Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: I is for....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

I is for Italian

Part of my ancestry that has not been explored nearly enough is my Italian connection. I was born in England and bought up neglecting the Italian side of my heritage. Strictly speaking I am half Sicilian and my ancestors come from a commune in the middle of the Island called Sutera.

Orlando ONS
Commenced & Registered in 2002

Researching ancestors in Italy and Sicily require you to actually know the village where your ancestors live. There is no central depository in Italy. I am in the middle of a fairly large project involving this part of my ancestry which is why virtually no information is posted here, but there are likely to be some changes in the future!

I do though host a One Name Study for the Italian name in question, which is Orlando.

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: H is for....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

H is for Health

We take it for granted. We have access to medicines, health professionals and medical knowledge. We can access qualified professionals who, using their medical and professional knowledge along with medical technology make a diagnosis and prescribe a treatment. That has not of course always been the case.

Conditions such as Hypothyroidism, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Asthma, Heart issues and mental health issues have always existed and they did so without treatment because of a lack of understanding, money and knowledge. Conditions that are hereditary. Very often the unexplained condition was labelled and "treatment" was to dispatch the individual off to the local asylum. 

In my early twenties I developed a "suspect" Thyroid condition. The treatment was a partial Thyroidectomy and medication. In my early 30s I had a repeat situation and again I had surgery and the remaining lobe of my thyroid gland was removed. I will take medication for the rest of my life. 

I gave the condition no further thought. That was until I made contact with a researcher whose daughter had a Thyroid condition. Coincidence. Then about 10 years ago I made contact with another researcher from the same genealogical line with the same condition. Still a coincidence? I am not sure.

Our common ancestor is a chap called John Butcher, alias Woolgar. He was born in 1795 the son of James Butcher and Sarah Woolgar and was illegitimate, although his parents did marry when John was 6 years old. All of John's children were born in Wonersh, except for the last son.

• Charles born 1823 *  - my line!
• William born 1826 *
• Mary Anne born 1828
• Thomas born 1830
• Alfred born 1832
• James born 1835 *
• Henry born 1837
• Ellen Jane born 1841 died 1844
• John born 1844 died 1855 born in Shalford

* The represents the ancestral line of those who have a thyroid condition.

As far as I know no one else in my family has this condition so is this coincidence, or is this something that is in the genetics? Perhaps I will never know.

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: G is for.....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

G is for Genealogy

Could this post really be about anything else? Genealogy and family history is much more than names and dates. It is the desire to bring out the basic data of the lives of our ancestors, but it is also an opportunity for us to explore the life and times that a specific individual lived in.

Whilst I have some real characters in my ancestors, those that have been well documented because they were from a well known family, there are plenty that were simply regular individuals. Those who worked 16 hour days 6 days a week for a meagre wage, they came home dirty and and washed in cold water, spent the dark winter evenings using candle light, assuming they could afford candles and spent considerable amounts of time worrying if their job, home and family were safe and protected. If they became ill then there was no welfare state to help them, indeed, the workhouse was a place to fear. They relied heavily on the goodwill of family, friends and neighbours. They often went to bed exhausted, frightened, worried and hungry.

Genealogy is an opportunity for us to explore our ancestors lives. Through the official records - birth, marriage and death. Explore perhaps employment notes - not the large corporate files we have today, but perhaps references in diaries of others such as "paid Ellis 4 shillings for clipping the hedge" 

Genealogy is not about the large jigsaw puzzle that we complete at the dining room table. It is about each of those little segments, which in turn exists to create that big puzzle. Sometimes, we have a gut feeling that something is right, yet it does not fit and we can ponder on how it does not fit and usually it is because there is an unknown factor that we have yet to unearth. It is the opportunity to chase that perhaps many of us find so fascinating.

Was the lives of our ancestors simple? In part yes. The requirements and expectations were different and lower. We have expectations and rights now, yet in past times, whilst our ancestors may have had expectations, hopes and dreams many of them had very few rights. They were a commodity and commodity's are often exploited. Once we uncover the facts of the lives of our ancestors we can build up a picture of what their lives was like and perhaps ponder on how their experiences have impacted upon us; their descendants.

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: F is for.....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

Fis for Families

I am sure that you are familiar with the saying "You can choose your friends, but not your family".  

Just this week my husband was reflecting and remembering on things from his early childhood. After a few minutes he asked  me to "Google it and see what comes up". Well, what came up from the Google search was to be honest horrifying. I do not mean research that other's had done and shared via the internet. This was information from official sources and as we read and re-read we sat in horrified silence.

The information was read several times and later as we got into bed and I picked up a book hopeful of a few pages reading before the eyes began to close, my husband started to talk again about what we had read. I pointed out several things. Firstly, we are not responsible for the doings of our family members, whether they are alive or dead and like it or not, we can not turn the clock back. We simply have to find a way of dealing with the knowledge that we now have.

In the morning as we had a first drink of the day, my husband turned to me and commented that he was simply ashamed of the situation. I reiterated the comments I had made of the night before. Since then there has been no further mention, but I know, the way you do when you have lived with someone for 20 years that the wheels and thoughts are continuing. Just as my research into the information is.

Absolutely, we can not choose our family. We are part of an established group, which yields parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Some of those people we share not just a blood bond with but also an emotional attachment to. Others are simply a blood connection whilst others we have no blood connection, but have an emotional connection with, perhaps in the case of honorary relations - Aunts, Uncles etc.

Quite recently I attended a family funeral. In the last 2 years we have had four bereavements, three on my side of the family and one on my husband's side. Of the three bereavements on my side, I was able to attend two of the funerals. Inhibited in attending the third by miles and many of them! The emotional attachment that I felt to those individuals was huge and each one in their own way leaves quite a gap. So I stood as we all paid our last respects at the most recent funeral. I was proud to do so.

The contribution that each of us makes to our own family establishment is unique. Feeling proud of our families is something that I hope we all feel in some way. I was very proud as I realised that the congregation at that recent funeral was more than 200 people, many were standing at the back, squeezing in where they could. Simply to pay their respects to another individual who had been a father, brother, grandfather, cousin, uncle, friend and colleague.

Sobering thoughts and comments for what I had planned to be a different piece of writing for this week's contribution.

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: E is for.....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

E is for Elstone

Elstone was the surname of my Maternal Grandmother. Mary Elizabeth Elstone was born in 1880 in Bramshot Hampshire, the daughter of James Elstone and Mary Denyer.

The Denyer's and Elstone's had from what I have researched so far have been in the Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire borders and were heavily involved in the paper making industry. No great surprise there as the Elstone's inherited Bramshot paper mill upon the marriage of John Elstone to Ann Pim in 1786.

Over the years, I have not researched more fully this line, and then quite by chance I was at the Exeter local studies library looking at a card index for something else when the cards flipped back to E. I don't quite know what made me look at the cards, but I came across the reference to the name of Elstone and a reference or two to the name of Pim, both connected with paper making in Devon.

Was there a connection? Was this a coincidence?  A few weeks later, driving along the A377 heading to North Devon we drove through a hamlet by the name of Elstone. I can honestly say the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Is there perhaps some connection that I had not been aware of?

Elstone is a hamlet, with very little there. It is rural with a river - probably the River Exe following close by.

So, another 10 years on and I still have not researched this more fully. Is this a red herring? or is there perhaps a little link between my Elstone and Pim, of paper making stock in Sussex and Hampshire and the Elstone and Pim families of Exeter?

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: D is for.....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

D is for Discovery

I have a search facility set up on a well known auction site for some specific family names. Every time something is listed with the particular name I receive and email and a link to the item.

A few months ago I received within a week two such emails. Two different items listed by two different sellers, relating to the same surname. I was delighted! I watched the items and placed at the appropriate time a maximum bid and then waited. The first item was an original document from 1844 and pertains to a lease. A mistake with written on the page, so on the reverse is an amendment.

At the end of the auction I won the item and then waited patiently for the item to arrive. When it did I was not disappointed. I wrote to the seller asking if they had any further information. I received a response that the item belonged to a friend, whose father used old documents, which he cut up and used them to decorate lampshades. I was so glad that for whatever reason he changed his hobby and this beauty of a document survived.

The second item related to a book, which is a first edition and as well as containing poetry by the John Bowring, the book also contains a small biography written by Lady Deborah Bowring, the second wife of the deceased.

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: C is for.....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

C is for Conversations

As I mentioned in my last post, I would regularly visit my elderly Aunts, usually fortnightly. I had grown up doing that and once I was into adulthood I carried on the tradition. A recent conversation with a Cousin of my generation revealed that he had never met two of our Great Aunts, because he had never visited them as a child and subsequently did not visit as an adult.

The conversations that I had with not just my Aunts but also their first cousins placed me at a genealogical advantage. Simply through letting them chat, aided by an occasional prompt or question from me they were more than happy to chat and fill me in on various information.

I showed them photographs that I had inherited and asked for clarity on who the photograph was of and often I was not just told the name, but a whole caption of history, perhaps about where they worked, lived, married  and so forth. Little snippets of information that when added together provided a much bigger picture.

On a particular day I mentioned to one Aunt that I was visiting her sister the following weekend and that I was meeting Aunt's first Cousin during the week. Aunt suddenly said that  she would come over and see me at her sister's the following Saturday. I wondered if I could perhaps get the Cousin to come along as well. A phone call later and all was agreed.

As I said, my Aunt was in a wheelchair and did receive lots of visitors, but her face was a real pleasure as it lit up at the sound of her younger sister's voice. Then she heard her cousin and was overwhelmed. I was as usual given the instruction for tea and cake duty. Upon entering the lounge the three of them were chatting and remembering and in hindsight I so wish I had recorded the three of them chatting.

Listening to them was amazing and I was slightly amused when the older of the sisters announced that they were completely wrong over something. My Aunt Doll, the youngest of the sisters was called Dolly by her older sister and the cousin Ivy then referred to the older sister as Rosey. The familiarity that they felt for each other was incredible and it was a treasure to witness it.

All three of them have passed away now, the most recent, my Aunt, who was the younger sister in 2009, but the legacy that they each left is something that I will treasure always.

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: B is for.....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

B is for Budd

As I trawled through the Parish Records seeking and building the family tree from my Great Grandmother and beyond I came across the connection to the surname of BUDD. I had quickly established that my Great Great Grandmother Caroline Ellis was the daughter of George Ellis and his wife Prudence Budd.

This was quite early on in my research, so around the late 1980s. I turned up to my Great Aunt's for our fortnightly catch up. My Great Aunt was by this time in a wheelchair, with very limited sight, but still had the memory of an elephant and a razor sharp mind. As was our custom I was directed to make the tea, using the best cups and saucers and cut some cake. As I type this I can hear her in my mind, telling me to hurry up and had I bought my notebook?

Tray filled and carried into her lounge, I would poor the tea and make sure Aunt to hold her plate of cake, usually a Maderia. I would say that I had my note book and off she would go. Her mind cast back to a generation or two prior and I would see that I was to her no longer in the room, she was back to a young girl again and as she remembered past times I would furiously write the details down.

I recall, sitting the tray down and instead of staying I had my notebook I said I had located the marriage of Caroline's parents. Before I had chance to say anything more, Aunt said, oh yes, Carrie's mother was Prudence Budd you know. My big hype of information had vanished in a flash!

Prudence Budd had been born in Puttenham in 1817 to Richard Budd and Sarah Kemp. Prudence married in 1834 in Puttenham to George Ellis. Together they raised 8 children before Prudence died in 1855, 45 years before my Aunt was born.

It is only with looking back now, as I realise that my Great Aunt herself died nearly 20 years ago that I find myself realising that Aunt knew of her Great Grandmother through a living memory presumably shared through Caroline. The Budd's were a well documented family. I can trace the family back to 1724 in the village of Puttenham before the trail turns cooler.

The Budd's were potentially from neighbouring village of Shackleford and I have managed to trace a Henry Budd referenced in the parish. I can not say with 100% certainty that Henry came from Shackleford, but can say with probability that he did. More research is needed.

In my mind I can be in my Aunt's lounge and asking her the question of do you know where the Budd's came from?,  and I think that I an possibly hear her faint response.....

Family History Through The Alphabet Challenge: A is for....

On the back of the A-Z April Challenge, the lovely folk at Gould Genealogy devised another challenge - Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge. Each week, we work through the letters of the alphabet sharing perhaps an elusive ancestor, a favourite or particular ancestor, or perhaps a heirloom.

A is for Agricultural Labourer.

We probably all have our fair share of those we term as "ag labs" and whilst we appreciate the contribution that they made, we often neglect to research and understand not only what they did in terms of everyday work, but where they worked and for whom.

When I am researching I often create a Mind Map of points that I want to find out about. Here is my list for Ag Labs:

• Geography of the area where they worked
• Who owned the land?
• Part of an estate? and if so what other land did that landowner hold
• Tithe Maps
• Type of farming? - arable or dairy or perhaps both
• Diaries written by landowners at the time
• Mention of the land in wills or other documents

Much of my ancestry is rooted deep in the southern Counties of Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey. Crossing into the next County is easy and often, if I am searching for something in particular to Surrey, I will search the County Records Offices for neighbouring Hampshire & Sussex too. 

It is not unusual for land to be held by a landowner in a County where that landowner did not live. Understanding the reasons why are important and perhaps linked into dowry's upon marriage or acquired through the death of a family member. Women could not usually inherit and often land went to the nearest male relative. Understanding those basic principles can therefore explain why we often loose agricultural labourers on Census records. They have perhaps been offered a position in a neighbouring farm, or a different County,and in some cases a distance away from home, but owned by the same landowner.

Sometimes, we need to research the bigger picture in order to understand the movements and lives of our ancestors. This is important when we research those who would have received a meagre wage and often left no supplementary documentation behind.

Useful Links:

Museum of English Rural Life

Victorian County History Parish Index

Twitter - #fhalphabet