LostCousins newsletter 1/11/09

To visit the main LostCousins site please go to www.LostCousins.com or click here if you need a password reminder. It's free to join LostCousins, so if you've been sent this newsletter (or a link to this newsletter) by someone else, I hope you'll register in your own right - and take part in the great LostCousins project.

If you missed the previous LostCousins newsletter (dated 17/10/09), or would like to see it again, click here. All newsletters since February 2009 are still available online.

20% discount still available as I write....

It's now 9am on the morning of Sunday, November 1. The 20% introductory discount on FULL subscriptions at findmypast.com is still being offered, even though it should have ended yesterday. I don't know whether it's to do with time-zones, or if they don't make changes to the site at weekends - but either way you need to ACT FAST! Click here to be taken to the right page.

The price of stand-alone 1911 census subscriptions is not increasing: it still costs £39.95 for 6 months or £59.95 for 12 months, which for most researchers will provide an enormous saving compared to the cost of buying credits.

Free 1911 access proves TOO popular!

Three months ago I wrote about the National Archives scheme to allow free access to the 1911 England & Wales census at 7 record offices across the country. What I didn't know at the time was that the scheme was funded by TNA with a set number of credits - and whilst these were expected to last for a year, the credits allocated to the Tyne & Wear, Exeter, and Manchester locations have already run out.

I understand that free access continues for the time being at Birmingham, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, and the National Library of Wales. If you're not within easy reach of these locations, then a subscription to findmypast.com is likely to be the best solution - credits are a very expensive option.

Use BOTH sites to get the best results

Now that the 1911 England & Wales census is available on subscription at the findmypast.com site you might think that the dedicated 1911 site has become redundant - but I'd seriously recommend you think again!

Why? Because searching works differently at the two sites - for example, at the 1911 site you can search using the number of years of marriage, something that isn't an option at findmypast.com. The fuzzy-matching options are also a little different, and on occasion that difference may lead you to find someone you otherwise wouldn't have been able to track down. Another bonus is that at the 1911 site you can include census references and names in the same search - at findmypast you can only search for one or the other.

Now, I'm not suggesting that if you've taken out a 1911 subscription at findmypast.com you should also buy credits to use at the 1911 site - you don't need to, because searches are free at both sites. If a record turns up at the 1911 site that you couldn't find at findmypast, simply use that information to adjust your search at the findmypast site.

Tip: if you have any remaining credits be careful not to use them at the 1911 site; even though you have a 1911 subscription at findmypast.com the 1911 site will still charge you for access

King Henry III's records online

The National Archives holds many treasures, but mediaeval records are frail and hard to read - the fact that they're in Latin doesn't help! Fortunately a joint project between TNA and (appropriately) King's College London is transcribing, translating, and indexing some of the key surviving records, the 'Fine Rolls' from 1216-1272. Already the rolls from 1216-1255 can be searched online, and by next year the project should be complete.

It's worth mentioning that 'fines' aren't quite what you might expect, ie punishments for bad behaviour - in most cases they are amounts of money promised to the King, usually in return for some concession or other favour. You may not have traced your ancestry back to the 13th century - I certainly haven't - but it would be interesting to know whether any of the names in your family tree are recorded in the King's rolls.

Do you have anything in common with Queen Victoria?

I recently read an article which mentioned that Queen Victoria had 51 children and grandchildren as if this was exceptional - but after a few moments' thought I realised that this probably wouldn't have been that unusual for someone born in 1819.

Indeed, when I got out my family tree and counted up how many children and grandchildren my great-great grandfather Robert Wells (1815-82) had, it also came to 51! I then carried out the same calculation on the other side of my tree, for John Calver (1813-86) - and this time the answer was 53.

Whilst I haven't had the time to repeat this exercise for my other 6 great-great grandfathers, I suspect the numbers wouldn't come out that different. What about you - were your ancestors similarly productive?

Prince William's family tree

Whilst on the subject of royalty, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even royals have gaps in their family tree. Prince William's tree (shown in an interesting fan-style format) reveals quite a few missing ancestors. Maybe there's hope for commoners after all?

Historic maps of Ireland

At the Ordnance Survey Ireland website you can view current and historic maps of Ireland. It may take you a couple of minutes to figure out how it works, but once you have, you can switch almost instantly from a modern satellite map to one of several 19th century maps - still positioned on precisely the same point. If there's something similar available for Britain then I'd love to find it!

New 1851 transcription nears completion

Although there have been alternative transcriptions available for quite a time, I've been waiting for findmypast.com to complete their new transcription, since I know from experience that I'm likely to find many of the relatives who were previously missing. During October alone 18 counties have been added, and whilst Rutland and a few others are still missing, I'm glad to say that the English census is close to completion. Amongst the records already online are 180,000 from Manchester and the surrounding area which were previously unfilmed (and unfilmable) due to water damage.

Manchester burial records free online

Perhaps the biggest challenge for family historians is to discover where our ancestors were buried (or cremated). Unusually, Manchester City Council provides an online index with 800,000 entries which you can search free of charge - and if you wish you can then pay to view the entry from the burial register*. However the free information may be all you need: the date of burial, cemetery, and grave number are given - and you can even see who else was buried in the same plot.

* see Stop Press for an update

Records of Death: one-day course

LostCousins member, professional genealogist, and broadcaster Celia Heritage is re-running her successful one-day course at Christ Church University in Chatham, Kent on Saturday November 29. See the Heritage Family History website for full details. You can also hear Celia on Radio Kent on Wednesday November 18 between 3 and 4 pm (also available online). If you send in a question, mention that you're a LostCousins member.

Looking for medical records?

I recently discovered the Hospital Records Database which is a unique guide to the whereabouts of surviving records from hospitals and mental institutions, and also gives details of former names - which can be revealing. For example, as a boy I spent 6 weeks in Oldchurch Hospital, Romford with a broken leg - little did I know that it was formerly the Romford Union Workhouse!

Have you ever attempted to obtain your own medical records? Because of the Data Protection Act it's far easier for us to obtain our own records than those of our ancestors - and it's a useful way to get to know the workings of the system. I've just written to Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and will let you know how I get on in a future newsletter.

Is your tree growing like mine?

Since the London Metropolitan Archives registers became available at Ancestry, and the 1911 Census became available on subscription at findmypast.com I've been adding names to my tree at a phenomenal rate - 200 of them in the past three weeks (and it would have been many more had I not written 3 newsletters and sent out over 150,000 emails in that time).

As you discover new branches of your tree, remember to enter the relatives who were recorded on the 1881 Census on your My Ancestors page - like me you may discover some living relatives who can add yet more information. Remember also to invite the cousins you already know about to become LostCousins members - it's another way you can support the LostCousins project. I'm continually amazed how many otherwise stalwart supporters have nobody at all listed on their My Cousins page!

Save 10% on Australian records

Colyn in Australia drew my attention to a 10% discount offer at Marilyn Rowan's transcriptions site. Marilyn is one of only three people authorised to enter the New South Wales registry and transcribe BDM register entries, and unless you need an official certificate, why pay extra? It's worth mentioning that Australian certificates and register entries generally provide much more information than British certificates, although - as with all certificates - the data is only as accurate as the memory of the person providing it.

Extra 1911 pages now at findmypast

Last month I wrote about the additional census pages that you can view at the 1911 Census site - and I'm glad to say that these additional pages (including a list of nearby households) have now also been added at findmypast.com

Tim wrote in with an excellent tip - he showed a list of households to his father, and even though he wasn't born until 1920, his father remembered many of the neighbours listed. I'm going to try this with my father in a couple of days' time - I bet you he remembers them too!

Evolution IS still continuing

Man is still evolving, or at least women are - according to research carried out at Yale University.

Medical advances mean that in the developed world most people who previously would have died before reproducing now live three-score years and ten, or even longer - so it had been thought that 'survival of the fittest' no longer applied to humans, and that we'd therefore stopped evolving.

However, by analysing data covering three generations of women in Framingham, Massachusetts the research team has identified traits that are still being shaped by natural selection. If the trends they have identified continue, then in the space of 10 generations - that's about 300 years - the average woman will be around an inch shorter and two pounds heavier than her present-day counterpart.

Meanwhile, at the University of Southern Denmark researchers have concluded that the average British child born today has a 50% chance of living to 103. Considering that when old-age pensions were first introduced in Britain in 1909 most people didn't live long enough to receive a penny (pension age was initially set at 70), it's hardly surprising that the state pension age is going up from its current level of 60 for women and 65 for men.

Don't assume it's correct….

There's a common theme that runs through the emails I get from members who are up against a 'brick wall' - in almost every case they've assumed that the information they already have is correct. Of course, when you stop and think you'll realise that if you can't find the answer - then you're almost certainly looking in the wrong place, at the wrong time, or for the wrong name. But often we're so wrapped up in the mystery that we don't stop and look at the problem objectively.

A common assumption is that if an ancestor gives the same birthplace on several censuses, then it must be right. Here's a tip - people are born at a very early age! As a result, many people didn't know where they were born, and simply assumed that the first home they remembered was where they had started life.

On the same theme, many people didn't know their parents' names. Why would they? It's only recently that some children have started to call their parents by name, and even today some parents call each other "mother" and "father" when the children are present. No wonder marriage certificates are so often incorrect.

Here's another one: if you've only known one father, whose name are you going to put on your marriage certificate? That's an easy one to answer, but of course the only father you know isn't necessarily your biological father - a widow with young children had a stark choice: remarry, go to the workhouse, or starve. (It wasn't any better for a widower.)

Your life - on video

As family historians we attempt to piece together our ancestors' lives from the fragments that remain - censuses, certificates, military and church records, photographs etc. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could see their everyday lives with our own eyes?

Whilst that isn't possible for us, it could become reality for our descendants - with the introduction of a wearable camera that takes pictures every 30 seconds and can hold 30,000 images in its memory. It won't be long, I'm sure, before we are able to buy wearable video cameras that can record an entire lifetime (though I hope we'll have the option to switch them off for more intimate moments).

Success on The Stage

A month ago I wrote about Runelle in Australia, and her success in discovering all sorts of information about her husband's vaudeville magician antecedent in The Stage magazine archive - and there was a totally unexpected result. I had an email from Delia in London who had some photos and other papers that she thought might refer to the same person - and which she'd been given by a neighbour. To cut a long story short, it turns out that it was the same person, and Runelle is now totally over the moon.

I'm glad to say that this wonderful story enabled me to negotiate an extension of the discount offer I'd arranged for members, and it now runs to the end of 2009 - see the original article for more details.

Peter's Tips

Have you had a blue leaflet through your door from a company called Rutex Ltd, offering to collect old unwanted clothing, and stating that " your donations are sent to the third world countries to help clothe the poor"? Another company with a similar approach - but pink leaflets - is called Ambertop.

They are not registered charities - as far as I can tell they are commercial companies out to make money. I suppose they are the modern equivalent of the rag-and-bone men who used to come round with a horse and cart - but at least in those days you knew they were in it for the money. If you have anything of value, I suggest you take it to your local charity shop - or sell it on eBay. Don't be conned!

The latest phone scams are very clever, and I'm going to start by telling you about one that (briefly) caught me out.

When I answered my home phone a recording played which sounded like a news announcement - about debts of thousands of pounds being written off - and it ended by asking me to click 5 to speak to somebody. I did so - in order to give them a piece of my mind - but only afterwards realised that by pressing 5 I'd made a premium rate call that was going to end up on my phone bill. I know it seems incredible that simply pressing a key on your phone can incur phone charges even though somebody else has called you, but that's how clever these fraudsters are. Another similar scam implies you that you've won a cruise, then pockets £1.50 per minute until you hang up..

The most dangerous phone fraud is where somebody (usually claiming to be from BT) calls to say that your telephone bill hasn't been paid, and that your account is about to be cut off. This one didn't catch me out, but I understand that it's very convincing indeed - and within seconds of getting off the phone they'll be emptying your bank account. Even if you realise what's happened you may not be able to do anything about it - because they leave their phone off the hook, preventing you from using your phone to call anyone else.

However the biggest fraud is the one perpetrated by banks, insurance companies, friendly societies, provident institutions, and other people who sell investments like unit trusts, investment bonds, endowments or the like. The hidden charges are usually so high that even if the investment goes up a large chunk of the gain - sometimes half or even more - goes in expenses of one sort or another. And if the investment goes down, do they waive their charges - no way!

Of course, you have to be a cynical ex-accountant like me to work your way through all the glossy leaflets (usually showing happy and prosperous investors playing with their grandchildren) until you get to the bit at the end where they reveal some - but not all - of the charges. But you don't have to be a financial genius to figure out that if someone else is helping themselves to 2.5% of your investment every year, they're probably going to end up richer than you!

Have you tried....?

Did you know that you can now catch up on any of my articles that you've missed or want to read again? At the beginning of this newsletter there's a link to the previous one - and I've amended earlier newsletters that they too link to the one before. This means that you can step back through all of my newsletters since February 2009 in a matter of seconds.

I do still plan to create an online index, but for now I think you'll find this a passable substitute.

Stop Press

* Manchester Burial Records: if you visit Manchester Archives and Local Studies there are several computers where you can view the images free of charge.

That's all for now - I hope you've found some of it relevant to you and your family tree. Please do keep sending in your comments and suggestions for future issues.

Peter Calver

Founder, LostCousins

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