Newsletter
- 5th March 2015
Free
access to Findmypast this weekend! ENDS NOON MONDAY
LostCousins
is completely FREE this weekend ENDS TUESDAY
England’s
Immigrants 1330-1550
MASTERCLASS:
Communicating with other researchers
Every photo
tells a story COMPETITION
Family history - or family mystery?
The LostCousins newsletter is usually published
fortnightly. To access the previous newsletter (dated 27th February)
click here, for an index to articles from 2009-10
click here, for a list of articles from 2011
click here and for a list of articles from
2012-14 click here. Or use the customised Google search below
(that's what I do):
Whenever possible links are included to the
websites or articles mentioned in the newsletter (they are highlighted in blue or purple and underlined, so you can't miss them). If one of
the links doesn't work this normally indicates that you're using adblocking software - you need to make the LostCousins site
an exception (or else use a different browser, such as Chrome).
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!
Free access to Findmypast
this weekend! ENDS NOON
MONDAY
From noon (London time) on Friday 6th
March until the same time on Monday 9th March you will be able to access ALL of
the historical records and newspaper articles at Findmypast.co.uk - whether they're British,
Irish, American, Canadian, or Australasian!
This is a great opportunity to fill in
some of the gaps in your family history, and to track down your collateral
relatives, whether they remained in Britain or travelled to the other side of
the world. Just follow this link and start
searching!
Note:
although you'll need to register at Findmypast.co.uk if you haven't previously
done so, you WON'T be asked to provide credit card or bank details.
There's only one way to get the best
results from Findmypast, and that's to search individual record sets rather
than searching collections of similar records. This applies whether you're a
beginner, or - like most LostCousins members - a highly-experienced researcher.
Why is this so important? Because different
record sets contain different information: sometimes that's because the source
records vary (for example, the 1841 and 1911 censuses are very different from
the other years), but it can also be because the records have been transcribed
and indexed differently. Findmypast have transcriptions from many different
sources thanks to their connections with family history societies, FamilySearch,
the Society of Genealogists, and their acquisition of other websites (most
recently Origins).
To allow for this
variety different record sets have different search forms - whereas when
you search multiple record sets simultaneously you inevitably have to make do
with a compromise.
To get the same astounding results that
I get from my searches all you need to do is choose A-Z of record sets from the Search
menu, then navigate to the record set you need. Rather than ploughing all 1600
of them type in a word (or part of a word) that appears in the title of the
record set - for example, 'staff' if you want to search the Staffordshire
parish registers, 'canter' for the Diocese of Canterbury parish registers, or
'army' to see a list of army record sets.
Tip:
there will be occasions when you have to search collections I order to find out
which of the record sets are relevant - but I suggest you switch to searching
individual record sets once you've identified which are of interest.
LostCousins is completely FREE this
weekend ENDS
TUESDAY
LostCousins is also free this weekend,
and the good news is that you've got an extra 36 hours to enter the data you've
collected at Findmypast, because my offer doesn't end until midnight on Tuesday
10th March.
As you find relatives on the 1841,
1881, and 1911 censuses it make sense to enter them on your My
Ancestors page straightaway, so that I can link you with the other
members - your 'lost cousins' - who have already entered them. Simply click the Search button
and the LostCousins computer will automatically check every entry you've made
against the millions of entries made by other members.
Tip: it doesn't matter if your
new-found cousins don't reply before midnight on Tuesday - as long as you have
initiated contact during the offer period (by clicking 'Make contact' on your
My Cousins page), you'll be OK.
Of course, you won't always get an
instant match - somebody has to be the first person to enter a particular
relative - but once you've entered your relatives your cousins will be able to
find you (and you only have to click the Search button to look
for matches all over again).
Tip: the 1881 census is the one that's
most likely to link you to your 'lost cousins', and you'll get most matches
when you enter the members of your ancestors' extended families - their
brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
England’s Immigrants
1330-1550
England’s Immigrants 1330-1550 is
a fully-searchable database containing over 64,000 names of people known to
have migrated to England during the period of the Hundred Years’ War and the
Black Death, the Wars of the Roses and the Reformation.
MASTERCLASS:
Communicating with other researchers
One of the greatest benefits that comes from finding other family historians whose interests
overlap with ours is that, because they've started from a different point, they'll
see things differently. Unfortunately this differing perspective often makes it
more difficult for us to communicate with them - our priorities and theirs may
not coincide, and their objectives may not be the same as ours.
It's important, therefore, that you get
off on the right foot - otherwise you might think they're not interested and
they might think you're a timewaster. Here are some suggestions that you might
want to consider.....
Don't
try to make contact too soon
When you click 'Make contact' on your My Cousins page an email is generated
automatically which includes details of the entries that you share. The more
shared entries the more attention this email is likely to get - so instead of
trying to make contact immediately, why not spend a few minutes entering other
family members that might match.
Look
for common ground
When you first make contact with someone
new, try to work out what your common interests are, so that the information you
give them will be relevant, and any questions you ask them are meaningful - not
to you, but to them.
For example, if you've discovered them
through LostCousins, your first step should always be to look at the list of
relatives you share and how the two of you are related to each of them. Indeed,
you'd want to do this however you'd found them - however LostCousins is the
only site that makes it so easy.
To view the list of relatives you share simply
click the other person's name or initials on your My Cousins page. This will display the My Contact page for the relationship, eg:
In this example I can see immediately
that my cousin is descended from George & Emma Thurgar,
so it will make sense to mention them, and how I'm related to them, in my
initial communication - I'm much more likely to get a prompt response that way.
Sometimes the person you're connected
with only be related to you by marriage - however, since you'll both be related
to the living descendants of that marriage it's still worth following up (some
of my most useful connections have been people who aren't cousins of mine, but
whose tree nevertheless overlaps with mine).
Try
to see things from the other person's point of view
It's natural to want to get answers to
the questions that have been bugging us for years - but it would be extremely
unlikely that those questions are also at the top of the other researcher's
list. Even if the other person has the answers you're seeking, they probably
won't have them on the tip of their tongue - it will take time to look through their
research, and they may not have the time.
It's far better to ask a question that the
other person can answer without resorting to their files, even if that means
asking them a general question such as "How long have you been researching
your family tree?".
Don't
make it one-sided
LostCousins is a site where researchers help
each other - there has to be give and take. This means it's better to give a
little bit of information at a time so that the other person doesn't have to
spend too long writing their response.
Are
you even related?
Sometimes you'll be matched with someone
who isn't a relative of yours - not because the matching has gone wrong (so far
that has never happened) - but because at least one of you has entered people who
aren't your relatives. There are all sorts of sound reasons why you might do
this, but it does mean that the connection will initially seem less interesting
- so if you're the person who has entered non-relatives, start by explaining why you did it, and what you are hoping
to learn.
Be
patient
Although family history might be the
most important thing in your life, the reality is that for most people there
are other priorities to consider. About half of LostCousins members are
retired, but that still leaves half who aren't - and these days there are
plenty of retirees in their 60s and 70s who are still caring for their parents.
So don't assume that the other person is going to drop everything in order to provide
you with the information you're seeking.
Consider
collaborating on future research
None of us can research all of our
family lines on our own - after all, by the time you go back 10 generations
there are over 1000 lines to consider - so why not collaborate with your
cousins on the lines that you share? Many lines make a lot of work, but many
lines means many cousins - and many hands make light
work!
Every photo tells a story
COMPETITION
When I look at old family photos they
invariably bring back memories - and I'm willing to bet that it's the same for
you. That's why I've arranged a special competition in collaboration with Repixl, the website that
specialises in digitally repairing and retouching photos.
All you need to do is follow this link to Repixl, register (if
you haven't already done so), and upload one or more of your favourite family
photos. When you move the mouse pointer over a picture you've uploaded you'll
see a number of icons appear at the bottom of the photo - one on the right
looks rather like a cassette, and when you move the pointer to it the words Submit a Photo Story will be displayed,
as you can see in this screenshot (that's my mum's class in 1934, by the way):
When you
click the icon you'll be taken to a page where you can enter your story - there
are some questions displayed, but they are just suggestions. It's your story,
so bring the photo to life however you want.
After the competition closes at midnight
on Monday 23rd March, James at Repixl will choose his favourite photo stories
from all those submitted by LostCousins members - and the 10 lucky winners will
get a prize that money can't buy, the chance to submit a black and white or
sepia-toned photograph from their family collection for colorisation!
If you watched the television series, World
War 1 In Colour, you'll know how much more
realistic films are when they're in colour - and when it comes to still photos
the difference is even more pronounced.
Tip:
you can enter more than once if you can't make up your mind which of your photo
stories is the best.
Family history - or family mystery?
Josephine sent me in this email from New
Zealand - it's a warning for all of us:
One sentence in your latest newsletter really struck
home, "Are you in danger of turning family history into family
mystery?" I recently found that I had fallen into the trap of fantasizing
my husband's family history.
His great grandfather was Charles Adolphus Moore, an
unusual name, therefore easy to research thought I!
On his marriage certificate Charles Adolphus gave his
father's name as Alexander Joseph and the 1861 census showed Charles Adolphus
living with his parents Alexander and Ann Harriet in Middlesex Street,
Marylebone, London. Place of birth was given as St
Anne's and his age 4 years. I found the birth of Charles Adolphus Moore in 1857
and duly sent off for the birth certificate.
Horror of horrors, it came back with the parents as
Charles Adolphus Moore and Sarah Barrow. Further research unearthed the death
of Charles Adolphus Moore in 1858 and as I knew that the child Charles Adolphus
lived until 1914 I came up with this lovely story where Alexander Joseph (who
appears to be the brother of Charles Adolphus senior) informally adopted his deceased
brother's child and brought him up as his own.
Recently I decided to invest in the 1858 death
certificate of Charles Adolphus only to discover that it was for a child who
had died at the age of 6 weeks. As you can imagine I have had to do a fair
amount of editing of the family tree! And I now can't find the birth of
Alexander Joseph Moore's second son, the Charles Adolphus Moore who married
Kate Partridge and had 10 children.
It is a good thing that the nights are drawing in here
in New Zealand.
I eventually finished Foundation,
the first volume of Peter Ackroyd's History
of England - it gets a bit confusing towards the end with all the Richards and
Edwards and Henries who come in quick succession (in
those days a King of England who lived to 50 was doing well) - but that's
hardly the author's fault!
What I particularly enjoyed about the book is
the way that the occasionally slips in a short chapter on fascinating topic -
for example, there are just three pages in Chapter 14, The Lost Village, but I learned an awful lot from them. Chapter 36,
The Staple of Life also covered a lot
of ground, this time in 4 pages.
If, like mine, your interest in history was
doused at school but rekindled by your interest in genealogy, this is an
excellent way to fill in the gaps, especially prior to the Norman invasion of
1066. Thoroughly recommended, and if you follow the link above you can pick up
second-hand copies very cheaply.
Having done my homework I turned for light
relief to File
Under Family by Geraldine Wall, which introduces probate
genealogist Anna Ames - and even though I'm only a
quarter of the way through the book, I was delighted to discover that a
follow-up has already been published (File
Under Fear).
The one downside is that currently these
books are only available in Kindle format - if the book I'm reading is anything
to go by they deserve a wider audience.
Somebody said to me the other day, "You
can't know who the parents of that child were unless you order the birth
certificate". And yet I did.
How did I know? The birth took place after
the 3rd quarter of 1911, so the index showed both the father's surname and the
mother's maiden name.
My next step was to search for marriages
between couples with those surnames - and after eliminating those who would
have been too old, or where the surnames were round the wrong way, I was left
with just one couple who could feasibly have been the child's parents. Quod erat
demonstrandum - as we used to say in maths classes when I was at school.
This is where I'll post any last minute
additions.
Next time you hear from me I'll
be at Genealogy in the Sunshine!
Peter Calver
Founder, LostCousins
© Copyright 2015 Peter Calver
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