The Records of London's Livery Companies Online project is a partnership between the Centre for Metropolitan History, The Bowyers' Company, The Clothworkers' Company, The Drapers' Company, The Founders’ Company, The Girdlers' Company, The Goldsmiths' Company, The Mercers' Company, The Musicians' Company, The Salters' Company, The Stationers' Company and The Tallow Chandlers' Company.
The aim of ROLLCO is to provide a fully searchable database of Livery Company membership over time, including the records of Apprentices and Freemen in the City of London Livery Companies between 1400 and 1900. Searches can be made for individuals within the Companies' membership, with results available to download and save. Currently the database includes information about apprenticeship bindings and freedom admissions for ten of London's Livery Companies, with the records of further Companies to follow.
The Livery Companies of the City of London originate from the medieval
trade guilds which were established to regulate particular crafts.
Guilds supervised the training of apprentices, controlled standards of
craftsmanship, and protected craftsmen from unfair competition. They
also provided financial support to their members in old age and in times
of poverty and bereavement.
ROLLCO is a not-for-profit project, and access is free to all.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Friday, July 27, 2018
Week 28 - Travel - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week 28 (I'm catching up) focuses on travel. How much easier it is today for us to travel the globe, with airplanes and cruise ships, modern cars, trains and buses. Journeys that took our ancestors days, weeks or even months, we can now accomplish in hours, and in a degree of comfort they would not have even dreamed of.
For many of my ancestors, travel for pleasure was simply not an option. They didn't have the means or the leisure to travel far, and for many holidays were unheard of. Most of them lived their entire lives within miles of their place of birth, and rarely ventured far from home.
For those of my ancestors who emigrated from England, Ireland and Germany, the move meant weeks or months of travel with the knowledge that there was little chance they would see the loved ones they left behind again. 200 years ago even exchanging letters with those in the old country could take weeks, and for those without great skill in reading and writing even letters could be problematic. For some the move would have been very final indeed.
I have family scattered around Australia, and traveling to visit them is so easy today. My sister lives 200km away - and I can hop on a train or bus, or drive my car on (fairly) good roads, and be at her house in just a few hours. 200 years ago it would be a journey of several days at least, and so visits would have been few and contact a great deal less regular. We take travel fo much for granted.
For many of my ancestors, travel for pleasure was simply not an option. They didn't have the means or the leisure to travel far, and for many holidays were unheard of. Most of them lived their entire lives within miles of their place of birth, and rarely ventured far from home.
For those of my ancestors who emigrated from England, Ireland and Germany, the move meant weeks or months of travel with the knowledge that there was little chance they would see the loved ones they left behind again. 200 years ago even exchanging letters with those in the old country could take weeks, and for those without great skill in reading and writing even letters could be problematic. For some the move would have been very final indeed.
I have family scattered around Australia, and traveling to visit them is so easy today. My sister lives 200km away - and I can hop on a train or bus, or drive my car on (fairly) good roads, and be at her house in just a few hours. 200 years ago it would be a journey of several days at least, and so visits would have been few and contact a great deal less regular. We take travel fo much for granted.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Week 27 - Independence - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
The theme for Week 27 of #52Ancestors is Independence, and for those on time with these posts it coincides with the 4th of July in the United States.
Whether focusing on independence as a nation - Australia Day for those of us Down Under - or the independence of our ancestors, especially those who left their loved ones behind in search of adventure or a better life - we all have plenty of examples of independence. We all find our own independence in our own way, but the journeys of many of my ancestors leaves me in awe of their spirit and drive, their determination to build independent lives.
My mother is one such example. Born in 1942 in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, she spent her first few working years in the city - at G. J. Coles Bourke Street store, at Allan's music shop in Collins Street and at Evan Evans in Elizabeth Street. A city girl through and through, she then headed for the bush to work as a nursery governess around Mildura and Balranald. Independence indeed, to leave behind the life she knew.
She learned to deal with snakes and dust storms, vast distances and poor roads, the pace of country life and the isolation. Although she never held a drivers licence, she learned to drive farm vehicles around the paddocks. When my sister and I were born, our parents were living on a sheep station on the Darling River, north of Mildura - a 1 hour drive from the nearest town.
An even bigger step into the unknown showed the independence of several of my ancestors who emigrated to Australia from England, Ireland and Germany. Many of them knew nothing of Australia, but took the huge step of leaving behind all they know in the hope of a better life. How strange this new country must have been to them, but they settled down, built new lives and made themselves a home in this new landscape.
Whether focusing on independence as a nation - Australia Day for those of us Down Under - or the independence of our ancestors, especially those who left their loved ones behind in search of adventure or a better life - we all have plenty of examples of independence. We all find our own independence in our own way, but the journeys of many of my ancestors leaves me in awe of their spirit and drive, their determination to build independent lives.
My mother is one such example. Born in 1942 in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, she spent her first few working years in the city - at G. J. Coles Bourke Street store, at Allan's music shop in Collins Street and at Evan Evans in Elizabeth Street. A city girl through and through, she then headed for the bush to work as a nursery governess around Mildura and Balranald. Independence indeed, to leave behind the life she knew.
She learned to deal with snakes and dust storms, vast distances and poor roads, the pace of country life and the isolation. Although she never held a drivers licence, she learned to drive farm vehicles around the paddocks. When my sister and I were born, our parents were living on a sheep station on the Darling River, north of Mildura - a 1 hour drive from the nearest town.
An even bigger step into the unknown showed the independence of several of my ancestors who emigrated to Australia from England, Ireland and Germany. Many of them knew nothing of Australia, but took the huge step of leaving behind all they know in the hope of a better life. How strange this new country must have been to them, but they settled down, built new lives and made themselves a home in this new landscape.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Week 26 - Black Sheep - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week 26 is the half-way point to the 52 Ancestors challenge, and I am surprised by how much this challenge has made me think. The prompt this week is black sheep, and every family has at least one or two - family members who 'disappeared' into the prisons or asylums, were 'encouraged' to emigrate or at least move to another part of the country, or about whom stories were whispered by the older generation.
My family is no exception. I have stories of illegitimate children, uncles who emigrated to Canada or the United States after a scandal, two ancestors who died in asylums and a few fascinating stories played out in the newspapers. Sometimes it is the black sheep who leave behind the best stories and generate more records for us to find than their law-abiding relatives.
Two of my direct ancestors, William Mothersole and James Cocksedge (who became brothers-in-law when William married one of James's sisters) both had the reputation of hard drinkers and appeared several times in local newspapers on charges of bring drunk and disorderly. Below is one example of their misbehavior while intoxicated, causing a disturbance in a local pub.
Apparently the two were friends from childhood and could cause quite a disturbance when they got drunk, and they were inevitably together when they found themselves in trouble. While not terribly 'black' sheep, they must have been quite a trial to their families and twice found themselves serving time in goal when unable to pay fines imposed by the courts.
My family is no exception. I have stories of illegitimate children, uncles who emigrated to Canada or the United States after a scandal, two ancestors who died in asylums and a few fascinating stories played out in the newspapers. Sometimes it is the black sheep who leave behind the best stories and generate more records for us to find than their law-abiding relatives.
Two of my direct ancestors, William Mothersole and James Cocksedge (who became brothers-in-law when William married one of James's sisters) both had the reputation of hard drinkers and appeared several times in local newspapers on charges of bring drunk and disorderly. Below is one example of their misbehavior while intoxicated, causing a disturbance in a local pub.
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| Bury and Norwich Post, Tuesday 22 September 1863 |
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