Newsletter – 6th
January 2023
Save 21% on 1921 subscriptions FIRST PREMIUM OFFER
Gibraltar censuses at
Findmypast
Hundreds of prizes in
my competition FREE ENTRY
Please complete your My
Prizes page
Ancestry.com 50%
discount ENDS TUESDAY
The LostCousins
newsletter is usually published 2 or 3 times a month. To access the previous issue
(dated 22nd December) 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!
Save 21% on 1921 subscriptions FIRST PREMIUM
OFFER
For
the very first time Findmypast are discounting their new Premium subscription,
the only subscription that offers unrestricted access to the 1921 Census of
England & Wales. (Most other Findmypast subscriptions are also discounted during the period of the offer.)
Why
now? Because it was precisely one year ago, on 6th January 2022,
that the 1921 Census was first released.
For
more than 9 months it was only available on a pay-per-view basis (which certainly
limited the amount of research I was prepared to do into the branches of my
tree, and no doubt had a similar impact on others). Then on 11th
October we got the news that Findmypast were incorporating 1921 into their new
Premium subscription – but at £199.99 it was a little more than most were used
to paying for a genealogy subscription, especially at a time when the prices of
essentials were going through the roof.
The
good news that with a 21% discount until 15th January, the price
comes down to a more palatable £157.99 – equivalent to just over £13 a month,
or £3 a week. And if you’re still researching the 1921 Census this time next year you’ll qualify for a Loyalty Discount (currently 15%)
on your renewal; if you’re not, you can downgrade to a Plus or Pro subscription
and save even more money.
Although
you’ll no doubt hear about this offer from a range of sources, please use the
relevant link below so that you can support LostCousins – thanks!
Findmypast.co.uk
– SAVE 21% on PREMIUM, PRO and PLUS subscriptions ENDS
15TH JANUARY
Findmypast.com.au
– SAVE 21% on PREMIUM, PRO and PLUS subscriptions ENDS
15TH JANUARY
Findmypast.ie
– SAVE 21% on PREMIUM, PRO and PLUS subscriptions ENDS
15TH JANUARY
Findmypast.com
– SAVE 21% on PREMIUM, ULTIMATE and ESSENTIAL subscriptions
ENDS 15TH JANUARY
Can
you also save on upgrades if you have a current Findmypast subscription? I’ve
not been able to confirm this, but click the link and
see what happens.
Gibraltar censuses at Findmypast BREAKING
NEWS
Findmypast
have just released indexed transcripts of the censuses of Gibraltar that were
taken between 1871 and 1921. However the initial release
seems to have been hit by teething problems – when I checked this morning there
appeared to be no way of displaying the information for a household, although
the information for individual household members seemed to be correct.
I’ll
update this article when I have more
information, but in the meantime you can search the Gibraltar censuses by
following this link
– no subscription seems to be required.
Note:
Findmypast has other Gibraltar records, some of which are also new this week. You
can see a full list here.
There
were 43 issues of the LostCousins newsletter in 2022, not bad for a publication
that some readers think is monthly!
(Remember
that you can view past issues in reverse chronological order by clicking the
link to the previous edition at the start of each newsletter – and you can also
search for specific items of interest using the dedicated Google search that you’ll
find just above.)
For
me the highlight of 2022 was discovering
what really happened to the 1931 England & Wales census, something
that has bugged me for years – but I suspect that most of you were more focused
on 1921, with the release of the England & Wales records at the beginning
of January, and the Scotland records at the end of November.
At
the beginning of the year hundreds of LostCousins members won the opportunity
to attend exclusive online presentations by experts and celebrities, simply by
entering last year’s competition. And there will be similar opportunities this
year – will you be one of the lucky ones?
Another
LostCousins success in 2022 was the achievement of a significant milestone – over
8% of all the people recorded on the 1881 England & Wales census have now been
entered by at least one LostCousins member. That 8% threshold equates to an
average of 2 entries per census page, which underlines how high the chances of
making matches are these days.
You
may recall me revealing
in April that the legislation to enable a new service from the General Register
Office, dubbed ‘online view’, had been passed in October 2020.
Researchers
with ancestors from Scotland have benefited from instant online access to
historic register entries for as long as I can remember, but even though the historic
birth and death registers for England & Wales were digitised 15 years ago, we’ve
had to make do with PDFs – which typically take around a week to arrive – and that’s
only been an option since 2016.
Let’s
hope that things change for the better in 2023!
I
can remember a time when the biggest problem at the start of a new year was
remembering to put the right year on my cheques. However, since the last time I
wrote a cheque was in March 2019 it’s unlikely to be a problem this year –
everything seems to be done online these days!
These
days I’m more worried about ‘brick walls’ than cheques: at the start of each
new year I’m faced with the same ‘brick walls’ that I
failed to knock down in the old year – and if I’m not careful I’ll probably
fail again.
So what should I do to improve my chances of success? Something
different, of course! Whatever I tried in the old year didn’t work then, so the
chances are it isn’t going to work in the new year either. It’s all too easy to
adopt the ‘something will turn up’ attitude of a modern day
Mr Micawber, but barring the release of new online records, or a serendipitous
DNA match, the solution is more likely to be in our own hands.
Ask
someone who is up against a ‘brick wall’ what they’ve tried, and most likely
they’ll tell you that they’ve tried everything! Yet all too often ‘everything’
is a misnomer, and the reality is that the researcher has become so overwhelmed
by the problem that they’re muddling their way through, rather than following a
predefined strategy. For example, I see this almost every day when members write
to me about their DNA conundrums – hardly any of them are following the
strategies in my Masterclass (if they were, they wouldn’t have had to come to
me!).
The
same ‘blind spots’ apply to conventional research. For example, many
researchers rely on a single subscription website, never bothering to check
what might be on offer elsewhere. Others eschew free websites like FamilySearch
(and even LostCousins) on the basis that they want to get value for money out
of their paid subscription. Another common failing is to rely on a transcript
when the original document is readily available: it’s not just about
transcription errors or omissions, viewing the record in context often provides
valuable clues.
So whilst the ‘brick walls’ that are frustrating at the
start of 2023 might be old problems, try to find a new way to
tackle them!
When
I was growing up there would always be a box of dates in the house at Christmas
time, usually the Eat Me brand, which is still around today. For some
reason I never liked dates, though I do usually include them when I make
Christmas pudding – and Sticky Toffee Pudding is a favourite of mine, even though
dates are one of the key ingredients.
But
for a genealogist the word ‘dates’ has a rather different significance – sometimes
the dates of an ancestor’s birth/baptism and death/burial are pretty much all
we know about them (and we don’t always know that much).
Because
our research can span multiple countries as well as multiple centuries it’s
important to remember that dates weren’t necessarily consistent. Britain was
later in adopting the Gregorian calendar than many European countries, and
there’s the added complication of the change in the year end.
Nearly
a decade ago ago I posed some calendar-related questions in this newsletter – I
thought it might be fun to challenge you again. First here are 5 easy
questions, to get you started:
If you were living in England, how many days
would there have been in each of these months, and why?
(a) February 1900
(b) February 1800
(c) February 1700
(d) February 1699
(e) September 1752
If
you can answer those questions try these next two, which are not quite as easy:
(1) Which was the shortest year of the 18th
century, and why?
(2) Why does the tax year begin on 6th April?
Once again, these questions relate to England.
My
final calendar question is a new one, but is not nearly as difficult as it seems
at first:
The
date is February 30th. What’s the year and which country are you in?
I’ll
publish the answers to all of these questions in a
future newsletter.
Hundreds of prizes in my competition FREE ENTRY
You
can enter my Christmas/New Year Competition as many times as you like – each direct
ancestor or blood relative you add to your My Ancestors page before the
end of January counts as an entry, and relatives from the 1881 censuses count
double. By adding census entries you’re not only entering the competition, you’re reaching out to the experienced family historians who
are researching YOUR ancestors – collaborating with someone who shares the same
‘brick wall’ is a great way to knock it down!
The
latest prize has been generously donated by Terri, one of our many members in
the USA – it’s an Ancestry DNA test with the additional traits analysis, and can be posted to any US address. This test
would currently cost $119, so it’s well worth putting in a little extra effort
to increase your chances of winning!
Here’s
a reminder of all the fantastic prizes on offer this year:
The
TOP PRIZE this year has been generously donated by Findmypast – it’s a 12 month PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION offering virtually unlimited access
to ALL of Findmypast’s billions of historical records from around the world
(including the 1921 England & Wales census), modern electoral registers for
the UK, and hundreds of millions of newspaper articles.
There
are lots more prizes to be won, including:
STAR
PRIZE – ONE TO ONE ‘BRICK WALLS’ SESSION WITH DR JANET FEW
Janet
Few is an experienced and qualified family, social, and community historian who
has spoken at many 
national and
international genealogical events. She is also a well-known author, several of
whose books have been reviewed in this very newsletter, including Putting
Your Ancestors in Their Place. A founder member of the Society for
One-Place Studies, and a former Chair and Vice-Chair of the organisation, she
is currently Chair of Devon Family History Society.
Whether
you win this prize or not you’ll find it worthwhile reading Janet’s excellent advice
on what to do before you ask for help – you’ll find it here.
STAR
PRIZE – WILL TRANSCRIPTION BY DAVE ANNAL
Wills are a wonderful
source of information, but few family historians have mastered both the handwriting
and the abbreviations.
I’m
delighted that professional genealogist Dave Annal, former Principal Family
History Specialist at The National Archives, and author of numerous books has
offered to transcribe up to 4 pages from 1 or 2 wills submitted by the
prize-winner (provided they are written in English rather than Latin).
Dave
Annal’s blog is a great source of tips, and if you haven’t read his June 2021
post Walls Come Tumbling Down I would thoroughly recommend it – you’ll
find the article here.
STAR
PRIZE – A CHANCE TO REACH OUT TO 70,000 FAMILY HISTORIANS
More
family historians read this newsletter than any other independent genealogy publication,
so just
imagine what might
happen if you were able to reach out to the readership!
Whether
you have an ancestor who disappeared off the face of the earth, someone you can’t
identify in a photograph, or any other family history-related mystery, if you’re
the prize-winner I’ll give you up to a page in the newsletter to explain the
problem and appeal for help solving it.
To
have a chance of winning any of these wonderful prizes, all you need to do is
enter my competition by adding relatives to your My Ancestors page, and indicate which prizes you are most interested in
on your My Prizes page. Forgotten how to log-in to your LostCousins
account? No problem, just click here and
enter your email address (as shown in the text of the email you received
telling you about this newsletter).
STAR
PRIZE – ANCESTRY DNA TEST (UK only)
There
can’t be many people reading this who haven’t tested their DNA, but what about
your cousins? One of the best ways to knock down a ‘brick wall’ using DNA is to
persuade a cousin who shares the same ‘brick wall’ to test. They don’t need to be
interested in family history – though they will need a free Ancestry account in order to register their test (they can then assign the management
of the test to you, as many of my own cousins have done).
I have a spare Ancestry
DNA kit which I will either post to the winner or the person they nominate –
but it must be a UK address, as this is a UK kit. As with all
of the other prizes, you can only win if you enter the competition (by
adding to your My Ancestors page) and indicating your interest in your My
Prizes page.
STAR
PRIZE – ANCESTRY DNA TEST (US only)
LostCousins
member Terri has generously donated this prize, which currently sells for $119 (it’s
the version with traits). It can be posted to the winner or the person they nominate
but it must be a US address.
Thanks
again to Terri for making this test available – what a wonderful gesture!
Other
prizes include opportunities to attend exclusive Zoom presentations, with
limited audiences so that everyone who wants to can ask a question (if you are
on the guest list you will also have the opportunity to
submit a question in advance, if you prefer).
I’m
still in the process of inviting speakers, but I’ve already arranged some great
talks:
SOURCING
WOMEN ANCESTORS with ELSE CHURCHILL – THE GENEALOGIST AT THE SOCIETY OF
GENEALOGISTS
The
Society of Genealogists (SoG) was founded in 1911, so
to be the genealogist at the Society is arguably the most 
prestigious position imaginable!
Else
Churchill is not only extremely knowledgeable, she is a
wonderful communicator – she spoke at
both of the Genealogy in the Sunshine conferences that I organised in
Portugal (in 2014 and 2015), and I was delighted when she accepted my invitation
to speak to LostCousins members via Zoom. DATE TO BE ARRANGED
MARRIAGE
LAW with PROFESSOR REBECCA PROBERT
The leading expert on
English marriage law and customs over the centuries, Professor Probert is the
author of numerous books – both academic textbooks and easily understood guides
for family historians like you and me.
Her
best known book is the ground-breaking Marriage Law for Genealogists
which debunked many of the myths that have seduced previous generations of
family historians – you can read my review here.
Professor
Probert will give a Zoom presentation followed by a Q&A session, but there
will also be the opportunity to submit questions in advance. The presentation
will commence at 10am (London time) on Saturday 11th February – put the
date in your diary now in case you’re one of the lucky ones!
WENDY
PERCIVAL – interview with the author of the Esme Quentin mysteries
What
I like most about genealogical mysteries is the continuity from one book in a
series to the next – I 
feel that with each
book I get to know a little bit more about the lead character. I can’t say that
I’ve ever identified with Esme Quentin, the hero of Wendy Percival’s highly-popular books, but she’s certainly a convincing amalgam
of some of the researchers I’ve come across since founding LostCousins back in 2004.
I’ll
be interviewing Wendy Percival via Zoom, asking questions that have intrigued me
– and hopefully some that have intrigued you. If you are fortunate enough to be
in the audience you’ll also have a chance to ask questions
– but please don’t expect Wendy to reveal very much about book 5 in the series,
you’ll have to wait until it is released!
The
interview will commence at 7pm (London time) on Monday 6th February –
so make a note on your 2023 calendar.
FORGOTTEN
WOMEN – panel discussion with the team behind ‘A FEW FORGOTTEN WOMEN’
It
might be a new site, but A Few Forgotten Women, which launched earlier
this month, was created by a team with a wealth of experience.
This
event will start with a discussion between the founders of the site, and then
we’ll open it up to the audience, for you to ask questions or tell us about the
women in your tree. It starts at 4pm
(London time) on Saturday 28th January, which is a few days before
the competition ends, and lucky winners of invites to this event will be chosen
notified around a week earlier – so it’s one more reason not to
leave things to the last moment.
Tip:
there are more prizes to come – they’ll be added to the My Prizes page as soon
as they have been confirmed.
Please complete your My Prizes page
Because
there will be hundreds of prizes and hundreds of prize-winners there needs to
be an efficient way of ensuring that the prizes go the entrants who are the most
deserving and the most appreciative.
The
My Prizes page allows you to indicate which prizes are of interest to
you by giving each of them a rating for 10 (most interested) down to 1 (least
interested). As to whether you are one of the most deserving entrants – that will
depend on how many entries you add to your My Ancestors page during the period
up to 31st January. You won’t need to have entered the most
relatives to win a prize, but the more you enter the more likely it is that you
will win – it’s rather like Premium Bonds, you’re not guaranteed to win if you
hold the maximum amount, but it certainly helps!
Note:
some prize-winners will be chosen before the competition ends, so it is better
to act sooner rather than later!
Ancestry.com 50% discount ENDS TUESDAY
If
you live in the US you can currently get a 6 month
subscription to Ancestry.com for half the regular price – please follow this
link so that LostCousins can share in your good fortune:
Ancestry.com
– SAVE 50% ON 6 MONTH MEMBERSHIPS ENDS TUESDAY 10TH
JANUARY
Note:
there may be offers in other countries, but I’m not allowed to advertise them.
Check your inbox for emails from Ancestry!
Before
Thomas Hardy established himself as a novelist he worked as an architect; in
the mid-1860s the firm he worked for was involved in the extension of St
Pancras Station in London, which required the removal of the remains in the graveyard
of Old St Pancras church.
The
headstones removed from the graves were stacked around an ash tree, which in
time became known as the Hardy Tree. Sadly just before
Christmas the tree gave up the ghost (or, should I say, ghosts) having been
weakened by a storm earlier in the year. You can see a picture of the tree when
it was still standing, and as it is now, in this Guardian article
– I wonder what will happen to the headstones, which up to now have been
shielded from the worst of the weather?
Under the Greenwood Tree was the second of Thomas
Hardy’s novels to be published (in 1872), though it was published anonymously;
the title is a quote from Shakespeare – it appears in As You Like It. Greenwood
was the title of the poetry magazine at my school in the 1960s – I have a copy
which includes a poem written by one of the younger boys, a certain Douglas
Adams…..
Did
you see the news article just
before Christmas, about a baby who was born on a helicopter? In that case the
helicopter was travelling between the Scilly Isles and Cornwall, so there was
no doubt about the baby’s nationality – unlike the babies in this article!
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
Please do NOT copy or republish any part of this newsletter without permission - which is only granted in the most exceptional circumstances. However, you MAY link to this newsletter or any article in it without asking for permission - though why not invite other family historians to join LostCousins instead, since standard membership (which includes the newsletter), is FREE?
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