RootsChat.Com

A lot of these archaic medical terms sound strange to our modern ears Julie - thanks for contacting me via the website, I’ve just replied to your email.

Hi Terry, yes it did, and moved to Castle Road as the premises were bigger, and they could therefore generate more income. The British Newspaper Archive has been a wonderful resource, I have managed to increase my list of ladies by 39% thanks to the BNA, as well as adding to my knowledge of the lives of the women who were in there. Although it tended to be those who were less well behaved who made the papers I’ve uncovered some very fascinating and tragic tales so far. Liz

Hi, I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything about Nelson House, but I thought I’d pass on a tiny nugget of information in case it helps. I’m researching a lady called Emma Shaw who died there in 1901. She had serious, ongoing mental health problems, and was an alcoholic. She died aged 50 at Nelson House of chronic alcoholism, haemorrhagic gastritis and exhaustion on 2 September 1901. She was well-travelled in the UK and abroad, and had spent time in various institutions from London to Devon. She was a wealthy lady, and may well have self-funded her stay there. If there are any drawings, poems or artwork of hers in your albums, I’d be very interested to see a photo! Liz

Hi Dee!
Yes, what a coincidence! Wouldn't it be funny if we were related on the Jones line as well as Denman! FreeReg has good coverage for Somerset, and you might also find this website useful: http://www.southpethertoninformation.org.uk. I don't know if you're on Facebook but I've started a group just for those who have Somerset Denman ancestry, this is the URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DenmanOfSomerset/?ref=ts&fref=ts.
Liz

I started tracing my family history about 10 years ago and discovered that my great grandmother Ivy Edith was surnamed Willsman. I didn’t realise just how unusual a name it was/is until I started tracing her ancestral line. I also became aware during census searches etc that the surname seemed to be Devon-centred.

I believe I have finally found the link between my Willsman family and the Welsman family of Sidbury. I have started a One Name Study on my great grandmother’s surname of Willsman, and have set up a DNA project, to establish if the Willsman and Welsman families are linked. The Y DNA test tells you about your direct male line, which would be your father, his father, and so on back in time. So only men bearing the surname Welsman, Wellsman, Willsman or Wilsman have the right DNA. This might also be able to tell us if the name is connected to any Welshman families.

A DNA project is an opportunity to uncover information not provided in the paper records, such as which lines are linked, are all people with that surname related, etc. The test is a harmless genealogy test using a cheek swab (like an ear bud) of a man’s cheek cells, the test result is a string of numbers, and reveals no medical or personal information.

I have started a DNA Project for the Willsman, Wilsman, Welsman and Wellsman surnames, which can be found at https://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=Willsman
The goals of the project are to:

• Discover information to help with our family history research
• Discover which family trees are related
• Discover information to help with brick walls
• Confirm surname variants
• Validate family history research
• Get on file a DNA sample for trees at risk of extinction of the male line
• Discover information about our distant origins

The study’s Profile Page on The Guild of One Name Studies website is here - http://www.one-name.org/profiles/willsman.html.

I’d love to hear from you!

Liz Jones