Really Useful Podcast : Season 2 Episode 5

The Family History Federation has now launched Season 2, Episode 5 of its series of Really Useful Podcasts. 

 

This episode is titled 'Occupations : Work, Leisure and Health'.  The website describes it : 

"By learning about occupations, we gain a better understanding of the lives of our ancestors such as their health conditions and how they spent their spare time. Our guests share stories and offer advice in this special extended episode. 

Joe is joined by Margaret Roberts, sports historian and editor of the Playing Pasts online sports history magazine, Publicity Officer for the FHS of Cheshire and Society Liaison Officer for the Federation http://www.playingpasts.co.uk and https://www.fhsc.org.uk, Sophie Kay, professional genealogist at Khronicle https://www.khronicle.co.uk/ and Ian Waller, retired professional genealogist, Vice-Chairman and Education Officer of the Federation, Fellow of the Society of Genealogist and author of three books in the ‘My Ancestor Was…’ series."

In the News

I was very excited at Christmas to receive a gift of a 3 month subscription to the British Newspaper Archive, and have been spending quite a bit of my free time since happily researching.  The variety of articles I am uncovering is incredible, expanding and enriching my knowledge of my ancestors' lives.  Below are a few of the gems I have uncovered.

During my previous research I already knew Christopher Prentice worked as a Water Bailiff.  I hadn't know 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.

In the same newspaper in 1796 another ancestor, William Hart, gave notice to the public that he had taken over running the Fleece Inn in Boxford, and hoped to continue to serve the public there.  

 

Discovering Your Trade Union Ancestors

The scale of the British trade union movement is astounding. Tens of millions of people have been members, and 5,000 trade unions are known to have existed at one time or another.  The website Trade Union Ancestors can help you locate a specific trade union in time and place with the A to Z index of trade unions and trade union family trees. In addition, you can read about some of the events and people that shaped the trade union movement through 200 years of history in their trade union histories, trade union lives and striking stories.

The historic union records that  survive illuminate the working lives, daily concerns and political attitudes of our ancestors.  Trade Union Ancestors aims to help  family historians to identify the correct union, to discover the role their ancestor played in it, and to find out more about trade union history.

Website editor Mark Crail stresses that the site is far from comprehensive and he cannot guarantee it is mistake-free.  Also, while millions of people have been trade union members over the past couple of centuries, millions more working people were not. At the beginning of the 20th century, just one in ten working people were members. And though masses of union records have survived, much more has been discarded or destroyed down the years.

The site draws material from a range of sources. Among the most fruitful are:

• The first four published volumes of the Historical Directory of Trade Unions. These are a wonderful but incomplete guide to the development of the trade union movement published between 1980 and 1994 by Gower. The first three were compiled by Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, and the fourth by Marsh and Ryan with the help of John Smethurst. Wonderful though they are, the series is incomplete and there are some rather obvious omissions as a result – not least the Transport and General Workers Union. Time has also moved on since they were published, with mergers and amalgamations taking place annually. There is now a fifth and a sixth and final volume available.

• The archive listings published online by Warwick University’s modern records centre. The centre has an unrivalled collection of original trade union papers, including the archives of many long since defunct trade unions deposited by their modern successors.

• A variety of published sources including the potted histories that some unions include on their websites, the books that unions have produced down the years about their origins and developments, and the many general union histories published since Sydney and Beatrice Webb originated the genre with their History of Trade Unionism, first published in 1894 and revised in 1920.

• Government papers and public records – some of them published (such as Labour Market Trends, from which data on this website is extracted) and some stored away in the National Archives waiting for someone with the time and interest in the subject to come along and find them.

Week 36 - Work - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 36 of #52Ancestors is about work - something pretty unavoidable for many of us.  Researching what my ancestors did for a living has been fascinating and at times eye-opening, and for many of the listed occupations I have had to do some research to discover what the occupation actually entailed.

While many of my ancestors were farmers and agricultural labourers, other occupations have included many trades.  Several generations of my Argent and Pike ancestors were millers, with sons apprenticing to their fathers and uncles and mills passing down through several generations.

Newbridge Mill in West Bergholt, owned by the Argent family

Another ancestor, Christopher Prentice, was a water bailiff, elected to the job.  Several articles appeared in the Ipswich Journal about his election during the late 1700s.  In the first article below he thanks the freemen of the borough for electing his to the position.

Ipswich Journal Sat 12 Dec 1778

Christopher clearly held the job for some time, as he applied to continue the position several years later in 1784.

Ipswich Journal Sat 10 July 1784

Records of London's Livery Companies (ROLLCO)

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.

Sands Directory of Sydney

The firm of John Sands Ltd (Printers and Stationers) published their directory each year from 1858-59 to 1932-33 (except for 1872, 1874, 1878 and 1881). The household and business information it contains has become a fundamental source for research into Sydney history, especially family history.
Until now the directory has usually been accessed through a microfiche edition made by WF Pascoe Ltd which is available at many public libraries.

The City of Sydney has now obtained a complete digital edition of the directory from WF Pascoe, scanned from the microfiche, and is making it available for public access through their website.  This is the first time a complete set of Sands Sydney, Suburban and Country Commercial Directory has been made available online.

Was your ancestor an Inventor?

Do you have an inventor in your family tree? If so, they may have registered a Victorian or Australian patent for their ‘bright idea’. There are two major online sources, both freely available, for searching the names of patent applicants in Australia from the mid 1800s to the present day.
Victorian patents 1854-1904

Prior to 1904 in Australia, inventors were able to register a patent application in each Colonial State. In Victoria, there were over 21,000 patents registered between 1854 and 1904, both by Australian residents and by overseas applicants. You can search for the names of these inventors in the Victoria Government Gazette .
Australian patents 1904 +

After1904, the administration of the State’s patents acts was transferred to the Commonwealth, and the Australian Patent Office was created.  Now named IP Australia, you can search for Australian inventors, from 1904 to the present, using IP Australia’s ‘AusPat‘ online database.

Occupations

Who Do You Think You Are Magazine has published on their website a series of 'take it further' articles providing links to more specialist advice.  Currently subject tabs include Jobs, Overseas, Military, Religious, and Miscellaneous. Articles can be printed and helpful websites for more information are listed.

Old Occupations

Family historians often locate records that list ancestors with unusual and intriguing occupations. Many of these occupations may have originated as far back as the Middle Ages and by the 14th century it was common for people to take their occupation as a surname. i.e. Skinner - Flayer of animal hides for leather or Fletcher – maker of arrows.


For a detailed list of old occupations have a look at the following websites, compiled from historical census returns, registers and voters lists.


• The 1891 London Census Transcription – Victorian Occupations
• Dictionary of Ancient Occupations and Trades
• Old Occupations in Scotland

Historical Directories

Historical Directories is produced and owned by the University of Leicester. It is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919.  They include Post Office directories, Kelly's directories and more, and can be searched by location, decade or keyword.