Tuesday's Tip - Use auction sites

Back in 2013, I wrote a blog post for the In-Depth Genealogist, which can be read HERE. I talked about sourcing material from auction sites and alike. I still believe that is a good option, and that is my Tuesday's Tip for this week, fuelled by my latest addition.

This lovely little beauty is made from reclaimed pine.

The moment I saw it, I had one of those I MUST have that moments, because apart from the surname, it fitted even the fish them!

The sides of the box are decorated with a fish and even my beloved said perfect! and now he is rather impatiently waiting to see if we can establish who the A L Goucher was in Yorkshire.

So do explore those auction sites, use the Evernote clipping tool to gather the information, so that you can capture the details without bending your credit card!

Many of those with One-Name Studies (www.one-name.org) do just that.

Remembrance Day Photo Collage - Day Eleven

Today's picture is staying with my late father in-law.

Yesterday we saw his recognition for taking part in the Arctic Convoys during the second world war. We know from his medals that he was in Palestine in 1949.

By 1960 he was a sergeant in British Army. The first picture here gives us the date. There is no date on the second photograph.

These are actually hanging in my mother in-laws hall and therefore I can not tell if there is any details on the reverse of the photograph. 

There would have been hysterics had I suggested we look at the back! 

We can date his army dates to at least two years earlier, 1958 because we have this photograph

My father in-law on his BSA motorcycle, when he was stationed at Blandford Camp in Dorset in June 1958. He bought the motorcycle for £250.00.

By the time my father in-law marries my mother in-law in 1971 he has left the army. We have no idea of his service record for the army and the Ministry of Defense have confirmed that he will have two separate numbers, one for his navy service and one for the army service and the two records never join.

As I unravel his military service I shall share the information. One day next week I shall explain how to call (and pay for) a request for second world war military records.

Remembrance Day Photo Collage - Day Ten

This picture has hung in my in-laws hall for at least the last 15 years or so. Just recently I had cause to look a bit closer at it and take some photographs.

What does this signify? This was given to my father in law in recognition of his contribution during Second World War whilst serving in the Royal Navy. He was present on HMS Byron and took part in the Arctic Convoys.

No individual medal was every awarded to these servicemen, and it has only been this year that has been rectified. Medals are firstly, and quite rightly being awarded to those men who took part who are still alive, before moving to being awarded posthumously to their widows and families.

There is a Museum that focus' on the Russian Arctic Convoys HERE.

I had hoped to undertake a bit of extra research today. Sadly that has not been possible and thus this post is fairly short, but over the coming weeks I shall look at this closer, so please keep reading!

Remembrance Day Photo Collage - Day Nine

This is a photograph of my late father in law. We can not be absolutely sure when he joined the British Navy, but he did, and served until at least 1949. 

We recently have been given his medals and that does reveal his service number, which means we can now call for his Royal Navy service record. 

Over the next few days I shall share a little bit more about him. We do have some other photographs which indicate the names of the vessels he served on with dates, so at least I can build a timeline while I wait for his service record to arrive.

My father in law was the son of a navy man. I did really want to include a picture of Ernest Goucher, but I can not lay my hands to one. 

My husband's Grandfather join the Royal Navy during the course of the First World War. He survived and in 1929, when my father in law was only 3 years old the family sailed to Canada. Ernest was involved in training some sea cadets in Petawawa, Ontario. The trunk that they took on their journey is in fact in my loft!

I can not be to sure when Ernest and his family; wife and child returned to England but Ernest certainly took part in the early days of the Second World War, which means his service records are at the moment unavailable until we complete the process of requesting for my father in laws. Over the coming week I shall share some details about the process of requesting military service records post First World War.

Blogging A-Z - April Challenge - G is for .....(Continued)

Having spent some time recently, as I wrote about Henry Goucher for the A-Z Blogging Challenge. I sat this morning had another look to see if I could identify what happened to him after 1821.

Henry's timeline is repeated here from the earlier post -

• 1775 - approx year of birth
• 18th Dec 1811 - Indited for stealing 
• 9th January 1811 - Trial at the Old Bailey 
• 25th May 1811 - Transferred to Hulk Ship Retribution 
• 14th August 1811- Transported on board The Guildford
• January 1812 - Arrived New South Wales
• 1812 - 1821 - Government employ as labourer within Colony
• 4th Oct 1813 - Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  - Newcastle on board the Estramina
• 8th Jan 1814 -  Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  - Newcastle on board the Estramina
• 4th & 5th April 1814 -  Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  - Derwent on board the Windham
• 26th April 1820 -  Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  -Newcastle on board the Elizabeth Henrietta

I was therefore delighted to see the following

New South Wales & Tasmania Convict Muster 1830

• 1830 -  NSW & Tasmania Convict Muster reveals that Henry was recorded as Henry Gougher and is listed as "freed by servitude"
• 1832 -  NSW & Tasmania Convict Muster with Henry Gougher listed again with the word error by the side!

Further research from the Archives in Tasmania, reveals that whilst Henry was in Tasmania he was a bit of a scamp - He received 50 lashes for liberating some goats! Not a brilliant photo as the screen would not print, so this is a photo of the screen!

Tasmanian Archives CON31-1-13 Page 15

The search continues. Henry was 54 years old when he received his freedom, and I don't know, something tells me that I suspect he might have been in trouble again - he appears to have liked beer!

Blogging A-Z - April Challenge - G is for .....

G is for...... .Goucher
A few years ago I became aware of a Henry Goucher who was tried at the Old Bailey. The trial was fairly standard of the time, Henry called one witness who said he was of good character and Henry was received the verdict of death.

I next turned to Ancestry. The Convict records reveal that Henry Goucher was aged 35 years and had been convicted of horse stealing at his trial held on the 9th January 1811 at the Old Bailey.

The Prison Hulk records reveal that Henry was in fact transferred from the prison where he was held, probably Newgate on 25th May 1811 and subsequently held on board the vessel Retribution which was moored at Woolwich.  He was then transported for life on 14th August 1811.

This is confirmed by the Australian Convict Transportation Registers, which reveal that Henry was transported on board The Guildford to New South Wales for life.

The New South Wales Settler & Convict List reveals that Henry survived the voyage and arrived in January 1812. He was placed as a labourer within the Colony and the Government employ and that appears to be the case from 1812 through until 1821.

The Colonial Secretary Papers from 4th Oct 1813 reveal that Henry is recorded as being sent to Newcastle on board the Estramina. A similiar document dated 8th Jan 1814 reveals that same and the additional note that the men listed (Henry was one of about 5) were being sent because they were "industrious and well behaved" The same papers reveal on 4th & 5th April of 1814 that Henry is sent to Derwent on board the Windham. The next reference to dated 26th April 1820 when Henry is sent back to Newcastle on board the Elizabeth Henrietta and is recorded with a trade of shoemaker.

 Henry Goucher timeline

• 1775 - approx year of birth
• 18th Dec 1811 - Indited for stealing 
• 9th January 1811 - Trial at the Old Bailey 
• 25th May 1811 - Transferred to Hulk Ship Retribution 
• 14th August 1811- Transported on board The Guildford
• January 1812 - Arrived New South Wales
• 1812 - 1821 - Government employ as labourer within Colony
• 4th Oct 1813 - Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  - Newcastle on board the Estramina
• 8th Jan 1814 -  Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  - Newcastle on board the Estramina
• 4th & 5th April 1814 -  Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  - Derwent on board the Windham
• 26th April 1820 -  Named on Colonial Secretary Papers  -Newcastle on board the Elizabeth Henrietta

Once I had got past the excitement of locating so much of Henry I read again the documents that appear in the Colonial Secretary Papers. The convicts selected were required to fell trees and literally with their sweat and hard work a colony was built. Sobering thoughts. An addition post about Henry is HERE

The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE

Sunday Stamps - SS Goucher Victory

A few weeks ago I was sent this lovely First Day Cover for the Goucher Victory Ship. From limited research it would appear that these ships, were named after Colleges in the US and were used in the main for returning American troops back to the United States at the end of the Second World War.

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sepia Saturday 110 - In the Movies.....

This story and the photograph have a tentative connection to the theatre.

Second lady from the left is Lesley Ramage with her father John.
Lady on the far right is Nehru's sister.
Taken Bombay 1957. Lady on the far left is called Jane.

The original of the photograph is with my mother in law. Almost 20 years ago my father in law showed us a huge set of photographs. At the time we videoed them. Then in the Autumn of 2010 I transferred the video to DVD. The transfer appeared to have been successful and in further experimentation mode I played the DVD on my laptop and took a photo from the screen. This is one of those photographs.

Lesley Ramage is the first cousin of my late father in law. She had a career as an actress. I have no further details on her career or her stage name. 

Taking part in Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 104 - Navy Collar!

A belated post, featuring the collar line in the prompt!

This chap is my Husband's Grandfather, Ernest Goucher taken in July 1919.

Taking part in Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 101 - Old BSA 1958

The photograph shows my late father in law, Derek Goucher 1926 - 2010, on his BSA motorcycle, when he was stationed at Blandford Camp in Dorset in June 1958. He bought the motorcycle for £250.00.

We know nothing about the motorcycle other than what has been mentioned here. Stuart wanted to try and either locate the bike or at least find out a bit about it and perhaps purchase a similiar model.

I posted the photograph to our site on Flickr and also to the BSA photo group and after a period of four years, someone posted that the model was a BSA C12G.

Taking part in Sepia Saturday

Remembering V J Day

Memories my late Father in Law shared with the readers of the Annandale Herald
(Dumfriesshire Scotland) 18th August 2005

Memorial Books

Last weekend, my mother in law sent us a selection of photographs of the memorial headstone of my father in law. I say memorial headstone as my father in law was cremated and my mother in law has retained the ashes. There is also an entry in the memorial book for the 12th June which displays the following entry.

So, can you believe all you read? In this case definitely not!

The entry in the book (above) is actually incorrect. for issues that I won't go into, the names of the children from my father in law's first marriage are missing. There is also an addition of my sister in law who was adopted by my father in law and is the daughter of my mother in law from her first marriage.  The grandchildren are also incorrect, as a nephew is missing  because he is deceased, where as I would have added his name followed by (dec).

I can explain all the omissions and additions, but what of future generations? How would they know?

My husband registered the death of his father because my mother in law was in hospital at the time. Had she or my sister in laws registered the death there would again have been inaccuracies. The death was registered in Scotland and part of that process is to name previous spouses. My mother in law would have been furious and possibly argued the point and my sister in laws would not have known the details. The death certificate therefore, thanks to my obsession with family history contains the full and accurate details.

Carnival Of Genealogy 104: When is a car not a car!

The following post is not about a car, but it is a mode of transport and one that has a link to my husband's ancestry.

The photograph shows my late father in law, Derek Goucher 1926 - 2010, on his BSA motorcycle, when he was stationed at Blandford Camp in Dorset in June 1958. He bought the motorcycle for £250.00.

We know nothing about the motorcycle other than what has been mentioned here. Stuart wanted to try and either locate the bike or at least find out a bit about it and perhaps purchase a similiar model.

I posted the photograph to our site on Flickr and also to the BSA photo group and after a period of four years, someone posted that the model was a BSA C12G.

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 11

I mentioned a few days ago that I have some surnames repeating themselves in my ancestry and the families do not always tie up together.

I was told by my Grandmother, that Uncle Alf married Rose Butcher and lived with his large family in High Path Road Guildford. I remember asking my Grandmother if she really meant that, and being given a very stern look. The reason for my query was that my Aunt, my Grandfather's sister was Rose Butcher before she married. So had Gran got the details wrong?

No, she had not. Alfred Elstone did indeed marry Rose Butcher in Merrow on 11 February 1899. Together, they had 11 children between 1901 and 1926, and like his mother before him, Alfred and his wife had a child every two to three years, with the exception of a large gap between Lilian May born 1909 and Louise Mabel born 1917. As I type this I don't recall noticing the gap before and wonder if there were stillborn or miscarriages during that period or was there another cause?

I did ponder on Rose Butcher. Did her Butcher family connect in any way to my own Butcher family or was it simply a coincidence? Rose was born in 1880, the third of 13 children, to Henry Butcher of Alfold Surrey. Whilst there was no obvious connection to my own Butcher family, the two families were not very far from one another. I left that research for another day and do still need to go back to it.

As I sat in the Muniment Room in Guildford extracting all the Elstone and Butcher references from the Merrow records I spotted something else. Rose Butcher had a sister called Louisa born in 1895 and who in 1919 married Albert Goacher. It was one of those almost heart stopping moments. Not one of those hooray moments, but a moment that meant I had to sit and really read what was in front of me. The reason for my surprise is that I married a Goucher whose family had been established in Derbyshire from between 1715 to 1901 and who were often recorded as Goacher instead of Goucher. Was this a coincidence?....another one.

I have never established a connection between these Goachers and those of my husband, but have established that a Goacher family arrived at some point in Sussex and made their way into Surrey. It has not been established just where those Goachers arrived from. When I got home that evening and shared the facts with my husband he simply looked at me in complete surprise and I guess we both wondered, could it possibly be?.....

Word count 443

Ancestor of the week - Henry Rhodes Hindle

The following posting started life as a posting and article made back in 2007 to the now defunct Yahoo group "Preserving our Heritage" (POH). There were also four post scripts to the article through the course of 2007 - 2008. Therefore I have tweaked the structure of the initial post and the additional research for the point of this blog posting. I don't exactly know when the POH group folded, but it did and that was a huge shame. The group was friendly and very often the discussions were very thought provoking and informative.

About 15 years ago, my father in law, Derek Goucher gave me a pencil. There was nothing particularly special except that it lead to a part of my husband’s ancestry that I find intriguing, because it is harboured by geography.

“My grandmother divorced her husband, moved to America and remarried”, said my father in law and this pencil is the advertising his business.

Well, not quite, but let me explain.

Annie RHODES was born in Bradford Yorkshire in 1869 she married Charles WORSHIP in Bradford in August of 1899 and they had three daughters:

- Emily born Bradford 1890
– married June Q 1915 to Sydney NEWBOULD in Bradford
- Lillian born Bradford 1893 (my husband’s paternal grandmother)
- Florence, born Bradford 1901.

The 1901 UK Census shows the three children living with both their parents in Bradford.

The 1911 UK Census was not available for general searching at the point of the initial start of the research.

The story of Annie WORSHIP (nee RHODES) going to America was confirmed when I was greeted with a photograph, bearing on the back an address in PA in 1943.
I can not be specific on the address and my father in law was not happy to let me copy the photo, so I let the matter drop, at least for now!

Meanwhile, Ancestry had put online lots of Passenger lists, so a search was done to be able to see if I could establish a date when Annie went to America.

Passenger Lists

1905 Passenger List
Mrs Annie WARSHIP, aged 36 years arrived in Philadelphia on 13th December 1905, having travelled under her own carriage on board The Noordland from Liverpool. Annie declares that she has more than the requisite $50. With her is Master Harry, aged 10 months. The address given is in Philadelphia is 113 Lambert Street, and last abode in England is Bradford. It also indicates that Annie had been to Philadelphia before, again in 1905.

1921 Passenger List
Annie Hindle aged 51 years sailed from Liverpool on board the SS Haverford on 7th January 1921 and arrived at Philadelphia Port, United States on 23rd January 1921, under State Dept PP 180721, Naturalised date 1917, living at the address of 3625 Fairmont Ave, Philadelphia. Travelling with Annie was Henry Rhodes Hindle, aged 16 years, son.

1931 Passenger List
Annie Hindle along with husband Harry Hindle were due to sail from Liverpool on board the SS Laconia on 31st October 1931, which docked 10th November 1931 at New York. According to the list of passengers, neither, Annie or Harry embarked on the journey.

Instead, they waited and are to be found on the passenger lists for a month later. The SS Laconia left Liverpool on 28th November 1931 and arrived in New York on 9th December 1931. Their address is recorded as 3725 Haverford Ave, Philadelphia.

Passenger List 1932
There is a Harry Hindle aged 28 years who is a discharged deck hand, having signed on in New York on 10th Sep. Nationality is recorded as British.

Passenger List 1933
There is a Henry Hindle aged 27 years who is a deck hand. He sailed on board SS President Pierce arriving at the post of New York 26 Oct 1933 from the port of San Fransisco. Ship consigned SS Lines Inc Ltd

1933 Passenger List.
Annie Hindle, aged 64 years once again making the journey from Liverpool on board SS Laconia on 11th November 1933 and arriving back in the US at New York on 21st November 1933, under passport number 272342, and the address recorded as 4117, Hallaran Street, Maffair, Philadelphia.

1935 New York Passenger List
Annie Hindle aged 66 years, sailed from Liverpool on board SS Laconia on 28th September 1935 and arrived in New York on 8th October 1935. She is travelling alone, under passport number 191565. Her address is recorded as 4117, Hallaran Street, Philadelphia

1938 New York passenger list
Annie Hindle aged 69 years sailed from Liverpool on board SS Franconia on 16th September 1938 & arrived in New York on 26th September 1938 with her husband Harry Hindle aged 68 years. The passport number is listed as 191565 and under Harry in the details that he was naturalised in the Supreme Court in PA in September 1917. Their address is recorded as 3004, Fanshawe Street Philadelphia.

1944 - 1945 Passenger List (Aliens employed on vessel as crew members)
Harry Hindle, aged 40 years, sailed on board the vessel British Courage on 19th Dec 1944 from Greenock Scotland to New York, where it docked on 5th Jan 1945.According the passenger list he had 1 year as a length of service at sea and was a deck hand

1945 Passenger List (Aliens employed on vessel as crew members)
Harry Hindle, aged 41 years, sailed on board the vessel British Courage on 1st Feb 1945 from Portsmouth to New York, where it docked on 20th Feb 1945. According the passenger list he had 1.25 years as a length of service at sea and was a deck hand

1946 Passenger List
Annie Hindle, now aged 77 years sailed from Southampton on board SS Queen Elizabeth on 22nd November 1946, docking in New York on 27th November 1946, under passport number 54184 and her address reported as 14, North Belfield Av, Havertown, Pennsylvania.

1948 Passenger List
Annie Hindle departs Southampton 30 July 1948 on board The Washington, arriving New York 6th August 1948. Annie is recorded as a British Subject with passport number V71666. Her luggage is recorded as 3 bags and her address is 593 La Foret Ave Windsor, She is aged 64 years and recorded as married. She is travelling alone.

1950 Passenger List
Henry Hindle travelled on board air craft N 6012 C from London to New York, arriving in New York on 26th October 1950 under passport number 293797, and his address recorded as 3004, Fanshawe Street, Philadelphia. (I believe this to be Henry Junior, as Henry would have been 80 years old)

1953 Passenger List
Harry Hindle arrives on 2nd Oct 1953 at Halifax Nova Scotia Canada on board Britannia, The port of departure was Liverpool, on 5th September. Passport number is recorded as V-386612 which is the same as the passenger list for 1956. The address recorded is 18, East 41st Street, New York, 17 NY

1954 Passenger List
British Overseas Airways Corporation – Aircraft - G-ALSD - BA607/256 Departed London and arrived at Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1st Oct 1954. Passengers in Transit to the US. The Offical Use column indicates – B-1 T 2987687

1956 Passenger List
Harry Hindle travelled with Belgian World Air Lines 18th June 1956. Harry flew 1st Class flight number SH545. In remarks column – V-386612 (passport no?) From Manchester UK to New York USA

From those details I now have confirmed addresses plus a year of birth for Henry Rhodes Hindle.

A quick search in April 2007 FreeBMD for an update on the entries for the surname of WORSHIP. I was totally surprised to see the following:

Dec Q 1904 Henry Rhodes WORSHIP Birth Bradford 9b,43

So, it would appear that whilst still married to Charles Worship, Annie gave birth to son Henry Rhodes who was given the surname of WORSHIP. Certainly by the time the family are in the US both Annie and Henry Rhodes are using the surname of HINDLE and this is confirmed by the 1905 passenger list.

A further search recently revealed two further references to the Hindle’s, named on a Passenger record in 1922 for a Herbert George PITCHFORD & his wife Ida Mary Pitchford. According to the shipping manifest for SS Pittsburgh which sailed from Liverpool on 28th October 1922, and arrived in Philadelphia Port 4th November 1922 Ida Mary’s nearest relative in England is her brother William Rhodes. With this data, this now set me on the trail in Yorkshire for the surname Rhodes, and to trace the ancestry of Annie herself.

A quick search of the 1881 Census for the UK revealed the birth of Annie Rhodes the daughter of Joseph and Sarah Rhodes. The family were living in 1, Oakroyd Terrace in Manningham, which is a small village outside of Bradford. Also listed, born in 1879 is William Rhodes brother.

Another curious thing, was that Annie did make regular trips back home to see her three daughters, they were all left here in England. Out of interest I did a quick search for the surname of WORSHIP, and was surprised to see that Emily Worship, Annie’s Eldest daughter had, in April 1914 gone to Philadelphia on board SS Haverford, which sailed from Liverpool on 16th April 1914, to visit Annie Worship. Recorded on the shipping manifest, Emily’s relative in England was a Chas A Worship residing at 212 Philip Street Newcastle upon Tyne, and address that my father in law recognises for correspondence that he has inherited from his parent’s courtship.

In October 2007 I turned once again to the birth of Henry Rhodes Hindle or was it Worship and ordered the copy of Henry Rhodes Worship’s birth certificate from Bradford It confirms what I’d believed, that Henry was registered with the surname Worship as that was his mother’s husband, making the assumption that Charles Worship was the father. The address given is Eastbrook House, Chapel Street, in Bradford. Occupation Curate. Having just checked the 1901 census to confirm what Charles and Annie were doing there, it appears that Charles was the “Chapel Keeper”.



Turning to the US, A search of the website http://www.germangenealogygroup.com/otherdb.stm, on the off chance to see if a marriage could be located. I struck lucky, as there in New York City was the marriage of Annie WORSHIP & Harry HINDLE on 6th September 1922. Certificate number 31122, in the county of Manhattan. I had already located a second marriage for Charles Worship, Annie’s first husband in Edinburgh Scotland in 1922, so it looks as though the divorce became final in 1921-1922. The divorce records have been tracked down and is in the National Archives and was finalised in 1922.

I ordered the marriage certificate only for it to be due to arrive here in the UK as were about to head into a load of postal strikes, needless to say I was irritating and grumpy until the certificate arrived!



I next looked for a Naturalisation record. On every passenger list and the census Henry is recorded as being Naturalised (except 1910 US Census) with the year as 1917. There are variations to the month and court it was done in. I located a copy of the Naturalisation record for September 1917 in the Eastern Court of PA, which ties in with various other documents and a further check of the passenger records confirms September 1917 as the date for naturalisation, so bingo!





I now wanted to see if I could find any records for the deaths of Annie and Harry Hindle. A search of the SSDI for Henry and Annie proved fruitless, but I did check again to see what the index said for Henry Rhodes. There was the death of a Henry in November 1962 with the SSDI number of 159-09-3752 and issued in Pennsylvania with the birth date as 4th October 1904, the same date as the birth certificate from Bradford. A later search of the FamilySearch revealed the following death certificate.



I went through the census and passenger lists and looked at the addresses the family were living in. The latest date I had at the time was 1946 for 14 North Belfield Havertown PA. Havertown is in Haverford township, 7 miles from the centre of Philadelphia & is in Delaware County with zip code 19083. I searched Google maps to get an idea of the area and to see if I could in a roundabout way locate the cemetery records for both Annie and Henry bearing in mind I had no dates of death for either of them.

There are three cemeteries in the area – Har Jehuda, Arlington (PA) & Montrose.

A search online for the cemetery records in Arlington revealed two likely suspects!

Harry Hindle 19th Feb 1871-19th Feb 1952 buried in Avon section and
Annie R Hindle 14th May 1869-14th May 1953 buried in Avon section.

The years of birth are right, and Annie appears to have a middle initial of R possibly for Rhodes? The actual dates for birth and death look a bit suspicious, but it does give me a starting point. The address for the cemetery is in Delaware County – 2900 State Road, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026. Then by chance I made contact with someone who connected to Henry Rhodes Hindle and was sent the Cemetery details which confirmed those details.



I do feel that I have, in someway completed a circle, but the story is full of more questions and I guess that is the appeal of genealogy. I have made contact with someone who connected to the family of Henry Rhodes Hindle. They very kindly sent me some bits electronically and some of those things have given more questions. One of the things I was sent was a lovely photo of Henry Rhodes Hindle and his parents, my husband's Great Grandparents.



Oh, the details on the pencil –

Henry R HINDLE
Fruit & Produce Commission Merchant
Market 2414
200 Dock Street
Phila
PA

Who was Rani Maharaj Singh?

As I said in an earlier post I managed to photograph some images that were originally camcordered back in 1993. This is two of those images.

These photo shows my later Father in Law, Derek Goucher's first cousin Florence Ramage nee Worship along with someone called Rani Maharaj Singh. I had known from stories told to me that Florence and her husband John had spent some time in India, and there are photos to confirm that. They clearly moved in the Indian Society circles of the times - which would have been the early to mid 1950s, so just after Independence from the "British Empire"

So who was Rani Maharaj Singh? The photographs were taken to commemorate the YMCA Carnival in 1953





Rani Maharaj Singh was the wife of the first Indian Governor of Bombay (1948 - 1952), the Honorable Raja Maharaj Singh. In 1949 She led Bombay's City Council for child welfare with funds that had been pledged by UNESCO.

In 1952 Rani Maharaj Singh is mentioned in the Day books of Eleanor Roosevelt. With the entry for 11th March 1952 reading ".....We returned on time for a luncheon given by the Governor and Her Excellency, Rani Maharaj Singh. It has been a great joy to have Mrs. Pandit here, for she is the most thoughtful hostess imaginable........."

So it would appear that Rani Maharah Singh held quite a place in the history of India and it really is quite interesting how she came to meet Florence Ramage, perhaps at a fund raising event.

Goucher Video / DVD

Back in 1993 we had the opportunity to video a selection of material that my father in law had of his family.

We recorded the material initially on a camcorder tape then transfered it to Video and more recently to DVD. I have now managed to photograph the photographic images using my iPhone. Now the images are OK, not brilliant, but OK and at least I can work with them. It was a nice couple of hours having a look at the material. There was information that I had forgotten we had. Which just shows it is good to go back to basics once in a while.

Will of John Goucher - died 1873, Proved 1875

The will of John Goucher, one of Stuart's great,great,great grandfather's arrived today.

There was something rather sad about it, he was obviously aware that he wasn't leaving anything to most of his Children and only three out of 8 were named, but he mentions that he prays that God will watch over them and help them. I wonder what or who determined which children inherited. John was born 1799, he wrote the will in 1867 and died in 1873. The will was proved in 1875.

Goucher & Goacher - Various - DBY

I stumbled across the surname index produced by Chesterfield & District FHS, which is loaded to the Derbyshire County Council web page. These are the results for Goucher & Goacher.

GOUCHER

Arthur Goucher Bapt 8th June 1901
Source - Chesterfield Parish Magazine July 1902
Notes - St Peters Calow

Cyril Goucher Bpt 8th Feb 1928
Source - Chesterfield Parish Magazine Mar 1928
Notes - Parish Church

Irene Goucher Marriage 4th June 1918
Source - St Thomas's Church Brampton Parish Magazine Jul 1918
Notes - James Wilcock

John Goucher Bpt 28th June 1936
Source - St Thomas's Church Brampton Parish Magazine August 1936
Notes - Son of Walter & Gladys

Lily Goucher Burial 5th Feb 1902
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine March 1902
Notes - Age 10 months. St Peter's Calow

Lily Goucher (twin) Baptised 24th April 1901
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine August 1901
Notes - St Peters Calow

Lucy Florence Goucher Baptism 14th Jan 1901
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine Feb 1901
Notes - St Peter's Calow

May Goucher (twin) Baptism 24 April 1901
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine Aug 1901
Notes - St. Peter's, Calow

Reginald Goucher Married 29 December 1920
Source - St Thomas's Church Brampton Parish Magazine Feb 1921
Notes - Winifred Ethel Hubbard

Selina Goucher Bap 14 Jan 1901
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine Feb 1901
Notes - St. Peter's, Calow

Thomas Goucher Baptism 6th Jan 1901
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine Feb 1901
Notes - St Peters Church Calow

Thomas Arthur Goucher Baptism 25th April 1926
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine July 1926 Parish Church

Walter Goucher
Source - Newbold & Dunston Child Census 1893
Notes - P 51 Pottery Lane

William Levi Goucher Baptism 10th March 1901
Source - Chesterfield Parish Church Magazine April 1901
Notes - St Peters Calow

GOACHER

Beatrice Annie Goacher
Source - Census of Child Population 1892
Notes - Vol 8, P 26, Derby Street

Florence Goacher
Source - Census of Child Population 1892
Notes - Vol 3, P 99, Lordsmill Street

Irene Goacher Marriage 26th April 1924
Source - St Thomas's Church Brampton Parish Magazine June 1924
Notes - Frank Westbrook

John Thomas Goacher
Source - Census of Child Population 1892
Notes - Vol 3, P 99, Lordsmill Street

Levi Goacher
Source - Census of Child Population 1892
Notes - Vol 8, P 26, Derby Street

Thomas Goacher
Source - Census of Child Population 1892
Notes - Vol 3, P 99, Lordsmill Street

Jonathan Goacher - DBY - 1722

BOLSOVER - Settlement Certificate - 1722
Jon. or Jonathan GOACHER, wife and children Norton Cuckney