RootsChat.Com

Hi all,

Doing research for a friend and came across her ancestor William F Bell (went by Fred Bell) and it seems he had some sort of role in the US army toward the end of WWI but I have no idea what these dates and letters mean. Could anyone shed some light on it?

Ahhh of course! Thank you very much!

This ancestor emigrated to the US in the 1880s or so and we know extremely little about his time in Italy before this. We don't really know his parents or any siblings who may have stayed behind - and we're not sure how to find any Italian records beyond actually going to Italy to search (and our Italian is non-existent sadly!) so resorting to occupations as listed on official records is a non starter at the minute.

I’ve never heard of this place but have you looked at their occupations on birth or baptismal records, marriages and deaths?

You don’t mention which decade or century but you might expect occupations to be mentioned somewhere.

I would think that mountainous areas can still be farmed - crops and/or animals.

You could look at natural resources in the region, which may give clues aa to what people did there.

Hi all,

Doing some research for a friend and found their ancestors - John and Eliza George (nee Spittle) - living in Abersychan in the 1841 and 1851 census. They had eight kids in Wales - Emily, Thomas, Henry, Elizabeth, Louisa, Mary, Caroline and William between 1837 and 1854. In 1856, they all emigrated to America (I've found Eliza and the kids in a ship record, I assume John went over ahead of them) except for Henry (who would have been 14/15 at the time). I can't find a death record for him and in fact, think I've found him in the 1861 census in Bristol where he's recorded as a 'visitor' to the household.

Would it have been normal to leave one child behind while the rest of the family emigrated? He wasn't even the eldest, there were two older than him. Seems very strange to me. would love any insights people might have!

Thank you so much for that info!

Yes, Ellen's father was William Holme. He died on 29 August 1859 of 'chronic disease of the brain.' His wife Elizabeth died two years later in 1861. On his death cert, he's recorded as a gardener, so it's very interesting that you mention he lived at a 'beer shop and garden cottage.' What even is a garden cottage?

So yes, he must have passed the beer house on to his daughter, although that's a little strange considering he had EIGHT sons (four of whom were older than Ellen). I haven't been able to find a Will for him.

The other names you mention are interesting. Ellen's eldest sibling was a James Holme but I don't know much about him other than that he married a Mary Webster (daughter of the Webster man you mentioned perhaps??) and the William Williams was a husband of Ellen's sister Mary (my direct ancestors).