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Somerset / Thomas William Durbin, 1894-1953 Bristol
« on: Tuesday 30 November 21 14:41 GMT (UK) »
Believed son of Thomas and Emma Durbin. Would like to confirm this, and would be glad of any further information regarding ancestry.
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Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs / Top hat styles and dates
« on: Saturday 16 December 17 08:33 GMT (UK) »
Is anyone here an expert in identifying a particular style of top hat, and suggesting a likely date?
Does the period of the hat match the style of the other clothes or furniture? Can you tell anything about the wearer from the style of his hat?
All I can get from some basic searches is that it most closely resembles the Oxford or Collegian hat, but has a pronounced widening bell shape rather than stove-pipe, with a very thin brim and restrained curve, ie unlike a Dandy.
Many thanks
Does the period of the hat match the style of the other clothes or furniture? Can you tell anything about the wearer from the style of his hat?
All I can get from some basic searches is that it most closely resembles the Oxford or Collegian hat, but has a pronounced widening bell shape rather than stove-pipe, with a very thin brim and restrained curve, ie unlike a Dandy.
Many thanks
3
Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition / One word in a will, 1765
« on: Sunday 29 October 17 13:56 GMT (UK) »I can make out all the words in this will apart from one daughter's second name.
"To my Daughter Ann Wybrow one third part or share thereof to my Daughter Grace ***** George Wybrow and one third part or share thereof to my son George Wybrow each share or part thereof shall be paid at …"
The first capital, which resembles a greek "Beta", is I think an "I" - plenty of other examples in the will. Or a "J" ? Julia? Julian?
Also it's a bit odd that a daughter received the name George, unless it's a family surname of course.
Can anyone help?
4
Carmarthenshire / Place name meaning
« on: Friday 15 September 17 12:01 BST (UK) »
Our house is called Cnwc y wig, which I understand means "hillock in the wood".
But before about 1948 it was always simply called Cnwc, and is marked as that on older maps. I always assumed that the longer name was a modern addition to help the PO, as there a many Cnwcs in this part of Wales.
But I recently discovered that in the 1841 census the house is called "Cnwc y wing". I assumed this must have been an enumerator's mistake, writing wing for wig. However I now find that the field and house names in the Tithe Awards of that period also use the "wing" spelling.
Does it mean anything in Welsh? If English, what does it signify about the location?
That name was never used again in any maps or records, until the modern wig version appeared 100 years later.
But before about 1948 it was always simply called Cnwc, and is marked as that on older maps. I always assumed that the longer name was a modern addition to help the PO, as there a many Cnwcs in this part of Wales.
But I recently discovered that in the 1841 census the house is called "Cnwc y wing". I assumed this must have been an enumerator's mistake, writing wing for wig. However I now find that the field and house names in the Tithe Awards of that period also use the "wing" spelling.
Does it mean anything in Welsh? If English, what does it signify about the location?
That name was never used again in any maps or records, until the modern wig version appeared 100 years later.
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Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition / French shorthand
« on: Monday 21 August 17 08:39 BST (UK) »
I have discovered in a trunk of my grandfather's possessions a French prayer book, with a note in his handwriting that it was given to him by a Mlle. Germaine Capiez in Amiens in 1918. He was stationed there at the end of the war waiting to be demobbed.
Intriguingly there is an inscription in shorthand, which an internet search shows to be probably Duployan, the French system invented in the previous century. At least some of the squiggles look very similar. I was fascinated to see animated examples in Wikipedia of how the symbols join up to make a cursive script, but I can make nothing of it.
It's fairly faint, in pencil, but if I could copy and enhance it is there anyone here who could translate it for me?
Of course it might just be meaningless, or someone practising, or it could be something more!
Intriguingly there is an inscription in shorthand, which an internet search shows to be probably Duployan, the French system invented in the previous century. At least some of the squiggles look very similar. I was fascinated to see animated examples in Wikipedia of how the symbols join up to make a cursive script, but I can make nothing of it.
It's fairly faint, in pencil, but if I could copy and enhance it is there anyone here who could translate it for me?
Of course it might just be meaningless, or someone practising, or it could be something more!
6
Lancashire / Cyrus Jones, Liverpool
« on: Thursday 22 May 14 10:53 BST (UK) »
Cyrus Jones was a shipping clerk, born in Lancashire in 1831, according to his entries in 1851 1861 censuses. His father, according to Cyrus' marriage certificate of 1862, was John Jones, of Everton, Liverpool, a gentleman.
I have found baptism records of Cyrus' elder brothers and sisters, and established his connection with the Braithwaite family. I have also established that John Jones was variously described as a shipbroker, merchant, and West Indies merchant. He was perhaps the John Jones of "John Jones & Co, shipping merchants"
But I cannot find Cyrus Jones' own baptism entry anywhere. I have widened the search to UK, Channel islands where the family had connections,and Antigua where John seems to have had interests in trade or plantations.
The only Cyrus Jones anywhere is a Cyrus Pierce Jones b. in Liverpool in 1831. Promising, except that his father was William, not John, and was a labourer not a gentleman merchant.
I have tried America too. The family seems to have had regular trade or other connections there, Cyrus Jones himself having at least twice crossed the Atlantic to New York.
John's wife's name was Elizabeth, at least for the eldest children, but he perhaps married Dorothy Conway in 1826. The name Conway was used by Cyrus' descendants.
But not knowing any more makes it hard to identify the particular John Jones. There are 3 Liverpool John Jones with slaving interests in Antigua, two of them both living in Everton Crescent, unless they are one and the same.
I'm a bit stuck now, and Cyrus' actual birth record seems a basic omission that might be a help.
Can anyone help?
I have found baptism records of Cyrus' elder brothers and sisters, and established his connection with the Braithwaite family. I have also established that John Jones was variously described as a shipbroker, merchant, and West Indies merchant. He was perhaps the John Jones of "John Jones & Co, shipping merchants"
But I cannot find Cyrus Jones' own baptism entry anywhere. I have widened the search to UK, Channel islands where the family had connections,and Antigua where John seems to have had interests in trade or plantations.
The only Cyrus Jones anywhere is a Cyrus Pierce Jones b. in Liverpool in 1831. Promising, except that his father was William, not John, and was a labourer not a gentleman merchant.
I have tried America too. The family seems to have had regular trade or other connections there, Cyrus Jones himself having at least twice crossed the Atlantic to New York.
John's wife's name was Elizabeth, at least for the eldest children, but he perhaps married Dorothy Conway in 1826. The name Conway was used by Cyrus' descendants.
But not knowing any more makes it hard to identify the particular John Jones. There are 3 Liverpool John Jones with slaving interests in Antigua, two of them both living in Everton Crescent, unless they are one and the same.
I'm a bit stuck now, and Cyrus' actual birth record seems a basic omission that might be a help.
Can anyone help?
7
England / Women's property rights, 18th century
« on: Wednesday 18 December 13 13:59 GMT (UK) »
I am aware that prior to the Women's Property Act of about 1870, husband and wife were considered as one, and that in most circumstances a woman's property became her husband's on marriage.
I have come across a will of a family member made in 1770 by a married lady. She refers to her dear husband, still alive, and makes various bequests to her own family. For example she left £600 to her sister in law, her brother's widow, and another £600 to her daughter. This daughter appeared to be her own not her husband's, presumably by a previous marriage.
The residue of her estate (not quantified) she left to her husband.
So she appeared to own in her own right what was then a considerable estate, and was free to bequeath it to whom she pleased, including her husband.
How was this possible, 100 years before the MWPA ?
I have come across a will of a family member made in 1770 by a married lady. She refers to her dear husband, still alive, and makes various bequests to her own family. For example she left £600 to her sister in law, her brother's widow, and another £600 to her daughter. This daughter appeared to be her own not her husband's, presumably by a previous marriage.
The residue of her estate (not quantified) she left to her husband.
So she appeared to own in her own right what was then a considerable estate, and was free to bequeath it to whom she pleased, including her husband.
How was this possible, 100 years before the MWPA ?
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