Author Topic: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it  (Read 11087 times)

Offline clairec666

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Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« on: Friday 28 September 18 19:06 BST (UK) »
Don't you just love it when parish records contain little annotations in the margins, which give you extra information you didn't know?

I've spent most of today transcribing the parish records for Purleigh in Essex, mainly 1820s and 1830s. They're probably my favourite ones so far. Some of the "extra" information I've found:

  • Several of the baptism records for illegitimate children have information about the reputed father.
  • One record has a note next to it saying that the child's father died before the baptism.
  • There are little notes in the margin suggesting different spellings of surnames. E.g. for the baptism of Adam Saveall - "So it seems prounounced, otherwise spelt Savill".
  • When there is a disputed age in the burial register, there are annotations about where the information came from!
  • For the burial of Susannah Petley, age 23 - "Abode during the last few weeks of her illness at her mother's Mrs Pasfield's and died there, but her husband's residence was Latchingdon"
  • Quite often the "abode" recorded in the register is quite specific, e.g. the name of a road or a farm rather than just the village name, which is rare for records at this time.

I'm having so much fun with these records that I don't want them to end!
Transcribing Essex records for FreeREG.
Current parishes - Burnham, Purleigh, Steeple.
Get in touch if you have any interest in these places!

Offline Viktoria

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #1 on: Friday 28 September 18 19:44 BST (UK) »
Thanks for sharing,let us know any more interesting additions.
Viktoria.

Offline Deirdre784

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #2 on: Friday 28 September 18 20:29 BST (UK) »
I have a ‘real’ one, on my husband’s tree, though not biologically related 😀

Baptism entry - after the child’s name and date - says ‘no father recorded, Martha, spinster. NB this woman has previously been entered as Martha LEIGH. It has been ascertained that she was not married.’

From what we have found she had an eventful life. When we first found her on the 1851 census, she was a 25 year old ‘widow’ with 6 children from age 12 downwards. 
CARDIFF:Lord,Griffiths,Barry,Cope,Mahoney ~ PEMBROKESHIRE:Griffiths,Rees,Owen,Thomas ~ ESSEX:Lord,Foreman,Hatch ~ SOMERSET:Lord,Cox,Hockey,Linham,Bryant ~ STAFFORDSHIRE:Cope,Elks,Hackney,Gallimore,Davenport ~ SUFFOLK:Lord,Lockwood,Hatch,Rix,Foreman ~ IRELAND:Barry,Meany,Cummins,Grogan ~
PONTYPRIDD:Leigh,Brooks,Adams,Davies,Thomas ~ KENT:Leigh ~ CHESHIRE:Adams,Tudor,Illidge ~ DENBIGHSHIRE:Edwards,Bolas ~BRECON:Leigh,Thomas,Davies ~SOMERSET:Adams,Keitch,Bridge ~ABERGAVENNY:Minton ~ MERTHYR:.....

Offline clairec666

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 29 September 18 12:13 BST (UK) »
I have a ‘real’ one, on my husband’s tree, though not biologically related 😀

Baptism entry - after the child’s name and date - says ‘no father recorded, Martha, spinster. NB this woman has previously been entered as Martha LEIGH. It has been ascertained that she was not married.’

From what we have found she had an eventful life. When we first found her on the 1851 census, she was a 25 year old ‘widow’ with 6 children from age 12 downwards.

Sounds like Martha was a bit of a "character", to put it politely ;D

I've transcribed a few more pages today. I'm becoming quite fond of R.F. Walker, the curate of Purleigh, who made all these interesting annotations. So it was sad to transcribe the death of his wife, aged just 34.
Transcribing Essex records for FreeREG.
Current parishes - Burnham, Purleigh, Steeple.
Get in touch if you have any interest in these places!


Offline Deirdre784

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #4 on: Saturday 29 September 18 13:32 BST (UK) »
I have a ‘real’ one, on my husband’s tree, though not biologically related 😀

Baptism entry - after the child’s name and date - says ‘no father recorded, Martha, spinster. NB this woman has previously been entered as Martha LEIGH. It has been ascertained that she was not married.’

From what we have found she had an eventful life. When we first found her on the 1851 census, she was a 25 year old ‘widow’ with 6 children from age 12 downwards.

Sounds like Martha was a bit of a "character", to put it politely ;D

I've transcribed a few more pages today. I'm becoming quite fond of R.F. Walker, the curate of Purleigh, who made all these interesting annotations. So it was sad to transcribe the death of his wife, aged just 34.

Indeed she was 😀 We eventually discovered that she wasn’t the mother of the eldest 4 (their mother had died when the youngest was only 6 months old so she was presumably employed to look after them). She then had 2 children before her ‘husband’ died aged 32, and had a further 6 children, all with no father named. Several of them quoted her ‘husband’ as their father on marriage, despite being born up to 10 years after his death. Martha herself never married, lived to be 83 and was referred to on her death certificate as the widow of Richard 😀
CARDIFF:Lord,Griffiths,Barry,Cope,Mahoney ~ PEMBROKESHIRE:Griffiths,Rees,Owen,Thomas ~ ESSEX:Lord,Foreman,Hatch ~ SOMERSET:Lord,Cox,Hockey,Linham,Bryant ~ STAFFORDSHIRE:Cope,Elks,Hackney,Gallimore,Davenport ~ SUFFOLK:Lord,Lockwood,Hatch,Rix,Foreman ~ IRELAND:Barry,Meany,Cummins,Grogan ~
PONTYPRIDD:Leigh,Brooks,Adams,Davies,Thomas ~ KENT:Leigh ~ CHESHIRE:Adams,Tudor,Illidge ~ DENBIGHSHIRE:Edwards,Bolas ~BRECON:Leigh,Thomas,Davies ~SOMERSET:Adams,Keitch,Bridge ~ABERGAVENNY:Minton ~ MERTHYR:.....

Offline BumbleB

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #5 on: Saturday 29 September 18 14:04 BST (UK) »
A slightly different stance on additional information in the parish records.  St Editha in Tamworth, Staffordshire had a vicar, Reverend Blick, who towards the end of the 18th century added notes at the end of the year which listed world events, English events and those of note in Tamworth itself - I think it was 1796 that he noted that there was an earthquake which had been "sensibly felt" in Tamworth.  ;D
Transcriptions and NBI are merely finding aids.  They are NOT a substitute for original record entries.
Remember - "They'll be found when they want to be found" !!!
If you don't ask the question, you won't get an answer.
He/she who never made a mistake, never made anything.
Archbell - anywhere, any date
Kendall - WRY
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Offline Deirdre784

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #6 on: Saturday 29 September 18 15:32 BST (UK) »
The language has changed somewhat hasn’t it 😀

I found a fascinating ‘parish notes’ entry at the bottom of a page of baptisms, and saved a screenshot. Can’t find it at the moment 🙁
CARDIFF:Lord,Griffiths,Barry,Cope,Mahoney ~ PEMBROKESHIRE:Griffiths,Rees,Owen,Thomas ~ ESSEX:Lord,Foreman,Hatch ~ SOMERSET:Lord,Cox,Hockey,Linham,Bryant ~ STAFFORDSHIRE:Cope,Elks,Hackney,Gallimore,Davenport ~ SUFFOLK:Lord,Lockwood,Hatch,Rix,Foreman ~ IRELAND:Barry,Meany,Cummins,Grogan ~
PONTYPRIDD:Leigh,Brooks,Adams,Davies,Thomas ~ KENT:Leigh ~ CHESHIRE:Adams,Tudor,Illidge ~ DENBIGHSHIRE:Edwards,Bolas ~BRECON:Leigh,Thomas,Davies ~SOMERSET:Adams,Keitch,Bridge ~ABERGAVENNY:Minton ~ MERTHYR:.....

Offline ThrelfallYorky

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #7 on: Saturday 29 September 18 16:34 BST (UK) »
Those sort of interesting entries are what often makes our researching so fascinating and rewarding! I do hope that, as a transcriber, you are encouraged to record all these tiny details?
Threlfall (Southport), Isherwood (lancs & Canada), Newbould + Topliss(Derby), Keating & Cummins (Ireland + lancs), Fisher, Strong& Casson (all Cumberland) & Downie & Bowie, Linlithgow area Scotland . Also interested in Leigh& Burrows,(Lancashire) Griffiths (Shropshire & lancs), Leaver (Lancs/Yorks) & Anderson(Cumberland and very elusive)

Offline clairec666

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Re: Transcribing some interesting records, just wanted to share it
« Reply #8 on: Saturday 29 September 18 17:16 BST (UK) »
Those sort of interesting entries are what often makes our researching so fascinating and rewarding! I do hope that, as a transcriber, you are encouraged to record all these tiny details?

Yes, I'm transcribing for FreeREG and there's a "Notes" column where you can record all the extra little details I've found. It's taking me longer to transcribe these pages, especially as the margin notes are so tiny and very hard to read, but it's worth it.
Transcribing Essex records for FreeREG.
Current parishes - Burnham, Purleigh, Steeple.
Get in touch if you have any interest in these places!