Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - helvissa

Pages: 1 2 3 4 [5]
37
The Common Room / National Probate Calendar for 1859
« on: Monday 27 September 10 10:26 BST (UK)  »
The Probate Calendar on Ancestry starts in 1861, and I'm looking for the will of someone who died in 1859 (so they're not on Archives either!). I've found their burial (12th Feb 1859 in Lambeth Norwood), but I'm having trouble finding their death certificate, so I can't really order that first in order to find their address and get their will.

Is the National Probate Calendar readily available in libraries? I'm faffing about with Birmingham Central Library's catalogue and they've got lots of probate but doesn't look like they've got the national one.

(sorry, I've possibly posted this in the wrong place!)

38
Armed Forces / Medals for ship builders?
« on: Wednesday 15 September 10 11:35 BST (UK)  »
I've identified someone in a photo as a shipbuilder from Essex, and in the photo he's an old man wearing a medal. Did shipbuilders wear medals? I don't think he was in the military, or if he was, it was in between censuses! My friend's grandad has an enamelled button from being a Bevan Boy down the mines in WW2, so I wondered if they gave medals to people who worked on Royal Navy shipyards or something.

Here's the pic: (I don't expect anyone to be able to identify it from that distance though!)




39
Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition / **COMPLETED** London place names on William Innell Clement's will
« on: Monday 06 September 10 19:38 BST (UK)  »
Hi there,

I'm trying to work out what these place names are on a will drawn up in 1844. I was hoping it might give me a clue for browsing on the 1841 census!

It's the will of William Innell Clement, who owned The Observer, The Morning Chronicle, Bell's Life in London, etc.

At the time of his will being drawn up, three of his sons were surviving: William, George William and Charles. William seems to be the only legitimate son. He left his media empire to be divided between the three sons:


It looks like William was at Sutherland Square:


George William and Charles are at Cowley Place:


Or Gowley Place. Or Crowley Place? Or somewhere else entirely?!

I've tried searching by address on Find My Past. Cowley and Gowley Place yields nothing. There's a Crowley Place in Tonbridge in Kent, and that's it (I haven't looked it up yet as I don't have the ref for it). Sutherland Square doesn't come up either, so I thought I would ask you lovely people if you think I've read it properly!

And lastly:
I think the first part says "To my two sons Charles and George William in trust for their mother."
(which seems to add extra grist to the idea that they were illegitimate - surely if they were legitimate, this would be "to my wife").


But the second bit:
"To ? Joseph Worrad (Worral?) of Walsall in trust for his sister Mary Ann."
I can't work out what that second word is after 'to' ('sir'?). Or indeed what his surname is!

Anyone have any ideas?

(PS: I've found 170 Strand on a few censuses and none of the Clements live there. It's usually empty or in one case someone does live there, a man with his wife and a servant, and he's a printer compositor. When I googled the address, it kept coming up with some of William's newspapers and then it came up with engravings from books published from the same address - so I do wonder if it wasn't actually a house and was in fact newspaper/publishing offices. When William was buried, it has two addresses - one in Hackney and the Strand address. Another Clement tree has his death in 1852 at the address in Hackney but when I looked it up on the 1851 census, he wasn't living there. He did die suddenly though so maybe he was visiting someone who lived there.... anyway, that's all a side issue...!)

40
Hampshire & Isle of Wight / Charlotte SAMWAYS, Gosport/Southsea c. 1847
« on: Thursday 02 September 10 18:41 BST (UK)  »
Hi there,

I'm trying to find out about Charlotte Samways, born about 1847 in Gosport. I can't find a birth for her on Ancestry or FreeBMD. I've looked through the baptisms on the online Gosport pr's and nothing there either (searching for Charlotte alone or Charlotte Samways).

I've got her marriage certificate from 9th August 1869, which gives her age as 22, residence as Waverly Road, Southsea, and father as William Samways, labourer. Witnesses are J Entwistle (presumably not that fella from The Who) and Charlotte Coggles. The marriage was in the register office on Portsea Island. Her maiden name is also Samways on her daughter's birth certificate.

She married Charles Fleet, 23, bachelor, Gunner RA (Royal Artillery, presumably), his residence being Haslar Hospital, son of William Fleet, labourer. The census info I have backs up Charles' info (I have his army pension record but it doesn't shed any light on his wife).

Charlotte, however, doesn't appear on any censuses until 1871, when she appears as Charles' wife. I've tried looking by just name and place of birth, but that doesn't seem hopeful. I've tried just Charlotte, birth 1847 plus or minus 2, born Gosport, 1851 & 1861, then the same but without b. Gosport and just location Southsea on the 1861. I got nothing at all for the Southsea search, but several Charlottes who pop up on the Gosport search, but their fathers aren't necessarily a William on the census so I don't feel confident in claiming it's her (but of course, it could be...).

I did wonder if a street index to the 1861 census would help, because then I could browse Waverly Road, but there doesn't appear to be one readily online.

So... a fun brick wall if anyone's feeling keen!

(PS there's two Charlotte Coggles on the 1871 census. One is in Portsmouth, aged 37, married, living as 'sister' to Clarence Stirling, but I can't find a marriage Stirling's marriage... unless her maiden name was Willson, and her husband was William Coggles, married in Alverstoke (so possibly Gosport), 1868).

41
New Zealand Completed Requests / Looking for TUBB family **COMPLETED**
« on: Tuesday 31 August 10 10:02 BST (UK)  »
Hello,

I'm looking for the Tubb family. Frederick George Henry Tubb married Aida Isabel/Isobel Walton in London 1908 and subsequently moved to New Zealand. I have ordered copies of their death certificates (she died in 1942, he in 1977). Frederick was my grandad's cousin - during WW2, my great-aunt came back from lunch one day to find out that one of Frederick's sons had visited - he was in the army and had popped in to see her, but they missed each other.

As you may be able to tell, I've found Frederick and Aida's deaths on the BMD Historical website, but I can't find the births of any children, presumably because of the 100-year embargo on births. I don't know for sure when they left for NZ - I've looked on passenger lists and have been unable to find them, except for a possible for Fred in 1910. Fred was in the NZ army during WW1, so that gives a window for when they emigrated, at least.

So I was wondering if anyone on here in their genealogical travels has come across Fred and Aida? I've been having a quick look on some of the NZ resources posted here - such as the newspaper obits - but I haven't really found anything else, apart from Fred's probate in 1978, his WW1 war record and his purchase of some land in the 1940s, but it looks as though you can't order a copy of it and you have to consult it in the reading room in Auckland, which is rather far away from here!

If this family rings any bells with you then please do get in touch, or if you think you might have an idea of where I could look for info (keeping in mind the BMD Historicals embargos, of course), do let me know.

Thanks!

PS: I think things might be clearer, especially where they actually lived in NZ, once I have those certificates!

PPS: Sorry, just getting to grips with this. The probate has his residence as Auckland. That should help... perhaps...

42
Oxfordshire / Daniel HARRIS & possibly Jemima, Hook Norton
« on: Monday 30 August 10 16:24 BST (UK)  »
I'm trying to find Daniel Harris, b. Hook Norton about 1794. I have the parish CD and haven't been able to find his baptism in Hook Norton. He later married in London.

The location comes from the 1861 census - 1851 just says "Oxfordshire". On the 1861, living next door is a widow called Jemima Brown b about 1786, also born Hook Norton. Now, I did think this could be a coincidence, but it crossed my mind this could be his sister. Researching Jemima, she was indeed a Harris before marrying James Brown (good name!) in 1818 in London. Their daughter, Jane Joanna, just happened to be baptised in the same church, on the same day, as Daniel & Sarah Harris' daughter, Mary Elizabeth (26th December 1824). Also, Daniel and Sarah had a daughter b. 1831 called Sarah Jemima.

With that many coincidences, I'm really wondering if Daniel and Jemima are siblings, especially as their ages work for siblings too.

But, without being able to find them in Hook Norton, I'm a bit stuck for proving it either way!

Has anyone else come across this family looking in Oxfordshire? What are the chances of them being baptised in a different village, perhaps? There is a James Harris and Elizabeth Wells who married in Hook Norton on 12 July 1795 - James was a widower. I wonder if Jemima (and possibly Daniel) were children from James' first marriage (which may have been 1st Oct 1782, to Hannah Lampett. There is a burial for a Hannah Harris in 1788).

James and Elizabeth baptised 11 children, all privately.

43
Technical Help / Creating a website database of searchable parish records
« on: Sunday 29 August 10 12:39 BST (UK)  »
I have several parish records coming my way on microfiche, and to spread the love (having used records transcribed by others for my own research, it seems only fair) I want to create a website and put the transcriptions of them on there (I realise I need the permission of the parishes, which I'm trying to obtain).

I've seen several sites where people have presented transcriptions, for example:
http://genealogy.colinrayner.org.uk/

I've already spoken to the Forest of Dean FHS and they said theirs was one they made - it wasn't "out of the box".

I was wondering if there's any 'best practice' so to speak in presenting the transcriptions - if there's anything online that I could use, if anyone has any tips or suggestions? I do run a couple of websites, but the basic templates were designed for me by someone using Dreamweaver about 3 years ago and I've just edited the html and css as I've gone along, using it for other things! So I'm not a total newbie when it comes to online things, and i've also created a site using Joomla, but I'm certainly not an expert by any stretch of the imagination! I was thinking that perhaps something like Colin's site would be fairly simple to put together, with it being just tables of info? 

44
Census and Resource Discussion / Ancestry censuses - look up by folio & book
« on: Friday 27 August 10 12:34 BST (UK)  »
Hi there,

Anyone know how to look up a specific page using the references, such as the ones you find on the yourarchives address wiki?

eg: HO 107/1512   75-77.

The Ancestry browse function only allows you to go by reg district, sub district, and ennumeration district. It's a shame.

I'm sure there used to be boxes for this on the search screen, but now they seem to have disappeared, which makes searching for things very frustrating when you've got the address from a will or other form of info and then you're stuck!

I've noticed you can look up by address on Find My Past, but I don't have a subscription on there.

45
London & Middlesex Completed Lookup Requests / coroners or newspaper reports?
« on: Monday 29 September 08 21:26 BST (UK)  »
I have a query... my g-grandfather Samuel Nunn died 18th March 1915 at Hackney Infirmary, aged 86. A note in the informant section of the death certificate says "Certificate received from Wynn Westcott, Coroner for North Eastern District of London. Inquest held 20th March 1915." The death itself was registered on 22nd March 1915, and the cause of death is "cerebral softening and cerebral haemorrhage".

We have the Times index in the library I work in and I looked through them every possible way I could think of (I looked under Nunn, I looked through the 'accidents' section, I looked through some other sections I can't now remember) - but drew a blank. I've tried to look further into this and presumably there is some record of the inquest being held, but I can't find anything.

Or did they not keep the records if it turned out to be relatively unsuspicious? He was knocking on a bit, bless 'im!

Pages: 1 2 3 4 [5]