Newsletter – 29th
January 2022
Middlesex parish registers at FamilySearch
FREE
More Berkshire transcripts at Findmypast
1950 US census to be transcribed using AI
Land of the free: early access to US census
information
Mysteries of the 1939 Register
Where were the Royal Family in 1921?
When was the census postponed?
Last chance to win:
hundreds of prizes still to be claimed ENDS MONDAY
The LostCousins
newsletter is usually published 2 or 3 times a month. To access the previous issue
(dated 21st January 2022) click here; to find earlier articles use the customised Google search between
this paragraph and the next (it searches ALL of the newsletters since February
2009, so you don't need to keep copies):
To go to the main
LostCousins website click the logo at the top of this newsletter. If you're not
already a member, do join - it's FREE, and you'll get an email to alert you
whenever there's a new edition of this newsletter available!
On Tuesday – which just
happened to be Burns Night – 34 lucky prize-winners from around the world had to
stay sober in order to have the chance to hear author
and professional genealogist Chris Paton give a wonderful presentation on Scottish
Research Resources Before 1800. A few of the audience had heard Chris before,
so knew what a good speaker he is – he did work for the BBC, after all – but this
comment from one attendee sums it up neatly:
"What a fabulous prize and a real eye
opener on the sheer complexity and depth of Scottish data available.
"I was deeply impressed."
Inevitably
many of the more specialised records are not yet available online, but some which
are online can be found at the FREE ScotlandsPlaces website. Those readers with Scottish
ancestry who weren't amongst the lucky few to be invited might want to consider
investing in one or more of Chris Paton's books – you can see what's available
by following the relevant link below:
Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.com.au
If
you follow the links above you'll notice that Chris
also writes about Irish ancestry – which is of particular interest to me, as I
recently discovered my first Irish ancestors. To the best of my knowledge I don’t have any Scottish ancestors, however I couldn’t
allow my personal preferences to determine the topic of Chris's talk. But maybe
next year, Chris?
Tip:
there are hundreds more prizes to be won in my competition, but it must end at
midnight (London time) on Monday 31st January – so make the most of the next 3
days. As little as 10 minutes of your time could be all it takes to change your
perspective on family history for ever! See below for details of the prizes that
are still 'up for grabs' and some tips on how you can maximise your chances of
winning some of them!
Though
introduced in 1692, and only abolished in 1963 the records of Land Tax probably
aren't one of the first sources you'd consider when researching your family
tree - but because taxes are so important to governments as a source of revenue they tend to be well-recorded. This article,
published in the Magazine of the Friends of The National Archives a decade ago
provides an excellent introduction for those who are unfamiliar with these
records.
Middlesex parish registers at FamilySearch FREE
If
you have an Ancestry subscription there may not be any records which are new to
you in the Middlesex
Parish Registers 1539-1988 collection at FamilySearch, but for those who don’t
it's a wonderful opportunity to acquire images of birth, marriage, or burial
register entries relating to their ancestors from the Greater London area. It
isn't complete, but there are over 5 million records in the collection, so it’s
well worth checking out – especially since it’s free!
There
are some anomalies – for example, I found records from St Saviour, South
Hampstead where the FamilySearch transcript gave the church as St Savior, South Hampton. But because you can view the
register pages which give the correct information it shouldn't be much of a problem
for experienced researchers (as most LostCousins members are).
Note:
Findmypast and Ancestry have both licensed record collections from FamilySearch,
and this can lead to errors like the one above being propagated. Should you
find an entry that has been relocated to the wrong town or the wrong county
check whether the transcript indicates that it has been sourced from
FamilySearch (at Ancestry you'll need to click the Source tab).
More Berkshire transcripts at Findmypast
Findmypast
have added to their enormous collection of Berkshire parish register
transcripts – but they're rather different from the transcripts we’re used to,
so you might want to read this article.
I managed to take my Berkshire lines back another generation to the late 1600s,
though I'm not sure that this was the result of the latest update – since my
most recent Berkshire ancestor is my 4G grandfather Stephen Vize,
born in 1786, I don’t spend as much time researching in Berkshire as I do in other
counties.
1950 US census to be transcribed using AI
Since
I'm going to have to live to over 101 and wait until 2052 to see my own entry
on the 1951 England & Wales Census I'm a little
jealous of Americans who will have access to the 1950 US Census from April.
Initially only the images will be available, but – as with the release of the
1940 US Census – there will almost certainly be a race between different websites
to provide indexed transcripts.
Ancestry
have a good chance of winning that race: they are
going to be employing proprietary handwriting recognition technology that
should enable them to transcribe the records of everyone by the summer – it's
an enormous challenge, because there were over 150 million people recorded on
this census. You can read more about the project in this blog post.
Land of the free: early access to US census
information
I
got even more jealous when I discovered that it's possible to obtain transcripts
of entries from unreleased censuses. It isn't cheap – the price of $65 per
person per census is mandated by Congress – and there are restrictions on who
can apply, but it's an opportunity that doesn't currently exist in England (or,
to the best of my knowledge, any other part of the British Isles).
You
can find out more here
(there's additional information in this PDF leaflet).
Note:
I'm going to use this American example to see whether I can persuade the British
authorities to give me access to my own record from the 1951 Census – why
should it be kept from me? I think I'm right in saying that I can obtain copies
of all the other information that the government holds about me under Data Protection
legislation (or the equivalent), so why not my census entries?
Mysteries of the 1939 Register
I
had never looked closely at column 5 in the register – why would I, it’s always
blank? Except when it isn't – and then you might be wondering, as LostCousins
member Sue did, what the letters P, I, V, S, and O stand for.
Fortunately
all is revealed in the National Archives own guide to the 1939 Register – you'll
find it here.
Where were the Royal Family in 1921?
I
recently wrote
about the Queen Mother and her family – but in 1921 she had yet to marry into
the Royal Family. At the Findmypast site you can find out where the Royal
Family were in 1921 and see the census record for King George V. Though he was
head of the household the King didn't fill in the form himself – he delegated
that responsibility to the Master of the Household. Follow this link
for more information (no Findmypast subscription is required).
When was the census postponed?
The
2021 Censuses of Scotland and Ireland were postponed because of the pandemic –
but it isn’t the first time that a census has been postponed or cancelled. The 1921
Ireland Census was cancelled because of the Irish War of Independence, whilst
in the rest of the British Isles the 1921 Census was postponed because of industrial
unrest.
Although I had
written about the postponement of the 1921 Census on at least 4 occasions prior
to the release of the England & Wales schedules on 6th
January, and have referred to the June date in each of my newsletters since
then, a few readers were confused by the date of 24th April printed on the forms.
Others wondered if their ancestors might have been confused, leading them to
give incorrect ages for the members of their household.
It
was only on Thursday 14th April 1921, little over a week before Census Day,
that it was announced in the House of Commons that the census would be
postponed. The next day there was a brief article in The Times (which I
can access free online through my library), and several provincial newspapers
also covered the story on Friday 15th April, including the Rugby Advertiser,
which was running a competition inspired by the census.
Image
© Johnston Press plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Used
by permission of Findmypast.
There
must have been considerable discussion ahead of the postponement, and it would
be surprising if there weren't letters ready to go in the post as soon as the
official announcement had been made. So there's surely
little doubt that registrars throughout the land would have been aware of the
postponement, and they would in turn have informed their staff. But given the
proximity of Census Day, had some of the forms already been distributed to
households – and, perhaps, completed by over-eager heads?
If
you've glanced through the documents held by the National Archives in RG27/9 (and
which I wrote
about in the last issue) you'll know that enumerators were instructed to deliver
schedules in the week ended Saturday 23rd April: furthermore no schedule was
to be delivered before 16th April. Given the date of the announcement no household
schedules should have been delivered before 11th June – 8 days before the new
Census Day – let alone 16th April.
There
must have been speculation as to whether the schedules would be reprinted with
the new date, because on Saturday 16th April the Registrar General made the
following statement:
"While the postponement of so enormous
an undertaking at the eleventh hour is bound to result in a large amount of
extra work and needs careful consideration and judicious handling, there has
never been an intention of reprinting the Census schedules. All these 12
million schedules, together with millions of other kinds of forms, will be
utilized as part of the machine brought to bear on the postponed occasion.
"Every expedient is being adopted to
minimize any extra cost which might otherwise result from the postponement. I
have every confidence in the machinery proving itself equal to the strain
occasioned by the postponement, which is unprecedented in the history of Census
taking."
In
the event a leaflet was distributed with the census schedules which stated that
the dates of 24th April and 25th April should be read as referring to 19th June
and 20th June respectively.
The
cost of printing this leaflet was defrayed by selling advertising space on the
reverse – unfortunately the advertiser was Horatio Bottomley, a Member of
Parliament and newspaper proprietor who was to be accused of fraud a few months
later by a former associate and ended up being sentenced to 7 years penal
servitude. It's perhaps unsurprising that the census has never carried
advertising since!
There
are many ways to connect with cousins who are researching your ancestors, but
there's only one site that is optimised for this purpose. What makes it different,
and why does that matter?
- Always free to search
- Always free to enter and
edit your own data
- Always free to send
messages to existing contacts
- Completely free access during several
periods each year for all users, old and new
- Matching of cousins is 100%
automated, 100% accurate
- Automatic cousin detection – separates cousins
from other researchers
- Absolute privacy – nobody can see
your entries (even after you connect)
You’d
want to join a site like that, wouldn't you? Well, the good news is, you
already did – so now's the time to consider whether you’re taking full
advantage of your LostCousins membership!
Tip:
it's a perfect time to complete your My Ancestors page – because entries you
make between now and the end of January could win you a prize in my
competition.
Last chance to win: hundreds of prizes
still to be claimed ENDS MONDAY
There
are still hundreds of prizes to be won in my Christmas/New Year Competition. To
win a prize requires no expertise, other than the research skills that all
serious family historians acquire by indulging in their favourite hobby!
One
lucky member is going to win up to £175 in cash to pay for the images they've
viewed from the 1921 Census after clicking the link on their My Summary
page at the LostCousins site. But there are lots of other prizes, most of them
experiences that money cannot buy – like this opportunity to talk to the Lady
who introduced the legislation that has done more than any other to benefit family
historians with English or Welsh ancestry…..
SPECIAL PRIZE: Baroness Scott interview followed by Q&A
session (11am 3rd February 2022)
Baroness
Ros Scott was the prime driver behind the legislation that allows the General 
Register Office to provide 'certificates' in an
electronic format – I first reported her proposals on
Christmas Day 2014, and what a Christmas present for family historians it
turned out to be!
The
2015 Deregulation Act subsequently imposed a duty on the GRO to come forward
with proposals relating to historic certificates, and in late 2016 we were all
taking part in the PDF trial, which eventually became a permanent service.
I
will be talking to Baroness Scott in front of a small virtual audience about
her interest in family history and how that has fed into her work in the House
of Lords – I suspect I'll be asking whether she hopes that one day there will
be instant access to the historic registers for England & Wales, as there
already is in Scotland. Following the interview there will be an opportunity
for members of the audience to ask questions.
To
maximise your chance of winning this valuable opportunity add as many relatives
as possible to your My Ancestors page during the period of the competition, and indicate your interest on the My Prizes
page at the LostCousins site by giving this talk a high rating. Invitations
will be sent out on Tuesday 1st February, but if you know now that you would be
unable to attend on Thursday (if invited) please indicate this on your My
Prizes page.
STAR
PRIZE: 12 month Diamond subscription to The
Genealogist (normal price £139.95)
You
could win unlimited access to a wide range of records including non-conformist
records, exclusive tithe records and tithe maps, and a growing collection of
'Lloyd George' Domesday records and maps which you won't find at any other
site. If you already have a Diamond subscription an additional 12 months will
be added.
The
prize winner will be chosen after the competition closes on 31st January 2022,
but if you can't wait you can get a 4 month Diamond subscription for just
£44.95 when you follow this link
(you'll also get a free 12 month subscription to Discover Your Ancestors
online magazine worth £24.99).
STAR
PRIZE: 12 month unlimited subscription to British
Newspaper Archive (normal price £79.95)
Over
46 million pages from historic British and Irish newspapers, with hundreds of
thousands more pages added every month. Upwards of half a billion articles, notices,
and adverts, and literally billions of names. Was your ancestor famous for 15
minutes?
Optimised
search features include the ability to search for articles added after a
particular date, so that you don't have to repeatedly trawl through articles you've
previously read or discarded. The prize winner will be chosen after the
competition closes on 31st January 2022.
STAR
PRIZE: One-to-one brick wall busting session with the editor of Who Do You
Think You Are? magazine
Most of you will know
Sarah Williams as the editor of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine – but
she is also a highly competent genealogist with a Masters degree in Medieval Studies. I'm delighted to
say that Sarah has generously offered to help knock down an English 'brick
wall' for the lucky winner of this prize.
This
one-to-one consultation will take place over Zoom on a mutually convenient
date, and whilst there's no guarantee that Sarah will be able to solve your
problem during the session, I'd be surprised if her insight into your 'brick
wall' doesn’t lead you in a new and more productive direction.
Tip:
only one lucky member can win this prize or the one below but everyone can
benefit from the advice in my Masterclass 'Knocking down brick walls' which was
recently updated and can be found here. (Note: that there
are links to ALL of my Masterclasses on the
Subscribers Only page.)
SPECIAL
PRIZE: Seminar on marriage law with Professor Rebecca Probert (date to be confirmed)
Many of you will
already be familiar with Professor Probert's books for genealogists (you'll
find my reviews here and here), but even if you
haven't read the books you'll know, I'm sure, that she is the leading authority
on historical marriage law in England & Wales. Her books have over-turned
numerous myths about the ways our ancestors married, shedding new light on
their behaviour and the sometimes difficult decisions
they were faced with.
Currently
Professor of Law at Exeter University, in 2015 she was seconded to the Law
Commission to work on their scoping paper Getting Married and since August
2019 she has been acting as specialist advisor to the Commission on their Weddings Project.
This
exclusive Zoom presentation in front of a small invited
audience will be followed by a question and answer session in which all are
invited to participate. To maximise your chances of being one of the lucky few
to attend add as many relatives as possible to your My Ancestors page.
SPECIAL
PRIZE: Nathan Dylan Goodwin interview followed by Q&A session (date to be
confirmed)
I'll be interviewing Nathan
Dylan Goodwin, the creator of the Forensic Genealogist series featuring Morton
Farrier, live on Zoom – and you could be in the audience! Amongst other things
I'll be asking questions about the characters in the books, and where the
inspiration for them came from.
After
the interview I'll be inviting questions from the floor – note that the number
of attendees will be kept low so that as many people as possible have the
chance to ask their question. However you can also submit
questions on the My Prizes page – that way your question could get asked
even if you’re not fortunate enough to be invited.
To
maximise your chances of being one of the lucky few to attend, add as many
relatives as possible to your My Ancestors page – and don't leave it to
the last minute, because this is an opportunity that no fan of Morton Farrier
will want to miss!
Note: you'll find my review of Nathan's latest book here.
SPECIAL
PRIZE: Secrets of the census with Dr Donald Davis (date to be confirmed)
Speaking to us from Canada will be Dr Donald Davis
, who retired from a vocation studying the health of populations to an
avocation exploring population records – he is currently looking forward to the
release of the 1921 England & Wales Census which, taken following the Great
War, explored new avenues of importance to family historians.
When the previous census (1911) was released we saw for the first time the forms that our
ancestors had filled in, replete with misunderstandings, spelling mistakes,
amendments, and gratuitous comments. This was eye-opening – all that had
survived from the 1841-1901 censuses were the enumerators' summary books. Or so
it was thought – then Don discovered a cache of household schedules from the
1841 Census at Shropshire Archives and many of our assumptions about the census
were overturned.
INVITED PRESENTATION: 'Brits to Canada', with John D Reid (date to
be arranged)
From the first part
of the 19th century, to late in the 20th, many British people from all walks of
life chose to cross the Atlantic for opportunities in Canada. Are they missing
from your family history? Explore the resources available to you to throw light
on your Canadian cousins and some remarkable personalities and stories.
Born
in Norfolk, now a long-time resident of Ottawa, John D Reid is a retired
environmental research scientist. Since 2006, he has presented an independent
view of British and Canadian family history resources and developments, seen
from an Ottawa perspective in his Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog.
Those
of you who were fortunate to be amongst the attendees at one of the Genealogy
in the Sunshine events I organised in Portugal some years ago will, I'm
sure, remember John D Reid as well as Chris Paton and Dr Donald Davis, all of
whom were amongst the distinguished speakers – as was Professor Probert in the
second year.
INVITED PRESENTATION: 'Lost
an ancestor? There were 3 million Britons in India', with Elaine MacGregor
(date to be arranged)
Did members of your
family travel to India; could some of your relatives have been born there?
Elaine started researching her family history
in her teens and used her grandmother’s dog breeding pedigree forms to fill in
a basic family tree! Then life
intervened and it was only about 30 years ago that she started researching her
family in earnest when her husband bought her a family history software package
for Christmas. She knew that her father and grandmother were born in Calcutta,
but it was not until she joined FIBIS (Families in British India Society) over
20 years ago that she discovered through research that she has 6 generations in
India.
Elaine
will be speaking over Zoom to a small invited
audience, and there will be time for Q&A at the end. Please indicate your
interest on the My Prizes page at the LostCousins site; the date and
time of the presentation will be announced closer to the time – in the meantime
you can maximise your chance of being one of the fortunate few by adding as
many relatives as possible to your My Ancestors page.
Remember,
the competition ends on 31st January, and to have a chance of winning one or
more prizes you need only enter relatives – from any of the 9 censuses we
use – on your My Ancestors page. Please bear in mind that ALL of your living cousins are descended from the branches
of your tree, so it's important to enter the relatives from the branches. A
good strategy is to start with everyone you know about in 1841 (whether you can
find them on that census or not), then track each branch or twig until you get to
1881 – typically you'll end up with 3 to 4 times as many relatives as you
started with.
Note:
only relatives who are genetically-related to the
member concerned will count, however if you are researching on behalf of
someone else (eg a spouse) entries you make on their
account will also qualify; relatives from the 1881 censuses count double.
If you want to win a prize, you have to
tell me!
When
I announced this year's bigger and better competition on 10th December I wrote:
"Also new this year is the My Prizes
page at the LostCousins website, which lists the prizes on offer and allows you
to express your preferences – this doesn’t guarantee that you'll get the prize
that you want, but it does mean that you won’t be offered a prize that you
don't want (because you will only be considered for prizes that you have
rated)."
If
you are taking part in the competition – and why wouldn't you – do please complete your My Prizes page now!
Considering
that we're two years into the pandemic, and most family history societies
switched to virtual meetings long ago, I've been surprised to discover that
quite a few of you have never used Zoom. Fortunately
you don’t have to jump in at the deep-end, because there is a test meeting that
you can join on the Zoom website (you'll find it here).
Talking
of the pandemic, if you've been wondering why the reported case numbers in the
UK are so low compared to other European countries, you might be interested to
discover that up to now the published figures have excluded most people who
have contracted COVID-19 for the second (or subsequent time). According to this
Guardian article
Wales is currently the only country in the UK to include repeat infections in
the statistics, even though a recent Office for National Statistics study found
that almost two-thirds of those with Omicron said they had been infected
previously (see this BBC article
for more details). From 31st January reinfections will be included in the figures for the whole of the UK, and I suspect this
will lead to a significant increase in the numbers reported.
Whatever the true figures, my wife and I will
continue to be cautious – let's face it, there are no prizes for taking unnecessary
risks.
This is where any major updates and corrections will be
highlighted - if you think you've spotted an error first reload the newsletter
(press Ctrl-F5) then
check again before writing to me, in case someone else has beaten you to
it......
Peter Calver
Founder, LostCousins
© Copyright 2022 Peter Calver
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