people living in poverty were exempt – but many people avoided or reduced this tax by blocking up windows. In fact, whenever you’re traveling through the British countryside, keep a look out for 18th century houses that have bricked up windows (there are many!) – and impress your fellow passe

ngers by telling them why!

The window tax records will give you the name and address of the taxpayer, the number of windows in the house they occupied, and how much tax was paid. Again, this can give you an idea of the size of house they lived in. Most of these records are held at County Record Offices.

Marriage Duty Act 1695-1706

Imposed in order to pay for war in France, this was paid on the occasion of births, marriages and burials – though people on poor relief were exempt. Some of the assessments produced by the tax collectors have survived and can usually be found at the relevant CRO. They list household members and relationship to the head of household. So, if your ancestors are listed, this can be quite useful for establishing family relationships during this 11 year period.

Land Tax 1693-1963

This was levied on land that had an annual value of over 20 shillings. However, the most extensive surviving records are from the period of 1720-1832. Interestingly, Catholics were charged double from 1692 to 1831.

Land tax records list landowners, and from 1772, the occupiers of a property. They will tell you how much tax was paid and can be found in CROs or borough archives. Not all of these records have survived, and it very much depends on which county you are searching in. However, the information can tell you a good deal about the kind of property your ancestors lived in.

Poll Tax 14th, 17th and 18th centuries

Remember the poll tax riots of the 80s? Well, that was nothing new. Poll taxes were collected at various times as a specific amount per head (e.g. 4 pence per head in 1377 for those over 14 years old) and were always unpopular. In fact the poll tax of 1 shilling per head that was introduced in 1381 resulted in that year’s Peasants’ Revolt. The age of those eligible (if that’s the right word!) and the amount of tax varies from year to year.

Some of the very early poll tax returns are at the National Archives and are in Latin, and later ones should now be indexed and are available at TNA and at some CROs. Sometimes they note occupations and occasionally household member relationships.

The above is a very brief guide to the most useful tax records – but it’s always worth checking what other tax records are available at your local CRO. Here is a list of a few others that might be of use to you, though not all of them have survived. Check CROs, the National Archives and also Quarter Session Records.

Tax on male servants 1777-1852 (the surviving records only list the employers’ names)
Tax on female servants 1785-1792 (as above)
Horse tax 1784-1874 for those owned riding or driving horses
Carriage tax 1747-1782
Silver plate tax 1756-1777
Game tax 1784-1807
Coats of arms tax 1793-1882
Dog tax 1796-1882
Hair powder tax 1795-1861 (for those who wore wigs – this tax helped to end the fashion for wigs!)
Sheep tax 1549/50 (by size of flock)
Uninhabited houses 1851-1924
Income tax 1789, 1803-1816, 1842 onwards (mainly for wealthier classes until fairly recently)

The next time you moan about your car tax, income tax, VAT or any other tax, spare a thought for your ancestors who no doubt also had a grumble about whatever taxes the government decided to extract in their lifetime!

Posted in History, Resources | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New fees

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Ros

Well – it was bound to happen.

With the VAT increase, rising fuel prices and the general cost of living rising substantially I AM going to have to increase my fees from £18 to £20 per hour, which is still pretty reasonable compared to many other genealogists’ fees.

However, I am not doing this officially until 1st February 2011 – and anyone who hires my genealogical services before that date will stay at the old rate for the whole of the time of the first project they commission – even if that lasts for 6 months!

However, all NEW jobs after 1st February, and all 2nd and subsequent projects will be charged at the new rate of £20 per hour.

So, if you’ve been thinking about hiring someone to trace your ancestors in the UK but have been hesitating, now is the time to do it.

Ros

Posted in Search services | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Christmas Past – The origins & traditions of Yuletide

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Ros

This article (by me!) was first published in Family History Monthly in December 2007 under the title ‘..And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.’  I thought it would make a nice blog post for the season.  Hope you enjoy.

Today, Christmas is effectively over after Boxing Day, and apart from the New Year celebrations, many of us are back at work on the 27th, all festivities behind us.  For our society, and its worship of the great God Commerce, Christmas starts soon after Halloween, builds up into a crescendo of hysterical money-spending, and culminates in an orgiastic climax of partying, drinking and over-eating.

The Yuletide festival was very different for our distant ancestors.  Christmas began at midnight on Christmas morning, and lasted until Twelfth Night – the night beginning on January 5th (with Twelfth Day being January 6th).  The only tradition to have survived that relates to these twelve days is keeping our decorations up until January 6th, when with relief we pull down the drooping tinsel, and sweep away the thick pile of Christmas Tree needles.

Very few of us, I am sure, know why we do this, and neither do we know much about the Twelve Days apart from that rather strange and slightly irritating carol.

In order to understand the Twelve Days, we have to go back even further to the centuries following Christ’s lifetime when the Christian church was attempting to establish a nativity festival and the dates of related events.  The idea of celebrating Christ’s birth was not a popular one until the end of the first century – but nobody knew on what day he had been born, and it was not until the year 336 that December 25th was chosen.  This was partly because of a belief that the Annunciation – and Christ’s conception – was on March 25th, and therefore his birth must have taken place nine months later.  But it was also related to a pagan festival that was already in place involving sun worship – and the Christian ‘Sun of Righteousness’ intermingled with the belief in a Sun God.  The date of the sun’s rebirth, according to this belief, was 25th December.

This date was at that time the date of the winter solstice, the day when the sun was ‘reborn’ in the sky and conquered the dark months of winter.  This was a major feast day in the Roman Empire and a culmination of the Feast of Saturnalia (December 17th to 23rd) when social order was overturned, and servants could make the rules.  Holly – a symbol of the god Saturn – was used for decoration, and the festival also included the making and giving of small presents.  These traditions were incorporated into the later Christian festival.

The next decision to be made was the hour of Christ’s birth, and this was established as midnight on the morning of the 25th, when a mass was to be held, hence: Christ’s Mass, which became Christmas.

The other name for this period, Yuletide, stems from the old pagan festival of fire and light, known as Yule in England and Scandinavia.  The druids used to light a Yule log which was kept burning for the twelve days of the winter solstice.  This tradition was still being practised in medieval times and the log would be carried into the house on Christmas Eve, decorated with greenery and ribbons, lit with the end of last year’s log and kept burning until January 5th.  There are still remnants of this tradition today.

In the pagan festival, the twelve nights following the winter solstice represented the twelve signs of the zodiac.  There was also an Egyptian festival celebrating the birth of the gods on January 6th.  However, in the 4th century, January 6th gained popularity as the date that the three wise men came to see the infant Jesus, and so became the Feast of the Epiphany.  The French church proclaimed the period between the two dates to be sacred, and so began the celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Several Christian feast days became incorporated into this period, including St Stephen’s Day on the 26th, the Feast of St John the Apostle on the 27th and the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28th.  Whether by design or not, by entwining Christian festivals with pagan ones, the Church successfully increased the popularity of its own celebrations.

By the Middle Ages, thismix of the pagan and the Christian had become well established and was preceded by a period of four weeks of fasting known as Advent.  Ironically, today’s advent calendars bear little relation to this, with doors opening to reveal chocolates or sweets.  The fasting on Christmas Eve was particularly strict, and no meat, eggs or cheese were eaten on this day.

Indigestion was no doubt as much a part of Christmas then as it is now, as banqueting – for the rich at least – started on Christmas Day and was repeated on some of the following days up until Twelfth Night.  After four weeks of fasting, this must have come as a shock to the system.  Goose, swan or venison might be eaten, and in 1289 the Bishop of Hereford was reported to have presented a Boar’s Head to his guests, which became standard fayre for the elite.

For most people, Christmas Day would start with attendance at Christmas Mass at dawn.  The congregation would hold lighted tapers while Christ’s genealogy was sung.  Afterwards, they would go home and begin their first big meal of the season.  In some areas, depending on whether your local nobility was of a generous leaning or not, the rich were expected to keep an open house for the locals.  The food might have included a precursor of today’s mince pie which was made with real meat, fruit and spices.  Christmas pudding was originally a dish of porridge, currants and dried fruit eaten on Christmas Eve after the day’s fast.  As far as I can gather, there was no tradition of gift-giving on the day itself – and certainly no Father Christmas or Christmas tree, neither of which became a part of Christmas until the 19th century.  The day was all about food and community, whereas today we focus more on family gatherings.

Over time, entertainments became part of the merry-making, and by the early 15th century landowners were employing theatrical troupes and musicians, and mummers’ plays and dances were performed in some villages.  By Tudor times, amusements might also include jesters and acrobats.  Some parishioners would pool together to hire their own players – or even put on their own plays in the village church.

On 26th December, the church distributed the money from the alms boxes to the poor of the parish, which is why we call this Boxing Day.  Today’s tradition (though probably fading out) of giving small gifts to delivery workers stems from this practice.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents on the 28th was a day for commemorating Herod’s cruelty when he ordered all children under the age of two to be slaughtered.  It has been said that in medieval times children were beaten on this day to remind them of this.  However, there is also evidence that may suggest a pre-Christian ritualistic scourging which is not necessarily confined to Christmas or to children.  The beautiful Coventry Carol, which originated with the Coventry Corpus Christi Mystery Plays in the 15th century, suggests a more sensitive approach, particularly in its chorus and last verse:

Lully, Lullay, thou little tiny child.
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay thou little tiny child
Bye, bye, lully, lullay

Then woe is me, poor child, for thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye lully, lullay.

Whatever the tradition of Holy Innocents Day, it was certainly thought to be unlucky, and most people would not think of beginning anything on that day, as it would be unlikely to ever be completed.

As for New Year’s Day, we know, of course, that January 1st did not officially become the start of the New Year until 1751.  However, surprising though it may seem, New Year celebrations did take place on this day, following an old Roman tradition.  It is on this day that we find evidence of the giving and receiving of gifts amongst the upper classes and from master to servant – and there is no reason to believe that the exchange of gifts did not happen in the lower classes as well.  It is this tradition that is believed to be the forerunner of the modern day Christmas present.

It was at New Year that the ‘wassail’ would be heard.  The word comes from the Saxon waes hael and means ‘be well’.  In Saxon times the lord of the manor would shout ‘waes hael!’ to his household, and they would reply: ‘drink hael!’ (drink well and be healthy).  By the Middle Ages it had become a tradition to toast each other in this way – usually with a form of mulled ale, cider or wine.  By 1600 many commoners had begun to take the wassail bowl from house to house, singing as they went, a practice that Shakespeare probably was involved in, and which has survived into the modern Christmas Carol singing from door to door.  There was also a ceremony whereby apple trees would be sprinkled with the wassail to ensure a good harvest in the coming year.

Twelfth Night itself signalled the end of the Christmas holiday, but was itself a time of religious services and feast-making.  It began with a dramatic church service and ended with what was probably the most lavish feast of the year (for the upper classes and royalty at least) and there were many entertainments and merry-making.  Twelfth Night cake was an essential part of the festivities, and often contained a pea and a bean, whoever finding them becoming King and Queen for the night.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Twelfth Night period was a tradition that had developed from the Roman Saturnalia festival.  In Roman times, the Lord of Misrule represented the god Saturn and one member of the community would be appointed to take on this role.  This practice lasted well into the Middle Ages and the Tudor periods, particular in larger households, universities and law schools.  A mock ruler would be chosen for the twelve days who would be in a position of authority and in charge of entertainments.  The chosen one would then appoint his own guards and followers and they would dress themselves up in the most colourful garbs, cover themselves up with ribbons and lace and march to the church.  A record of the written appointment of one Lord of Misrule for the household of the Right Worshipful Richard Evelyn is shown below:

‘Imprimis, I give free leave to Owen Flood, my trumpeter, gentleman, to be Lord of Misrule of all good orders during the twelve days. And also, I give free leave to the said Owen Flood to command all and every person or persons whatsoever, as well servants as others, to be at his command whensoever he shall sound his trumpet or music, and to do him good service, as though I were present myself, at their perils I give full power and authority to his lordship to break up all locks, bolts, bars, doors, and latches, and to fling up all doors out of hinges, to come at those who presume to disobey his lordship’s commands. God save the king!’

It is not difficult to imagine the riotous and often scandalous events that were no doubt caused and presided over by the Lord of Misrule.  Their antics often caused church officials, particularly puritans, some serious concern and there were regular calls to ban the tradition.  However, many abbeys and cathedrals had their own version from the 10th century, known as the Boy Bishop, who presided from the day before the Feast of the Holy Innocents until the end of the following day.  As well as being in charge of services, he sometimes would lead a procession, collecting money from wealthy households and spectators which would be used for parish funds.

On 7th January all merry-making came to an end and in the countryside preparations would begin for ploughing the fields.  In fact, the first Monday after Epiphany was known as Plough Monday.

So Christmas was very different for our ancestors – but not quite the strongly religious festival that we may imagine.  The church had allowed many secular entertainments and pre-Christian traditions to become part of the nativity celebrations, and perhaps the feasting, drinking and general carousing was even more of a feature than it is today.

The following verse is taken from a long poem by George Wither written in the early 17th century.

Now all our neighbours’ chimneys smoke,
And Christmas blocks are burning;
Their ovens they with baked meat choke,
And all their spits are turning.
Without the door let sorrow lye;
And if for cold it hap to die,
We’ll bury’t in a Christmas-pie,
And evermore be merry.

Which rather sums up the light hearted aspects of Christmas – and perhaps reminds us that, despite the fact that it is predominantly a Christian festival, we like to enjoy a mid-winter festival that brightens up the dark days of winter, just like our pagan forebears did.

Wassail!

PS – Looking for a last minute gift idea?  Have a look at my special genealogy gift vouchers that you can print or send by email:  See THIS PAGE

Posted in History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Unusual Gift Ideas: Genealogy Gifts

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Ros

If you are looking for unusual gift ideas, I don’t think you could go very far wrong with a genealogy themed gift.  You probably have someone amongst your family or friends who is tracing their family tree, and even if you don’t, you could be the one to get someone started on this fascinating hobby.

Genealogy gifts will remain useful for a lifetime, and could get someone started on a hobby that will keep them happy for years and years!

I have some special gift vouchers that would be great to send to a loved one who is showing an interest in starting their family history.  See more details at THIS PAGE.

For more unusual gift ideas with the family history theme – you can also visit the website below, which offers a range of gifts suitable for the genealogy enthusiast, including charts, maps and more software ideas:


My History

I am sure that you will find something here for the genealogist in your life!  Happy hunting!

Posted in gifts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The English Census and How to Use It

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Ros

The census is probably the most useful of all genealogical  resources – but do you understand how to use it properly? This  article with give you a basic understanding of the census, so you  can get the most out of the information you find there.

Things you should know about the English census

With the exception of 1941, there has been a census taken every ten  years in England and Wales since 1801. For the genealogist, the ones taken before 1841 have no use as they do not contain names.

From 1851, the census contains extremely useful genealogical  information, including the relationships of everyone in the  household, ages, occupations and place of birth. In the 1911  census you can also see how long a couple have been married, and  how many children have survived and/or died.

The census provides essential statistical information for the  Government, and was never intended for genealogical purposes.   However, the information contained within the census has become  vitally important for anyone searching their family history.

For reasons of public privacy, the census remains confidential for  100 years. However, a loophole in the 1911 census regulations  allowed it to be published early, and it has been available on some  websites for the last two years.

How was the information collected?

It is vital that you understand how information was collected for  the census – especially the 19th century – as it will help you to  understand why some information seems to be inaccurate, or not  agree with other documentation you may have.

One thing that it is important to know is that the information you  are seeing is often a copy of a copy of a copy! This naturally  leads to many mistakes, misinterpretations and mis-spellings, which  can result in mis-information and sometimes not being able to find  your ancestor at all.

In each registration district enumerators were sent out to each  household with forms that were usually left for the householder to  fill in. If the householder was illiterate (very often the case,  especially in the early part of the century) the form would be  completed by the enumerator by asking questions. This of course  leads of variations of spellings, and frequent mis-hearing of a  name or place.

The enumerator then copied the information from these schedules  into enumerators’ books. These are the records that are available  to the public, so are not the original document (which I believe  were destroyed). This copying again led to various mistakes.

In latter years, these enumerators’ books have been indexed and  transcibed, both for use in archives, and, even more recently, for  internet use. Once again, the act of transcribing has resulted in  further mistakes, and the indexers’ interpretation of often difficult Victorianhandwriting has led to some names and places being so badly mis-transcribed that they do not show up when  searching the indexes.

But don’t be put off! Yes, there are many mistakes and mis-spellings on the census – but it is still an absolutely vital and  fascinating resource for family historians.

How to search the census.

Nowadays, it is very easy to search the census online if you have a  subscription to Ancestry.co.uk or one of the other big genealogy  websites.   You can usually start by doing a name search, putting in as much  information as you can into the other search criteria boxes (e.g.  year of birth, place of birth etc). Even if you are sure of the  date of birth, it is best to give a range of at least 2 years each  side, as the age may not have been given accurately when the  information was taken.   If you do not get a satisfactory result – or you get too many  possibilities, then you need to start taking out some of the search criteria, and then see what comes up.

Search the UK Census collection

I have sometimes found an ancestor whose (for example) surname has  been completely mis-transcribed, by leaving the surname blank, and  marking every other piece of criteria as being “exact”. You could  also do this the other way round by using the surname only without  the Christian name. I found my own grandfather this way. His name  was Francis Manley. But it was only when I entered “Manley” into  the search criteria – with place of birth, age etc all marked as  “exact”, that I found him. His Christian name had been written by  the enumerator as “Fracis”, which is why he had not shown up in the  earlier searches.

In theory, everyone who was living in England during the night of  each census, should be on the census. So if you cannot find your  ancestor, my advice is to just keep trying. Of course, there are  circumstances which may explain a person’s absence. They may be  out of the country (unusual for Victorian working classes – unless  they have an occupation which would involve them travelling, such  as sailor or army officer).

Another reason why your ancestor may not turn up is because they  have changed their name for some reason. I have seen this  particularly happen where the subject was illegitimate, and may  have been baptized with his father’s surname, but used his mother’s  surname later on (or vice versa).

My grandfather (again), was actually baptized Francis McEwen – but  after his parents’ early demise, he was brought up by his married  sister and her husband, John Manley. Hence from then on my  grandfather was known as a Manley – and all his children were named  Manley. This caused some complications in my searches I can tell  you!

Oh – and if you had a suffragette in your ancestry, then she may  not turn up on the 1911 census. Many suffragettes stayed away from  home – often sleeping rough – on the night of the census as a form  of protest against the Government.

As with all genealogical searches, you often have to use your  imagination. Remember, you are dealing with human beings, and  human beings can be tricksy!

And just because something is written down does not mean it is 100%  true. Every record you look at must be backed up by other  resources where possible.

Despite its difficulties, the English census remains one of the  most interesting and useful resources for the family historian, and  provides essential details about your ancestors lives and  lifestyles.


120x60: I’m, your Nan

Posted in Census records | Tagged | 1 Comment

Genealogical Services – UK Research

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Ros

I have now updated my Research Services page.

There are 4 main ways of ordering my genealogical services.

You can either use my hourly service, which gives you a minimum of 2 hours of research up to whatever spending limit you want to set.  This leaves you in control of your budget and means that the research can be done in stages.  It is also the best option if you just require a record look-up in the local archives.

Alternatively, there are also 3 packages at varying levels, depending on your budget and requirements.  You can either decide to pay in advance, using the Paypal buttons, or email me for further details.

Whatever your research needs, feel free to email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com to discuss what kind of option will suit you.

For more details on my genealogical research options CLICK HERE.

Posted in Search services, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment