You’ve arrived on day 4, the final day, of a Family History Quiz. If you want to participate in earlier rounds, stop reading now, or you will find the answers to rounds 3 & 4 below. Just go to round 1 and return here when you’ve done those questions.
Here are the final quiz rounds
Round 5Researching Women
When was the married women’s property act passed?
Which women were given the vote by the UK legislation of 1918?
What was the minimum legal age for the marriage of girls, with parental consent, in England and Wales in 1928?
In what decade did Marie Stopes open her first birth control clinic?
In what decade did The Sex Discrimination Act remove restrictions on women’s financial rights, making it illegal for employers, banks, financial institutions and landlords to discriminate against women.
Round 6 What do these abbreviations stand for?
b.o.t.p
GRO
PRONI
d.s.p.
FWK
Now for the answers to rounds 3 & 4. All the answers to round 4 come from my Discovering more about your Agricultural Labouring Ancestors online course, There’s a chance to brush up on your ag. lab. knowledge in the New Year. You can sign up here.
Round 3 Old Occupations
What did the following do?
Pindar – looked after the pound
Fletcher – one who put feathers on the ends of arrows
Chapman – a merchant
Cordwainer – shoemaker – originally one who used leather from Cordoba
Badger – an itinerant seller of foodstuffs
Round 4 Agricultural Labourers
What was the name of the mythical person who was associated with a series of protests in the 1830s, that were directed at the introduction of threshing machines? These riots were predominantly conducted in East Anglia and the South East of England. Captain Swing
What is the name of the series of county by county books, published by the Board of Agriculture between 1790 and 1820, that provide background information for those with rural ancestors? The General View of Agriculture
What laws were repealed in 1846, reinstating a free market for grain in Britain? The Corn Laws
Where can you consult the National Farm Survey for England and Wales? National Archives Kew
Which English and Welsh census was the first to list the acreages of farms and the number of employees? 1851
You’ve arrived on day 3 of a Family History Quiz. If you want to participate in earlier rounds, stop reading now, or you will find the answers to round 2 below. Just go to round 1 and return here when you’ve done those questions.
Round 3 Old Occupations
What did the following do?
Pindar
Fletcher
Chapman
Cordwainer
Badger
Round 4 Agricultural Labourers
What was the name of the mythical person who was associated with a series of protests in the 1830s, that were directed at the introduction of threshing machines? These riots were predominantly conducted in East Anglia and the South East of England.
What is the name of the series of county by county books, published by the Board of Agriculture between 1790 and 1820, that provide background information for those with rural ancestors?
What laws were repealed in 1846, reinstating a free market for grain in Britain?
Where can you consult the National Farm Survey for England and Wales?
Which English and Welsh census was the first to list the acreages of farms and the number of employees?
Now for the answers to yesterday’s round 2. Incidentally, all the round 2 questions were taken from my stage 2 family history course, which Devon Family History Society are running online in the New Year. If you think you need to brush up on your knowledge, head to the website as there are a three places left.
Round 2 answers
What is a Glebe Terrier? Maps and descriptions of church-owned land—mostly C17th & C18th. Tenants often named and those owning neighbouring land may be referred to.
In what century were the Protestation Returns and the Heath Tax created. Seventeenth century (half marks if you put 1600s).
What kind of records will you find in class WO97 at the National Archives? Service Records of Soldiers discharged to a pension.
Which data providing platform gives access to the 1910 Valuation Office Records (Lloyd George’s Domesday)? The Genealogist.
Name 3 ways in which you could gain settlement, according to the 1662 Act. Birth; Marriage (for women) – kept when widowed; · Renting property worth £10 p.a. or more; Completing an apprenticeship in the parish; Working for a year under a settled master; Paying parish or poor rates; Serving as a parish official.
What is a nuncupative will? An oral will made in presence of 4 witnesses – could be used until 1838. From 1677 had to be written up by someone and signed by testator unless physically incapable. Should begin ‘Memorandum Quod..…’
Name four groups of people who were not able to make wills, under the terms of the 1540 Statute of Wills. Child (under marriageable age), lunatic, heretic, apostate, slave, prisoner, married woman (until Married Woman’s Property Act of 1882) unless she had been given property of her own under terms of a marriage settlement, or unless she had permission of her husband.
On which Repository’s website will you find the Manorial Documents’ Register. The National Archives as part of the Discovery Catalogue.
Define a journeyman. Half a mark for someone who has completed an apprenticeship. Another half mark if you said they worked by the day (from the French journee – daytime). They may have travelled about but no marks for ‘being on a journey’.
What is a sojourner? Someone who is not settled in the parish. Half a mark for ‘not a permanent resident’ although they may been there for decades and just not done anything to become settled in the parish (see question 5).
You’ve arrived on day 2 of a Family History Quiz. If you want to participate in round 1, stop reading now, or you will find the answers! Just go to round 1 and return here when you’ve done those questions.
Here are today’s questions, perhaps a little harder than yesterday’s.
Round 2
What is a Glebe Terrier?
In what century were the Protestation Returns and the Heath Tax created.
What kind of records will you find in class WO97 at the National Archives?
Which data providing platform gives access to the 1910 Valuation Office Records (Lloyd George’s Domesday)?
Name 3 ways in which you could gain settlement, according to the 1662 Act.
What is a nuncupative will?
Name four groups of people who were not able to make wills, under the terms of the 1540 Statute of Wills.
On which Repository’s website will you find the Manorial Documents’ Register
Define a journeyman.
What is a sojourner?
LOOK OUT ANSWERS TO ROUND ONE BELOW
Round One
Which of the two English/Welsh censuses, that are open for public view, were taken in June? 1841 and 1921.
Which English/Welsh census provides information about how long a couple have been married? 1911.
Jane and Jack share one set of great-grandparents but no grandparents. How are Jane and Jack related to each other? Second cousins.
At what repository are the wills that were proved in the Prerogative Court of York held? The Borthwick Institute.
What does a time in the ‘where & when born’ column of an English or Welsh birth certificate usually indicate? A multiple birth.
From what date were printed marriage registers, containing standard information, introduced in England and Wales. 1754.. I will accept 1753, as that is when the act was passed.
What, in a genealogical context, is meant by the Commonwealth Gap? The hiatus in parish registers from 1653-1660 under Oliver Cromwell.
Jane Brown was baptised on 2 February 1751, her brother William was baptised on 8 September 1752, both events took place in London. What is wrong with that statement? Neither of those dates existed due to the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.
Surnames derive from one of main four roots. What are they? Patronymics (from the father’s christian name), occupational surnames, locative surnames and surnames taken from personal characteristics or physical appearance.
Who doesn’t love a quiz at Christmas time? I’ve already done dismally badly at two I’ve attended but it is the taking part that counts. Annually, most of my family participate in Gordon Gray’s charity Christmas Puzzle, even the grandchildren join in now, although I don’t think I’ve ever got it all right. Do give it a go if you like something cryptic. Other quizzes come and go. In an effort to find a quiz where I would get the answers right (I hope!), I’ve created my own.
This is just for a bit of fun. No prizes and definitely no arguing with the quizmistress. There will be forty points up for grabs over the next few days, all based on British (largely English/Welsh family history. Entirely up to you if you look answers up or not. Personally, I think it is good to see how you can do without resorting to search engines first but your quiz, do what is fun for you. Round 2 and the he answers to round 1 tomorrow.
Round One
Which of the two English/Welsh censuses, that are open for public view, were taken in June?
Which English/Welsh census provides information about how long a couple have been married?
Jane and Jack share a set of great-grandparents but do not share grandparents. How are Jane and Jack related to each other?
At what repository are the wills that were proved in the Prerogative Court of York held?
What does a time in the ‘where & when born’ column of an English or Welsh birth certificate usually indicate?
From what date were printed marriage registers, containing standard information, introduced in England and Wales.
What, in a genealogical context, is meant by the Commonwealth Gap?
“Jane Brown was baptised on 2 February 1751, her brother William was baptised on 8 September 1752, both events took place in London.” What is wrong with that statement?
Surnames derive from one of main four roots. What are they?
Today may or may not be Black Friday. I can confirm it is a Friday for all you retired types who aren’t quite sure. Black Friday now seems to last several weeks so if it is THE Black Friday is debatable. It is something that has spread from America and in the interests of imparting some history, it seems that the term originated in September 1869, when James Fisk, a railway magnate and Jay Gould, a financier and railway speculator, together with Abel Corbin, brother in law of US President Ulysses S Grant, forced up the price of gold by cornering the market. This was followed by a slump and panic in the gold market, with many people losing money. The US economy was already under pressure following the cost of the Civil War and the gold crash led to financial chaos.
There is another, largely discredited, theory that Black Friday referred to days when enslaved people were sold for a reduced price. This clearly has nothing to do with every retailer offering us deals in the run up to Christmas, so when did that start? In the 1960s, the police in Philadelphia used the phrase ‘Black Friday’ to refer to the increase in crime and social disorder during the pre-Thanksgiving holiday shopping rush. It seems to have been the 1980s when US retailers began using ‘Black Friday’ to refer to slashing prices and the UK followed suit. Now Black Friday seems last for weeks and to morph into January sales, which of course start on Boxing Day.
I am rubbish at marketing but I thought I’d point out a few Black Friday family history related offers that I am involved in. Pharos Teaching and Tutoring are offering 15% off all their online courses this weekend. Two of mine which are very popular start in the new year, Discovering more about your Agricultural Labouring Ancestors and Putting your Female Ancestors into Context. There are others later in 2026 that you can book now and claim the discount. These include Are you Sitting Comfortably: writing and telling your family history in April; First Steps to a One-place Study in September and In Sickness and in Death; researching the ill health and death of your ancestors in October. There are a load of great offerings from my colleagues too.
Pen and Sword have 30% off their prices, again this weekend only. Here you can buy my Women’s Work book or Marginalised Ancestors. I am offering Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs: the lives of our seventeenth century ancestors for £5 plus postage to a UK address. From now until 8 December, you can have Remember Then Women’s Memories of 1946-1969 and how to write your own for £8 plus postage. Both of these have a cover price of £12.95. If you prefer fiction, then Sins as Red as Scarlet is on offer for £8 plus postage (cover price £9.99) for the next week too. There is more about the books on my website. Contact me using the box on the home page for details if you want any of these. If you don’t fancy any of this for yourself, they are also gift giving opportunities. Advert over.
It has been a while since I did a round up of my ridiculous busyness so here is what my life has looked like since visiting four counties in four weekends in September. Take a deep breath and dive on in.
First, a lovely chat with my Few Good Women family, with one of us practicing an (excellent) talk. Next, because exercise seems to have slipped from the agenda, a bird-watching stroll on the nearby country park, organised by the rangers. Then the first zoom chat for my Pharos Putting your Female Ancestors into Context course. Away from family history, it was time for the annual flu jab. I returned at 10.30am to a series of urgent messages asking if I could fill in for a speaker in 4 1/2 hours’ time at Devon FHS after AGM talk. Fallen Women filled the void. October’s Society of Genealogists‘ Biography Club topic was toys and childhood and we had fun reminiscing. I have even done some work on my own and I am pretty much still on track to be finished in time for next year’s big birthday. Then a two talks Tuesday; Marginalised Ancestors in the morning and Barefoot on the Cobbles live in the evening. Copies of my Barefoot novel are now almost sold out.
In no particular order, there has also been another Pharos chat, a talk about prostitution (the history of) then a 6am start to speak to the Genealogical Society of Queensland on seventeenth century crime and punishment. This was International Day of the Girl but the Few Forgotten Women had already sorted their online offerings so nothing was needed for the day. Plenty of socialising and eating with visiting friends this week amidst finally doing some work on what is planned to be my next book; some excellent case studies are emerging. I took part in the Society of Genealogist’s Devon research showcase. This should be freely available on the SOG YouTube channel shortly. I’ve been virtually in Oxfordshire to talk about home industries and then in Buckinghamshire for the Impoverished and Insane. Listening to a talk for once on Wednesday then a two talks Thursday, Forgotten Women and the 1838 Fishing Disaster this time. Yesterday was Forgotten Women Friday, having fun researching women who worked in the Ulster linen industry.
Then it was now and yes things will soon start to get a little less hectic as family time beckons, though I am not entirely sure that time with my lovely family isn’t equally exhausting but in a rather different way.
Today’s picture is of County Down, in honour of yesterday’s Forgotten Women research.
The last of our four consecutive weekends of family history took us to the Isle of Wight, to celebrate forty years of Isle of Wight Family History Society. As two very early members (membership numbers 19 and 50), we had to be there. Apart from anything else, I was due to give a talk, so that would have been awkward if I decided not to go. The Saturday was a conference with a pubs and brewing theme, as well as a chance to promote the ongoing pubs and publicans project. I know from experience what is involved in organising these events and thanks go to those who worked hard to put the weekend together.
That same experience shows that it is the things that you can’t control that cause the issues on occasions such as this, not that any of this spoiled the day. It was a little cool in the hall but we had been forewarned to dress warmly. We had also been advised to bring cushions, another wise move. Despite careful preparations, the faulty HDMI cable, causing one or two slight technical delays could not have been foreseen, nor could the flooded toilet, necessitating very loud hoovering up of flood water during one presentation. By the time it got to my turn to speak, it was only what seemed to be a shouty protestor outside in the square to contend with; or maybe, in line with our theme, he’d been overindulging at a local licenced premises. My session was a departure from the theme. Instead, my remit was to talk about changes in the family history world over the last forty years and suggest thoughts about where we might go in the future, with some Isle of Wight anecdotes throw in. I was able to spend a self-indulgent hour reminiscing and trying not to reveal too many well kept secrets from the past.
There was a second enjoyable day on the Sunday with an anniversary lunch. It was lovely to see so many friends of longstanding once again and catch up as if we’d seen each other only yesterday.
So am I home to indulge in rest and relaxation? It seems not. I’ve already given one talk and there are five more in the diary next week. I’ve been preparing an online course for those who are new or newish to family history, which will be delivered next month. There are still a few spaces if you know anyone who’d like to embark on a family history journey. You can book here. Just a warning though, that it will take over your life and I am taking no responsibility for that.
This was the weekend of the Secrets and Lies conference run by the Halstead Trust. I’ve been to a good many of these residential family history conferences over the years (and I do mean years, my first was over forty years ago) and this rated as one of the best. We’d travelled up to Peterborough the previous day and were ensconced in a caravan site half a mile away from the conference venue. Half a mile that is if you were prepared to cross a river and a railway line; it was actually two miles away by road. We were there for everything except bed and breakfast however so weren’t going to miss out.
Having had a quick recce in the morning, we arrived at the venue in the early afternoon to meet many friends. This was our first post-covid residential conference, so this was a first meeting in person for several years for some of us. It was also lovely to meet people who I was used to seeing in a rectangular box on a screen and discover how tall they were! There were also several of our lovely A Few Forgotten Women volunteers present; most appropriate given the conference theme of secrets and lies.
Lectures kicked off with Maggie Gaffney talking about a transportee, followed by Paul Blake illustrating just how the visual image, or our perception of that image, can lie. We were then treated to tales of bigamy and adulterine births in Scotland by Stewart Stevenson. The evening meal followed and Else Churchill rounded off the day with post watershed accounts of the bawdy courts.
Saturday dawned and I was first up, chatting about prostitution. I was glad that both my sessions were early on in the day as my capacity for being alert for a whole day at events like this is clearly waning. There was a choice of talks for Saturday’s lectures, so sadly I had to miss some I’d would have liked to hear. My first choice was Margaret’s ’Auntie Jo’s lost on the Family Tree’, which included the fascinating story of Agnes Beckwith’s life of secrets and lies, alongside a notable swimming career. After a buffet lunch of sandwiches and chips, which struck me as a rather odd but most acceptable combination I went to help Chris, who had been personning my bookstall all day. One of the advantages of in-person talks is that you do tend to sell a few books.
My choices for the afternoon were Alan Moorhouse’s tales of bigamy, Donna Rutherford’s detective story, cracking a coded message on the back of a postcard and Sarah Wise, with an account of her research into those incarcerated under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. Then a quick trip back to the caravan to get what passes for glammed up in our world. I was proud to receive a certificate of achievement from the Society of Genealogists. I’d actually been awarded this during Covid but this was the first opportunity for it to be handed over. Then to the food, to be frank, we aren’t a great fan of gala dinner food, preferring hearty platefuls of plainer fare over artfully arranged sprigs of not much surrounded by bits of drizzle. It is often a case of choosing the least worst menu options. This was not too bad by comparison. The soup was tasty, my aubergine something or other and Chris’ chicken something else were acceptable and puddings always go down well. A word about the dining room staff, who were just incredible in their efficiency. The woman in charge was managing them with a series of hand signals that made her look like she was a race-course bookie. She really should be in a top-class restaurant not a motel on a roundabout.
Then Sunday and by this time, I am realising that it takes stamina I am not sure I have to get through these events intact. The first talk by Calista Williams about the staff in Cottage Homes dovetailed well with the premier of my talk on Fallen Women. Judie McCourt then told us about Emma Costello’s life and divorce, including an encounter with a mystery Italian on a sofa. After more sandwiches and chips for lunch, Debbie Kennet treated us to a DNA case study, uncovering a paternity mystery.
Then it was all over. I know from experience just how difficult and exhausting these conferences are to organise and the team did a great job. I don’t know how many crises they were fielding under the surface, I am sure there were some but it didn’t show. I think I have persuaded a few people to come to our conference next year and I have a lot to live up to but I am confident of our excellent programme and beautiful location, so we do it all again then, although I have another bite of the conference cherry in between at the Guild of One-Name Studies conference in April and stand by for more family history next weekend.
Post conference, we arrived back at the van to find that it was three foot further back than we’d left it. Next door but one with huge new-to-them caravan and an automatic Volvo had been trying to move off site to go home. They’d left the motor movers on (which move the van into place a bit like a remote control car). Husband driving leaves engine running and car in drive mode and gets out to turn said motor movers off, as they are acting as a break. He turns them off – car then takes off on its own with the caravan, heading for our van. Wife in the passenger seat tries to steer car away from our van. Guy in nearby camper van tries to push their van away from ours and gets knocked down. At least this is the rather garbled story we came back to. Minor cosmetic damage to the tow hitch of our van and two broken feet where it was pushed back a metre. Site owners had been trying to ring but we had turned phones off in the conference. We were met by very apologetic damage-causers who were clearly still in shock five hours later. We ran checks to ensure we could still wind our legs up (that’s the caravan’s legs – not so sure about our own) and connect the car to the van, which were the concerns. Then to recover from the weekend.
Before we get to weekend three of family history this month, I ought to report back on last Saturday, weekend two. We headed across the border to Bridgerule. I say across the border but the River Tamar divides Bridgerule, so some parts are in Devon and some in Cornwall. We were heading for the church, where there was to be a local history display and we were booked to give family history advice. We had a postcode. The sat-nav didn’t recognise the postcode. Never fear thinks I, we will get to Bridgerule and if we can’t see the church, we will use What Three Words, which I also have. Bridgerule is tiny but there was no obvious church. Sadly there was no obvious phone signal either so the what three words option was out. We found the community shop and asked for directions. In fact we asked for directions twice more after that. It seems that some people can’t distinguish between a parish church and a non-conformist church. Eventually we find the church and the organisers had put on a great display, with equally great cake on offer.
I’ll be honest, in a place the size of Bridgerule, we were expecting one man and a dog if we were lucky but no. There was a steady stream of visitors and they didn’t just glance and pass by, they stayed and engaged. There was someone sat at our stall, asking for family history advice almost all day. In all, we fielded seventeen detailed enquiries. Partly I think because most of the visitors weren’t experienced family historians, we were able to help every single one. They all left with new information and delighted smiles. It is a long time since I have felt quite so much like a magician.
There was an interesting incident with Amazon in the middle of trying to record a talk ready for next month. Not sure if it was just because the order included an electrical item but I was asked for a tracking number. Unfortunately the driver’s only two words of English appeared to be ‘tracking number’. Where was this tracking number? I always delete all the emails that say ‘your order is out for delivery’ his engine is running while I look through the 200 or so delete emails of the past two or three days (searching didn’t seem to work, nothing in junk). Then he finds the third word in his English vocabulary ‘app’, nope, no app; I do all my stuff on the laptop not the phone. Finally found a teeny tiny tracking number when I went to the Amazon website. The whole palaver must have taken about fifteen minutes all told. By the time we’d finished, the noise of the pouring rain on the conservatory roof made recording tricky.
What else has been going on? A meeting with a new family member for Chris, who also has a Buckland Brewer connection and an excuse to eat cake. A talk to give and some work on a Cornish family. I’ve also been giving my talks for the coming weekend a final once-over. One was a little lacking in illustrations, as everything I wanted to use was copyright. As a consequence, I’ve been having a play with ChatGPT. I don’t have a paid account so there’s only so much you can do each day. Nonetheless, it has livened up the presentation. Really looking forward to chatting about the history of prostitution and fallen women this weekend, as you do – well, as I do anyway.
The Malvern trip continued with Gloucester Family History Society’s open day at the Heritage Hub. It was lovely to be able to see people in real life and chat about family history. I listened to Simon from WeAre.xyz, talking about his software (quick resolution to do more with my site), then gave my A to Z talk. After that, it was out for a meal and a catch up with family history friends. This is the first of four in person family history weekends in four different counties this month. A bit like buses, you wait for ever, then they all come at once,
Sunday was rainy. I mean seriously rainy, so rather than head off early, as we prefer to do, we sat it out, while I looked at the Withenbury family goodies I’d found at the Worcestershire archives. Note, I did not look back at earlier notes, a big mistake. The rain cleared up eventually, giving us just time to visit Hanbury Hall, a nearish by National Trust property and former home of the Vernon family. The most outstanding features are the wall and ceiling paintings by James Thornhill, which, unusually, were painted on dry, not wet, plaster. There are also traditional, knot-garden style gardens, with plenty of topiary, which I photographed for use in my seventeenth century gardens talk. I was also quite taken with a 1715 election ‘poster’, when Thomas Vernon was standing for the Whig cause. This, I thought was about all Hanbury Hall had to offer, how wrong I was.
We returned home. This involved me driving through storm and tempest, with torrential rain meaning that I could barely see the road. Fortunately that was just the last couple of miles, as I am chauffeured most of the way. I then continued to look at the Withenburys. Something I had noted before, when I was trying to prove that they are actually my ancestors, rather than probably my ancestors, was that a James Withenbury was an architect and sculptor. This chap is likely to be my 6x great grandfather’s brother, or maybe a half-brother. ‘That close’, I hear you cry. He is at least on the family tree of the ‘almost my ancestors’. He also, said my notes, which I was viewing from 150 miles away from Hanbury Hall, designed the frontage of the hall in 1718. It is likely that I walked past his architectural sketch while we were at the Hall! Another trip is on the cards.
The History Interpreter - Janet Few 