Tag Archives: Family History

1921 and All That

by thehistoryinterpreter

It is hardly news that this week the genealogy community, or at least those who have C20th English and Welsh ancestry, have been revelling in the release of the 1921 census. I thought I’d share a few of my initial thoughts. Before I do, I can’t ignore the debate that has roused passions on both sides and that is the issue of the charges for access. This is the sort of post that you really need to read to the end, or at least part way, to understand the argument. I’ll tell you when you can stop!

FindmyPast won the contract to undertake the not inconsiderable task of digitising the records, so that those of us who can read this can potentially view these from the comfort of our own homes. In order to recoup the costs of digitisation, transcribing and indexing, there is currently a charge for access. Without indexing and transcribing, you would have to guess where your ancestor was living and work your way through the district page by page in the hope of finding them.  Anyone who researched in the 1970s and 1980s can vouch for how long this took and how often it was unsuccessful because great granny wasn’t where you expected her to be. In recent decades, we have come to expect that we will have the benefit of online countrywide indexes, transcription errors notwithstanding.

It is important to make it clear that, contrary to popular opinion, searching the 1921 census index is free. You do NOT need a FindmyPast subscription for this. So, there is some limited work you can do without any cost. Once you have located someone in the index, there is a charge for each transcription or image of a page that is viewed. These cost £2.50 and £3.50 respectively, although those with the higher level of FindmyPast subscription get a 10% discount. If this follows the pattern of previous dataset releases, after a period of months, accessing the 1921 census will be absorbed into the FindmyPast subscription charge and when the exclusivity period expires, it will be available on other subscription platforms as well.

Unlike previous releases, this time, there has been a significant amount of disquiet regarding charging to view a public document. So where do I stand on this? First some facts. To those who say, ‘but it is volunteers who do the transcribing’, not in this case. The 1921 census has not been digitised, transcribed or indexed by volunteers. It is a project on a massive scale and the logistics of trying to make it available on a countrywide basis by voluntary effort would have been close to insurmountable. I’ve been around long enough to remember the work required producing indexes to the 1851 and 1881 censuses. In any case, most family history societies who undertake voluntary transcribing projects charge for access to these in some way, either by a direct charge, or by making them available only to those who pay the society’s subscription. This provides valuable funds that are ploughed back, to the benefit of family historians.

To those who say, ‘1921 census access should be free’, in some ways it is. There is no charge to view if you have access to The National Archives, Manchester Central Library or the National Library of Wales. The charge is not for access to the record itself but to the digitised images, so in effect the payment is for the convenience of home viewing. Of course, visiting one of the free access points is not possible, practical or affordable for many. Travel to London, Manchester or Aberystwyth for me would involve a two-night stay and with travel costs would be the same as downloading approximately 75 1921 images, assuming I stayed in the caravan. I will not be doing this but I am fortunate, my financial position, my health, my geographical location and my home responsibilities mean that I could visit one of these centres if I chose to. For many that is not an option.

One side of the argument is that we should accept that digitisation is not something that can be achieved for free, the heavy financial investment has to be recouped and the 1921 census is now available to anyone with internet access, or who can get internet access at a library, for the cost of a good cup of coffee or a pint of beer per image. The #FreetheCensus counter argument is that, as a public document, the 1921 census should be freely available to the public and that the current charges are prohibitive for some and thus counter to the #GenealogyforAll ethos.

Although I am better placed now, I began my family history at a time when financial pressures impinged heavily on my ability to research as I would have wished. That doesn’t make it okay, I am just saying that I understand. I am passionate about making family history accessible to as many people as possible, be the barriers financial, geographical, age related, due to a disability, or anything else you can name but there is a BUT. My own view is that there will always be a cost implication associated with researching your family history. If you think you don’t spend anything, think again. At a minimum, you will be paying for internet access or for your phone contract and for the electricity to run and charge these devices. Even if you don’t use technology and you interview granny who lives with you (no travel costs), you need to purchase a writing implement and something to write on. If you can read this, you are already at an advantage over others because you can access the internet, with all that has to offer to help you in your research. In an ideal world it would be an equal playing field and it would all be free, I really wish it was but economic forces just don’t work that way. The best we can do is to try to level that playing field as much as possible, to work together to help and support each other and to keep costs as low as we can.

I am mindful that there are those who are, at the moment, excluded from viewing the 1921 census because of the charge and in one sense I am one of them. I have wider interests than my own immediate family. I would love to be able to access the returns for the communities for which I conduct one place-studies (all four places!) and for all those in my one-name study. I want to look at the entries for unrelated people whose lives impinged on those of my family. I certainly can’t afford to do all this within my family history budget. So, I agree, this is not #GenealogyforAll but I would add one word – yet. It is very difficult to be patient when genealogy social media is full of ‘look what I found in the 1921 census’ but patience is what is required. In time, no time-scale has been announced but my bet (based on zero insider-knowledge) is on six months, access will become part of a FindmyPast subscription and therefore freely accessible via library subscriptions. For those whose libraries only have Ancestry access, the wait will be longer; I believe about three years.

What we have is not ideal and I’ll admit to a sharp intake of breath, coupled with disappointment, when the charges were announced. The current access does allow those whose barrier is geography, disability or family responsibility to do their research and that is a sizeable community, who in the past might have been excluded. In time, those for whom the barrier is financial will also be included. I wish that was now, I really do but I just don’t see how online, countrywide, transcribed and indexed access could be achieved without cost. It seems fairest to recoup that cost from those who are interested in seeing the records. I suppose an alternative would be for this to be government funded and make all taxpayers contribute. Despite what family historians might think, the general public would hardly see this as priority when the country is struggling to fund health and social care and education. The bottom line is, in an unfair and unideal world, whilst not fully inclusive, this is as good as we could hope for. If that makes me sound as if I am resigned to the inevitable and not ready to fight for greater inclusivity, that couldn’t be further from the case. Passion for change does have to be tempered with practicality and at least a small dose of realism. You can stop reading now, unless you want to know what I’ve been up to within my limited 1921 download budget.

Now to the post I was actually going to write. In the three days of 1921 census access, I have only had time for a brief play, having listened to the world’s first live official FindmyPast presentation on using the census at 7am on Friday morning! I do recommend doing some background work before leaping in. The help pages and various videos and blogs that are available, really are worth reading. Look out for a FindmyPast presentation from your local family history society, many will be hosting these in the coming weeks. I made a list of all my direct ancestors who were alive in 1921. There were ten: one parent, four grandparents and five great grandparents. I wasn’t expecting any amazing breakthroughs from the 1921 census, as I already have full birth, marriage and death details for all of these ancestors but I was interested in the additional detail.

I belong to a lovely online group of genealogy friends and we have decided to begin the year by gathering the life stories of one of our grandmothers, so ‘Granny’ was first on the list and easily found in the index, together with her mother and brother. I purchased the image and brought up the filmstrip allowing me to access, for no additional charge, the ‘extra materials’, which included the page providing the address and a useful map. It is a shame that the useful ‘enumerator’s book lists’ from 1911 were destroyed in 1921. Of particular interest to me was the name of the employer, in Granny’s case ‘J. Gardner & co. wholesale caterer etc.’, where she worked as a clerk. The address of the employer, Leadenhall Market, was also given. This confirmed my mother’s memory that Granny had worked for ‘John Gardner & co. at Smithfield’ – wrong market mum but close! The more specific detail has allowed me to identify this company, subsequently taken over by Trust House Forte. The family photograph collection includes pictures of Granny with colleagues named ‘Reidy’ and ‘Carlie’. I can freely search the 1921 census by employer using the advanced search. This brought up 340 entries of people living in London, Middlesex, Surrey or Kent who stated there employer to be J Gardner. Without purchasing the images, it was difficult to be certain the employer was the same J Gardner but I did find a twenty-two year old Elizabeth Reid on the list, who is a candidate for ‘Reidy’. I tried Car* in the first and last name boxes but there were no likely entries for ‘Carlie’, who in any case may not still have been working there in 1921.

Reidy and Carlie

Next up, Granny’s future husband. With a name like Frederick Smith, a little more care was needed before parting with cash. Hoping that he was still with his parents, I by-passed Frederick Smith and tried great grandad instead as he had more unusual forenames and fortunately he was listed with both of them. I was able to hover over the transcription button in the index to check who else was in the household before purchasing the image. That ticked off Herbert Havet Smith, his wife and grandad Fred. The surprise here was that they had already left London and were living in Southend-on-Sea, with grandad commuting to his office in London. Again, it was an employer I recognised; my mother followed in her father’s footsteps and was still working part time from home for the company in the early 1960s.

My father, his parents and two brothers, with the benefit of an unusual name, were also easily found. There are only two people, of any age, with my father’s name in the 1921 census. Co-incidentally the other lived a few hundred yards from my home address, more than 250 miles away from my father. I knew that my father grew up in poverty but it was still a shock to see all five of them living in just two rooms.

Two more great grandparents to find. John Hogg in Morpeth was no trouble, He was living with his ‘widowed’ (she was never married) sister, her adult son and two male lodgers, in three rooms. I can’t imagine what the sleeping arrangements would have been. The final great-grandparent was trickier. In the end I found her by searching for her son. Inexplicably searching for Fanny Thomasine, WITH the variants box ticked, did not bring her up; she had been mis-transcribed as Fanny Homasine. Her writing was pretty awful – maybe I can claim it is genetic! In fairness to great granny, the census was taken just a week before she died; she was described as ‘unable to work’.

I have decided that my children’s direct ancestors can wait until the 1921 census forms part of my subscription, so five households was my limit. I would have paid for great great aunt Fanny if I could have found her. She was in the county asylum, which I also failed to find. I did have a quick look at my home village in the index, using the place search. There do seem to have been some large scale garbling of the house names in my parish. In addition, somehow the parish seems to have become attached to the neighbouring one, in a run-together version of the names. There will be some wholesale correction sending when I can access these via my subscription. I have heard others report that there are some weird and wonderful place name errors, with towns being ascribed to incorrect counties but I gather that this is being worked on.

So overall a positive experience and I am happy to wait for more extensive access. When it really will be the 1921 census for all.

‘Genealogy: the next generation’ update and other excitements

by thehistoryinterpreter

I would like to thank all those who have now listened to my Really Useful Show presentation about making the family history world welcoming for all. There was a mammoth audience at the live presentation and plenty of people have tuned in since. I think you have one more day to catch the recording, if you have a Really Useful Show ticket. The opportunity for discussion afterwards was limited, so there will be an open forum on this topic on Saturday 27th November at 10.30am UK time. I know this isn’t great for those of you in North America but we didn’t want to leave this too long and I don’t have a single evening or weekend afternoon free until mid-December. I am in the midst of a presentations marathon, at one point I did four in twenty-six hours and I am currently running at twelve a week. I do also have other things in my diary! The good news is, that other ‘next generation’ debates are being held and I have been asked to give this presentation again on two futher occasions. Saturday will be about exchanging ideas, not about me talking. If you want to come along, just contact me via the box on the Home Page for the link. If you are not able to listen to the original presentation, then you might like to look at the handout instead.

Having thought that I had had a record audience for the Really Useful Show, I topped that this week when a Norfolk FHS meeting, at which I was speaking, also had Devon FHS attendees. A whopping 385 people Zoomed in!

This week also brought the demise of a memory stick. Even the magicians at my local computer shop have failed to extract data from it. Yes, it is backed up elsewhere but I was due to back up again, so there are recent files that will be lost and gone for ever. I do put some things in the cloud but not everything. Now I’m about to take a deep breath and see how much I can retrieve from elsewhere.

In other news, I am not sure if I should congratulate a large electrical store near pretty much everyone or not. After three years and eleven months and numerous letters, emails and social media rants, I have finally received a gift card with a refund to which I was entitled. Mind you, I haven’t tried to spend it yet (there may only be 2p on it) and actually I am pretty reluctant to darken their doors again but fingers crossed that this is finally resolved.

In other exciting news, I have been approached to write another family history text book. This won’t be happening until my course is over but hoping for a 2023 publication date.

And just because no pictures go with this post, here is a gratuitous sunrise for you.

Genealogy: The Next Generation

by thehistoryinterpreter

As part of the Family History Federation’s Really Useful Show tonight, 12 November, I will be giving a talk on the crucial topic ‘Genealogy: the Next Generation’. This is a live only talk, which will take place at 7.30pm. I set out some of my thoughts on this topic in a previous post and I would encourage you to take a look at this. I had intended that today’s session would be a short presentation, followed by a discussion but unfortunately, the show platform does not lend itself to the level of discussion that this topic deserves. There is also a limited number of places, so some potential attendees may be disappointed. The Friday evening will offer some thoughts and suggestions on the topic, as well as providing some discussion points. The handout for the topic is here. To provide the opportunity for open discussion, there will be a Zoom meeting on this important topic, on Saturday 27th November at 10.30am GMT. This meeting will have the potential for 500 attendees; the discussion will be in small groups. To be sent the log in details for the 27th November meeting, please contact me using the contact box on the home page.

Hope to see you there.

About Family and Family History

by thehistoryinterpreter

I know, I know, I’ve been worryingly silent lately. I think this is my longest ever gap between blogs. You only have to read my previous post to know that I haven’t been sitting around doing nothing. Firstly the family have been visiting. This involves excavating the house from under its protective layer of dust, although I suspect the visitors think I could have done a better job. It also means that I’ve been cautiously out and about digging sandcastles, blowing bubbles, reading stories and other fun things.

The family history continues of course. This month, I have managed to have items in both leading UK family history magazines. My discussion on why our ancestors might have been embarrassing is in the latest issue of Family Tree Magazine and there is a short item about agricultural labourers as part of a feature about genealogy education in Who Do You Think You Are?.

One Pharos course (In Sickness and in Death: researching the ill-health and death of your ancestors) draws to a close and another, First Steps to a One-place Study, begins. I am also checking through Are you Sitting Comfortably: writing and telling your family history ready for October and working on a beginners’ course for Devon Family HIstory Society. There are talks to three countries on the horizon, I’ve done some more brick wall demolition and chatted all thing one-place for an upcoming Family History Federation podcast.

I am still working with my lovely memories group, which is really just chatting with friends. I have got to the end of 1973 in my hugely embarrassing diary read. Another ten years and it might start to get better!

If you’ve been following my ramblings for a while you will know that I am passionate about involving young people in their history and heritage. It is something that I have written about and give talks on. Finally, in no small part due to the wonderful folk at Hidden Branch, there is a real enthusiasm for moving forward in this area. Family history societies need to embrace this if they are to have a future. Down here in Devon we are looking for someone (or several someones) with Devon heritage, or a Devon address, in the 18-25 age range to help us to take our society forward in this respect. If that’s you, or if you know someone, please get in touch. It is no good a load of old people trying to decide what they think younger people want.

Following on from the great loft sort out, I’ve embarked on a bit of a book cull. This may sound like sacrilege but when you have a house as small as mine, it is hard to justify keeping books that you haven’t opened since the 1970s. This week on Twitter someone pointed out that 1980 (which as we all know must be about ten years ago surely) is the same distance from 1939 as it is from 2021 – noooooooo.

We are off on another mini jaunt soon, this time heading east to Norfolk. Time of course to revisit the Norfolk ancestry so I can plan the obligatory churchyard tour. There are images of parish registers online now, which weren’t available last time I worked on this branch and ooh look there are a few new ancestors to be discovered. Currently, I am wrestling with some Norwich woolcombers and Great Yarmouth shopkeepers and trying to negotiate my way past an ancestor who was not baptised and came from a non-will writing family who never appear in the newspapers. The use of more unusual forenames means that I am pretty sure who his parents are but evidence, there’s another thing.

The excitement is building prior to the start of my postgraduate certificate course but I have decided to chart my progress through that in a series of separate posts, so watch this space.

What I do now I am ‘Retired’ – or a few days in the life of a family historian

by thehistoryinterpreter

I always say that I work 100 hours a week, or just spend my life enjoying myself. See what you think. This was a fairly typical week in the busyness stakes.

Wednesday

Most of the day was spent hosting ‘One Place Wednesday Online’. #OnePlaceWednesday takes place each week on Twitter, when those with one-place studies ‘chat’. This was an experiment to see if we could have conversations that were more than 280 characters long. And we could! Here are the topics we covered (I was going to list just some of them but I wanted you to get the full favour of the day):

Why settlements grew up where they did

Organising heritage walks

When does a scandalous story become interesting history? How recent is too recent for the story to be told?

Studying indigenous history in ‘colonial’ one-places

Dating vernacular housing

Mapping gravestones

Places and a sense of belonging

Doing a one-place study without spending money and not using Ancestry/FindmyPast etc

War Memorials

Covid in our places

Preserving the story of the present for the future

What makes a community? – geography, religious persuasion, shared experience?

Bottom up history or top down?

Making one-place studies, history and heritage relevant to all ages

Use of family trees for one-place studies

Rural places being swallowed up by towns

Archaeological surveys

Gravestone styles

Ebay purchases

Lockdown (impact on activities, health, different people/different attitudes, changes to the way we research and things like meeting)

Railway accidents

Availability of records in different places

Interviewing “reluctant” contributors and interview techniques

Australian records

Coincidence (or too much of a coincidence) in a name change mystery

Parliamentary Archives

What a good idea the One-place Wednesday online was

1910 valuation

Multiple births

Then, if that wasn’t enough, I had to accompany Mistress Agnes to her virtual talk on seventeenth century crime and punishment at The Merchant’s House. No idea why she can’t go on her own.

Thursday

I was working on a Brick Walls presentation for Devon Family History Society. Working on the walls is a team effort, then I put them together in a presentation. My lovely memories group met to chat about school days in the evening.

Friday

This was devoted to Devon Family History Society admin, followed by a virtual talk to a local U3A about Memories of 1946-1969 and how to write your own and putting the finishing touches to the Brick Walls session.

Saturday

I went through one of the lessons, ready for my online One-place Studies course that starts next month. (There were still a few spaces last time I looked.) Every time, things need updating and links need checking. Then it was virtually off to North-west Kent Family History Society to give a presentation about agricultural labourers. In the afternoon, it was time to deliver the Brick Walls session, tackling submitted family history problems. I think we have taught people how to circumnavigate their own brick walls too well, as this year’s walls were super-solid, so our success rate was lower than usual but we did give suggestions for further research for those we couldn’t solve and there were some very happy customers.

Sunday

I sent out the second lesson to my Pharos Sickness and Death course students. Then making a start on the second Brick Walls session for August but it was mostly too hot for working. People have weekends off right? Not sure I understand this concept.

Monday

An early meeting with Australia, preparing to assist with another Brick Walls session later in the week. Then I had fun recording a podcast about young people and family history for the Family History Federation. The internet connectivity gremlins (not mine) were out in force but it was a very interesting discussion. Another Brick Wall preparation meeting in the evening.

Tuesday

Some CPD training for the job I must not mention and then that very rare thing for someone who works in the family history field, some of my own family history, prompted by a DNA match. This on a Cornish branch that I haven’t worked on for so long that it has never made it from paper on to Family Tree Maker. Given that my first version of this software was on floppy discs, you can see how long it has been neglected. It is close to forty years since I last took a serious look. The Buckinghams are finally being computerised! Not exactly breaking down my own Buckingham brick wall but some suggestions and it does look likely that they came from Devon, rather than Cornwall. Plus the joy of discovering that my 5x great grandparents were in court for fornication. I so need to get a copy of this record. The day ended with an Education sub-committee meeting for Devon Family History Society.

Wednesday

I spent a long time proofreading my article that is due to appear in the next issue of Family Tree Magazine. I am really pleased with this one but it does contain a tricky, sensitive paragraph, which has been worked and re-worked numerous times. Then I attempted to write a section for a rural history book that my local history group are compiling. This was followed by a hybrid meeting of said group. We were proud to have members from three continents, both in the room and online. We still haven’t quite cracked the sound quality coming from the room but we have plans and the speaker was online, so it wasn’t critical.

I still have the Australian brick wall session, listening to a talk, hosting a talk, hosting a coffee morning, sending for the fornication court report, an online chat for Pharos students, a committee meeting, giving a talk, oh and cleaning the house before the family descend at the weekend.

If you think I need downtime, I have been walking on the beach most days. One disastrous evening walk involved encountering far too many people in order to get from the car to the sand. I must have been in sight of getting on for 500 people only two of whom were wearing masks (apart from me). I am not counting the two with masks on their chins. Ok so it was outside but it was very crowded and it was ‘Freedom Day’. I do understand why this is a good thing for many people but equally it is anything but for others. I have friends with health conditions that not only make them extremely vulnerable but also make the vaccine less effective. There are those who are far more COVID anxious than I. Monday was imprisonment day for them. Whilst many people are being personally responsible and are aware of taking care of others, many are not. There are those whose physical or mental health means that they cannot risk being round idiots who are acting like it is all over and who have zero respect for others. I also feel for the young people who may be vulnerable themselves, have vulnerable family members, or who are just anxious and want to wear masks. Now this is not essential, bullying for mask wearing will escalate and sadly not just amongst children. Whilst lockdown anxiety was a very real problem, freedom anxiety is equally so for others, spare a thought for them. Me, I am sticking to early morning beach walks.

The last word belongs to Edward who has been fund raising for a local (to me not him) charity that helps families like his feel at ease and provides exciting activities in a safe space. He has been walking every day, when even leaving the house can be difficult for him. If you want a heatwave, get Edward to do a charity walk. His efforts always coincide with extremely hot weather. He has also been delivering ‘happy post’ to lift people’s spirits. His fundraising page (in his dad’s name) is still open.

Finally, a recent conversation about university in Edward’s household, Edward (aged 7) tells it like it is.

Edward’s mum: Granny is starting a course on archaeology in September

Edward’s dad: She’ll be looking at old things

Ed (without hesitation): She just needs a mirror

How I like my Beach Visits

Welsh Adventures Part 3

by thehistoryinterpreter

The final instalment chronicling our adventures in Wales and beyond.

Day 7 Blaenavon Ironworks

We set off for our pre-booked entry at Blaenavon Ironworks. This time the sat-nav, not only gets us to the right place but takes us past some stunning scenery on the way. Blaenavon Ironworks is a fascinating site. We get in free because Cadw, who run the site, have a reciprocal arrangement with English Heritage. The ironworks were established here in the 1780s and the finished products were shipped out by canal. It was at Blaenavon that Sidney Gilchrist Thomas discovered a way to remove phosphorus from iron ore, which was significant for the steel industry. An impressive digital display gave some idea of the noise and heat that was part of the working environment. It was somehow more impactful because part of the commentary was in Welsh. I am drawn to ruined industrial landscapes and this is on par with the Cornish tin mining sites. Here the jackdaws and the feral pigeons have made their home.

A series of workers’ cottages on the site have been furnished to represent different eras from the 1780s to the 1960s, the life of the ironworks. Covid restrictions mean that we can only look in these cottages, rather than enter them but they are still a highlight of the site. Instinctively, I wanted to look them up in the census returns and mentally put real people in them. This is just the sort of site that anyone with ironworking ancestors should visit. An interesting fact that I gleaned was that, in 1851, there were more industrial workers in Wales than agricultural, allowing Wales to claim to be the first industrialised nation in the world.

We went for a short uninspiring walk from close to the car park then headed off home, planning to stop to take photographs of the view on the way. We hadn’t done so on our outward journey as we were keen not to miss our entry timeslot. Strangely, the sat-nav decided to return us to Brecon via a completely different route. Although a circular route has the advantage of exposing us to more of the country, we are disappointed to miss the views. Just as we are lamenting this, the landscape opens up and the vista is amazing. Squelchy bog prevents me getting a great camera angle and views always seem less impressive in photographs, so I will have to rely on memories. The mid-Welsh landscape seems to be darker green than many areas and fields tend to be small and hedged, despite the availability of stone for walls.

On the way home we are reminded that the Brecon Beacons have their fair share of ******* drivers. We reach a bridge that it not only described as weak but is barely wider than the car. This in itself is not a problem but like many Welsh roads, it is not straight and at the point at which you join the bridge you cannot see the end of it. An illuminated sign warns us that there is a vehicle on the bridge. A vehicle emerges the sign goes out and a green light comes on. We launch into the unknown, only to find, as we turn the corner, that someone is coming in the other direction, presumably having ignored the sign at his end. My gallant chauffeur had to reverse 100 yards round corners, with unforgiving walls no more than six inches from the wing mirrors on either side.

Day 8 Thursday Brecon Canal

Today it is sunny, so we decide to walk from the caravan site, down the canal towpath to Brecon. This involves taking our lives in our hands to cross two dual carriageways first but we survive. This is a pleasant walk and we are rewarded by a grey heron allowing us to get to within five yards before flying off. There are more signs of industrial heritage here, with the remains of the limekilns that were in operation in the early nineteenth century. The canal linked Brecon with the industrialised areas in south Wales.

After a short rest we decide to explore more byways of Wales by car. We drive out to Craig-y-nos Country Park but by the time we arrive, dark clouds are looming and as we have already had our walking ration for the day, we return to the van.

Day 9 Friday To Cheltenham (yes, I know this isn’t in Wales)

It is time to move nearer to home and take up residence at the caravan site on Cheltenham Racecourse. We have stayed on racecourses before and although we have views across what is probably the Malvern Hills, I have to say that it isn’t the most picturesque site we’ve been to. Cheltenham too is unexpected, much larger than I was anticipating. In my head I was thinking smallish, Georgian grandeur, maybe a bit like Buxton but it seems not, or not in the part we travelled through.

I hadn’t planned an activity for the afternoon so time to Google for an outside space. I lied when I said that the wifi on the previous site was the slowest in the world, that honour belongs to the Cheltenham Racecourse wifi, which is not the Caravan Club system, for which I have an annual subscription but free Jockey Club wifi. I guess there isn’t much call for surfing the internet when hurtling over jumps on the back of a horse. An additional issue is that we have the ‘delights’ of a ‘Fun Weekend’ event on the racecourse this weekend – deep joy. This appears to involve a fun fair. Peaceful it may not be.

We opt for Beckford Nature Reserve. This comes very close to being another addition to our ‘nature reserves we didn’t find’ list but no, here it is, unsigned until you get to a small gateway hidden in a hedge. A path winds round an algae covered lake. There’s not much sign of wildlife apart from some baby coots, which I am surprised to see have orangy-coloured heads. Despite two perambulations of the lake, I am still 1500 steps short of my target. Time for some jogging up and down on the spot outside the van. This is followed by the Wimbledon men’s singles semi-finals.

Day 10 Forest of Dean

It wouldn’t be a holiday without some family history, so today it is off to the Forest of Dean, the haunt of some of my children’s ancestors. This lot even rate some gravestones, though many were in poor condition. Trailing from churchyard to churchyard is often circumscribed by bladder capacity, because small villages rarely rate toilets but hurrah, today two of the churches on our itinerary had toilets, so we could happily spend hours peering at semi-legible gravestones.

One of our stops is at St. Briavels. St. Briavels Castle, now run as a Youth Hostel, is closed to the public. It was built as a royal hunting lodge in the twelfth century. It became an important centre for the making of cross bows, using iron from the Forest of Dean.

Having got suitably soggy feet from traipsing through grassy graveyards, we take a short walk along a forest path to keep the step count up. Then it is back to the van, where the wifi oscillates from intermittent to non-existent. I hurriedly identify today’s photographs. In the past, I have been known to end up with numerous church photos and not be quite sure which is which.

Day 11 Slimbridge

We have saved the best until last. Today is our pre-booked visit to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge, established by Sir Peter Scott seventy five years ago. Last time I visited it was in the spring so there are different things to see today and the opportunity to feed birds is confined to a small area. My favourite part is the new estuary aviary with avocets, oystercatchers, black-tailed godwits, ringed plovers and spoonbills, amongst others. I manage to get a few half-decent photos, despite every bird assiduously going into a preening frenzy at my approach, so that their head are hidden from view.

Young Genealogists: what can YOU do to nurture the next generation of family historians?

by thehistoryinterpreter

Well, this isn’t the blog post that I was going to write. I was going to tell you about my second day at THE Genealogy Show and in part I still will but this needs saying and it needs saying now. At the show, I listened to Daniel’s presentation Genealogy from a Young Genealogist’s Perspective. In the second half, he challenges older family historians to make life easier for young genealogists, who have a number of barriers to participation. Not least of these is the attitude of some of those of more mature years in the genealogy community. Engaging younger family historians is something I have been advocating since I was just a few years older than Daniel and that’s quite a long time!

Family History and Local History is perceived as a hobby for the older generation. When I attended my first meeting in 1982, I was the youngest person there, probably by about thirty years. Sadly, here we are, forty years later and I am STILL in the younger 25% of attendees. There are certainly younger genealogists out there but family history societies have singularly failed to engage the under 40s, let alone the under 20s. Family historians are constantly bemoaning the fact that their children/grandchildren are not interested in their family history. Here is a revelation. In most cases, what family history societies and individuals have been doing to encourage younger people hasn’t worked up to now. If we carry on doing the same thing, guess what, it isn’t magically going to become engaging and relevant to younger people. Nothing is going to happen except that older family historians will die off, no one will be interested in taking over their research and it will become increasingly difficult to recruit members and officers to societies.

If we value our hobby and our own research, we have to be pro-active in order to broaden its appeal down the age range. We need to be inclusive and work to break down some of those barriers. It is our job to reach out, not the young genealogists’ task to scale those obstacles. Younger genealogists need a safe, affordable place to interact and to pursue OUR hobby, with acceptance and nurturing from more experienced genealogists. We need to understand that the GenZ genealogists (aged c.13-25) have a valuable contribution to make. They have knowledge and a thirst for more, they have energy, they have ideas. Family History Societies need to take advantage of this in a mutually beneficial relationship.

So what can you do, or what can you ask your society to do? How affordable is membership, could it be free for under 18s? The response, ‘We’ve never been asked for under 18s membership’, may be true but is not satisfactory. Free under 18 or student membership needs to be publicised loud and clear in a prominent place on the society website, perhaps with posters on display in places where young people are, or mentions in school and college newsletters. It is no good doing this until the society has something attractive to offer those young genealogists. Can you provide activities that would engage school and college goers? Could you stage events (virtual or in person), where entrance is dependent on bringing along someone under 25? Some societies have premises with access to the major data providers, can we welcome young people to take advantage of this? Not in a passive, ‘well we wouldn’t turn them away’ manner but by doing things to actively promote this in a safeguarding compliant way, at young person’s open day perhaps. Could each society seek out a young person’s advocate to join their committee, if only on an ad hoc/advisory basis? Needless to say that advocate has to be a young person.

So you have read this far and thought a) She is ranting again and b) I’m not on a committee what can I do? If you are a society member, you can make suggestions to your committee. If you are not associated with a society, you can still ensure that you make our hobby engaging and accessible to the young people around you, be that your family, youth groups, schools, or young people in your neighbourhood.

I have been saying this for so long. Young people are interested in family history, they are just not interested in doing it OUR WAY. It is up to US as individuals/societies/whatever to adapt and take our hobby to them where they are, not just carry on in the same old way and lament the absence of those young genealogist in our own milieu.

If you have the opportunity to listen to Daniel’s presentation, please do. It is worth the now reduced entrance fee to THE Genealogy Show on its own. Do something, or before long, your research, your society, our hobby, will be dust.

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Daniel for his podcast last night but more of that another time. Do take a look at the activities of him and his Hidden Branch colleagues and let us ensure that the younger genealogists are no longer hidden.

429 1 Nov 2019
Posing as his 6 x great grandfather

This young man, now aged seven, is interested in his family history and is currently compiling a family history scrap book.

Family History Busyness – THE Genealogy Show Day 1 and other excitements

by thehistoryinterpreter

I’ve been bracing myself for a ridiculously busy couple of days. After virtually presenting in Kent and Norfolk yesterday, today was the first of two THE Genealogy Show days. Talks are being live streamed over 48 hours and my first went live at 4am my time. I was invited to listen to myself (always cringe making) and be on hand to answer questions, I decided to pass on that one. I only just missed the opportunity, so spent the early hours exploring the Show’s website and even manged to sneak in the chance to listen to three exciting young genealogists in a panel discussion about young people and genealogy. It is several decades since I was that young person and it is great to watch the baton passing on.

This was followed by my fortnightly chat with the lovely folk of Talking Family History. They are starting a new series in July, so now would be a good time to join in the fun. Then it was my turn to person the Society for One-Place Studies booth for THE Genealogy Show. Over lunch, I tuned in to Dr Sophie Kay’s Negative Spaces presentation; definitely worth a listen. Later, I had the chance to watch Andy Browning’s fascinating story Following in Family Footsteps.

Other recent feelgood family history moments. A photograph of my, now demolished, first teeny tiny infants’ school being posted on a Facebook Group, together with a picture of the headteacher, albeit about twenty years before my time. A few weeks ago, I was very excited to be offered the chance to acquire a one-name related long case clock. Even better, my nearest and dearest agreed that it could be a belated birthday present. The maker was from a different branch of the family to my own but it is still very special to have it safely ticking away in my living room. Finally, our local history group held its first hybrid meeting, with the speaker and five others in the meeting room and others Zooming in from as far afield as New Zealand and Canada. We still need to work to improve the sound quality but we are proud that a small society such as ours has been able to take a first step towards making our meetings accessible to those who are not comfortable with technology as well as our friends who are too far away to attend in person.

Tomorrow more busyness, more family history talks to give and listen to and an interview with Daniel’s Genealogy in the evening.

Operation Toy Excavation

by thehistoryinterpreter

What else do you do on a summer Saturday but excavate the historic doll/stuffed toy collection from under the dust of ages and I do mean ages. I am not sure that the stuffed toys have had the dust bashed out of them for decades.

Meet the motley crew, some of who are almost centenarians.

They were removed from their cupboard-top home, stripped naked, apart from the two that my mother appeared to have sewn into their clothes and readied for the major operation.

Next, to wash the clothes, some of which needed hand washing. It might be a while since they were last washed but I know from bitter experience these are old fabrics that are far from colour fast. Sadly, since they were last laundered, it seemed that the moth had made a meal of some of the woollen items, lovingly knitted by three generations.

The shoes were scrubbed and left to drain.

Then bath time. I don’t have a real bath (I have what is officially the smallest bathroom in the world – seventeenth century cottages not being too hot on bathrooms, so I replaced the bath with a shower). No bath means no bubble bath, so I substituted washing up liquid. It turned out that I also had to use a rather rough washing up sponge to scrap the dust from grubby limbs and faces – sorry dollies.

From the left: Christine, Jilly, Mary, Jane, Betty, Sally, Big Peter – you can pin point my generation just from the names.

As you will see, the baby bath has stood the test of time. I am wondering if this will be marked up as an inappropriate image.

Mary and Jilly

You have no idea how long it takes to peg umpteen small items on the washing line. Take it from me – a long time and it used up every inch of line and every peg I could find.

The dolls were left in the sun to dry. I did have to temporarily amputate a few limbs and even one head, in order to let the water drain out.

Big Peter and baby Peter (not a lot of imaginative naming on the part of my mother there), now in their late nineties, were spared total immersion, not least because baby Peter’s clothes don’t come off. In fact I fear for the stability of the wires attaching Big Peter’s limbs and heads, hence the warning notice.

Then it was time to bash the soft toys together and stand well back as the dust flew.

A quick bake in the sun followed. Today they will be redressed and replaced on top of the cupboard. It is a sobering thought that if they wait as long for their next washing as they did for this one, I may not be around to do it.

My lovely memories group ladies are writing about the toys and games of their childhood at the moment. I am fortunate to have many of mine still in my possession. The great loft sort has revealed a feast of goodies. They may just become the subject of a talk. In the meantime, whether you still have the contents of your toybox or not, I would encourage you to record the memories of your own particular treasures.

NB no dolls were permanently harmed in the creation of this blog – well, I am not sure I should have washed Jane’s hair (already her second lot of hair) but she will get over it.

Being Presidential and New Horizons

by thehistoryinterpreter

Here I am, three decades after serving on the executive committee of the Family History Federation, having the honour of being voted in as its President. I am following some seriously big names in the genealogical community. To be considered some kind of elder stateswoman, is not only a humbling experience, it also makes me feel incredibly ancient. Perhaps I should point out that during my time on the executive I was the youngest ever serving member; though I think that record has since been passed to someone else. Family history societies are at a cross-roads. Many have seen slowly declining memberships and have struggled to fill committee and volunteer roles in recent years. Now is the time to reinvent ourselves and our function, or to fade into oblivion. We cannot keep repeating the pattern that has not been working well and expect it to suddenly become relevant and appealing. The pandemic has forced us to rethink the way in which we do many things. Societies can either put change in the ‘too hard’ basket or embrace it and perhaps use it as the first step to a resurgence. Societies can still be relevant in today’s genealogical landscape but it takes work and insight to make them so. For many years, I have come into contact with societies across the world as a member, a volunteer and a speaker. In the past year, my ‘catchment area’ has expanded exponentially and I am looking forward to ‘meeting’ many more family historians in the coming months. I am very mindful of the honour that has been entrusted to me in these challenging times.

On the family history front, I have been getting out my sledge hammer and attempting to crash through some family history brick walls for Devon researchers. Despite much of the sleuthing being done by my colleague, I ended up presenting the findings in a FindmyPast podcast, which you can view here. These may not be your personal brick walls but the techniques we used could be effective on your own problem ancestors.

I have also had what is probably classed as an old-age crisis. Before I wrote Barefoot on the Cobbles, I debated whether to write a novel or take a post-graduate course. On that occasion, the novel writing won. I am still playing with ideas for a possible third novel but nothing yet seems quite right, so I have returned to the post-graduate idea. I am excited to have been accepted by University College Dublin as a remote student on their certificate course in experimental archaeology and material culture. I am not quite sure what I have let myself in for but I am not going to be bored.

My ‘Discovering more about your Agricultural Labouring Ancestors’ online course is coming to an end and the students are now compiling case studies about their chosen farming ancestors. I have a few more submissions to read from my ‘Writing and Telling your Family History’ students, then thoughts will turn to next month’s course, ‘In Sickness and in Death – researching the ill-health and death of your ancestors’. As I said, no time to be bored.

For those of you waiting to hear about the end of our short trip to South Devon, watch this space.