Week 35 (Aug. 27-Sept. 2) Off to Work

Discovering an ancestor's occupation can give enormous insight into their life.  Did they work on the land, have a profession, learn a trade?  Were they educated for their job, or serve an apprenticeship?  Or were they less educated and learned their role as they worked?

Census records can tell you about your ancestor's profession, as can trade directories, apprenticeship records, newspaper reports and more.

For several of my ancestors, the newspapers have given me much information about their work. 

Due to my previous research I already knew Christopher Prentice worked as a Water Bailiff.  I hadn't known this was an elected position until I found the article above, which was placed in the Ipswich Journal on Saturday 12 September 1778 thanking those who had elected him to the position for their trust.

6 years later Christopher was standing for election to the Water Bailiff position again, and took out another notice in the Ipswich Journal applying for re-election.

Website Wednesday - The Mills Archive

Was your ancestor a Miller in England?  If so, The Mills Archive may have information for you about the mill in which your ancestor worked.

 
The Mills Archive is a permanent repository for the documentary and photographic records of traditional and contemporary mills and milling, as well as similar structures dependent on traditional power sources. It makes that material freely available for public inspection and use in research and learning.

On its website, the Mills Archive states : 

"The Mills Archive is one of the world’s great mill collections. It has rescued over 3 million documents and images that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill site. It is an Aladdin’s cave filled with memories and free to users. The collections show the rich and diverse crafts, buildings, machinery, equipment and people involved with mills in the UK and around the world.

We believe in the cultural and educational values of mills and historic power sources and wish to turn that into practical support. We extend a warm welcome to family, local, national and international historians, as well as to those who simply want to find out more about our milling heritage."

Week 34 (Aug. 20-26) Play Time

A fascinating and often difficult to research aspect of our ancestors' lives is what they did in their leisure time.  How did they relax and unwind?  Did they have hobbies?  Play sports?  Read? Take trips or go on holidays?  For many leisure time would have been rare and therefore precious - so how did they spent that time?

 Newspapers have been a great source of information for me about my ancestors' 'play time' and leisure activities.  My Argent ancestors from West Bergholt took part in an amateur concert, reported below in the Essex Standard of Friday 7 January 1876.
 

A similar article reported on a pigeon shooting match in which my great-grandfather Walter Green took part - sadly he lost the match. 

Another newspaper report concerned another great-grandfather, Henry Arthur Pike, who was the umpire for his local quoits club in Bradfield St George.

All fascinating insights into the lives of my ancestors 'Play Time'. 

Website Wednesday - Ancestry Library Edition

Does your local public library subscribe to Ancestry Library Edition?  It might be worthwhile checking. 

Ancestry is one of the largest genealogy websites worldwide, but for those on a tight budget subscription costs can be a strain on the wallet.  Ancestry Library Edition might be your answer. 

Ancestry Library Edition provides access to all records included in a paid world subscription.  Census, BMD, Military, Immigration, Pictures, Stories, Maps, Trees, etc.  It does not allow you to create your own  online tree and link records to it. 

The database can only be accessed in-house, not from home, but will generally be available on your library's public PCs and via their public wi-fi using your own laptop or tablet.  Records can generally be downloaded to a USB or to your device, and printing may also be available.

So check with your local library to see what they have to offer for free to help you with your research - there might be more on offer that you thought! 
 

Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue : 

• Virtual Record Treasury adds 175,000 Irish records
• Medical records from 18th-century Edinburgh go online
• Birmingham records released by Ancestry
• The Gazette creates VJ Day hub
• Foreign Office defends new head of MI6
• Gone much too soon : child mortality
• VJ Day  : celebrate the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender on 15 August
• Home is where the heart is 
• 5 essential online records for researching your house history
• Get started with Substack 
• The Channel Islands 
• Registration form, 1940 
• Royal Air Force 
• Royal Hospital Chelsea prize books
• And more... 

 

Family tree UK Magazine

The latest issue of Family Tree UK magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue : 

• Rebuilding history: 175,000 replacement records added to Ireland’s Virtual Treasury from archives worldwide
• Optocartography innovation: 3D models of maps, documents, battlefields & more help visually impaired students explore history
• Commemorating: The Gazette’s free #VJDay80 hub
• Seaside stories: celebrating historic coastal landmarks
• Discussed: healthy ageing & family history
• DNA Club news
• A Child of the Docks : Frederick Fleet’s Journey to the Titanic 
• Genealogy is changing… don’t get left behind 
• Reframing Roots : How family history helped me heal
• Legacy Family Tree V10 : Take the tour 
• Exploring records created by the Church : Medieval records for the Genealogist & Local historian 1066-1485 
• And more... 

 

Week 33 (Aug. 13-19) Legal Troubles

Every family has its share of legal troubles.  Whether they are the perpetrators or the victims of crime, or face divorce, bankruptcy or lawsuits, legal troubles are a part of every family's history.

Within my own family history, I have several cases of legal troubles.  Some I discovered from court records, others from newspaper reports.  The details in such records can be incredible.  Dates, addresses, occupations, physical descriptions and more can be included.

One such case of legal trouble occurred to my ancestor Edwin Salvadge in 1849.  Edwin was a hardware dealer in Dudley, Worcestershire when he was accused of stealing a five pound note.

The court record states that Edwin is 46 years old and a widower when he faces the courts.  The record also includes a quite detailed physical description including complexion, hair and eye colour, scars and so on.  It is also noted that Edwin is rather respectable looking and very stout.

While the full details of the trial are not included, it is noted that Edwin is found not guilty of the theft, and is discharged in court. 

The section for information on previous imprisonments is blank on this form, so perhaps this is Edwin's first (and hopefully last) encounter with legal troubles.  

Free UK Genealogy turns to Probate Records

Free UK Genealogy, the charity behind the websites FreeBMD (for civil birth, marriage and death records), FreeREG (for parish registers) and FreeCEN (for census records), has announced plans for FreePRO, a website for probate records.

Denise Colbert, chief operating officer of Free UK Genealogy, said the charity aims to digitise a set of 800 books of probate calendars, dating from 1853 (shortly before the introduction of civil probate registration in 1858) to 1943.

She also said that FreePRO would offer a more sophisticated search option than on the government’s Find a Will website, allowing users to search for points of entry such as the occupation of the deceased, the value of the estate and the exact date of death.

Richard Light, the volunteer responsible for technical development of the website, said the volumes would be transcribed using optical character recognition (OCR), followed by human volunteers checking the transcriptions. 

Free UK Genealogy is currently looking at a tentative launch date of 2026 for FreePRO.

The charity is seeking to raise £40,000 to fund the initial digitisation of the books. An initial online crowdfunder has set a goal of raising £10,000 by the deadline of 5pm on Friday 29 August, with £2700 currently raised.

Denise Colbert said Free UK Genealogy is hoping to raise £10,000 in pledges in the initial crowdfunding round, then £10,000 in match funding from charitable initiative The Big Give’s Champion partners. It would then seek to raise the rest of the money through The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge fundraising campaign at the end of this year.

Week 32 (Aug. 6-12) Wide Open Spaces

Being born in the country on a sheep station on the Darling River, I grew up accustomed to wide open spaces.  For the first few years of my life my world was the bush, animals and adults - the only other child I knew was my older sister.  Animals were our playmates and neighbours were few - wide open spaces were all around us.

I have only a few clear memories of the station itself, but my parents often told stories of our life there and cherished time outdoors.  During his time at the station my father saw droughts and floods, and not long after I was born the homestead spent several months isolated by floodwater in 1971.

 Moving to a small town as a preschooler was a shock - who were all these small people and why were there so many houses surrounding us?

Even once we moved into town, there were still many wide open spaces around, with the Murray River only a few street away and bushland to roam in nearby.  Wide open spaces are a part of my childhood.

Website Wednesday - New Records on Ancestry

It is always worthwhile checking to see what new records have been added to the database at Ancestry.  Below are some of the recent additions for Australia and the United Kingdom.

Don't forget that you can search the Ancestry database for free at any branch of Campaspe Libraries using our public access PCs or wifi through our subscription to Ancestry Library Edition.

New Australian Records

Singleton, New South Wales, Australia, Church Records, 1840-1899

Newcastle and Singleton, New South Wales, Australia, City Directories and Residency Records, 1866-1901

New South Wales, Australia, Mineworker Fatalities, 1869-1939

New South Wales, Australia, List of Convicts and Deserters, 1790-1868

New South Wales, Australia, Early Newspaper Index, 1828-1919

New South Wales, Australia, Occupation Records, 1832-1921

New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1832-1885

Government Gazettes, Queensland, Australia, Gould Genealogy 1859-1918

South Australia, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1841-1889

Victoria, Australia, Crown Land Licenses, 1853 and 1856

New United Kingdom Records

Suffolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1949

Suffolk, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

Suffolk, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1999

Suffolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1924

England and Wales, Tithe Maps and Apportionments, 1775-1936

Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1924

Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1950

Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1997

Registration of Liberated Former Persecutees, 1945-1950

Birmingham, England, All Saints Hospital Records, 1845-1931

Birmingham, England, Petty Session Registers, 1892-1923

London, England, University College Hospital Staff and Patient Records, and Middlesex Hospital Medical School Student Records, 1828-1945

Isle of Man, UK, Civil Birth Marriage & Death, 1849-2013

 

Week 31 (July 30-Aug. 5) Earliest Ancestor

For 'Earliest Ancestor' I am going to focus on my great great grandparents David Mulholland and Eliza (McCrae).  They are by no means the earliest ancestors in my research, but they are the earliest ancestors where I hit a brick wall and am struggling to go further with my research. 

David Mulholland died in Eurobin, Victoria, Australia on 10 April 1902 at the age of 71.  He left behind wife Eliza Jane (nee McCrae) - although I have never found a marriage record for the couple - and 7 surviving children.  David's death certificate records his parents names as David Mulholland and Margaret (McGee) and his age at death 71.  Death notices describe David as being 71 years of age and a colonist of 42 years, putting his birth at around 1831 and his arrival in Australia around 1860. His headstone in Bright Cemetery states he is a native of County Antrim, Ireland.

Eliza - or Elizabeth, survived her husband for 23 years, dying 28 October 1925 in Myrtleford.  Her obituary, published in the Albury Banner and Wodonga Express on 6 November 1925, describes Eliza as having "reached the advanced age of 85 years, 63 years of which were spent at Eurobin" and states that she was born in County Belfast, Ireland.  This puts her birth at around 1840 and her arrival in Australia around 1862.  Eliza's death certificate - under the name Eliza Mulholland - gives her parents names as James McCrae and Mary.

I have, thus far, found no records for either family in Ireland.  Neither have I found a marriage record for David and Eliza in Australia or Ireland.  I have located a marriage record for David Mulholland and Eliza McGee who married 14 July 1854 in Kilmore, Armagh, Ireland listed in the Catholic marriage registers.  I am very doubtful this is my couple, as Eliza would have been only 14 years old and the county does not match the data I have for either of them.

I will keep looking, however, in the hopes of breaking through this brick wall and continuing further back along my Irish ancestry, finding even earlier ancestors on this line.  Any relatives out there with any information about this family - please get in touch!