Found: A Book that Survived a Bomb Blast in 1940

ABC Adelaide posted on their Facebook page and I thought I'd help share this through my Olive Tree Genealogy blog and Social Media.

Can you help us find the owner or family of this book that survived a bomb blast - probably during the Battle of Britain in the UK? 
Megan Dubois is a book collector who found this rare find in a second-hand store in Cleve so if you know any Goddard’s who used to live around Cleve, or perhaps a McLellen or McHellen family who came out to Australia after World War 2, we’d love to hear from you! 

The inscription reads, "I bought this book in 1935 for 1/- it was in our house when a land mine dropped on it in 1940 Oct 18. I rescued it from the rubble and have used it ever since, I also had a cookery book from the same edition which my daughter Dian McLellen (Possibly McHellen) has. Joyce Goddard (Mrs) 1985."

Finding Palatine Ancestors

The Palatinate or German Pfalz was subject to invasion by the armies of Britain, France, and Germany. As well as the devastating effects of war, the Palatines were subjected to the winter of 1708 and 1709, the harshest in 100 years.

The scene was set for a mass migration. At the invitation of Queen Anne in the spring of 1709, about 7 000 harassed Palatines sailed down the Rhine to Rotterdam. From there, about 3000 were dispatched to America, either directly or via England, under the auspices of William Penn. The remaining 4 000 were sent via England to Ireland to strengthen the protestant interest.

Palatine Immigrants to New York

In 1710, three large groups of Palatines sailed from London. The first went to Ireland, the second to Carolina and the third to New York with the new Governor, Robert Hunter. There were 3 000 Palatines on 10 ships that sailed for New York and approximately 470 died on the voyage or shortly after their arrival.

Pennsylvania Palatine Ancestors

Over the next 100 years, impoverished Palatines fled from Germany to America - many arriving in Pennsylvania. Olive Tree Genealogy has a Pennsylvania German Pioneers Project which includes the list of ships carrying Palatines from Germany to Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808 as well as names of passengers, Oaths of Allegiance and Ships Passenger Lists.

I have many Palatine ancestors who came to New York in 1709 and 1710. If you are looking for your Palatine immigrants, here are some links that may be helpful

Palatine Ships Lists to New York
 
Palatine Child Apprentices 1710-1714

Palatine Ships to Pennsylvania 1727-1808

Palatine Denizations (Naturalizations) 1708

These are two books you should have in your Library for Palatine research

* The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710 by Henry Z. Jones, Jr.

* More Palatine Families : Some Immigrants to the Middle Colonies 1717-1776 and Their European Origins Plus New Discoveries on German Families Who arriv by Henry Z. Jones, Jr. 

Here are my Palatine ancestral families:

BELLINGER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

DECKMANN aka DEGMAN a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

WARNER aka WERNER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

HOMMEL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

SCHNEIDER aka SNIDER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

KEHL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

MERCKEL aka MERKLEY aka MARICAL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

MULLER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

WUEST aka WUST a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

A Hunch Helps Find a Medieval City in a Field

A farmer's field in Wales held the lost city of Trellech but no one knew it. At one point in history Trellech which was settled in the 13th century, was a boomtown, with as many as 10,000 inhabitants. Then it disappeared, destroyed by famine, disease and finally, a 15th century massacre.

Over time the exact location of Trellech was lost to memory. But Scott Wilson, a member of the local Monmouth Archaeological Society, began to look more closely at  pottery shards that kept turning up in molehills.

Wilson ended up purchasing a farm where he suspected the lost city might be found and his hunch was proven correct.

Read more about Wilson's Lost City of Trellech Project and read the full story of his find on the National Post story The lost city of Wales: Amateur archaeologist plays a hunch and finds a medieval metropolis in a field

Credits: Image is a screenshot from The National Post

Got Blacksheep Ancestors? Join the PhD Study

A Criminal Record is a compilation of historical legal and crime resources for genealogists, historians and students

The site owner tells visitors that a Criminal Record exits to bring together resources for the study of the history of crime in Britain and Ireland. There are also links to Canada and USA resources. Historians and genealogists are being called upon to participate in a survey if they have an ancestor who was involved in some way with criminal records, either as a victim or an instigator.

"I am interested in hearing from anyone who has utilised online resources to further their understanding of the history of crime: genealogists, student, teachers, authors, playwrights, historians etc.   If your ancestor or the subject of your research was recorded as part of a court, prison or other record relating to crime please do get in touch."

Why not take a few minutes to fill out the surveys?

I have completed one ancestor for this survey but between my husband and myself we have dozens who were were involved in court proceedings! I will be creating a list of all our blacksheep ancestors for another blog post so please do watch for it in the next couple of days. I'll be hoping to see my readers list their blacksheep ancestors.

And if you have not visited my son's website Blacksheep Ancestors please take a peek!

Banished, a New Series on CBC Television Starts Tonight!

Banished is a new 7-part series on CBC Television, premiering July 27, 2015 at 9pm.

In 1788, Britain banished its unwanted citizens & convicts to Australia.

Among the first convicts to be exiled are close friends Elizabeth Quinn (MyAnna Buring), Tommy Barrett (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and James Freeman (Russell Tovey).

In this new world, relationships between convicts aren't allowed, but Elizabeth and Tommy break the rules.

When their romance is revealed to the soldiers in charge, it sets in motion a series of events that put friendships and ideals to the test, at a time, and in a place, where survival depends on having the back of those you love.

Image: Screenshot from CBC website. 

I Learned Something New From Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? on  TCL  in partnership with Ancestry.com featured Country & Western singer Trisha Yearwood last night.

For me this was a very interesting episode as I learned something quite new. Trisha was given her ancestry back to Samuel Winslett, born in England in 1744 who emigrated to Georgia around 1760.

Notice: Spoiler Alert if you have not watched this episode!

Samuel and one of his brothers (Aside: what happened to the third brother who was part of the deer taking??) were found guilty of killing deer that did not belong to them and sentenced to hanging. They were then reprieved and sent to Georgia as convicts. Samuel's sentence was 14 years and once he arrived in America, he and other convicts were sold at auctions. This blew me away! I knew of convict transportation to Australia, and I knew of indentured servants but I have never read or heard about convict transportation to America.

So I had a look around this morning and found an interesting article about this little-known period of American history.  Convict Transportation to America: Epilogue is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. History fascinates me and I plan on reading the entire series today. Then I will purchase the Kindle version of the book Bound with an Iron Chain: The Untold Story of How the British Transported 50,000 Convicts to Colonial America 

Many of my readers know that I'm fascinated with immigration. My first exciting find in genealogy was one of my immigrant ancestors and that set me on a path to discover every immigrant ancestor I have. I'm fascinated with the stories - why did an ancestor immigrate? And what was behind their choice of settlement? What was their journey like? That's why my website Olive Tree Genealogy specializes in Ships Passenger Lists and immigration substitutes.

One of my secondary passions is learning about the lives of those who were impoverished and sent to almshouses, workhouses and poor houses, or removed from their homes in Great Britain and sent to the colonies. I scour little known records such as the Poor Law Union Records to find names and stories of those who were forced from their homes. Many of these "convicts" were sentenced for crimes that involved hunger or poverty and as such I find myself once again caught up in the tragedies.

Do you have a story of a convict ancestor sent to America? I'd love to hear about him or her!