Finding Ancestors in Hearth Taxes

Hearth tax assessments 1667 Essex UK

Hearth Tax Digital is an online searchable database of Hearth Tax records in the United Kingdom. It is an ongoing project and is updated as new counties are completed. You will find both transcripts and databases available.

The website explains Hearth Taxes as:

Hearth taxes were levied in medieval and early modern Europe, notably in France and the Low Countries, but were not levied in the British Isles until the late seventeenth century. Following the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660, the hearth tax was levied in England and Wales from 1662 until 1689 (it continued to be collected in Ireland until the early nineteenth century). It was charged according to the number of fireplaces in dwellings, and it was collected twice each year at one shilling per hearth. It was also levied in Scotland in 1691 with collection lasting until 1695. The hearth tax provides a remarkably rich series of records on population, wealth distribution and poverty in a period of key political, social and economic change.  

The site is maintained by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities (University of Graz, Austria) and Centre for Hearth Tax Research (University of Roehampton, UK) and supported by the British Academy.

Names of Emigrants From England 1773-1776

Olive Tree Genealogy has published an index to names for Emigrants From England 1773-1776 The lists were discovered among Treasury Records in the Public Record Office, in London, England.

The lists contain approximately 6,000 names. Information provided for each individual includes name, age, occupation, the place of origin, the name of the ship, the destination, the passenger's occupation, and the reason for the emigration
 
To find complete details for an individual you must refer to any one of the following sources:

• Lists of Emigrants Found in the Treasury Records in PRO, United Kingdom (6000 names) FHL US/CAN film 928418 Item 4
• New England Historical Register Volumes 62-65
• Emigrants From England to the American Colonies 1773-1776 by Peter Wilson Coldham
• Emigrants from England 1773-1776 by Gerland Fothergill

Search for a British ancestor on Emigrants From England 1773-1776 

Image credit: Copyright Brian L. Massey, not to be used without written permission

U.K. War Office Records Available Online

Five volumes of War Office, Class 42 (WO 42) have been digitized and are now free to view on the The National Archives UK website. WO 42 covers half pay and widow's pensions in the 19th Century for Provincial and other Loyalist and Canadian officers. 

It is chock full of genealogical information such as marriage certificates and references to widows. There are several online sections, organized in alphabetical order. (see image on left)

The images are freely available. 

LOYAL AMERICAN AND CANADIAN CORPS is a subset within WO 42 - War Office: Officers' Birth Certificates, Wills and Personal Papers 

Also see UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960

Death Photography From the 19th Century

This story, and photos, may be upsetting for some of my readers. But it shows very well how times and customs change over the centuries and over the culture of the geographic location.

In the 19th Century it was a common practice in many countries, including England and the United States, to photograph a deceased loved one. Often the family member who had died was placed with the rest of the family for one final family photograph. Children especially were often memorialized in this fashion.

Taken from life: The unsettling art of death photography is a fascinating look at this custom from BBC News journalist Bethan Bell.

Photo credit: Screenshot from BBC News article at http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36389581

Crowdsourcing - Can Anyone Read this 1645 Will?

Olive Tree Genealogy needs help. Recently I obtained a will written in Staffordshire England in 1645. It is the will of Margery [sic] Wood from Uttoxeter. I can read some but not all of it! If any of my wonderful readers feel like helping me with the interpretation of this 17th Century handwriting I would be grateful.

This is the first page of the will. There are several pages in all but my main interest is in the first two pages which are the actual will with bequests to such people as her children (I can see Thomas Wood, John Wood, Elizabeth Wood, Marian or Mary Wood but there may be others named), her brother Will (William) Heaton and others.

The last half-dozen pages are an inventory which would be fascinating if I could read them in full! Please do contact me at olivetreegenealogyATgmailDOTcom if you are willing to attempt page 2 or if you want a larger copy of page 1

Fingers crossed that I can crowdsource the reading of this document!

New Copy of Magna Carta Discovered in Scapbook

Another copy of the famous Magna Carta has been found in Kent England. Experts are now revising their estimate of how wide-spread the Magna Carta was and now believe it was copied and distributed throughout many churches in England.

With the 800th Anniversary of the signing of the original Magna Carta in 1215, this discovery has sparked new excitement among experts.

Continue reading this story at Magna Carta edition found in Sandwich archive scrapbook