Newsletter
- 20th February 2016
1939
Register opens up to subscribers
Browse
the register for the first time
How to
view individuals by registration district PETER'S
TIP
Free
weekend at Ancestry ENDS SUNDAY
Find
your Scottish cousins ENDS TUESDAY
More
Sussex parish register tips
An
amazing foundling discovery
The LostCousins newsletter is usually published
fortnightly. To access the previous newsletter (dated 8th February) click here; to find earlier articles use the
customised Google search below (it only searches these newsletters, so you
won't get spurious results):
Whenever possible
links are included to the websites or articles mentioned in the newsletter
(they are highlighted in blue or purple and underlined, so you can't miss
them). If one of the links doesn't work this normally indicates that you're
using adblocking software - you need to make the
LostCousins site an exception (or else use a different browser, such as
Chrome).
To go to the main LostCousins website click the
logo at the top of this newsletter. If you're not already a member, do join -
it's FREE, and you'll get an email to alert you whenever there's a new edition
of this newsletter available!
1939 Register opens up
to subscribers
As I announced
on 20th January the 1939 National Register is now included in all 12 month
Britain and World subscriptions to Findmypast. The 1939 Register
Special Newsletter, which I published last weekend tells you everything you
need to know about searching the register, including who was and who wasn't
included. The information in that newsletter has been updated so that it supersedes
some of the information I've published in earlier newsletters, as well
information on Findmypast's own website.
Sadly fewer people read the special newsletter
than a normal newsletter - so just to encourage the rest of you I'm going to
blow my own trumpet with some quotes from the members who did read it:
"Peter,
you are the most fastidiously clever, precise and interesting family historian
one could find ANYWHERE; believe me, such a missive as the 1939 Register so
wonderfully informing has me gobsmacked; it must have taken you hours (and more
hours) to create; I thank you so much for explaining it in so much detail...." Diana in New Zealand
"I've
been a member of Lost Cousins for a while and very much enjoy your newsletters.
I wanted to say that in your latest on the 1939 register you surpass yourself!
The background is extremely helpful and I've learned so much from
it." Margaret in Ireland
"Just wanted to thank you for the link included
in your reply. I have just started to use the 1939 Register since
FMP included it in my subscription and your detailed advice could not be more timely. So thanks for all the hard work in compiling the
Special Edition newsletter. It is both useful and fascinating." Lin (who wasn't a member but read about the
newsletter on the Society of Genealogists mailing list)
Browse the register for
the first time
At the time as opening up the register
to subscribers, Findmypast have introduced a Browse option, which is an
ideal way to explore an area looking for familiar names - perhaps neighbours or
shopkeepers who you remember from your childhood. Or you might simply be
interested in finding out who the ARP wardens were!
Every enumeration district was assigned
a four-letter code which you'll see at the top left of the register page - and Browse allows you to view all of the
register pages for that district (typically there are 10-20 of them). You can also
search by piece number, by borough, or even by county (although this will
usually produce too many results to be useful).
How to view individuals by
registration district PETER'S
TIP
Browsing the register pages is great -
but sometimes it's more convenient to see an index of entries sorted by surname
(or by forename, or by birth year). However, the Person search doesn't normally
allow you to enter just the piece number - you have to enter the item number
(effectively the folio number) as well, for example:
If you were to carry out this search
you'd see the results for just one page; if you were to omit the item number
you'd get an error message. But here's what I do - I edit the URL that's shown,
for example, if it started off like this:
I would change it to this, by simply
deleting the characters at the right-hand end:
While the cursor is still on the browser
command line hit Enter, which produces a list of all the open records in that
piece, whichever page they're on.
You can use the same technique to jump
from one page to another within the search results:
In this example changing '2' to '21'
would allow me to skip to page 21 more quickly than I could do any other way.
Tip:
it's best to be on page 1 of the search results when you change the sort order.
You won't find these tips in last
weekend's special newsletter - but it's about all that's missing!
I know a lot of readers bought a
Findmypast subscription ahead of the price rise on Tuesday - at least two
waited until the 11th hour (literally), buying their subscriptions just minutes
before midnight on Monday evening - but life is full of challenges, so I also know
that there will be some who missed out thanks to other commitments.
Of course, it's worth remembering that even
at the new price of £119.95 a Findmypast Britain subscription is still 20% cheaper than in autumn 2009, so we
can hardly complain (for comparison the
basic state pension in the UK has increased by 21% over the same period).
Still, nobody likes paying more so perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised to
get a couple of emails accusing Findmypast of making extortionate profits (in
reality they lost money in their last financial year).
Whilst I can't turn the clock back, what
I can do is make an unprecedented offer - if you purchase a Findmypast Britain
or World 12 month subscription at the new price before the end of February using
one of the links below you'll be able to claim a free 24 month subscription to
LostCousins worth up to £25:
Please note that ALL World subscriptions are exactly the same - you will have
access to the same records whichever site you subscribe through (though the
prices may differ because of exchange rate fluctuations and other factors);
however, if you want a Britain subscription you can only buy it through the
British site.
How to ensure you qualify: your
subscription is funded by the commission that Findmypast pays LostCousins, so
you must click the relevant link above immediately before subscribing. If you
click a different link to Findmypast, or go directly to their site, we won't
receive any commission and you won't get your free subscription; the same will
apply if you've disabled tracking.
How to claim your free subscription: to verify
your entitlement I need the precise time of your purchase, the date, and the
cost; the easiest way to provide this information is to forward the email
receipt that you receive, but I suggest you write down the time, because the
receipt may not arrive. You can send it to any of the LostCousins email
addresses, including the one I wrote from when I told you about this
newsletter. Your subscription will run from the day you buy your Findmypast
subscription, so I recommend you claim immediately. If you're an existing
subscriber your expiry date will be extended.
Free weekend at
Ancestry ENDS SUNDAY
Until midnight (London time) on Sunday
21st February you can search all of Ancestry's UK records absolutely free -
just follow this link.
Tip:
my tests suggest that you can only access the
records free at Ancestry's UK site - so if, after you click the link, Ancestry recommend
going to a different site more local to you, don't!
Of course, in one weekend you won't be
able to look up everything you want (which is quite possibly why Ancestry are
doing this), but my advice is to focus on parish registers that are exclusive
to Ancestry, such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Surrey, Gloucestershire,
Northamptonshire and Dorset.
Find your Scottish
cousins ENDS TUESDAY
Ancestry is currently the only website
that offers subscription-based access to indexed transcriptions of the Scottish
censuses from 1841-1901 and provides the references that you need to
enter your Scottish relatives on your My
Ancestors page.
If you don't have an Ancestry
subscription the only online alternative is the ScotlandsPeople site, which is
pay-per-view - so this weekend is a rare opportunity to add relatives who were
recorded on the Scotland 1881 census to your My Ancestors page without it costing you a penny.
So I'm going to match Ancestry's offer
and double it - until midnight on Tuesday you won't need to have a LostCousins
subscription to contact a new cousin who shares your Scottish roots (ie if you have a match through the Scotland 1881 census),
which gives you a real incentive to enter your Scottish relatives.
Tip:
whilst the Findmypast website also has indexed transcriptions of the Scottish
censuses it doesn't give the references. For Findmypast subscribers who
have already looked up their relatives it's a great opportunity to add the
missing details.
My AncestorsBETA
Earlier this month I explained
how easy it is to check your entries from the English, Welsh, Scottish and
Irish censuses simply by clicking the arrow symbol ()
alongside the entry - and as Ancestry is free this weekend it's a very good
time to check your existing entries from the Scotland 1881 census.
Note:
about 3% of records have a Registration number which ends in a letter, eg 329-B; these will initially produce no results, but if
you edit the Ancestry search to remove the hyphen the search will work
correctly. Do not change the entry on your My Ancestors page.
More Sussex parish
register tips
I had a wonderful response to my revelation
that there are thousands of Sussex parish registers hidden at FamilySearch - and
for some LostCousins members it has clearly transformed their research.
Something I didn't mention in the
original article is that because what we're seeing are digital versions of the
microfilms, the information is set out in the same way - and this means that
often there will be more than one parish on a single roll of film. They tend to
be organised alphabetically, so it's not difficult to work out how to find the
parish you're looking for, but I thought I'd better mention it, since it can be
confusing if the film starts with a different parish from the one you were
expecting!
Also, as several readers pointed out,
whilst the Sussex transcriptions say that there are no images available, they
do give the film number and image number - so that's potentially a timesaver. I
haven't had a chance to check whether all of the records in the registers that
are online have been transcribed, but my guess is that they haven't. So don't
assume that, just because you don't find the entry you're looking for when you
search the transcriptions, the relevant register it isn't online.
Tip:
although you can't download the images, because the button is disabled, you can
right-click on the image, then choose 'Copy image' (or the equivalent in your
browser). I then paste the image into the free Irfanview program that I've used
nearly every day since it was originally recommended to me many years ago by a
LostCousins member. There are other ways of doing it but that's the best, in my
view.
An amazing foundling
discovery
LostCousins member Sue sent me through
this wonderful story, and whilst it wasn't intended for publication I persuaded
her to allow me to share it with you. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did!
My family
research hit a 'brick wall' when I could not trace back from my maternal great grandparents
- despite having a copy of their marriage certificate. I then found out that
there was a possibility both were orphans. I found an
entry in the 1881 census for both names at the Foundling Hospital in London. I contacted
the Foundling Hospital Museum who referred me to the London Metropolitan
Archives who held all their past records. This produced a veritable gold mine
of information! It appears that the Hospital only accepted babies after a
rigorous background investigation as to their circumstances. Interviews
with the mother to establish that she was of previously 'good character', quite
graphic accounts of how she became pregnant, and general investigations were
all carefully logged and preserved. The babies were then baptised by the
Hospital and given a totally new identity. They were fostered out and returned
to the Hospital aged 5 to be educated and at 14 they were apprenticed into a
trade. In my case, because my great grandfather remained working for the same
company he was apprenticed to for much of his adult life I was able to verify
that I had the right 'foundling'. With all of this new information I was
finally able to piece the story together.
In June 1869 a
young, destitute and heavily pregnant entered the Islington Workhouse. Margaret
Strachan had been
employed as a domestic servant in a large house in Islington. The father of her
child was the son of her employer - he had promised to marry her, the banns
having already been read in the local church. Just before the wedding he
disappeared without trace. Margaret's employer dismissed her and refused to
help. The baby, a girl, was born in the Workhouse. Unable to support herself
and a child, Margaret was forced to give the child up for adoption. The
Foundling Hospital took the 4 week old baby, gave her a new name and identity
and educated her.
A similar story
emerges involving another young woman - Eliza McLennan. Herself an orphan and
employed as a domestic servant, Eliza found herself pregnant and destitute. The
father of her child had promised marriage and then promptly disappeared.
Eliza's son was born in the Westminster Workhouse in December 1870. She too was
forced to give up her 3 week old son to the Foundling Hospital.
The two
children, now known as Charlotte Pocock and Edward
Clayton appear as classmates, aged 10 and 11 at the Foundling Hospital in the
1881 census. Four years later, aged 13 and 14, they leave and go their separate ways - Edward
apprenticed as a Clerk and Charlotte into domestic service.
The next entry
for them is 26 December 1899 at a church in Hornsey, London. Now aged 29 and 30
it is their Wedding Day! Although Charlotte is 3 months pregnant, this time
history does not repeat itself and the marriage goes ahead. Their first child
is Lilian, my maternal grandmother.
Nothing of this
story was known to our family previously - my grandmother died in 1942 when her
children were still young and this has remained the 'family secret' until
now! The Foundling Hospital obviously
did wonderful work - both the children were well educated and my great
grandfather had a successful career as a surveyor after serving his
apprenticeship. The LMA records were comprehensive and the detail they
contained amazing - much of it in my ancestor's own hand - so you really felt you were touching history -
'goose bump' stuff!
As I mentioned to Sue, I've actually
been to the Foundling Hospital Museum, but didn't realise that there are so
many records held by the London Metropolitan Archives. Congratulations to Sue
on her discoveries, and thanks too for sharing them with us. I wouldn't be surprised
if there were some more 'brick walls' knocked down as a result of this article!
I've written before about how important the
relationships with friends of the family can be when we're growing up - and
I've previously mentioned my 'Auntie' Margaret, who became my mother's best
friend during the war, when they both worked at the Ship Carbon factory.
Her future husband, 'Uncle' Les, was my
first mentor - he was so patient, and so generous with
his time. I wish he could have seen me in 1982 at the height of my success, but
sadly he died 20 years earlier at the age of just 39.
My 'cousin' Chris was sorting out her
mother's papers recently when she came across this postcard that my mother had
sent to her mother in 1950, when she was still in the maternity home after
giving birth to me.
There were two things that stood out for
me - first I noticed that had Mum signed the note "Lilian & Baby".
Clearly I had yet to be named - or at least, if the decision had been taken, my
parents were keeping quiet about it.
And then I saw the P.S in the top left
corner:
"He is a lovely baby!"
How wonderful to read that after 65
years - and almost 40 years after my mother passed away. To think that this
pencilled postcard was kept for all that time - could either of them have
imagined what joy it would bring to that "lovely baby", now old
enough to collect his pension.....?
This is where any last minute updates
and corrections will be highlighted - if you think you've spotted an error
(sadly I'm not infallible), reload the newsletter (press Ctrl-F5) then check here before writing to me, in case
someone else has beaten you to it......
That's all for this issue - apologies for
not including the promised adoption story this time, but it will be in the next
issue, along with my review of a new book on adoption.
Peter Calver
Founder, LostCousins