Archive for May, 2009
The first draft of family history
I have long argued that family historians need to make more use of newspapers, journals and magazines. The problem, of course, is that they are hard to use, both physically (scrolling through rolls of microfilm) and intellectually (knowing when an ancestor might appear in print).
The internet promises to solve these problems. Several national papers, notably The Times and the (Manchester) Guardian, have digitised and indexed their back issues and placed them online.
Now the British Library has joined them with nearly fifty 19th century newspapers, including many local papers, which otherwise probably never have been digitised. So the chances of finding an ancestor are much greater.
It is a superb service – easy to use and informative – and fairly cheap: £6.99 for a day’s access or £9.99 for seven days. http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs. Bizarrely there is no link from the main BL website.
I tested the service by following up my Belcher ancestors. Fortunately Belcher is a fairly uncommon name. It helped that they often called their sons Paul: a surprisingly unusual forename until the 1950s.
For generations, they lived respectable middle class lives in the East Midlands. Clearly it might be more difficult to find working class forebears here.
Four Paul Belchers appear in the database – three clergymen and a doctor. It is not clear from the papers whether there was any family link between the men, but I would guess that there was.
There are 62 entries, only one of which appeared to be broken. Just out of interest I checked The Times Digital Archive – no entries – and the Guardian Archive, where one relating to a marriage in 1845 (I was too mean to pay to find out more).
Stories appear in half a dozen different newspapers, but overwhelmingly their activities are chronicled in the Derby Mercury, which despite the name also covered Burton upon Trent and surrounding villages. Entries also appear in papers as far apart as Leeds and Liverpool, Birmingham, Oxford and London.
Only once could it be said that they stepped into the limelight. In May 1854, as Revd Paul Belcher was announcing the banns for an unfortunately unnamed couple at Heather parish church the father of the bride objected: "I forbid the banns in this church and everywhere else becos hers too young and hers robbed me." This was picked up by several papers across the country, as no doubt a similar story would be today.
It would be tedious to go through the results story by story. They seem to fall into three categories: stories which confirm information found elsewhere or could be surrogates for other records (births, marriages and deaths); those which provide leads that could be followed up in other sources (for example Burton workhouse records where Dr Paul Belcher was medical officer or the records of Ashbourne School where Revd Paul Belcher was master for many years); but the majority of stories provide new insights from burglaries to attendance at weddings. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the coverage of the suicide of Dr Belcher in September 1890 from Prussic Acid. Would this information appear on the death certificate? I haven’t checked, but I would be surprised if it did.
Of course newspaper stories only offer a partial insight. There is much missing, although there is more coverage from the 1850s when local papers really take off after the abolition of stamp duty. Also newspapers get things wrong (particularly names) and fail to follow stories up, so you may only get partial coverage of a trial. Again these are familiar complaints about the media today.
This new service really does open up a major new resource for family historians. Realistically for the first time it is possible to use newspapers to complement other records to build up a rounder portrait of our ancestors, with information that would not be possible to obtain elsewhere.
Thanks to the British Library for their help with this blog.
Look plaque in anger
Perhaps I’m alone, but I like to read plaques on seats or trees or memorials. Like gravestones they can help with a family history even if the sentiments are usually mundane "she loved this spot" or "in memory of". Now the untroubled world of plaques has been disturbed by "Croy Devenish-Phibbs", who claims to be researching his family history and has uncovered a number of plaques on benches and the like "commemorating" the many let us say unconventional members of his family. A prank of course, but an amusing one. Keep your eyes open and see whether you can spot his work! Find out more at http://www.croydevenishphibbs.co.uk.
Lessons From The Past: Research Examines How Past Communities Coped With Climate Change
Research suggests people today and in future generations should look to the past in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. The dangers of rising sea levels, crop failures and extreme weather were all faced by our ancestors who learnt to adapt and survive in the face of climate change.
Community Archives
The June 2009 issue of Ancestors includes two short articles on the community archives movement, including the story of Fenella the Tiger who was a popular local celebrity in Holmfirth in the 1940s. Inevitably of course I’ve subsequently come across a couple of other resources which might be of interest if you are member of such an archive or want to set one up. The National Archives maintains pages for the Archives for All (or rather Archives 4 All) project at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/partnerprojects/a4a; and catalogues for archives collected by groups are part of the Access to Archives database at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a. And Hampshire Record Office has many pages about setting up and running community archives, as part of their Living Links project at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/archives/living-links.htm.
Small evolutionary shifts make big impacts — like developing night vision
(Cornell University) Minor differences in the timing of cell proliferation can explain the large differences found in the eyes of two species — owl monkeys and capuchin monkeys — that evolved from a common ancestor.
The chances of success
We are always receiving information about new websites offering services for family historians. A few warrant articles, others end up in internet news, while a few appear here. One such is http://myfamilysilver.com which enables family historians to search for silver engraved with their crest – or even initials – in the catalogues of some of the world’s leading silver dealers and auctioneers.
In the past most middle and upper class families engraves their silver with a crest for display which were passed down the generations. I have a few fish-knives with the Crozier crest on inherited from my maternal grandmother. Potential burglars, however, should note that they are probably less now then when they were new, as they are very well used and the electroplating is wearing pretty thin.
We are occasionally asked questions by readers about their family silver, so clearly there is a demand for this sort of service. And this easy to use site may meet a demand. Of course searching is very hit and miss – the chances of finding anything is pretty low. But of course you never know.
This leads nicely into the latest rival to the Google search engine -Wolfram Alpha. You may have read about it as it takes a radically different approach to searching – you ask it a question, which requires a specific answer, such as "What is the height of Mount Everest?" and it will give you answer. Try this on Google and you’ll just be pointed in the direction of sites that may or indeed may not tell you.
Unfortunately Wolfram Alpha is pretty useless, because it can only supply facts; nothing more. It won’t give you any information about family history, let alone tell you who your missing great-grandmother was. Type in a name and you’ll just get details of the numbers of the holders of the name in the United States. Which is a problem in itself.
Try it for yourself at http://www.wolframalpha.com, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
HRT-breast cancer risk stays same, regardless of family history
(University of Rochester Medical Center) The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded.
That was the year that was
As 2009 seems to be a year crammed full of anniversaries, it would be churlish not to mark a few of them, says Alex Ritchie Ancestors reporter with the day-by-day calendar. Lets point out the connections between these events and the information held in the National Register of Archives (NRA). So let’s begin at the beginning.
500 Years Ago
I was watching that Richard Starkey the other night. Now there’s a man who knows a good document when he handles it. In his white cotton gloves, of course. And what a story he has to tell. You can’t go wrong with Henry VIII: six wives, a couple of wars and a barrow-load of executions. Plus a bust-up with the Pope for good measure. So, should we be celebrating his accession to the throne in 1509? Like Henry himself, it’s too big to be ignored. Bring history to life? Be careful what you wish for, I say. Tyranny is but a click away.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P13673
250 Years Ago
The year 1759 was a crucial one in Britain’s emergence as a world power. Nothing confirmed this more than the dramatic victory over the French at Quebec. Just as at Trafalgar nearly 50 years later, the event was given added poignancy by the death of the British commander in the very moment of victory. That sacrifice laid the foundations of imperial legend, so it is funny to think that it might all have been so different. What if the general had fallen in battle against the Jacobites at Culloden in 1746? Of whom do I write? One click will answer.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P31039
200 Years Ago
To be honest, I’ve had enough already with Chuck "I swim with the iguanas" Darwin. If dinosaurs weren’t roaming the earth at the same time as humans, then what was that film with Raquel Welch all about? Don’t tell me they got that wrong! I take no view on the theory of evolution or the fixity of species, but then I’m not an American politician. Maybe it is time to take a sideways look at Darwin from the perspective of someone who accompanied him on the epic voyage of the Beagle. Someone like this man.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P10134
100 Years Ago
You might have missed this one, but 2009 marks 100 years of naval aviation. From the first air ship, through to the torpedo attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto (which gave the Japanese the idea for the attack on Pearl Harbour), ancient Swordfish aircraft disabling the German battleship Bismarck in 1941 and Sea Harriers winning the air war over the Falklands in 1982, there’s a lot to learn. Why not start by clicking on this link to ARCHON and going on from there.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/searches/locresult_details.asp?LR=2734
70 Years Ago
"I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received and that consequently this country is at war with Germany". These were the words with which the Prime Minister told the nation that the Second World War had begun. Actually, it had started several days before as Hitler’s armies crossed into Poland for a lightning campaign. Britain’s first war premier is better remembered for the failed policy of appeasement than for anything he achieved in the following months. By next May Churchill had taken over, though still darker days lay ahead. But for an insight into the events of 1939 follow the link.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=P5298
Anniversaries begin at home
Years ago I was puzzling over an historical enquiry. Some papers had apparently been transferred to Kew, but they seemed an unlikely addition to the collections of the Public Record Office, being about botanical specimens. And then the penny dropped. Since the 1970s "Kew" had been adopted as shorthand for the PRO/TNA. But there was an archival institution at Kew long before that. So it’s a happy 250th anniversary to our distinguished neighbours. And if you still don’t know what I’m talking about, click on the link to their ARCHON page.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/searches/locresult_details.asp?LR=68
Happy Anniversaries, everybody!