Some time ago I was skim-reading “Custom and Conflict in a Wealden Village; Pluckley 1550-1700” a 1987 thesis by Neil Davie, and lo and behold, he mentioned one of my ancestors, Benet Butcher.

“He [Richard Yonge] was the only churchwarden serving between 1550 and 1618 to be involved with the courts in this way, though Benet, the wife of Thomas Waterman (a churchwarden in 1591) was accused of having

"lyved incontynently with wyllyam Golding now a jurnyman shomaker at Tenterden in 1575.”

Now I need to find out more about this John Golding because another ancestor Hannah Philpot from Pluckley married a Golding and moved to Lenham 

It’s very cool what tiny genealogical tidbit you can sometimes find in an academic thesis.

The Fun in Being Wrong

 

Burial Richard Philpot 1628 Wye Kent England

I did it again. Last year I found that my ancestor Richard Philpot aka Fylpot was the father of my ancestress Agnes Philpot who was baptized in Wye Kent England 21 April 1560. I knew Agnes’ mother was Eleanor and when I found the marriage of Richard to Eleanor Dane in Wye in 1556 I happily entered entered Eleanor in my Genealogy program.

Then I spent considerable time searching for Eleanor’s parents.  Today when digging deeper into the Wye Parish records, I found several siblings for my Agnes, and the burial of her father Richard in 1628.

But hold on! I found a second marriage for my Richard, to an Eleanor Potten, in Wye in July 1559.  Since my Agnes was baptized in 1560 Eleanor Potten must be her mother.  I’d made a newbie mistake and didn’t keep looking for more details for Richard.  It was an easy mistake to make   E cause who would thin ke had two wives named Eleanor. But it was an assumption, not an exhaustive search to verify I had the right wife.

I’ve forgiven myself for jumping to conclusions and actually had some fun tracking down the family group for Robert and his three wives.  Yes - three. I discovered a third wife named Alice but not given the courtesy of a surname in the church register.

It seems tha my Richard Philpot first married Eleanor Dane in 1556 and had two sons with her - Stewyn [sic] in 1556 and Thomas in 1558. Eleanor died that same year.

Richard then married Eleanor Potten (also found as Potyn and Pottry) in July 1559 and had two children by her- Agnes in 1560 and Mary in 1561. This wife was buried in Wye in July 1562.

Richard wasted no time marrying again but the poor man had three youngsters (little Thomas died at 4 days old) and needed a wife to care for them. In November 1662 Richard married Alice and had two more children - Anfra in 1567 and a second son named Thomas in 1569. Alice lived u til 1608 and Richard  died 20 years later in 1628. His burial records him as “an ancient householder”

So, while I made a silly mistake and had to redo my earlier research, I’m having fun finding out more about my Philpot family in Wye. 

Thinking Outside the Genealogy Box

 

When my ancestor John Suckling of Pluckley Kent England died in 1644, accounts from other villagers for their assistance were submitted to the Parish Church for payment.

Starting in April 1643 the Church provided support for the Suckling family for 13 months, with candles and money.

We can also see from the account listings that one of their children had died in this time period.

Finding this wonderful bit of detail about John and his last days came about because I found an obscure Thesis from 1987 called “ Custom and Conflict in a Wealden Village; Pluckley 1550-1700” a 1987 thesis by Neil Davie,

Reading through the 400 plus pages I found it full of names and tiny facts about the villagers. I’m still gleaning information about several of my Pluckley ancestors and about the village in general.

Thinking outside the box and looking for alternate obscure records can provide many happy findings. So don’t  overlook the less obvious sources  of information as you go about your genealogy journey.

Births Page From Hayhow Family Bible

 Is anyone looking for the Hayhow family?

To see my first post about the Hayhow family Bible and photos I have. Go to http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-hayhow-family-bible.html.  Recently a dilapidated family bible for the Hayhow family of Ontario Canada came into Olive Tree Genealogy’s hands. Inside were two pages of family births and deaths, tintype photos from the second half of the 19th century, and a few assorted documents.

The Hayhow Family Bible

Recently a dilapidated family bible for the Hayhow family of Ontario Canada came into Olive Tree Genealogy’s hands. Inside were two pages of family births and deaths, tintype photos from the second half of the 19th century, and a few assorted documents.

 Over the next few weeks I will feature a half of the items individually, along with some research into the family.  I’ve done a bit already, enough to know that this Bible belonged to Charles and Ann (Higgins) Hayhow who married in 1863 in Ontario. 

Was Your Ancestor in Debtors’ Prison?

This is a database I stumbled on for Yorkshire England. It is the website for York Castle which housed a debtor's prison. There is a brief history of the prison, the environment of the prison, a few prisoner biographies, and a few turnkey (guard) biographies.

By going to York Castle Family History Section you can search for an ancestor who was in the prison, either for debt or for criminal actions. Not all prisoners are listed as the database currently has prisoners from the 18th Century. I'm looking for William Elgie who I know was there in 1818 so am out of luck this time but it's a fascinating database with over 5000 names!

There is a very nice factsheet for tips on how to track down any missing prisoners and I am planning to use it find more on William if possible. I was able to find that York Castle Museum holds miscellaneous records from York Castle prison, including "Notebook with notes on various prisoners in York Castle, extracted from 1803-1868". 

Speaking of prisons, have you checked out my son’s website, Blacksheep Ancestors? He is in Famiky Tree Magazine’s 101 Top Genealogy Websites for 2021

Finding a British Home Child 1869-1939

Part of the file Barnardo's sent us

 During the years of the Child Emigration Scheme (British Home Children), between 1869 and 1939 (some up to 1948), over 100,000 children ages 1 - 18 were sent to Canada from Great Britain to work as farm labourers and domestics by over 50 Agents - Barnardo, Middlemore, Macpherson, Fegans, to name a few.

Descendants make up 12%, over 4 million of the Canadian population. If you think your ancestor was one of these children, there are ways to learn more:

You can search the British Home Children ships passenger lists from 1865 to 1935 on Library & Archives Canada website.

If your ancestor was a part of the Dr. Barnardo's homes, you can contact Barnardo's for the records. They can be reached at Trace Your Family History on Barnardo's Homes website. 

My husband has a British Home Child in his ancestry and sending to Barnardo's for his records provided a wealth of informative genealogical detail plus photographs of the child when he was admitted to Barnardo's Homes in 1897. 

Descendants can also check the British Home Children Registry for a name of interest. 

Find Ancestors in the Missing Friends Project

The Missing Friends Project on OliveTreeGenealogy.com is extracting the names of those who immigrated from UK to America or Canada and who were inquired about by family in various 19th Century newspapers.

Missing Friends Project starts with Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, published in London England and their weekly column (1886-1900) called "Long Lost Relatives". We also have begun extracting names of those in the Boston Pilot, published in Boston Massachusetts (1831-1921).

Our Boston Pilot project is only extracting the names of missing Irish individuals who sailed to Canada. It is important to note that many who sailed first to Canada went on to USA and are so noted in the extracts. Many of the relatives and friends seeking them were based in USA and their location is also given.

We also plan to publish extracts of weekly columns of Missing Friends from The Irish World (1892-1899), published in New York and The Manchester Weekly Times (1891-1893) published in England. We will add other newspapers as we find them and can access them.

The fields being extracted are name of person in America or Canada who is missing, where they lived in the UK, when they left, where they intended going, ship name if known, when they were last heard from, where they were living when last heard from, who is seeking them and any miscellaneous comments.  

There are  links and databases at Missing Friends

1910 Hertfordshire Inland Revenue Maps Available

There is a helpful guide to finding records of the UK Valuation Office Survey which was carried out between 1910 and 1915. The survey provided a unique snapshot of land and property in the Edwardian era, assessing its worth, how it was used and by whom 

The survey took place as a result of the 1909-1910 Finance Act which provided for the levy and collection of a duty on land in the United Kingdom based on any increased value of the land as a result of public money spent on communal infrastructure – a so-called ‘increment value duty’.

The Valuation Office was set up by the Inland Revenue in 1910 for England and Wales (and in 1911 for Scotland) to carry out the work of the survey.

118 valuation districts were established in England and Wales, each in the charge of a district valuer and each comprised a number of income tax divisions. It was by these valuation districts and income tax divisions that the work of the survey was organised and carried out.

Some 1910 Inland Revenue map and forms are being indexed and can be searched through Hertfordshire Names Online.

What is Your Oldest Ancestral Item?

It's always a thrill to inherit or find an object that once belonged to an ancestor. I had chills when I found store tokens made by my 9th great-grandfather Henry Noldred of Ramsgate Kent England. Henry was a grocer who had his own tokens created to spend in his store in place of official money.

I was so intrigued by this new-found information that I started researching to see if I could find any of his tokens and I found that one of his existed created circa 1650!. I also learned that Ramsgate was spelled Romansgate back then. 

Once I found that one of Henry's tokens had been sold on an auction site a few months before, I became determined to find another and purchase it. I'm excited to say I succeeded! I managed to find two in England, and I bought them both. I plan on having a small plaque made with Henry's birth, death and location. Then I'll have the tokens and the plaque framed and it will have a place of honour on my wall.

This is the description of the tokens: (rosette)HEN.NOLDRED.IN.ROMANS , around beaded inner circle, three tobacco rolls / logs of wood.

Rev: (rosette)GET.IN.YE.ISLE.OF.TENNET , around beaded inner circle, HIS HALF PENY in three lines. M. Dickinson 454. Neither obverse or reverse dies represented in Norweb.

What is the oldest ancestral item you own?

Curious About Ancestor Effigies or Busts?

Hertfordshire churches contain numerous effigies and busts of people whose images were not recorded elsewhere. 

Inside All Saint’s church in Willian, Thomas and Lucy Wilson are remembered with these colourful carvings on their memorial

Anyone Need to Cast a Spell? Magical Poppet Found in a Chimney

The strange little 19th century doll which is currently on display in the History Room of the Black and White House Museum was found in a crevice of the brickwork of 21 East Street, Hereford. In a fold of her dress was a handwritten note which read: 

"Mary Ann Ward, 

I act this spell upon you from my holl heart wishing you to never rest nor eat nor sleep the rester part of your life. I hope your flesh will waste away and I hope you will never spend another penny I ought to have. 

Wishing this from my whole heart."

The body is made of wood, with arms and legs of red checked cotton material. Her head bears traces of paint; she has a string and silk pigtail and wears a red spotted dark blue cotton dress. .

It seems reasonable to suggest that the doll is a magical object know as a Poppet (or mommet, moppet, poppit or pippy). These were used in folk magic and witchcraft for casting spells on a person or to aid that person through magic. It was from these European dolls that the myth of voodoo dolls arose

It is clear that this spell is hostile in intent and hopes to rectify an injustice, real or perceived. What is not clear is who this is aimed at, unfortunately there are a number of Mary Ann Wards born in Hereford and Herefordshire in the 19th Century, and at least one Mary Ann Ward who moved here (in this case from Birmingham). 

The word poppet is an older spelling of puppet, from Middle English popet, meaning a small child or a doll. In British English it continues to hold this meaning. Poppet is also a chiefly British term of endearment.

Source: Herefordshire Museum Service

The Story of the Orphan Frederick Markham

My husband's great-grandmother Elsie Phyllis Markham was orphaned at the age of 8 months. Her older brothers, Albert ages 8 and Frederick 2 years old were also orphaned when their parents succumbed to illness in London England in October and November 1898.

The boys were sent to orphanages and Elsie was taken in by relatives, eventually brought to Canada by her brother Albert Finch who had been sent to Canada as a Barnardo Boy in 1901. Frederick was also eventually reunited with his brother and sister

Read Albert's story at O is for Orphans 

Frederick's Story

2 year old Frederick was sent to his aunt and uncle for a very short time, but a few months after arrival in their home, he was sent to Miller's Orphanage in Bristol. His uncle did not want to continue feeding Frederick and his 8 month old sister Elsie. 

We find Frederick at the age of 4 in the Orphanage, and he was still there at the age of 16. Finally when he was 18 his brother Albert, who had been sent to Ontario Canada as a  Barnardo Child, had saved enough money to send for Frederick to join him.

On 5 May 1914 Frederick arrived in Quebec and from there went on to join his brother in St. Mary's Ontario. His sister Elsie had arrived 8 months before, again due to Albert's paying for her passage.

World War 1 broke out soon after Frederick's arrival and in March 1916 he signed up in the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force). He was 20 years old. He was killed fighting in France two years later.

In memory of Sergeant  FREDERICK ARTHUR  MARKHAM who died on April 7, 1918

Service Number:  823627

Force:  Army

Unit:  Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment)

Division:  14th Bn.

Burial Information:

Cemetery: DUISANS BRITISH CEMETERY

Pas de Calais, France

Grave Reference: VI. F. 64.

The Story of the Orphan Elsie Markham

My husband's great-grandmother Elsie Phyllis Markham was orphaned at the age of 8 months. Her older brothers ages 8 and 2 years old were also orphaned when their parents succumbed to illness in London England in October and November 1898.

The boys were sent to orphanages but Elsie was taken in by relatives, eventually brought to Canada by her brother Albert Finch who had been sent to Canada as a Barnardo Boy in 1901.

Read Albert's story at O is for Orphans 

The story of 8 month old Elsie

According to Elsie's son Bert, Elsie was an orphan. Her parents Albert and Edith were said to have died in an epidemic in England ca 1900. Elsie was sent to an orphanage then out to work for a Jewish lady, then her brother sent for her to come to Canada. Elsie had 2 brothers - Albert Finch and Frederick Markham. 

Intrigued by the family lore I decided to research Elsie and find out what happened to her. 

In February 1899 Elsie was with her paternal aunt and uncle, Frederick and Maria Markham in London England. Her brother Frederick Markham was in Millers Orphanage in Bristol, and her brother Albert Finch was in Barnardos Homes.

Her aunt and uncle gave Elsie up sometime between 1899 and 1901.  Records reveal that her uncle was growing tired of the extra expense caring for her.

1901 found 3 year old Elsie living with the MacGregor family. It appears they took her in as a foster child.

Donald G Macgregor Head M 44 M House Painter Worker Scotland
Hannah Macgregor Wife M 41 F   Undefined Scotland
Elsie Markham Daughter S 3 F   Undefined Shepherds Bush

I do not know how long Elsie was with the MacGregor family but in 1913 at the age of 15 she was on her way to Canada, thanks to her older brother Albert. Albert, how I wrote about previously  at O is for Orphans  had saved his merger earnings as a Barnardo Home Child sent to Ontario Canada and paid for Elsie's passage to join him in St. Mary's. 

Elsie sailed on the Royal George, arriving in Quebec in September 1913 and was soon on her way to her new home. Four years later Elsie married a hard-working farmer Bristol Holden. She was already pregnant with a son (my husband's grandfather) by Bristol's hired man George Cooper, but whether or not Bristol knew the child was not his, is not known. She and Bristol had a happy marriage, and Elsie bore 5 more children. 

She lived until the age of 94, dying in St. Mary's in 1993. Her husband Bristol had died almost 30 years previously and she never remarried. 

All three children who were orphaned at such young ages, reconnected in Canada. Little Frederick's story will be next, and I  must warn readers it is not a happy ending story. 

Q is for Quackley

1629 Marriage Judith Quackley & John Stevens

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is Q for Quackley. I'll be interested if I connect with any other Quackley descendants!

My 9th great-grandmother was Judith Quackley. I know nothing about Judith except that on 06 May 1629 she married John Stevens in Sandwich, St. Peter, Kent England. My best guess for her year of birth is 1613 or earlier. I may never find out any more about Judith but I'll keep searching.

Do you have a Quackley in your family tree?

O is for Orphans

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is O for Orphans. My husband's great-grandmother Elsie Phyllis Markham was orphaned at the age of 8 months. Her older brothers ages 8 and 2 years old were also orphaned when their parents succumbed to illness in London England in October and November 1898.

The boys were sent to orphanages but Elsie was taken in by relatives, eventually brought to Canada by her brother Albert Finch who had been sent to Canada as a Barnardo Boy in 1901.

Albert was admitted to Barnardos Homes as an orphan on 16 Feb. 1899 age 8 years, 4 months. He spent one night at the Receiving House in Stepney East London and on 17 Feb. 1899 he was transferred to Sheppard House in Bow, East London. On 10 May 1899 Albert was boarded out with foster parents in Romsey Hampshire where he remained for two years before returning to East London to Leopold House on 8 March 1901. On 21 March 1901 he was sent to Canada on the SS Tunisian

Luckily for those with orphans in the family tree, there are many good orphanage records available. We were able to obtain Albert's records from Barnardo's but his brother's records could not be found as he was sent to a different orphanage in England called the Miller Homes. We could not find records for this orphanage.

No child left the Miller Homes until employment had been found for them. The boys were apprenticed to a trade and some with the ability to teacher training. They were always provided with three suits and a sum of money. The girls left at 17 and went into domestic service, nursing or teacher training, they too were provided with an outfit of clothes and some money. George Miller gave his blessing to every child on leaving his care, and gave each a Bible.

As one orphan recalled upon leaving, "My belongings were my Bible, my clothes and half a crown and, best of all, was the priceless blessing of George Miller's prayers."

 

UPDATE: Many readers have asked what happened to Elsie and her little brother. I am writing their stories today and will publish them here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog in the coming weeks.

What's In A Name?

1794 Petition of Jacob Burkholder

Do you have ancestors whose surnames were mangled in a variety of ways? Most of us do. Spelling wasn't exact prior to 1900 and clerks often recorded names as they heard them.

Often our ancestors could not read or write so they had no way of knowing if their name was misspelled.

In his 1794 petition for land, my ancestor Jacob Burkholder stated he arrived in Upper Canada (present day Ontario) in July 1794, and  applied for land 7 Aug. 1794.

He was recorded as Borghonder in records. That was a new one for me. I had seen the name recorded in other records as Burki, Borcholder, Borcholter, Borckholder, Borgholder, Borkholder, Burckhalter, Burckholdr, Burgholder, Burgholdter, Burkhalter and Burkholder.

Some of my other challenging names to search are: 

My Vollick family not only changed their name from Van Valkenburg to Vollick, it was also found in records as Valk, Follick, Volluch, Folluck, Valick, and more. 

How about my Rabbit family in Kent England? I've found their name as Rabbett, Rabbet, Rabbit, Rabbitt, Rabet, and Rebitt

Sometimes it seems more like Alphabet Soup than any resemblance to the actual name. But that's part of the fun of Genealogy.  What are some of your misspelled ancestor names?

Message in a bottle found 82 years later

On 5 September 1938, John Stapleford in Hertfordshire wrote a message and put it in a bottle. The note was handwritten on the back of an old cake box from Cawley Bros Ltd and placed in a Smith’s bottle. Stapleford asked whoever might find the bottle to contact him and send a photo.

The message read: “Will the finder of this bottle please communicate with: John Stapleford, 18 Fitzjohn Avenue, Barnet, Herts, England. With a photograph.”

82 years later a man called Hill walking along the beach saw the bottle and retrieved it. After finding the bottle Hill did some research to find out more about the man who left the message.

Continue reading this fascinating story.

Finding Ancestors on Tithe Rolls & Plots

Thanks to Twitter frind

@Dave_Lifelines and his explanation of Tithe rolls & maps I've been plotting my ancestors! 

Currently I am working on my Higginson and Bell ancestors in Cheshire England. 

I've begun to notate the map for Elizabeth Higginson in red. Elizabeth had 24 plots in Lower Peover so it's taking me a long time. 

I have not yet plotted my Bell ancestors but one that I found is William Bell. His plot 157 is outlined in blue below.

 

I also took a peek at the Google street view of what is there now! Below is the Google street view of William Bell on Plot 157 Hulme Lane in Nether Peover.

Dave's explanation is at The Joy of Tithes and should not be overlooked if you have UK ancestors. 

It took me awhile, even with Dave's excellent walk-through, to understand how the Cheshire website worked. But once I played with it a bit, I got the hang of it and now I am super excited to try to find all my Cheshire ancestors.

Finding Ships Passenger Records To Canada

Henry wrote to ask

My great uncle who originated in Germany, born 1872 or 1874, appears in the UK 1901 census as Ferdinand Roks living in London. Within the family there was no mention of him but it was suggested that perhaps he went to Quebec, Since he doesn't appear in a later census, it could be reasonable to assume that he left London sometime after 1901. How do I research the shipping companies or ships records or even the Quebec immigration records to try to trace him, especially as might have changed the spelling of his name.

My answer:

Ships passenger lists to Canada are available as early as 1865. You can search on Ancestry.com, where the passenger names are indexed and linked to images, or you can use Library & Archives Canada (LAC). LAC however does not have a name index so you have to search by date or ship name.

There are also hundreds of ships passenger lists on my Olive Tree Genealogy website. As well I have written a book "Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada" if you need to find an ancestor before 1865.