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I have been trying to trace any transcriptions of the Ightham parish registers as I am trying to find information about the birth, and parentage, of William Vann. According to the 1841 census he was born in Ightham, aged 70 years. (I know this is a rounded figure rather than an actual)

William married Rimeillion Moyce in Addington on10 August 1796

I cannot trace a death for Rimmelion (or other variants of the spelling) post 1837 and she is not listed on the 1841 census, so I presume she died sometime after 1813, the birth year of her youngest child Edward

I have looked on Ancestry FindMyPast and Family Search without luck so far, so any help much appreciated.

Asbestos has been discovered in the library, so will remain closed indefinitely whilst council officers decide what to do. Report in Bradford Telegraph and Argus today

I thought other “Rootschatters” might like to know about this conference which is taking place on 6th – 8th September 2013 at Hinkley in Leicestershire. I have already booked my place!

This event has been organised by the Halsted Trust, and is their Second International Family History conference, and features as its theme “British Migration; from, to and within the British Isles.”  There are 20 talks from 17 different internationally known genealogists and historians arranged.

We all know that families that move are a challenge for family historians. They may travel a few miles into another parish or another county or another country. They may have come from just down the road or from the other side of the world. Finding where an ancestor comes from, or goes to, needs skill and tenacity as well as luck. Are there records showing movement into the parish?
As the British Empire expanded, and later contracted, British migrants are to be found all over the world and not just on areas coloured red in the Edwardian atlas. They were entrepreneurs, and engineers, miners and musicians as well as colonial civil servants and soldiers. Not every migrant wanted the adventure and many came back as soon as they could.
The Halsted Trust has invited conference speakers to consider how and why Britons migrated from, to or within the British Isles. The Trust wanted to know how genealogists could be equipped to tackle the challenges of tracing the origins of migrant ancestors and understand the reasons for their migration. Poverty, religion, ambition, even love are strong drivers of change and wanderlust. Some such as criminals and slaves were forced to migrate. Are there new genealogical sources and resources becoming available and what evidence does archaeology or DNA provide for migration? The Trust wanted to look at the impact of Diasporas on Britain and the impact of the British Diaspora on the world. Delegates will learn more about the growing digital resource of migration sources and passenger lists as well as the vast untapped resources within UK archives showing the clues for the ancestor who just turns up in a parish.
Migrants moulded the British Isles and its history. In the year leading up to this conference the Trust has published articles on the conference website about the places our ancestors went to and came from, along with stories about migrants who prospered and influenced history.

For more information visit http://www.exodus2103.co.uk

Hi,

After many years researching my husbands family, his cousin (M) has asked me to look into his mother's family. He has been able to give me quite a few certificates and a narrative his mother (R) wrote about 20 years ago which has been useful for getting me started and I have had some success with her maternal side. R died about 11 years ago.

However there is a big problem, which is the needle in the haystack issue!  R tells us that her parents were not married. Her father, William Charles Pitts had apparently been at school until he was 17 when he had to leave to marry a girl who had become pregnant. "He was going to become a teacher until he left college". They had 2 sons then he abandoned her and went to London, met R's mother and lived with her and had 5 daughters until he died in 1924. R says WCP came from Newton Abbot and there is a family story that WCP's father was mayor of Newton Abbot. WCP was born about 1868 according to R. 

I have searched on FindMyPast, Ancestry, Family Search and FreeBMD  but cant find WCP exactly but have  come up with a list of 9 possible William Pitts (including variations of Christian names) from Devon, 4 from Newton Abbot, and 1 Charles William born in Tiverton between 1863 and 1873.

I have looked at census returns but can't find WCP until 1911 when he is living in London with his partner and her parents, nor identify potential WCPs on the returns I have looked at.

I realise how many family stories can be down to "overactive imaginations" but I wondered if anyone can give me any suggestions for where to start looking for this particular needle! Was there a mayor of Newton Abbot called Pitts?

I also realise that when he went to London, he might have taken on a completely new identity as he had abandoned another family. Are Newton Abbot parish records available online or can anyone check for me please?

Thanks
Mavals