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

K is For Kent England Ancestors

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 K for Kent UK. My mother was first generation Canadian. Both her parents were born in Ramsgate, Kent UK. Her lines on both sides go back many generations in Kent.

Here are some (but certainly not all) of my Kent surnames:

Fuller, Caspall, Norris, Phylpot, Simpson, Stead, Elvery, Laming, Fryer, Hinds, Wildbore, Page, Sutton, Rayner, Friar/Fryer, Prigg, Peerless, Hubbard, Smithett, Badcock, Moses, Ellington, and more.

I started writing books about my Kent ancestors so that I could share them with my adult children. I've only just touched the tip of the Kent iceberg with these:


The Caspall Family of Kent England

 The Caspall family can be found in Kent England with John Caspall's birth circa 1710-1717. This book follows the descendants of John Caspall and his wife Mary Prigg for six generations.










The Wildbore Family of Kent England by Lorine McGinnis Schulze
 
This book follows 4 generations of descendants of George Wildbore and his wife Alicia Pamphlett (nee Sackett) who married in Minster, Thanet, Kent England in 1571.








The Hubbard Family of Kent England by Lorine McGinnis Schulze


 Isaac Hubbard married the widow Mary Ducy in St. James in Dover in 1698.This book follows Isaac and Mary's descendants down four generations through their son Isaac, their grandson Philip, their greaat-grandson Philip and their great-great-granddaughter Milly Elizabeth who married John Caspall. 





The Hinds Family of Kent England


The Hinds families were in Ramsgate Kent England for many generations. This book follows the descendants of Thomas Hinds and his wife Sarah Ammis who married in 1693 in Canterbury.








The Laming Family of Kent England
by Lorine McGinnis Schulze


The Laming family is found in Thanet and Minster Kent England for over 200 years. This book follows six generations of descendants of William Laming born circa 1610 and his wife Mary Culmer.







The Norris Family of Kent England
 
This book follows two distinct Norris families in Kent England. The first is the Norris family found in Lenham Kent in 1773 when Edward Norris and Catherine Earl were married in the Lenham parish church. Four generations of their descendants are followed. The second is the Norris family of Elmsted and Waltham Kent.
 

The Power of Needlework in Story Telling

Source: Victoria and Albert Museum

Recently on Twitter, @womensart1 posted an image of a sampler with the following information

"1830 sampler sewn by a young female servant, UK, Elizabeth Parker recounting abuse she suffered as a typically vulnerable young working-class women employed in a household far from family, and the power of needlework as a form of women’s writing" 

 
I was intrigued. This was such a powerful and painstaking way for Elizabeth to tell her story in a somewhat permanent fashion and being curious (as all genealogists are!) decided to track down the rest of her story. What I found was fascinating and troubling.

From the Victoria and Albert Museum we learn "Elizabeth recounts the story of her early life, and draws us in from the start, with the words 'As I cannot write I put this down simply and freely as I might speak to a person to whose intimacy and tenderness I can fully intrust myself.' We read that she was born in 1813 and lived with her parents, a labourer and a charity school teacher, and her ten brothers and sisters until the age of 13"

Elizabeth's painstaking efforts to immortalize her tragic life in servitude ends with this final sentence "what will become of my soul" – followed by blank space. For many years her adult life was not known - did she as she once hinted she would, commit suicide? Or did she live on to old age? Now her story is known and can be read at Victoria and Albert Museum

Found an Ancestor in St. Marys Churchyard Brixham Devon

I just found an ancestor on a site Cowtown Brixham Graveyard that I didn't know existed until today.My 5th great-grandfather William Norman was buried in St. Mary's Church graveyard in Brixham Devon in 1836.

Brixham is divided into two halves, Lower Brixham, known as ‘Fish Town’ and Higher Brixham, known as ‘Cow Town’. Lower Brixham is a working fishing port which many people know as ‘the town of Brixham’. Higher Brixham was the original rural Saxon settlement. A thriving Victorian farming community developed centred around its medieval parish church of St. Mary’s.

A full database search engine website grant was funded by the Heritage Lottery. The database consists of all memorial inscriptions found in St Mary's church and grave yard in 2019. 13,000 names have been entered on the project register.
 
This is my ancestor's information and next I hope to spot a photo of his tombstone on the section of the site with images.

• Surname NORMAN
• First Name WILLIAM
• Date of Death 21/01/1836
• Age 80
• Relationship HUSBAND OF ANN NORMAN
• Plot PLOT 7 O04

If you are looking for births, marriages or deaths, see Featured Database Brixham Devon Church Records

There is more information photographs, family histories, walks etc on the Cowtown St Mary's 1850-1900 Project on Facebook. 

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.

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."

Reading Old Handwriting

This document is the registered probate copy
of the nuncupative will of Elizabeth Nicolai,
dated 21 July 1723.

Thanks to Twitter follower @FPLDGenealogy for passing this link on to me!

"UkNatArchives has an amazing paleography exercise area you need to see!"

Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 - 1800 

It is wonderful! There are lessons in reading 15th, 16th and 17th century handwriting as well as 10 interactive lessons. I'm still on Lesson One and enjoying the challenge.

If you have early English documents you will want to give this a try.

There is also an online tutorial for reading Latin, so if, like me, you've long forgotten most of your High School Latin, this might prove helpful. When I was researching my husband's Belgian ancestors, the records were found written in Dutch, Flemish, Latin, and French. I managed to decipher the standard words but it wasn't easy! 

Identifying a WW1 Uniform of a UK or Canadian Ancestor

Traditionally it was very common for soldiers to have their photos taken in uniform before leaving for overseas (England). Usually a soldier was given leave to go home before being shipped overseas and that is often when these photos were taken.

If he had brothers, or a father or son who also enlisted, they would try to have a group photo taken. This was not always possible, as leaves for individual soldiers might not be in the same time period.

Many portrait studios such as Eatons, had template mats to enclose the photo. These mats were pre-printed had spaces to fill in the soldier's name, sometimes his unit plus other details.

These mats were often brightly coloured with the words "For King & Country" or "For Service in the Great War" (it varied). Ornate frames could be purchased which had the same wording. Sometimes there would be a Canadian Maple Leaf at the top which 'stuck up' beyond the edge of the frame

If there is no photographer mark on the photo (back or front) there are clues that might help you determine a date and place.

First Clue

Determine whether or not the soldier is in a Canadian or British uniform. Both Canadian and British uniforms were used by the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force). Men were usually issued a Canadian uniform when they enlisted, and they kept this for everything done in Canada. After they arrived in England the Canadian uniform would almost always be switched for a British one. (The reason for this switch was that the British uniforms were better quality and lasted longer)

Here are a few of the differences that might help you determine if the uniform is Canadian or British:

1. Canadian uniforms had 9 buttons on front (7 on the actual front and 1 on each front pocket) but the British one had fewer, and they were larger. There is an exception to this - if the soldier was in a Canadian Highland Regiment, his top sometimes just had 7 large buttons

2. Canadian uniforms had pointed cuffs, the British had straight (horizontal)

3. Canadian uniforms (except for the Highland ones) had stand-up collars, British uniforms did not.

So, if the soldier was in a Canadian uniform for this photo, there is a very good chance it was taken in Canada. It could also have been taken soon after arrival in England (before he was given his British uniform)

If he was in a British uniform it was almost certainly taken in England or in France. There were studios in France, behind the lines, where men could have their pictures taken to send home.

There is also a chance that the photo could have been taken on his return home from the war but this is not likely because the norm was for these photos to be taken before war's end and generally before going overseas.

Second Clue

Back to clues for determining when the photo was taken -- look for the badges on his cap and collar. Often on first joining, a soldier was issued with a badge that was a maple leaf with the word "Canada". It took time before he was issued with his unit's badge. You can go beyond this simple comparison (Canada badge versus Unit badge) by finding out about the unit's history -- and what badges they had in what years. This change in badges varied unit to unit so you would have to check for your soldier's unit.

More Clues

There are many more clues such as weapon versus no weapon; type of weapon; type of kit (belt, canteen etc); helmet verus hat, and so on. These are very detailed minute differences that would be hard to spot and also require a detailed explanation/description

Exceptions

One caveat - soldiers from Newfoundland never had Canadian uniforms so everything they were issued (kit, weapon, badges etc) was different. So basically none of the clues I've given apply to a Newfoundland soldier.

 

The Prize Papers Projects

Prize Papers Project launches at Oldenburg Castle

This is a very cool database project that is beginning. The Prize Papers Project, consists of approximately 160,000 undelivered letters seized from ships captured by the British in the wars of the 17th to the 19th centuries. The letters, many unopened, were still in their mail bags headed for delivery.

Most of the collection consists of items (letters, jewellry, locks of hair etc) tucked into envelopes and sent from 1652 to 1815.

What Do the Prize Papers Consist of?

Professor Dagmar Freist of The University of Oldenburg in Germany will work with The National Archives in opening up the HCA 30 (This series consists of miscellaneous Admiralty papers from the High Court of Admiralty, and the Supreme Court of Judicature, High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division) and HCA 32 series (This series consists of papers relating to cases concerning ships captured as prize in time of war. Although the papers cover the period 1592 to 1855, the core dates of the bulk of the papers are 1655 to 1817) for further research and discovery.

Length of Project

But don't get too excited just yet - this is a 20 year project set to begin May 2018! I'm kind of hoping for a letter from or to my husband's ancestor Thomas Montgomery who was sailing on a ship from England to New York when the ship was captured. The vessel he was on reached the coast of Newfoundland, where it was taken in charge by a British man-of-war, and all on board were made prisoners of war and taken to St. Johns, where they were detained four weeks. Perhaps there were letters - I can always hope.

Find Ancestors in Free United Kingdom Genealogy

Free UK Genealogy is the parent organization for FreeBMD, FreeReg and FreeCEN. Volunteers make transcriptions of the England and Wales Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths (FreeBMD), historic Parish Registers (FreeReg) and 19th Century Censuses (FreeCEN).

Each of the projects is a significant undertaking and in total, more than ten thousand volunteers have contributed over 350,000,000 records.

The three databases - FreeBMD, FreeReg, and FreeCen are completely free to access online.

If you are searching your UK ancestors, you might want to give these sites a try.

Search the Free UK Census Records

Announcement from FreeCen:

FreeCEN offers a free-to-search online database of the 19th century UK censuses. Transcribed entirely by volunteers, we have more than 32 million individuals available on our website that anyone can search without having to create an account. The new ‘FreeCEN2’ website (https://freecen2.freecen.org.uk) will launch on Monday 31st July 2017 with all of the records that the current website holds, but with a fresh new look and feel in-line with Free UK Genealogy and FreeREG. 

FreeCEN, FreeREG and FreeBMD are projects by Free UK Genealogy, a registered charity that promotes free access to historical records. FreeREG underwent this process in 2015, and FreeBMD is due to begin its renewal later this year.  

The Gillies Archives from Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup

During the Great War (WW1) a special hospital in Kent England restored facial injuries suffered by soldiers.  The Gillies Archives from Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup  has many artists' renderings of the patients. There are Canadian as well as United Kingdom soldiers in this database.

Pictures of the Week contain many heartbreaking images but they are an invaluable historical record.


The Sidcup Archives as explained on the website is divided into

• WW1 casenotes and Rooksdown Hospital Notes (military to 1946 and civilian to 1960) are now at the Royal College of Surgeons, London
• Plastic surgery ephemera and images are held by BAPRAS. This link takes you to the "History" page where you can learn about the Antony Wallace Collection and other archive material
• General military medical material has been donated to the Army Medical Services Museum, Keogh Barracks, Aldershot
• The WW1 medicine and surgery library is now housed at the Brotherton Library, Leeds (The Bamji Collection)

Looking for Ancestor Naturalization Records?

Are you looking for Naturalization records for an ancestor? Those records can provide so many clues and so much information on an ancestor - such as place of birth, name of ship they arrived on, date of birth and more. That's where my NaturalizationRecords.com website can help you!

Naturalization Certificate for Robert Taylor

I spent all of last week updating and adding links to online Naturalization records, Passport records and Oaths of Allegiance for USA and Canada. I also added a section for United Kingdom Naturalizations and Passports

If you do happen to find a bad link that I missed, please take a moment and let me know. All I need is the URL of the page where the bad link is found, and the name of the link. I'll do the rest!

A few of the online databases that I have transcribed and published on NaturalizationRecords.com for all genealogists to use freely are:

• Arkansas Naturalization Index 1809-1906 
• Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern (Savannah) Division of the Southern District of Georgia, 1789 - ?
• Minnesota Naturalizations 337 individuals naturalized between 1943-1972
• New Jersey Supreme Court & Burlington County Court, Clerks Office for Naturalization records 1818-1898 P Surnames
• Naturalization Petitions Indexes for New York 1834-1850 Index to Books 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
• Naturalization Petitions Indexes for New York 1834-1850 Index to Books 10, 11, 12  
• Naturalization Petitions Indexes for New York 1850-1860 Index to Books 13-21  
• Declarations of Intent, New York 1827-1895, Justice's Court, Albany, New York, Index to Book 2 & 3 (1832-1836)
• Declarations of Intent, New York 1827-1895, Justice's Court, Albany, New York, Index to Book 4, 5 & 6 (1837-1843)
• Declarations of Intent, New York 1827-1895, Justice's Court, Albany, New York, Index to Book 7 & 8 (1843-1850)
• Declarations of Intent, New York 1827-1895, Justice's Court, Albany, New York, Index to Books 9-12 (1850-1856)
• Declarations of Intent, New York 1827-1895, Justice's Court, Albany, New York, Index to Books 13 -15 (1856 - 1897)
• Denization (Naturalization) of Palatines German refugees in England waiting to come to New York 1708
• Naturalization Declarations Rensselaer County New York    
• Register of Passports from 14 November 1834 to 1843 an Index for all states in USA
• Index to Special Passports 1829-1887 an Index for all states in USA
• Index to Special Passports 1887-1894 an Index for all states in USA 
Register of Passport Applications 1809-1817  
• Index to Emergency & Special Passport Applications 1830-1831 

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

Barnardo's Homes Photo Archives Opened

Thomas Barnardo started giving orphaned and destitute children a home in the UK in 1866. His homes, known as Barnardo's Homes, spread across the UK in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.

Between 1869 and 1920 over 100,000 children from Barnardo's were sent to Canada in the belief they would have a better life in that new country. After arriving in Canada they were sent to receiving homes then to farmers who had expressed a wish to take one. Some suffered abuse and were treated as nothing more than free labour but others found loving homes.
 
Now Barnardo's Homes has released many of the photos in their archives. Read more about the opening of the photo archives at Barnardo's archive photos reveal first foster children

Dating back to 1874, the archive contains 500,000 images and 300 films of the visual history of the organisation, including their work overseas in Canada and Australia.

Information about access to the photo archives can be found at Barnardo's Photo Archives

Photo on left is Albert Finch (1890-1976) is my husband's great-grand-uncle. The photo was taken while he was in Barnardo's Homes.

Albert was admitted to Barnardos Homes as an orphan on 16 February 1899 age 8 years. He spent one night at the Receiving H0use in Stepney East London and in February 1899 he was transferred to Sheppard House in Bow, East London. In 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 in March 1901. On 21 March 1901 he was sent to Canada on the SS Tunisian. 

Looking for Descendants of Mutiny on the Bounty Mutineers

HMS Bounty List of Mutineers

Here's an interesting DNA story. Phys.org writes that

"Ten pigtails of hair thought to be from seven mutineers of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame and three of their female Polynesian companions will be analysed in a new collaboration between the Pitcairn Islands Study Centre at Pacific Union College (California, US) and the forensic DNA group at King's College London (UK)."

Since there are no hair roots in the saved pigtails, Y-DNA is not possible which means DNA analysis will not be able to trace male ancestry of the pigtail owners. However researchers are hopeful that mitochondrial DNA can be extracted. This will provide details of their maternal ancestry.

The pigtails on display in the US were housed in a nineteenth-century cylindrical tobacco tin. Also with the locks of hair was a handkerchief said to have belonged to Sarah, the daughter of William McCoy, one of the Bounty mutineers.
A worn, faded label with the pigtails notes that it is attached to the hair of William McCoy. The mutineer McCoy died on Pitcairn Island in 1800. Notes written on the label also state that the pigtails are of seven of the mutineers of H.M.S. Bounty and "also that of three of the Tahitian women," who accompanied the mutineers to Pitcairn in 1789.

Continue reading Forensic analysis of pigtails to help identify original 'mutineers of H.M.S. Bounty'

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

True Love Finds a Way - Sweethearts Reunite after 72 Years Apart

True love finds a way.

Norwood Thomas was a 21-year-old paratrooper when he met 17-year-old British girl Joyce Morris in London just before D-Day. They dated for a few months before the war intervened and saw Mr Thomas sent to Normandy.

After the war ended, Norwood went back to America, and settled in Virginia Beach, while Joyce ended up in Australia. They lost touch until recently.

Yesterday they reunited in Australia, courtesy of first-class tickets from Air New Zealand, and donations from complete strangers.  

Read the heart-warming story of 93 year old Norwood  and 88 year old Joyce  at Wartime Sweethearts Reunite after 72 years apart

Tips for Solving a Challenging Genealogy Puzzle

My finding of military records for Samuel Jemmett

The following query was recently posted on Facebook: 

I have tried looking for naturalization records and immigration travel for a relative who was born in Ireland and married in Canada. Any where else I should be looking? The time frame would have been between 1873- 1895
Elizabeth Jemmet was born in Ireland 1873, (I have a birth index on her) her parents Margaret and Samuel Jemmet. Elizabeth was married in Toronto in 1893. So between that time she crossed from Ireland to Canada?
She moved to Erie New York in 1893/1894

The challenge intrigued Olive Tree Genealogy so I began looking around and here is what I found:

First I explained to KM that From 1763 to 1947, people born in the provinces and colonies of British North America were all British subjects. Taking the oath of allegiance meant becoming a British subject. Thus immigrants from Great Britain and the Commonwealth (England, Ireland, Wales or Scotland) did not have to be naturalized. See http://naturalizationrecords.com/canada/ for more info and naturalization databases

Next I made two suggestions: 

1.  There are ships passenger lists to Canada from 1869 on so you should be able to find your Elizabeth. Don't forget though that she could have come in via USA and 

2. You can narrow that date of arrival by searching for her in the 1881 and 1891 Canadian census records.

Then I started searching and that proved to be an interesting research saga! I am going to outline everything I found, and where I found it, because I think it will help others to realize that you need to keep an open mind and you need to search in more than one place.

1. Elizabeth is in the 1891 census for Toronto - badly misindexed as Elizabeth Jenmidt on Ancestry.com . Her father's name is misindexed too - as James. But a look at the image shows you it is really Samuel. He is a labourer born England and is 53 years old. Wildcards are your friend. I searched for J*m*t as the surname. Now you know she arrived before 1891.

Marriage Record Samuel & Margaret

2. I am pretty sure I've found  Samuel arriving in USA in 1881.  He is travelling alone, and is listed as a labourer born in England. As well, Margaret states in the 1915 NY Census that she arrived 1888.  Take that with a grain of salt as the immigration year is among the most mis-remembered year of any. It's wise to add a year or two on either side. See http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/ for help with passenger lists 

3.  Here's a potential candidate for Samuel - Samuel Jemmett born in Henley Oxfordshire England, enlisted in the military in 1857 at age of 19.  Started as a driver then was a gunner. He was discharged from D BATTERY 2ND BDE REGT OF ARTILLERY as a gunner. Samuel was in the mlitary 22 years, 247 days, served in Canada and India for combined total 13 years 30 days. He was in Montreal in 1866 and later. Was transferred in 1859 to 4th brigade then later to 2nd. Landed in India 1875. Discharged in 1879. Source: FindMyPast

4. Birth of Elizabeth is found registered on March 13, 1873 to Samuel and Margaret Jemmett in the Artillary Barracks Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. Her actual date of birth was 17 February 1873 and the family is Methodist. Source: www.rootsireland.ie

5. Here's more evidence to support the Samuel I found who was a Gunner. in the 2nd Brigade His marriage to Margaret Tremble in Montreal Quebec in 1868 is mis-indexed on Ancestry as Samuel Jemmett Lunna but a look at the image shows the record to be "Samuel Jemmet Gunner in the Royal Artillery..." Source: Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968. This marriage is also found in the Register of Marriages and Baptisms, 4 Brigade Royal Artillery at the
National Archives UK website at http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11665166  and a copy can be ordered.

6. I found the man I believe to be Samuel in the following Census records on FamilySearch, FindMyPast and Ancestry.com :
* 1851 Henley Oxfordshire England with parents Samuel and Elizabeth and siblings Richard and Edward. He is 13 years old, an errand boy
* 1861 Woolwich, London Kent England. He is a driver for the Royal Artillery, unmarried, age 22
* 1871 not yet found
* 1881 Reading St Mary, Reading, Berkshire, England with his brother Richard. He is listed as age 45, a labourer and married, but there is no wife or daughter with him
* 1891 Toronto Ontario with wife Margaret and daughter Elizabeth
* 1901 Maidenhead, Berkshire England living alone. Listed as married, age 63, a bricklayer's labourer

7. I place Samuel on this suggested timeline:

1838: birth of Samuel
1841: 
1851: Samuel in Henley Oxfordshire with parents and siblings Richard and Edward
1857: Samuel enlists in Royal Artillery
1861: Driver for R.A. in Woolwich England
1868: Samuel in Montreal Canada married Margaret Tremble while in R.A.
1871:?
1873: Samuel in Ireland still in R.A. Daughter Ellzabeth born
1879: Discharge from R.A.
1881: Samuel with brother in Berkshire England then on ship to New York
1891: in Toronto Ontario with wife and daughter
1893: his daughter Elizabeth marries in Toronto Ontario
1900: Margaret, his wife, age 52 alone in Buffalo New York. Says she is married but no husband with her 

Reading Mercury - Saturday 13 January 1900

1900: Mention of Samuel living in Berkshire England and receiving his military medals
1901: Samuel In Berkshire England alone
1915: New York State census finds Margaret, 68 living with her married daughter and family. 

I am not done searching as this was a fun challenge to work on! There are lots of unanswered questions:

Did Samuel and Margaret separate, he going back to England, she to New York with their daughter? My own great-grandfather and great-grandmother did that so it is not that unusual. 

When did Margaret and Elizabeth leave Ireland?

New United Kingdom 1939 Survey Records Coming Online!

The following news is pretty exciting for me personally.  In September 1939 a survey was held in the United Kingdom.

The details of the survey requested were:

• Name

• Sex

• Age

• Occupation

• Address

• Marital status

• Membership of naval, military or air force reserves, auxiliary forces or civil defence services or reserves

This is a very important survey because the 1931 census for England and Wales was completely destroyed by fire (nothing remains) and there was no census taken in 1941. This 1939 survey fills that huge gap in records. But the best news? 

The survey returns from England and Wales are being digitized and are expected to be available online in November 2015! This is great news for me personally as both sets of my great-grandparents should be found in it plus numerous grand aunts and uncles as well as cousins. 

But my "if only" wish? If only the 1940 National Registration taken in Canada could be digitized and brought online! Right now it is accessible through a search service and a rather hefty fee.

Details on how, when and where to access the 1939 UK records are found at Plugging genealogy's 30-year gap

UPDATE: Nov. 2nd is the release date! Guess what I'll be busy doing that day....

More information on the Registration is available on The National Archives Blog.