Access over 40,000 genealogy books from this website

From their website:

Researching family histories online is an activity that has begun to come of age. Thousands of family history books and magazines are available to be searched directly from multiple websites. But searching through these websites and combing through the jumble of information they return can be a frustrating, costly, and fruitless process.

The newly launched family history website, GenGophers.com, (https://www.gengophers.com/#/)solves these problems by providing precise and free access to the industry’s most effective online search tools and a growing library of more than 40,000 downloadable family and personal histories, local histories, and genealogy newsletters.

Many searchable book websites make it difficult to restrict searches to genealogy related books. The result is that online searches for names, dates, and places return lists of thousands of potential books completely unrelated to family history. Genealogy Gophers search tools are based on artificial intelligence algorithms and significantly increase the chances of finding relevant search term matches compared to typical word search engines.

In theory, this looks really good, although I'm not sure that it's quite as great as it sounds.  For instance, I keyed in my great grandparents, grandparents and parents and came up with nothing at all for some of them and irrelevant information for others (such as I asked for England and the only name which came up was in Ohio!)
So perhaps this may be really useful for those searching amongst US information.


Family history daily - access over 40,000 genealogy books from:

http://familyhistorydaily.com/genealogy-resources/access-40000-genealogy-books-for-free-with-this-new-service/

Here is a story from the family annals.  I heard about this many years ago when I lived with my uncle and aunt up in Edinburgh but, like most young people, didn't take in the details.

Granddaughter honours Quintinshill crash survivor

My Cousin Heather (left)

WHEN the call came Alexander Thomson didn’t hesitate. The young miner from the West Lothian village of Torphichen downed tools, said goodbye to his family and travelled into Edinburgh and then to Leith to sign up with the 7th Royal Scots.

Just weeks later the 17-year-old and 497 of his fellow troops, full of excitement at what might lie ahead at Gallipoli where they would do their bit for King and country in the Great War, left Leith’s Dalmeny Street drill hall for Larbert station and a train to Liverpool.

He almost never made it. Two hundred and 16 of his fellow soldiers didn’t. They were killed in the worst rail disaster Britain has ever seen at the isolated spot of Quintinshill near Gretna. A further 226 were injured.

For the rest of this fascinating story see: 

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/granddaughter-honours-quintinshill-crash-survivor-1-3780554

Very pleased to see that our privacy is protected.  I saw this recently and thought it would be a good idea to post on here.

Apparently there are restrictions for ordering birth and and death certificates for less than 50 years ago, see this extract from the GRO website (http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp). 

A recent query of one of my Facebook pages asked

"I have a variety of family members' wills denoting their personal effects in British pounds. I would like to be able to convert these into Canadian dollars for their particular eras. Does anyone know of a website which would provide this conversion? I've looked and looked but haven't found one yet."

To which the reply was

" If you go onto the National Archives website they have a converter for old money to new in pounds Stirling for today's value and then you should be able to convert to the currency at today's exchange rate"


See: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/default2.asp

Talking of which, I found a stash of old coins this week. they included a Victorian farthing, an Edward VII penny and lots of George V, George VI and some Elizabeth II predecimal coins.  Unfortunately there were no Edward VIII coins which isn't surprising as he wasn't on the throne less than a year (20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936).

Somewhere I have some Georgian pennies and some old silver sixpenses (the ones which were traditionally put into Christmas puddings).

I was thrilled recently received a reply to a plea on this site.  The person said that the person I was asking about was one of his 1C4Rs (!). Never heard of that so looked it up and below what I found.  So his 1C4R - is 1st cousin 4 times removed.

Common Progenitor:

The closest ancestor two people have in common is their common progenitor.
For example: you and your sister have your parents as your common progenitor.  (You also have your grandparents and great-grandparents in common, but for these purposes, we are concerned only with your closest common ancestor). 
Another example: the common progenitor of you and your first cousin is one of your grandparents.

Removed:

When we speak of a cousin being “once removed”, we are referring to the number of generations removed.
For example: Your father's first cousin is your “first cousin once removed” — You are one generation away (“removed”) from the first-cousin relationship.
Another example: Your grandfather's first cousin is your “first cousin twice removed” — You are two generations away from the first-cousin relationship.

Relationship Chart:

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6
0	CP	S	GS	GGS	2GGS	3GGS	4GGS
1	S	B	N	GN	GGN	2GGN	3GGN
2	GS	N	1C	1C1R	1C2R	1C3R	1C4R
3	GGS	GN	1C1R	2C	2C1R	2C2R	2C3R
4	2GGS	GGN	1C2R	2C1R	3C	3C1R	3C2R
5	3GGS	2GGN	1C3R	2C2R	3C1R	4C	4C1R
6	4GGS	3GGN	1C4R	2C3R	3C2R	4C1R	5C

CP = Common Progenitor S = Son or Daughter B = Brother or Sister N = Nephew or Niece

C = Cousin #R = Times Removed GS = Grandson or Granddaughter GGS = Great-grandson or Great-granddaughter

For more information, see: http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/related.htm

Were any of your ancestors criminals?  What constituted criminals in those days perhaps may not be now ....

1.9 million historic criminal records published 

online for the first time

See: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/1-9-million-historic-criminal-records-published-online-for-the-first-time/

What happens when a photoshop expert breathes new life into a photo: an interesting video is on this link: https://youtu.be/vcriltNQMfI
http://www.trendzified.net/joaquin-villaverde/

I've just been sorting out a large art folder and found these paintings which I'd never seen before.  These are some of the paintings executed by my father, John WH Smale (1919 - 2006).

Find archive footage of your postcode

As part of its current Britain on Film season, the BFI has produced an interactive ‘film map’ (see link below) that allows you to search for archive videos made in your local area. Tap in your postcode and the site brings up any films it has related to said location.

The collection ranges from 1895 to the present day and includes adverts, newsreels, government-made films, TV shows and movies, as well as the world’s earliest home movies dating back to 1902.

London is particularly well represented, though it has to be said that the search can yield fairly broad results at present — better to think in terms of larger areas like the East End or the City rather than your local launderette. The project is in its early stages but has grand ambitions to grow the current catalogue of 2,500 digitized archive films to 10,000 by 2017.

Ultimately the aim is so create a huge interactive library that will offer instant insights into the past and easy access to a rich variety of material once locked away in warehouses and dusty attics. The BFI is keen for the public to get involved too, so the collection can expand further.

http://londonist.com/2015/07/find-archive-film-footage-of-your-postcode.php?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Londonist&utm_content=Find%20Archive%20Film%20Footage%20Of%20Your%20Postcode

Irish Catholics can now trace their anestry back to as far as the 1740s

Irish Catholics can now trace ancestry online back to 1740s

Almost 300 years of parish registers to be made available by National Library of Ireland

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys will launch online the entire collection of Catholic parish register microfilms with Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

• Topics:
• News
• Social Affairs
• Religion & Beliefs
• Ciara Kerrigan
• Enda Kenny Taoiseach
• Heather Humphries
• Herigage

Tue, Jul 7, 2015, 22:28

First published:Tue, Jul 7, 2015, 22:28

 

People of Irish Catholic ancestry will be able to trace their origins back almost 300 years online from Wednesday.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys will officially launch online the entire collection of Catholic parish register microfilms held by the National Library of Ireland (NLI).

Involved are more than 370,000 digital images of the microfilm reels on which the parish registers are recorded and which will be accessible free of charge.

These parish register records are considered the single most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the 1901 census. Dating from the 1740s to the 1880s, they cover 1,086 parishes throughout the island of Ireland, and consist primarily of baptismal and marriage records.

The NLI has been working to digitise the microfilms for more than three years under what is described as its most ambitious digitisation programme to date.

Ciara Kerrigan of the NLI said: “We . . . received a hugely enthusiastic response from people worldwide with an interest in Irish family history.”

Further information is available at registers.nli.ie.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/irish-catholics-can-now-trace-ancestry-online-back-to-1740s-1.2276916

Obituary of my mother, who died in January 2012

Dorothy Smale (1922 – 2012)

I am one of the many fortunate people who have had ‘the best parents in the world’.  I say parents, because no eulogy about Dorothy would be complete without mentioning Jack, her late husband, work partner and companion for over 56 years.

The eldest of three daughters, Dorothy was born at Loftsholme Farm, Howden, in the former East Riding of Yorkshire, and had a happy childhood.  When called up during the War, she trained as a State Registered Nurse, working in Leicester and London. But it was whilst working in Leeds that she met her future husband, sitting next to him on a coach trip home to Scarborough.  Jack was a fisherman from Devon who was up in Leeds collecting a new diesel engine for the family’s boat. 

The couple began married life living with the rest of the family on a converted Brixham Trawler, moored opposite Plymouth, and it was whilst living there that I was born.

When Jack damaged his back fishing they took on a tenancy at a local pub.  They decided to stay in the trade and, over the next thirty years, with Jack’s mother Bunty, owned and ran several places in the South East Cornwall area, including renovating an old boys’ school in Dobwalls and turning it into a thriving inn.

Jack and Dorothy were active in Rotary International, the Hospital Car Service, also Cancer Research and the Arthritis & Rheumatism Charity.   They enjoyed golf, gardening, music and sea fishing together.

Dorothy was a very keen member of the WI, and was a National Trust Steward at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire.  An excellent cook, Dorothy was also fond of flower arranging and scrabble.

Fiona and Vicky were very lucky to have such a super Granma, and appreciated their Grandparents moving up to the Midlands to be near them whilst they were growing up.

Over the years, Dorothy travelled all over the world, including Australia, US, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa most of Europe - and even walked on the Great Wall of China at the age of 78.

 

Dorothy and Jack at the Highway Inn, Dobwalls, with his Mum (1960s)

Eventually, Dorothy looked after Jack for a long time before he died six years ago after which, to feel more secure, she moved with us to Paignton.  Since then, Dorothy’s health has gradually deteriorated and, after a short spell in hospital, Dorothy died last Friday at about tea time.

My mother was cheerful, determined, fun and kind to all, she was a friend as well as my mother, and she will be hugely missed by family and friends.

Every wondered who your niece 'once removed' was?  Or who your grandfather in law is?  Here is 'Your family tree explained' an interesting video which does what it says.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM79Epw_cp8

and another explanation:
http://anthonyadolph.co.uk/how-to-work-out-cousinship/

Free Genealogy Resources from the Hathi Trust

http://familyhistorydaily.com/free-genealogy-resources/the-massive-free-genealogy-resource-youve-probably-never-heard-of/

Easily found online at hathitrust.org, the project brings together multiple libraries, both public and academic, and their respective digital holdings into a single online collection. From universities such as the Ohio State University, Harvard and others, you can also find the New York Public Library, the California Digital Library and others.

Freely available for use and research, the focus of this massive treasure trove is multiplexed, seeded with digital books, magazines and other scanned items, but also sound recordings, maps and other ephemera. With multiple methods of search, PDF, image and plain-text downloads, there’s a lot to consider for the genealogy researcher. A few examples of some specific titles I’ve encountered for my own research include:

• Resident and business directory of Carver, Plympton, Halifax, Pembroke and Hanson, Massachusetts, 1910.

• Rand, McNally & Co.’s Chicago city railway directory and street number guide.

• Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois.

• The Genealogical quarterly magazine: devoted to genealogy, history, heraldry, revolutionary and colonial records.

In all, the wide variety of types, time periods, and collections will prove fruitful for most family researchers!

I got quite a surprise this week when I went into the Ancestry site and saw the following regarding my grandmother.  
It's sad to think that she had no-one she could turn to in her time of need, the only place which could help her was the workhouse (see below).  I don't recall anyone ever talking about this part of her life.

Records of Workhouse (institution) Woolwich Road, Greenwich, 1916.

a formidable-looking place

10 May: Admitted from Infirmary.

13 May, 0955, sought relief (of friends).  Violet Florence Gaspar, Barmaid, 184 New Cross Road*. Friend Mrs White, 107 Brockley Road. (born 1897), St Pauls district. Destitute.

June 15, 6.30: discharged from infirmary of work house and sent to Infirmary

Then 

Thursday 13 July, 3.00. Violet Gaspar, single, barmaid, 184 New Cross Road, Friend Mrs White 107 Brockley Rd, CE, b 1897, St Pauls.

July 22, 1.45: Discharge from infirmary, Violet Gaspar, removed to St Pancras.

*The is the address of the The White Hart.

Mrs White mentioned above who brought her to the workhouse in is seen in 1911 Census as follows:

107 Brockley Road, Lewisham: William white, head, married under a year, no children, Clerk (Butchers), shipping, worker, b Deptford, London, British

Florence White, wife, 31, b Whitehapel, British

Eliza Bennett, boarder, 58 widow, 2 children (1 living one died),  b blackwall, british

George Porter, visitor 24, single, gas fitter, commercial gas co, worker, b Whitechapel, british

Information about workhouses from Ancestry: http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60391

All about workhouses: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Workhouse

... and 
Greenwich Workhouse in particular: http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Greenwich/