Putting your Ancestors in their Place: a guide to nineteenth and twentieth century one place studies

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1 Putting your Ancestors in their Place: a guide to nineteenth and twentieth century one place studies Dr. Janet Few 18 October 2016 Devon History Society Aim To enable you to discover more about your chosen community and its nineteenth and twentieth century inhabitants, by suggesting sources, methods and projects that will help to set people in their geographical context. Objectives By the end of the workshop you should:- know how to begin recreating communities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. be able to find out more about the lives of the people who inhabited those communities. be aware of sources that might be used to help to reconstruct a community during this period. have some ideas for research projects that you may wish to undertake. Our ancestors did not live in isolation. Family historians often focus on the nuclear family. Local historians concern themselves with events, buildings and famous residents. To understand our ancestors, they need to be put in their place by investigating the community of which they were a part. To bring the history of a locality to life, it should be populated with ordinary people. A one place study brings family and local history together, to the benefit of both fields. One Place Studies differ from traditional local histories in that they focus on people, their relationship to their communities and to each other. One Place Studies are not just about indexing documents and collecting data. Ultimately, they are about using that data to answer questions about a community, its residents and their lives. Community Reconstruction involves dissecting a small, definable, geographical area to examine in as much detail as possible, the individuals, buildings and processes of the past. 10 Steps to a One Place Study Step 1 Choose Your boundaries Existing Work Society for One-Place Studies Register of One Place Studies On Line Parish Clerks Local History Online for a list of many local history groups The British Association for Local History The Community Archives and Heritage Group Blatchford, Robert and Elizabeth Blatchford Family and Local History Handbook (Robert Blatchford Publishing Ltd. issued periodically), see They also produce an Irish version. 1 Janet Few 2016

2 Step 2 Reconstruct Your physical space at different points in time Maps maps.google.co.uk use Street View Google Earth earth.google.co.uk includes photographs, use Street View Google Images via MyHomesPast Britain from Above contains aerial views taken between 1919 and Images of England photographs and descriptions of English listed buildings Francis Frith enables you to purchase historic images, old maps and books. Heritage Images also offer pictures for sale. Old postcards Ebay BBC s Your Paintings website for an index of oil paintings. Phillimore Halsgrove Pevsner s county by county series Victoria County Histories Estate Agents Details Step 3 Populate Look at overall population statistics and profiles List named individuals HistPop Vision of Britain Neighbourhood Statistics Step 4 Collect Data from specific sources Biographical data Data about dwellings, buildings and institutions Data about events 2 Janet Few 2016

3 Sources Oral testimony, diaries and memoirs The British Sound Archive cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/x/0/49/ Francis Frith website For memory bank entries for some places. Biographical Information The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Vital Records of birth/baptism, marriage, death/burial Archives FindmyPast Ancestry Family Search Gravestones The Times Digital Archive gale.cengage.co.uk/times.aspx/ Gibson, Jeremy Local , England and Wales; Channel Islands; Isle of Man: a select location list (3rd ed. Family History Partnership 2011). Directories and Gazetteers Census Records If accessing the 1911 census via FindMyPast use Related Images Enumerator s Summary Book List. Also available via some other subscription websites. Tax Lists Records of Land Ownership Records of Education and Occupation Records Relating to Movement of the People Records of Local Government Rate Books Electoral Rolls Gibson, Jeremy Electoral Registers and Burgess Rolls (Family History Partnership 2008). Council Minutes Probate Records Wills from PCC wills Online Probate Indexes yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=online_probate_indexes see also Ancestry and FindmyPast 3 Janet Few 2016

4 Step 5 Connect People in family groups People with places People with events Tithe Records Access to Devon Tithe Records or Inland Revenue Valuation Office Survey The National Archives IR58 Gravestones Electoral Rolls Rate Books Parish Registers School Records Deeds and Leases Land Tax Step 6 Analyse Draw conclusions about your place from the data that you have collected Step 7 Synthesise Draw on all your data to focus on a time period or theme Population Change World War 1 War Memorials National Inventory of War Memorials Project War Memorials Online Descendants Gravestones Commonwealth War Graves Commission Technically no place search facility. Use the advanced search, enter place in the additional information box. Information includes: name, rank, service number, date of death, age, regiment or service, country for whom served, grave reference and cemetery or memorial. May also give place of birth, address and next of kin. Death Certificates Soldiers Died in the Great War Published 1921, 81 volumes, 42,000 officers, 662,000 other ranks. Usually gives soldiers regiment, corps and battalion, decorations received, where the individual was born, lived and was enlisted, their rank and number and how, when and where they died. Available:- large libraries; on CD Naval and Military Press Limited Online via Ancestry UK or FindmyPast www. findmypast.co.uk - searches by name not place. 4 Janet Few 2016

5 1911 census IR58 Directories of houses Parish Registers Rolls of Honour List casualties and sometimes survivors. Some on Ancestry and FindmyPast. Most searchable by name not place. The National Roll of Honour for the First World War (reprinted Naval and Military Press 2007). 14 volumes, arranged geographically. Not complete - none for Wales or SW. Available in large reference libraries and via FindmyPast. Information from the families of those who served not from the official records. Also regional, regimental, school, company and association rolls of honour. Pension Records Classes WO363 and WO364 at The National Archives for service and pension records for non commissioned officers and other ranks serving Searchable by name on Ancestry Silver War Badge Awarded to those who were invalided out of the services, searchable by name on Ancestry. Soldiers Wills probatesearch.service.gov.uk School Records Absent Voters Lists Held in County Record Offices, record names, home addresses, ship, regiment, service number and rank. Details of online access to some lists at net go to How to Research a Soldier and Insights and Articles. Electoral Rolls See also War Diaries Maps of the trenches collection. WO95 crowd sourcing project. Forces War Records Prisoner of war records at The National Archives. See their Research Guide Looking for Records of a British Prisoner of War c downloadable from Records of tribunals or reports in newspapers. Beckett, Ian The Home Front : how Britain survived the Great War (The National Archives 2006) Holding, Norman World War I Army Ancestry (revised and updated by Iain Swinnerton 4th ed. Society of Genealogists 2004) Spencer, William First World War Army Service Records: a guide for family historians (The National Archives 2008) Faith Of places of worship, former places of worship, vicarages and manses, ministers, church events religious census Parish Magazines 5 Janet Few 2016

6 Wesleyan Methodist Historic Roll Over a million contributors to Million Guinea Fund, also known as the Twentieth Century Fund. Held at Methodist Central Hall in London and they will answer enquiries. The rolls give names and addresses of contributors who donated their guineas between 1899 and Clergy Database Education Of the schools - include private schools, the pupils, the staff and events. Admission s Registers Log Books School Leavers Certificates - in private hands. Teachers Registration Certificates Those in service Originals at Society of Genealogists available via Directories. School Histories Memorabilia e.g. school play programmes. Occupations Census Returns Directories and Gazetteers Newspaper Adverts Histories of Particular Employers Services, Institutions and Societies Shops, Markets, Pubs, Places of Worship, Transport Links, Hospitals, Schools, Libraries, Parks, Clubs and Societies Field Walking Census Returns Directories and Gazetteers Maps Voluntary Action History Society The Friendly Societies Research Group Migration Genmap by Archer Software Investigate Population Change Seek out Background Material Identify Key Questions Decide on Focus Migrant Biographies Names Date of Movement Distance Travelled Migration Companions 6 Janet Few

7 Biographical Information Age, Occupation, Faith Motivations Stories Step 8 Contextualise Be aware of regional and national patterns and how your findings fit within this context Compare your place with others Step 9 Disseminate Share your findings through websites, blogs, books, articles, displays or presentations Step 10 Enthuse Spread the word and encourage others to participate in the wonderful world of one place studies Further Reading on Sources and Research Techniques Beech, G and Mitchell, R Maps for Family and Local history (National Archives 2004). Few, Janet (ed.) Family Historians Enquire Within (Family History Partnership 2014). Few, Janet Putting Your Ancestors in their Place: a guide to one place studies (Family History Partnership 2014). Golby, John Communities and Families (Cambridge University Press 1994). Hey, David Family History and Local History in England (Longman 1987). Hey, David The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History (2nd edition Oxford University Press 2010). Hindle, Paul Maps for Historians (Phillimore 1998). Lord, Evelyn Investigating the Twentieth Century: sources for local historians (Tempus Publishing 2004). Masters, Charles Essential Maps for Family Historians (Countryside Books 2009). Mills, Dennis R Rural Community History from Trade Directories (Local Population Studies 2001). Oliver, George and Local History (Batsford 1989). Pols, Robert Dating Twentieth Century (Federation of Family History Societies 2005). Raymond, Stuart A Tracing your Twentieth Century Family History (Federation of Family History Societies 2003). Richardson, John The Local Historian s Encyclopedia (3rd edition Historical Publications Ltd. 2003). Riden, Philip Record Sources for Local History (Batsford 1987). Stephens, W B Sources for English Local History (revised edition Cambridge University Press 1981). Williams, Michael A Researching Local History: the human journey (Longman 1996). 7 Janet Few 2016

Death Records. The Demise of Your Ancestor. Death Certificates

Death Records. The Demise of Your Ancestor. Death Certificates Death Records The Demise of Your Ancestor Failing to trace our ancestor s lives right through until their deaths may lead to serious omissions in our Family Histories. Failure to find their deaths and