Look at it this way.

Why is it that whatever the name someone can come up with a new way of using it? Whenever you look at the census you have to be aware that the name you are looking for might not be the one that is listed. The change might be down to the daughter of the house having the name Margaret but being known to all as Peggy. Mind you my mother was a Peggy but she was christened as such. Names of today are being used rather differently to those of the past. In many cases what was once a nickname is now the given name. If your ancestor was an Elizabeth then she could be listed as Betty, Liz, Lizzie or Eliza. It's not just the Rev. Samuel OLIVER who didn't know the names. He made it clear that he was unsure by putting down all the variation at his disposal. However I am unsure how he managed to guess at the name being HEWERDINE or CASTLEDINE or even HAWKIN or SOUTHERN or SOUTHERAL. And you think you have a problem because you have a couple of Williams in the family.

A name that I have been looking for recently is that of BLYTHIN. A variation can be arrived at by putting a 'g' on the end and making BLYTHING. The surname concentration for BLYTHIN is in the Flint and Wrexham area. BLYTHIN is considered to be the English version. The Celtic version is BLYTHING and has the same concentration plus the Merseyside area. In 1881 there were just 311 individuals with the name and almost without exception they all have links to this area. I am unsure of the meaning for this surname but there seems to be a possible change to BLEDDYN and into the mysteries of the welsh language. A search on the internet produces the site www.surnamedb.com. This interesting site gives the information that "Recorded as BLETHIN, BLEYTHIN, BLEYTHING, BLYTHIN, and others, this is a surname which has Welsh royal connections. It derives from the Ancient British personal name "Bleddyn," translating as the son of Little Wolf. The name is much associated with early Welsh royalty, Bleddyn ap CYNFAN, being the prince of Gwynedd in the 11th century. The early recordings are all associated with Wales, although the variant spellings have often been English. Meredith ap BLETHYN was given as being a Welshman or Briton, who in what was then known as "The Survey" but later became the famous Domesday Book, is recorded as holding the manor of Oswestry."

Bits and Bobs

LRSM - 2nd October 1801 - Marriage: On Tuesday, the 15th instant at Bottesford, Lincolnshire, John KIRK an occasional preacher in the Methodist Connexion, to Susanna SEATON of Burringham, a Mantua Maker. The patient Bride had kept company near two years with a Blacksmith of the same place, and was actually Published with him in the Church (Banns) the very Sunday preceding her marriage; but for reasons best known to herself, eloped next day with the Preacher; so true it is that we know not what a day may bring forth.

 

 

It’s a Grave Situation

 

Did you read the recent article on old graves? It seems that many of the older graves are going to be reused due to the shortage of burial plots. The largest cemetery in the country is the one at the City of London where at least 1000 graves have been reused with, in some cases, the old gravestones being put face down and inscribed with the new occupants details. The New Scientist has pointed out that the problem is even worse in Singapore where the graves site is only guaranteed for 15 years before the resident is dug up and the grave reused. Occasionally the occupants of two graves are combined. What would your thoughts be on finding that your relative is now buried with a total stranger? The visitors to the City of London cemetery are now coming across notices which read "This memorial has been identified for possible reclamation. If you visit this grave please contact the Conservation Team." Keep a watch on your family monuments for they could end up being recycled.

I noticed that the General Registry Office at Southport is reaching its goals 100% of the time. When this is 2,000,000 certificates in one year I find that impressive. If you would like to know how it is done then you could always visit the office on the Open Days in June just contact the Public Relations Unit on 0151 471 4530.

During some research on the registers of Folkingham I found an item of interest. The entry said "The Most Noble John Marquis of Granby & Peer of Folkingham buried May 17^th 1790. A Pauper & died by Dancing once a slack rope." Any idea what the slack rope was? It wasn't dancing on the end of a rope by any chance?

For sale on eBay recently was a document for WIGTOFF for the Lease of two parcels of land John NEWZAM of Wigtoff, Farmer and George CASSWELL of Wigtoff, Grasier and is dated 16 August 1809 in the 49th year of the reign of King George III. It refers to All that piece of pasture land in Wigtoff called Low Catherine or Low Cattering Toft of 5 acres, abutting on Staggot's Lane. Also a piece of pasture land in Wigtoff called High Catherine Toft and Davis Green of 7 acres abutting on a Division drain between Wigtoff and Swineshead. The name NEWZAM is fairly local and a variation of NEWSHAM. Originally coming from places such as Newsham, Newham or Newholme. CASSWELL has a great many variations from KERSWILL to CRASWELL to CRESSELL and any combination you can think of. The original holder of the name was a dweller by the water-cress stream and comes from the Old English cærse wiella and survives today as the name of many villages throughout England.

Bits and Bobs

LRSM - 5th October 1821 - Whereas, William MIDDLETON, late of East Kirkby in the county of Lincoln, labourer, did about 4 or 5 weeks ago, desert his wife, who is since become chargeable to the Parish of Spalding, in the said county. Whoever will apprehend the said William MIDDLETON, and give notice to Mr. Thos. NORTH, Assistant Overseer of the Parish of Spalding, shall receive Two Guineas Reward. NB. William MIDDLETON is a jollyish man, about 5 feet 6 or 8 inches high, with dark hair inclined to grey and is upwards of 50 years of age.

Still at School

 

Having spent the afternoon working at Grasby Primary School building 'affordable homes for birds' I was beginning to wonder about the subject for this week. Then Julie came to the rescue with a request to look at her name of interest – URWIN. This is an ancient name that goes back to the time of the Conqueror's invasion and the Domesday Book. EUERUINUS was living in Hampshire in 1066 and twenty years later when the Domesday Book was written Gilchrist filius ERUINI could be found in Norfolk. Although the name had its origins down south the main concentration for it in 1881 was in the area of Durham. During the next hundred years plus the main concentration moved just a few miles up the road to Newcastle although there are pockets of URWINS throughout the country, it is from Newcastle that Julie's family came. Not a very numerous name and in the 1901 census there were less than 140 individuals in Newcastle. The greater number of these lived in Elswick. Not many were straight forward labourers but were clerks of one sort or another. They worked for banks, builders, ironmongers, railways and the Cooperative. One piece of information that Julie gave me was the family tale that the URWINs came from Ireland. In the 1901 census there is but one person with Irish ancestry and this is Margaret aged 63 and born in Ireland. Her husband, Thomas H, was a Dental Surgeon. I wonder if this is the family. The name is derived from the Old English Eoforwine which means a boar-friend although I must admit I am unsure what that means but I think that sincerity and trustworthiness comes into it.

The name I have been working on just recently is that of HARMSTON. The family comes from the Folkingham area and the search is on at the moment for the marriage of John & Mary. Thus far there has been a distinct lack of success for there is no mention of the marriage in the Lincolnshire Family History Society fiche for 1754-1812. The mention of John being married to Mary comes from the baptism of James so there is always a possibility that there is an error in the register if the priest filled it in at a later date. A look at the Bishop's Transcripts might resolve this. The problem here is that you do not know if the BT was taken from the register thus perpetuating the mistake. A check of the registers for another birth could help especially if there is no burial of a Mary but this is a burial at some stage of the wife of John.

Bits and Bobs

LRSM -1st January 1875 - Public Notice; Whereas I, John NUNDY, of Wispington, Farmer, have raised a report calculated to injure the characters of the Sons of Mr Joseph WALTER of Barsey Walk, Farmer, and Mr Andrew EVISON of Wispington, Farmer, by charging Mr WALTER´s Sons with taking my Pigeons, and Mr EVISON with receiving them, knowing them to have been so taken. Now I do hereby publically declare that such charges are utterly untrue and without foundation, and I regret having said anything that could reflect on the honesty of either Mr. WALTER, his Sons, or Mr. EVISON, all of whom I believe to be perfectly honest and honourable men. Signed this 29th day of December, 1874. John NUNDY; Witness R. CLITHEROW, Solicitor, Horncastle.

NEWTON was Here

 

Sondra HALLIDAY emailed me at Ifor@familyroots.org.uk asking for information on a windmill at Colsterworth. In 1772, when Samuel PICCAVER died, his will mentions the fact that he is the owner of the village mill. Is there any evidence of this mill today? Arthur MEE's Lincolnshire doesn't mention any mill but if you take a look at old-maps.co.uk you will find evidence of three mills in the vicinity two of which are quite near Woolsthorpe manor. In the church at Colsterworth there is a memorial to Sir Isaac NEWTON who was the lord of the manor of nearby Woolsthorpe and baptised in Colsterworth church. This is also the burial place of the NEWTON ancestors. One item of interest that was at the church in 1919 was the sundial that NEWTON made when 9 years old and the penknife he used for whittling wood. In an article I found on NEWTON there is mention of a windmill being built near his school. He watched day by day with great interest the workmen engaged in constructing a windmill in the neighbourhood of the school, the result of which was that the boy made a working model of the windmill and of its machinery, which seems to have been much admired, as indicating his aptitude for mechanics. Could this have been the building of the mill later owned by Samuel? By 1919 however the miller is listed as being Ralph Henry NETHERCLIFT – miller (steam) so it looks as though the village has kept pace with modernity and the windmill was no more. HALLIDAY the surname comes from the fact that at one time this would be given to those born on a Holy Day such as Easter or Christmas. NEW-TON however is from one who lived in a New Town of which there were many and this also applies to NEW-PORT and NEW-CASTLE.

The surname CRAMPTON, which is the one that Sheila FROST is interested in, is not very common around Lincoln and is concentrated more towards Nottinghamshire. William CRAMPTON can be found on the 1841 census and he was born in 1817 in the parish of Washingborough but where did he come from? One of the best aids to research you can get is the series of indexes on microfiche that are produced by the Lincolnshire Family History Society. These cover just about everything in the marriage line from 1700 and work is going on to complete baptisms and burials for the county. There are few entries for CRAMPTON but one that might fit the bill is that of John who marries Ann TALKS in 1807 at Canwick the next door parish. The origin of CRAMPTON is unsure. With the –TON ending one must assume that it derives from a place name. This would be OK except that there is no place listed. The same can be said for CROMPTON as this is a variation. If one adds in the accent then there could be a candidate in CRUMPTON and then the explanation is from the Old English crump. Have you heard of the musical instrument - a crumphorn? There is also the rhyme which mentions the cow with the crumpled horn. This is named so because the meaning of crump is something which is bent or crooked. A town with a bend or corner in the middle.

Did you pick up on the item in Bits and Bobs last week? Was the item put into the original newspaper as a hoax? If you don't know what I mean just try writing out the inscription that was found on the bowl and then alter the spacing a slightly.

Bits and Bobs

Friday 21^st April 1809 – On Tuesday the 11^th inst. as William BOROUGHS of Marston near Grantham, was passing through the Churchyard there, he was struck to the ground by lightning, and it was a considerable time before he recovered his senses. His clothes were much scorched, but he was not personally injured.

Lincolnshire Family History Society Journal February 07

What Does One Do?

 

I have a little book, a Ready Reckoner, dated 1807 which I bought for a few shillings some time ago and realise that I should really sell it on as it is part of someone's tree. The name inside is George WILES, Louth, and at the time of his acquiring it I feel that he was about 13 years of age. My reason for thinking this is that there is a date inside for the year 1823 and on the inside at the back there is written July 28^th 1810. He also wrote, as one does at that age, on the inside. "The Rose is Read, the Grass is green, the days is past That I have seen and when I am dead Go toul the bell and Take This Book and use it well." This has been written several times. Other items of interest are the name Francis SPENCER on the same line as is written Horkstow and another name that might be, although it is difficult to say for sure as it is mixed in with other writings, Martha HOED or HOOD or HOCKNEY. A quick search has turned up George, I think, in the 1881 census. He is aged 71 and born in 1810 which links in to the date in the book and lives with his wife Jane, born Bigby. He was born in Little Carlton and farmed in Ludborough and both of these places are in the Louth Registration District. The name WILES is thought to come from an occupation such as a trapper of fish or especially eels. The Middle English wyle was a wicker trap.

Jayne SUMMERS lives in Telford and has a Lincolnshire ancestry. Her maiden name is ELDRED and through her research has managed to get back to a James at around 1762 in Thurlby. The name ELDRED goes right back to at least 1066 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The origin of the name is as a counsel either Ealdræd as the old counsel or Ǽoelræd and a noble counsel. If this family is one on your tree then get in touch with Jayne at jasummers@btconnect.com who is waiting with bated keyboard for your email.

 

Bits and Bobs

4th November 1882 - Louth Advertisers - Mr Editor: The object of this letter is to inform you of a curious fact which I think will be interesting to many of your readers. The Sexton of our Church was engaged a day, or two ago, digging a grave in the Churchyard. When at a depth of four feet his spade struck something which repelled it. He at first thought it was a stone, but he discovered the object was round and had a rim of dark colour; in shape something like that of a pudding basin. The Sexton carefully dug around the object and at last succeeded in disclosing a large round vase, of ancient design, more than two inches thick and of a very brown earthy colour. Around the vase were a great many cabalistic signs picturing men in armour etc. The vase must be Roman, from the following inscription in half-worn letters around the rim: ´ITI SAPIS SPOTANDITIS AB IGONE´. The vase has been sent to a Gentleman in Louth interested in antiquarian relics for his opinion. I am, etc J.B., Laceby, 30 Oct 1882.

Where is it now and what was it?

Do Your Bit For The Environment

This week sees the start in Grasby of a series of mini-projects financed by CSV Action Earth and Morrisons. The amount of money is small but it is just enough to put on an event that can make a large difference. The criteria are that it must be environmental so could be bird cakes, boxes, feeding stations or planting wildflowers. If you are interested then go to the website and get an application form and enjoy the community work.
The names that came up during the first mini project consist of font-names and locations. BENNETT for example comes from the Old French Beneit that became the quite common Christian name Benedict in the 12th century. ROBERTSON along with the hundreds of other names ending in -SON very nearly all come from a Christian name such as Robert, Richard or William whose male offspring became ROBERTSON, RICHARDSON and WILLIAMSON and so on down through the centuries. Still on the subject of William as a Christian name we have in Grasby the name GILLMAN. Although it does not look much like it the name William is the origin here. The French for William we twinners know from Sillè le Guillaume which is the town next to our twin village in France. The surnames from the same root are many and various and include such as WELLMAN, WILLIMAN and the one nearest to the original, GUILLERMAN. On the other hand HASWELL is a locational name and comes from the dweller whose home was at a well that had lots of hazels around it. Similarly a prime site on which to live was one that was good enough to be labelled a fair field and naturally enough that resulted in the surname of FAIRFIELD. A slightly different type of location is that of LAYCOCK for this is a parish by the same name. In this case it is most likely to be Laycock in the west riding of Yorkshire.
A question of interest that appeared recently on the ‘net is that of Kath HEYWOOD who is looking for the youngest children of Mary & Robert GOLLING of Grantham. The mystery comes about by the death of the parents in 1842. William aged 10 years just disappears and is never seen again it seems for neither the death nor marriage can be found. Susannah age 6 years is thought to have lived in Lancashire for some time and where she had an illegitimate daughter in 1864. Where did they disappear too? Drop me a line if you know. The name GOLLING is another of those with a Christian name origin. This has the same origin as JOLLANDS and GOLLANDS. All these are from Joel-in which is the diminutive of Joel.
Bits and Bobs
THE GRIMSBY GUARDIAN AND GENERAL ADVERTISER - 25th September 1855 - Christopher HARPER, apprentice to Joseph APPLEYARD of Cleethorpes, tailor, John ROBINSON of Cleethorpes, fisherman, Thomas GRANT of Cleethorpes, fisherman and George DABB, carrier between Cleethorpes and Grimsby, were summoned at the instance of Superintendent CAMPBELL, who caught them in a garden in the parish of Scartho, on Sunday night, the 16th instant, stealing apples. They were each fined 10s and the costs, in each case amounted to 12s

Immigration is not new

Win FEARNLEY has written to me on the subject of her maiden name. PICKAVER is a very rare name in Lincolnshire with just the one family in 1881. Win’s grandfather came from the village of Wymondham in Leicestershire and a check of the census shows that this village had links to several of the families. A rather nice touch was the finding of George Robert PICKOVER who was living in Derbyshire which showed the manner in which the locals pronounced the village name. His place of birth is listed as being Wyeham in Leicestershire. The PICKAVER family history includes the possibility that the name might be Huguenot in origin. This I feel is unlikely for the following reason. The main flood of Huguenot immigrants came at the middle of the 17th century when something like 50,000 arrived. These had to fit in with an English population that is estimated at six million people. At that time the population had already set out the surnames that we use today. The origin of the name PICKOVER according to the dictionary is as a nickname meaning to pick oats from the Middle English pikken. The name was in use in England in around the year 1255. Try ‘Googling’ the word Huguenot. For more information on the Huguenots there are some good links at the National Huguenot Society web page. The nearest surname to PICKAVER you can find on the web page is PICKENS and PICKON. FEARNLEY has a nice simple history. There has been little change over the several hundred years that it has been in use. Back in 1200 it was spelt simply FERNLEE and came from the ‘dweller in the fern covered clearing’ and the possible village that grew up there that took the name Farnley.
David WILKINS emailed me via ifor@familyroots.org and mentioned that he had two unusual names in the family tree. The first mentioned is that of BAZLINGTON. This changes easily to BASLINGTON and one would think that this is simply a village somewhere or other. Sadly this is not the case as there is no sign of a village by this name even though there are people with the BASLINGTON name all across the world. The national index for 1881 census gives just five families throughout England and Wales. Could it be from the same root as Basing and Basingstoke which are connected to the man called Basa who first lived there. Lastly there is the name GABBITAS and a similar one which I have found locally to the Caistor area. This Yorkshire name comes, I believe, from a font name. The pet form of the name Gabriel is GABB and the diminutive version of this is GABBOT or GABBUT. The local version is GORBUTT. One of the first mentions of this name is with John GABYTUS in Newark at the end of the 15th century. For everything you ever wanted to know about the GABBITAS family go to www.gabbitasgenealogy.com/ and take a look at the family tree.
Bits and Bobs
The Times - 9th September 1808 - General News: The mysterious disappearance of Mr John DEWHIRST, of Sothy, Lincolnshire, who left his family on Saturday the 17th of October last, (1807), and was supposed to have been murdered on his return to Horncastle Market, is at length accounted for. His friends have lately received a letter from him, wherein he states that he is in good health, in the Island of Jamaica, that he has got a place of £160 per year, and he hopes his wife will go to him. He adds, that he ´left his family to acquire property enough to support old age´. The letter was read to many persons on Saturday in Horncastle Market. Two men were in Louth prison last week, charged with the murder of Mr DEWHIRST.

One Fat Pig

During the week I came across a leaflet which was a purchase agreement from December 1928 between D J Dodds who agreed to sell to G W Robinson one fat pig weighing in at about 30 stones dead weight. G W R was buying the pig on what seems to be hire purchase of six shilling per week payable every Friday. This was witnessed by C Portess. Some conversions for those reading this column that don’t understand real weights and money. The 30 stones the pig weighed will convert to around 190 Kg and this was paid for at 30p per week. The shape of pigs has changed somewhat since 1926. One website gives the following information. Pigs are also referred to as growing pigs (40 - 125 pounds), and finishing pigs, weighing from 125 pounds to market weight--usually about 230 pounds. Probably because of the liking for a leaner meat the weight is now nearer 100kg almost half that of 1926.

My quest this week has been to link a marriage certificate from Liverpool in the name of bomford to an entry in the 1881 census for bamford in the parish of Windle. Many of the people concerned could not be found in several of the other censuses available and had not yet been entered into the FreeBMD database. The husband on the certificate is Alfred Barry Bomford – a grocer. The head of household on the 1881 census is Alfred B Bamford, born Cheltenham, who is the manager of a Cocoa Room, plus his wife and his children who were born in St Helens. The ages and christian names are about right but how does one prove a link between the two? Firstly, and for no apparent reason, it does not look as though the couple signed their certificate because the handwriting seems to be that of the minister and there is no evidence of ‘their mark’ so it could be that the minister just made a mistake as to the spelling. A search for the children was more successful. The youngest that turned up was Edith who was registered in the district of Prescott. The Alfred Joseph B Bamford was also to be found in Prescott and the likelihood of this combination of Christian names turning up is remote. The clincher is that of last name I found being registered. William Barry Bamford was registered in Prescott in 1863 and this was the third age that agreed with the data I had and the middle name coincided nicely with that of his father. So one can be fairly sure that the bomford is just a misspelling of the name bamford. The district of Prescott includes St Helens and Windle which was later transferred to St Helens. The Bamford name can be found in Lincolnshire but the main concentration is from the Midlands level with the Wash in a line up to Liverpool. The name comes from the ford that had a beam as a footbridge over the stream.

Bits and Bobs

To be found at www.ancestordocs.co.uk/lincolnshire - 160/4 Atkinson, James of Snitterby dated 1877. A probated copy of a Will in parchment along with certificate of Probate which has a wafer seal attached. Listed are the daughters Mary Jane (w/o Joseph Thomas of Snitterby), Martha (w/o Matthew Swallow), Elizabeth deceased (w/o George Wilkins of Lewisham, Kent) and her children Charlotte Elizabeth, George, James, Mary Ann, Emma, Martha Matilda, Harry & Jane. Several pieces are missing (having the appearance of burns) from the bottom edge which does not affect the text. There is one small hole in text with loss of 2 letters. £17

Unknown Unknowns

Anne of internet fame along with a small group of Lincolnshire Family History Society members has a new mission. Once a month they congregate at the archives and check through the BTs. BT is short for Bishop’s Transcript, which is a copy of the parish register that was sent annually to the Bishop. They can be on parchment of various shapes and sizes, illegibility and condition. There are over a thousand pages of BTs sitting in the Lincolnshire Archives which do not have a name of a parish on them. The group is attempting to identify the parish to which they belong and in fact there are a few that don’t have a date either. This work will benefit all those with Lincolnshire ancestors. None of these BTs have been filmed and consequently the events in them may not appear on the IGI. They have so far positively identified about 50 different BTs. For more detailed information Dr Mike Rogers, Archivist in charge of this project, has written a short piece for the next Lincolnshire Family History Society journal about the project and what will happen to the BTs once identified. Anne came up with the bright idea of passing the transcript of some of the BTs that they are stuck on to the Lincolnshire List. She explains that “Where there is a burial of a child on a BT, but no baptism, the IGI is invaluable - finding the baptism usually leads to the correct parish, but not always. The census can be used for place of birth from BTs after about 1770, assuming that the child baptised lived to a good age. We are also using the marriage indexes (but need further verification from Parish Registers of Baptism & Burial on the same BT), Wills indexes, marriage bonds, names of vicars, curates etc. However, your combined personal knowledge may lead to short cuts.” To further the work she is sending details of some of the BTs for everyone to work on. An example BT is this - The year is 1765/6 and there are only two events on the BT. Ann daughter of Antony & Izatt Spur baptised 29 December 1765; Ann wife of William Barsley buried 4 Jan 1766.
The only one that I can find on the IGI is the baptism of an Anthony son of Daniel & Elizabeth spurr at High Toynton in November 1738. On the next item I have found the baptism of a William barrsely the son of William & Ann in 1748 at High Toynton. Could this be it? Or do you know better!! To carry these further I would need to check out the parish registers.
The main concentration of the SPURR surname can be found in Cornwall. There is a secondary concentration in the Doncaster area. I wonder why these two areas are so far apart? The surname comes from the holder who was making spurs for sale.
Barsley is more local with most of the people living in the fens. The indications are that it originates from a place name but I have been unable to find any likely candidates.
Bits and Bobs
THE TUESDAY EXPRESS – Kent - 7th January 1908 - A JANUARY HARVEST: The almost unprecedented sight of harvesting corn crops in January was seen in Lincolnshire on Saturday. Several fields of wheat, barley and oats in the Branston Fen, have been sold by auction as they stood in the fields. A Heckington miller purchased the cropping, and the frozen condition of the land enabled him to use the reaper with such good effect that the bulk of corn was gathered in on Saturday. It is proposed to celebrate the novel event with a harvest supper to the men engaged in the unseasonable work.
An early sign of global warming perhaps!!

Interested in the Loft

The new Lincolnshire Family History Society magazine has arrived and one of the items I liked this time was the article on General Loft who had visited Grasby. This is written by Tinribs in addition to which there is the view from the family side written by John Henry Lofts great great grandson. The articles remind us that the Lincolnshire Family History Society has transcribed the notebooks of General Loft and published them on a CD. Loft’s claim to fame for the genealogist or village historian of Lincolnshire is through his travels in the county between 1826 and 1844. He recorded anything and everything that took his fancy and noted both the churches and families. Many of the items he recorded have now disappeared and some of them never existed but were just the local gossip. Items such at the “I was told at Barton St Mary that Elizabeth Walker was a Lady of easy virtue who raised a good property by that means”. If she is in your family tree then she is definitely worth investigation. A second item that is worth a mention is that of the robber named bailey who was one of the outlaws of ‘Kippy Koppy Wood.’ Where did that name come from? This is just one of several extremely interesting articles but you will have to get the Journal to read the rest.

Helen dodd, who lives in Woodall Spa is looking to put on a workshop for the children and to take a look at surnames. One of the names that she mentioned is that of priestner. Now every one of the names that has priest in the word is linked to a man of the cloth. Priestman is a servant of a priest, priestland lives on a piece of land that belongs to the priest and priestley dwells in the clearing in the priests woods, except that I can’t find priestner in the dictionary. Could it be that the word was just a corruption at some time in the past? It might be from Prester which is thought to be a nickname for someone that was either priest like in bearing or the complete opposite somewhat along the lines of calling someone that was BIG by the name LITTLE.

Dodd was a personal name that seems to have been used throughout the whole of the country.

Bits and Bobs

Tuesday Oct 25^th 1898 – Long Sutton – On Wednesday last Mr Charles biggadike drove into the White Lion Yard with a load of pigs from Spalding; and as soon as he had jumped out the horse bolted. The cart was upset and the pigs scattered in all directions. The animals, very young ones, went scampering all over the Market Place and the search for them lasted most of the night. One pig was found in Mr neaverson’s at the Crown and Woolpack Hotel sitting against the back kitchen fire!

Lincolnshire Family History Society Journal

Hammerton of Hammerton

Last week, if you remember, I mentioned documents concerning Messingham then Richard hammerton contacted me for some further data as he has family tree links to the WASS family. One of the things we talked about was his tree that goes back to 1781 and I must wonder if this is a specific item because a search of the Latter Day Saints’ website familysearch also gives a family tree going back to the same date. A coincidence? Perhaps. While I keep repeating myself by saying don’t believe everything said or written because we are only human I did find a family tree on the site that went back to the origin of the name and the village of Hamerton in Yorkshire. The earliest entry in the tree is that of Richard Hamerton of Hamerton Yorkshire born around 1141 according to the Familysearch submitter. The line goes through a number of generations getting to Aukburgh (Alkborough), and Gervase Hammerton born 1597 who is assumed, according to the entry, to have married Jane gildas of Barton “abt 1627”. At around this point people carrying out research should have access to the registers and can verify the facts. By the 19^th century the hammerton family had settle in Wragby. George was born there in 1836 and was a bricklayer but lived in Melville St, Lincoln with eight children. There was a lot of travel undertaken by this family for his wife was from Warwickshire and two of the children had been born in Sheffield. A likely brother, John, was born Wragby in 1834 but was now a builder living in Buckingham with his family of six children and listed on the birthplaces are again some links to Yorkshire. The surname profiler puts the highest concentration of hammertons in London but there are a large number just to the west of the Humber in 1881. By 1998 the name has spread throughout the country. The village of Hammerton gets its name from the town or tun being near or on an Old English hamor or hill.

The name gildas later became regularised as gilders or gelders. A similar looking spelling is that is difficult to separate is gilder for the name could be either. One answer to the origin is that of the occupation of gilder and to gild and the other is also an occupation this time as the caretaker of a guildhall. As we all know it is so easy to leave off or put on an‘s’ that it would be hard to say which is which.

On March 17^th at Bracebridge village hall will be the event you have waited all year for. The Lincolnshire Family History Society Family History day and it starts at 0945. the varied program will be looking at Gravestones, a history of dialects and the history of newspapers. As if that is not enough there will also be the bookstall which will have an index for just about everything. Contact Mrs Robson, 135 Balderton Gate, Newark, NG24 1RY to book your seat as there are a limited number of places available.

Bits and Bobs

LRSM - 2nd December 1825 - Awful Instances of Mortality - On Sunday evening last, 27th November, aged 36 years, Mr. William HANSON, grazier of Butterwick. On Monday evening, 28th November, aged 62 years, Mrs. HANSON, wife of Mr. R. HANSON, a very respectable wool-buyer, grazier, etc., of that place, and Mother of Mr William HANSON: And on Tuesday evening, the 29th November, aged 40 years, Elizabeth, wife of the above Mr William HANSON, leaving seven orphans to lament their loss. All died after a short illness.

Legal Eagle

While it is highly likely that there will be a long queue to check out the following documents it might be an idea to get your name down now for a viewing. Rex Johnson had put the following information onto the internet forum concerning the deposit of documents into Grimsby Archives because the Scunthorpe Museum has insufficient room for the mass of documents involved. A Scunthorpe solicitor, Mr Hett had decided to have a clear out and instead of throwing away 17^th documents, something that I know has taken place in the past by others, had offered them to the museum service. A large pat on the back to the solicitor and will other holders of documents please take note. When a friend of Rex asked him to look at a sample of the documents to see what was available he ended up with four large boxes relating to Messingham and it is supposed that this is a fraction of what is being held. The opening of the boxes revealed a treasure trove of documents that included original Wills, Deeds, Conveyances, Mortgages, Land Disputes etc. and Rex reported that he had “never seen such a collection of vellum, parchment, original papers”. It is supposed that there will be as wide a coverage of many other villages. The papers are not indexed so who knows, this might be a job for the Lincolnshire Family History Society and I am sure that an index on fiche may eventually be produced by their valiant volunteers. If you would like to know more about access to these documents then contact Grimsby Archives and John.Wilson@nelincs.gov.uk. Rex has put a list in his email of some of the people mentioned in the documents that he saw. There were Wills for John Martyn gent., 1628-9; Ralphe Rowbottom, 1638; Francis Rowbottom of East Ferry, Yeoman, 1655/6; Wm. Hood 1658; Jane Hood, 1658; Helen Little wid., 1662; Wm. Atkinson 1794. An original will of William Smith 1763. Will of James Holland 1808. Administration of Goods of William Clarke, late of Ashby, 1834. Lease of Abraham Stocks. Wm. Kendall and others, land to Wm. Walker 1834. John Hall mortgage 1834. Abraham Stocks mortgage to Frances Pilfoot 1849. Elizabeth Wright 1851. Copy of Amelia Sowerby's baptism certificate. Will of Thomas Sowerby proved 31 July 1818. Names in other documents related to: Samuel Simpson, John Dauber, Hannah Nicholson, Hannah Mason, Edward Hannath, John Bennet, Thomas Freer, William Whaplate, Mary Toft, John Wray, Edward Westoby, George Benson, John Cawkwell, Thomas Mundy, Mary Hammond, Charlotte Richardson, Robert Hide, Thomas Bird etc. etc. What a fantastic spread of data. Over two hundred years of history saved. Alan Wass who originally found out about the deposit did so because he asked the Archive if there was any information about Windmills. He, and several other Messingham residents, have just produced a booklet called “A Brief History of Messingham”. Rex is currently transcribing Messingham parish records to put online at FreeREG which a site is collecting parish material for people to trace ancestors at the parish level without having to subscribe or pay for the data.

One name that is new to me is that of pilfoot. It is not in the dictionary and neither is it on the surname profile website. By 1901 just one holder of the name is listed. Charles pilfoot was born in Goxhill and lived in Sculcoates. John Sherwood pilfoot is listed as living in Hull with his wife in 1881 but there are no other entries for this family. As John and Elizabeth didn’t died until around 1910 just where were they in 1901?

Bits and bobs

LRSM - 17th February 1832 - Marriage: At Spilsby on Wednesday the 8th February, Mr COUPLAND of Skendleby to Mrs DALES of the former place. - The Bridegroom became dissatisfied with his bargain before midnight and shortly after supper left his Bride to mourn her absent Lord.

French for Barrel?

During my time on the lookout for the funding of the Grasby project I have come across many names and a number of them have ended up in this column. One that has turned up just the once is that of beharrell. The name also came up again recently on the internet with the question “Could the BEHARRELL surname have turned up as BARRELL?” A search soon turns up a history of the BEHARRELL family, along with the information that they came to England from Northern France and Holland in 1626. The first recorded instance in England of the name BEHARRELL was in 1587 when a family of that name was living in Canterbury, a town on the south coast close to the English Channel and France. There is no record of the continued existence of this family. Almost all BEHARRELLS in England, the USA, Canada and Australia can trace their origins to the three BEHARRELL families of French Huguenots (Walloons) who arrived here in 1626 as part of a larger group of 85 families, to carry out drainage work in the Isle of Axholme, and the marshy area on the border between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The Huguenot community in France had become subject to religious persecution and as a result of this some of the community left France and fled to Holland, settling down in the town of Middleburg on the small island of Walcheren immediately north of the border with France.
It is thought that the Middleburg community went as a body to Sandtoft in the Isle of Axholme. The BEHARRELL families in England must have kept contact with their friends and relatives in Walcheren because in 1794 Anna BEHARRELL (d. 1794) widow of Abraham (b. 1702 d. 1776) bequeathed 25 pounds to her daughter Elizabeth GRABOURN "now settled in Flushing in Zealand". Flushing is on the island of Walcheren about 6 miles south of Middleburg. After the drainage of the Isle of Axholme was finished, the families split, one group moving south about 70 miles to the Fens around Peterborough. The other moved a short distance of 10 miles north to the area around Snaith and Drax, then moving some 30 miles east to settle in Wawne in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Research was carried out in 1989 to 1991, with a small addition in 1995 and added to work already done by John BEHARRELL (1893 - 1956), Sir George BEHARRELL (1873 - 1959) and by Gordon and June BEHARRELL of Shrewsbury and the results can be found on the internet. However Frank DICKENSON has been looking for the last ten years and is still looking for one important piece of information. This is the date and place of birth of Robert BEHARRELL who was born between 1705 and say 1720 probably in Wawne or a nearby parish. He died in 1790. There are still BEHARRELLS in the area today. I have been unable to find the meaning of the name but it does occasionally get spelt BARRELL.
Bits and Bobs
LRSM - 23rd May 1800 - If the Legal Representatives of Charles FOWLER, Son of Joseph FOWLER, formerly of Goltho in the County of Lincoln. Gent, deceased and of Selina FOWLER, daughter of the same Joseph FOWLER, will apply to Mr BALDWIN, Attorney at Law in Lincoln, they will hear of something to their advantage. The said Charles FOWLER was bound Apprentice in the Year 1773 from Christ´s Hospital, London to a Captain RATCLIFFE, who then traded to Jamaica: was afterwards in the Year 1777, a Midshipman on Board one of His Majesty´s Ships then lying at Spithead; and in the month of February 1779, was in Quebec in Canada. The said Selina FOWLER married a Mr SPENCER, supposed to be a Sea-faring Man, and died about the Year 1769.

Chalk to Cheese

Whilst running a genealogical workshop in the village I came across a couple of new names; the first is, I believe, a corruption through the Lincolnshire accent that changes farrington to forinton. There are several indications for this with the name also being spelt forington and forriton. The only snag is that the name does go back to the end of the 18^th century and before the census and GRO index so it looks as though it will have to be a trawl of the registers in the Boston area. There does seem to be just the one family with this name and no others in the area with the farrington surname. The surname concentration is on the west side of the country from as far north as Lancashire down to the Welsh border. I am sure that this is just to compensate Heather for the problems that she will have as she carries out her research into the SMITH family tree! In the IGI there are 750 Aarons with the smith surname which is almost as bad as my problem with the William Jenkins of Wales that I have to contend with. It is as though to prove my mention of the concentration correct that it turns out that the origin of the name is from the village of Farington in Lancashire which is the ‘ton’ where the ferns grow.

According to FreeBMD one of the forinton family married a Passable but I can’t find any that look like that in the dictionary; the nearest I can get to sound like it are Perseval and one spelt passifull which is not far from passable and it and wouldn’t take a great deal to change the sound to fit.

I must apologise for the next item which Anne put on the internet and I know it is rather long but if you are interested in fleshing out your family then it just shows how detailed the newspaper reports can be. I must say that it does go into just a little bit too much detail.

Thrashing Machines and Penalties for Negligence. - On Friday last, Mr. Hitchins held an inquest on the body of Wm. Jow, aged 13, in the employ of Mr. Newton, of Nocton, who had been killed by a thrashing machine: the head and left side of the body were found dreadfully fractured, and the left arm and left thigh broken. The machine was in a barn, with the tumbler-shaft passing through a door-board, and uncovered, - the box which ought to have covered it, and thereby rendered it safe, lying near. The coroner observed that this was another instance of death from sheer neglect. Mr. Newton's foreman remarked that there should be an Act to compel those in the care of machines to put on the box, and then all would be obliged to do it, but at present there was not one in fifty that did. The coroner said he believed such was the fact, for in nearly all cases the neglect was the same; but as to an Act, there was one against riding on shafts, and it did not prevent servants from doing so. The deceased, it seemed, was employed in clearing away straw, but for some reason went to the other side, when his slop caught, and he was instantly whirled round, his head, arms, and legs hitting against the ground and the machine: it was immediately stopped, but before he was extricated the youth was quite dead, having neither cried nor spoken. - The coroner, in summing up the evidence, censured the not putting on the box, and said that if the Jury thought a deodand necessary, it ought not to be a nominal one, but such as would be a "pocket-remembrancer". After consulting for some time, the Jury returned a verdict in conformity with the above evidence, and recommended Mr. Newton to have the danger obviated, expressing their opinion that no thrashing-machine ought to be worked without having the tumbler-shaft covered. Before the coroner left, the board was cut as recommended by him, and the box put on - a work of only a few minutes. [LRSM Friday 6 February 1846]

Top of the Tots

The Office of National Statistics has brought out its end of the year report on Christian names. The top few names change only gradually with the top places swapping over time and again. This year is no exception with the boys but it is all change for the girls with Olivia and Grace moving up to join Jessica in the top three. Jessica is now the third most popular name for a girl with nearly four and a half thousand registrations last year. With them in the top five there is the ever green Emily and new comer Ruby, a name that is making a comeback, climbing 69 places. A couple a new names are Summer with nearly nine hundred entries and Autumn with just fifty-five although it is noted that there are no girls named Spring or Winter. Still blossoming in the top thirty are Lily, Daisy and Poppy.

With Jack being given to almost seven thousand babies last year it still reigns as the number one Christian name, along with Thomas and Joshua these continue to be the three most popular boy’s names. Just beneath these is Oliver then Harry making this the first time since goodness knows when for James to be out of the top five.

Events around the world influence the names that children get given. Victoria and Albert came to prominence during the 19^th century but today it is television and sport that shapes the registrations. Theo has arrived in the top one hundred. Could this be as a result of the football fan and Theo Walcotts appearance in the World Cup? Celebrity children have given the UK a number of new names. Who knows where Shayne, Cruz, Maddox, Jayden, Lexie and Peaches came from? And why Ordinary Boy Preston? If you would like to know more then go to the ONS at www.statistics.gov.uk.

As a document the 1911 census remains well and truly closed until 2012 due to the contents being of a personally sensitive nature. However in response to a Freedom of Information request the Information Commissioner’s favourable decision means that The National Archives must supply some of the information it contains. With the continuing rise in people’s interest in family history The National Archives is developing an online 1911 census service, covering most parts of the census and a searchable database should be ready by 2009. Until then there is a basic service that you can use to get specific information from the 1911 census. It does not have a surname index therefore the only data that can be readily provided is from an address. My advice though is to wait a while until the database comes on line. The cost of a search for a single address is £45 and there will be no refunds.

Bits and Bobs

LRSM – March 20^th 1818 - Two paupers named BAXTER residing at Duddington near this place [Stamford], lately made a complaint to the magistrates of the refusal of the Parish Officers to allow them proper means of support. The Officers, confident that the application was an improper one, for their own justification, instituted a search in the cottage occupied by the complainants, and actually found, wrapped in old stockings, rags, etc, and secreted in the roof and other parts of the tenement, no less a sum than £92-8s-1½d, in silver and half-pence. The paupers (who were sisters) and their Mother had received Parish Relief for nearly 40 years!

(The exchange rate for today would be about £68,300) www.measuringworth.com

Did you know?

The Family Record Centre sends out a newsletter on a regular basis. Via the newsletter I found the information that will be of interest to researchers in family history and are going to make a visit to London. If you are coming up against the brick wall that we all manage to collide with at some time or other then the following could be an answer. The FRC now holds regular Family History Surgeries on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The surgeries are intended to help family historians who have come to a halt with their research. Their expert members of staff are on hand to suggest ways of getting around your personal brick walls. Each surgery lasts for half an hour with sessions starting at 10:30, 11:00, 12:00 and 12:30. If you would like to book a family history surgery please phone 0208 392 5300 or send them an email.
While on the subject of the FRC. They have an online exhibition of famous people and the data linked to them. There are famous names from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries being put in the exhibition. Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Emmeline Pankhurst, Ellen Terry, Walter Tull, Virginia Woolf and Sir Henry Irving are the nine personalities to be featured. The Lewis Carroll exhibition is now available online. This, together with the exhibitions featuring Charles Dickens, Emmeline Pankhurst and Ellen Terry can be accessed via the links at www.familyrecords.gov.uk and the FRC Extra. The site gives examples of the various official documents available to the researcher.
An unusual name has come to me from Richard in South Park Lincoln on the subject of his g-g-grandfather James ecob who joined the police force at Louth in 1859. In 1861 there are five James ecob individuals in the area. One born in Leicestershire lives in Lincolnshire, one born in Lincolnshire lives in Leicestershire and a third is born and lives in Lincolnshire. With only 77 ecob individuals turning up and almost every single one of these has a link to Leicestershire one must assume that they are all related. Of these there are two that are named James that could be the person mentioned by Richard. The first James is born in 1801 in Leicestershire and the second James is born in Lincolnshire in 1829 but was in Leicestershire for the census. You can get a copy of either of these entries via the ancestry.co.uk website. Another place to check out is that of genealogy.com where there are a number of ECOB family members listed from this area carrying out research. Rootsweb has even more information. James ECOB born 1801 in Ingoldsby married Elizabeth ANNISS at Plunger in 1824 and over the next 25 years they had 13 children. James is thought to have died between 1861 and 1871. Elizabeth was alive in Melton Mowbray until 1886. this name also turned up the ever present problem of those who write down the details are human. A number of the family are born at Goadby Marwood, Leics. but the 1881 census says that they are born at GOODLY, Lincolnshire. So far I have not found the origin of the name but will carry on the search. Watch this space.
Bits and Bobs
LRSM – Nov 11th 1800 - To Clergymen and Others who have the Care of Registers: Whoever will certify to William GRESSWELL of Burgh in the Marsh, in the County of Lincoln, the Marriage of Richard GRESSWELL, late of Metheringham near the City of Lincoln, deceased, shall be rewarded with Five Guineas for their Trouble, by the said William GRESSWELL. ´Tis supposed that the aforesaid Richard GRESSWELL´s Marriage was solemnized in some Church or Chappel in the neighbourhood of Metheringham aforesaid, or at Sleaford, in the same County, between the years 1705 and 1720 as the Baptisms of his Infants were at Metheringham regularly registered.

Illustrating Your Family Tree

Herbert Ingram came from Boston and was the son of a local butcher. He became its MP and there is a statue of him in St Botolph’s church in Boston. His claim to fame is that he was the founder of the Illustrated London News which has an archive on their Web site www.iln.co.uk/iln/ and very interesting it is too. If you like to illustrate your family tree with pictures from the time then this is worth a look. I thought Herbert might be someone to look at for the column but when I checked against the 1881 census he couldn’t be found. My initial reaction was that he must have died before this date as he would have been 70, however there was more to it than that. Born in 1811 he moved to and worked in London before starting his own business in Nottingham. He noticed that every time a publication had an illustration it increased its sales so decided to bring out his own. With just sixteen pages and two illustrations per page he was soon making £12,000 a year. He became MP for Boston in 1856 and was attacked for running his campaign in the ILN and the Punch magazine. Four years later he took his family to America to find material for the ILN and while on board the Lady Elgin the ship collided on Lake Michigan and sank he and drowned almost all the other passengers. The name Ingram has three areas of high concentration. One in Scotland, one in Wales and the third is in the Dorset area of England. Originating from the Old German Engel-rammus, Angle raven, there are many people recorded in the Yorkshire area with the name in the 12^th century no doubt coming from invaders.

The recent couple of columns have generated some phone calls to clarify a few points. The first answer needed was for Mr Wright for the telephone number to contact Ancestry.com. This can be found on the web site and is 0800 404 9723 (free phone) Representatives are available from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 12pm.

Mrs Young would like to find the place to get a copy of the book, Volume 94, recently sent out by the Lincoln Record Society. The best place to find it is the society itself. The books are not cheap and the most cost effective way of purchasing a copy is to join the society. They have a website from which the membership application form can be downloaded. The secretary can be reached at the Cathedral Library, The Cathedral, Lincoln.

Bits and Bobs

LRSM - August 21^st 1795 - MARSTON FEAST - We the inhabitants of MARSTON, near Grantham, having duly considered the bad consequences attending Country Wakes and Feasts, which, tho originally intended for Religious Meetings, are now quite perverted, serving chiefly to encourage Drunkenness the Inlet of Vice and Prophaneness; and further considering that the present alarming high Prices of Provisions, must nearly involve every poor Family in insurmountable Debts and difficulties; which to prevent and keep our Parishioners from such Embarrassments, as well as to check the rapid Growth of Vice and Immorality, we have unanimously agreed to discontinue our ANNUAL FEAST and to give this Public NOTICE, of our Resolution to abolish it. Given under our hands this 16th day of August 1795. (signed) Thomas EDINBOROUGH, Alexander Wright, William GEESON, Thomas WORTH, Richard HARMSTONE, Samuel HUCKERBY, Noah ROPER, William WING, D METHERINGHAM.

Visiting ‘Mecca’

Due to unforeseen circumstances on Saturday I ended up giving out the seeds to grow your own family tree for Zoë Tomlinson and Lindvm Heritage at the Lincolnshire Archives. I was rather dubious giving the talk at such short notice because part of it usually includes an introduction to work on the internet and carrying out research thereon. We managed to get over it and the staff at the Archives were at their usual friendly and helpful best. If you want helpful people, go to the archives. During the day I was helped by the students asking their questions at just the right moments. Although they all insisted they were beginners they seemed to have already carried out work on their trees quite ably.

Louise Gardner is looking for Hearley/Hurley of London in 1880. At that time the Hurley family was concentrated in the Cardiff and Taunton areas. The London contingent seems to be mainly to be born in county Cork, Ireland. We can see from this surname how it is pronounced. It sounds like here-ly as opposed to her-ly. The name comes from a place by the same name. The English version is the village of Hurley just outside Maidenhead.

Chris & Alan Flintham are working on the Goodwin line and especially that in Nottinghamshire at the turn of the 19^th century. The flintham family that I found in Nottinghamshire had many links to Lincolnshire. Several of these are born in Upton or Althorpe. Meanwhile in Lincolnshire the flintham families are in many instances living in villages around Lincoln. This is another that originates from a place name and they haven’t moved very far over the centuries with the village being just outside Newark. Goodwin however always makes me think of the time before the conquest and the fight between Saxons and Normans. The name was originally a font name starting as Godwine from the Old English god, god and wine, friend, protector and lord and is to be found on a number of occasions in the Domesday Book.

Marie Nicholson is looking for Solomon Nicholson of around 1860. Assuming this is the right man there is only one entry in Lincolnshire for 1881. He was a Joiner and lived in Pelham Cottages, St Marks. Born in Thurlby he was married and his wife Sarah is a Lincolnshire lass from Cherry Willingham. Nice and easy origin. This was the son of Nicholas at some time in the past.

Sheila Bradley has her problems with her family tree having roots in Derbyshire. The Farnsworth family came centuries ago from one of the two villages called Farnsworth on the coastal edge of Lancashire. By 1881 the concentration has moved to Derbyshire and in decreasing numbers throughout Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. The village gets its name from the farmstead where the ferns grow according to the Oxford Place-Name Dictionary.

Bits and Bobs

LRSM – 30^th Oct 1818 - On the 16th instant died at Coningsby, James BAKER, shoemaker. On the day after his burial, his disconsolate widow went to be married to one John FOY, an Irishman. The number of persons assembled at the Church to witness the ceremony became so disorderly that the parties could not be married, but the clergyman ordering two Peace Officers to attend the next day, the ceremony was then performed. Some of the rioting multitude, when the newly married couple were returning from Church, endeavoured to get a halter around the bride´s waist, and they pulled the poor woman about in such a manner that they actually broke one of her arms, to the utter disgrace of themselves and the spectators.

From Fosdyke to Traf

From Fosdyke to Trafford
After my report on the arrival of the latest Lincolnshire Family History Society magazine a reader of this column decided that he would like to get hold of a copy and rang me up to find out how.  The magazine can be obtained by filling in a membership application form and sending it with £10 to Mr D Mosley, Whitby Crescent, Woodthorpe Notts, NG5 4LY.  The forms can be found at the above address, the Archives or the Monks Way Research Centre.  
My caller was also at the archives when we did the tour last week and while there carried out a search for Herbert Fowler TRAFFORD of Metheringham.  It turns out that his parents were William and Kate who had five other children according to the 1901 census.   Although William was Metheringham born and bred his wife was born in Middle Rasen.   With a middle name FOWLER one has to wonder if this was from Kate’s side of the family. TRAFFORD has a placename for its origin, FOWLER is an occupation.
Penny FORSDYKE is looking for her ancestor who came from Cambridgeshire at around 1880.  A check of the 1881 census shows that although they might have come from Cambridgeshire and Linton in particular they had not been there very long.  The eldest head of family is Jesse who came from Debenham in Suffolk and worked as a Joiner in the same place is Alfred who might be a possible brother is a journeyman butcher.  According to the book the name comes from the Lincolnshire place name Fosdyke which is quite close to the Wash and Norfolk and seems to be the only one on the map.
The next name is one of the most famous.  When anyone asks what name goes with ROYCE we all know the right answer.  ROLLS has its main concentration in the Dorset area with a small outpost in London which is the area that Harriet ROLLS is interested in. the surname rolls has a myriad of spellings and these range from ROLL to ROWLES via ROLF and ROUFE plus a dozen more.  One of the first mentions of this name is that of a peasant in Lincolnshire going by the name of Rolf of Ormesby in 1147 but there is mention of a Rolf in the Domesday Book.  The name is Scandinavian in origin and started its life as the Old Norse name Hrolfr.  It became a common name in Normandy as ROUL.
A final name is that of SPENCER for Susan THORNALLY.  The name SPENCER is a popular surname with high concentrations throughout England.  The reason for this popularity is due to the occupation of a SPENCER or as was listed in 1204 as Robert le Despenser from the Ancient French espenser, the dispenser of provisions therefore a butler or steward.
One thing I would have liked to have started is that of Archive CD Books -  producing CDs from out of print books by scanning into the computer then sell at a reasonable price.  The company now has bases in a number of countries and is producing their works for the genealogist.  Last year Archive CD Books built a school in Kenya, the Dago Kokore Primary School, from scratch. They fitted out the whole school, paid for resources, and also paid the modest fees for all of the children to attend.  In January 2007 there will be another batch of students starting school.  The 40 children will cost £25 each for three years education and they are already three-quarters of the way to the target.  To give your help just buy your CD of the Lincolnshire census etc.
Bits and Bobs
Horncastle News - September 12th 1903 - The Board of Trade has received through the Foreign Office, London a silver cup for Mr Arthur SMITH, Master of the steam trawler ´Stratton´ of Grimsby, awarded to him by the King of Denmark in recognition of his services for rescuing the crew of an Icelandic fishing boat from the Westmanna Islands, in April this year.

Too Many People Call

Too Many People Called Mary

A recent visitor to the area around Grasby was Jane POTTER from Grantham who was looking for evidence of her ancestors.  The family it is said have come from ‘who knows where’ and in the main at the end of their lives came to be buried in the parish of Searby.  Jane’s problem at the moment is the lack of data on the parents of the Searby family, Joseph & Mary SMALL.  By 1881 only two of the offspring are in evidence, neither of whom live in Searby and Joseph & Mary have been dead for some time.  Going back a further 20 years to 1861 we have a more successful search.  Living in Howsham Lane we find Joseph & Mary.  Joseph the Grocer is born in Northampton and Mary comes from Barrow in Lincolnshire.  Mary is the younger of the two by 15 years and is listed as being born in 1808 and so one must assume that she would not get married until she was at least 15 years old in 1823. However the first baptism for the family is found to be in the Searby register that of son William in 1820 when, according to the dates in the 1861 census, Mary is only 12 years old.  I suggest that the register is correct with the year as they are unlikely to get the date wrong when filling it in. therefore it must be the census.  The burial register has two entries for persons with the name Mary SMALL.  The first is for Mary aged 40 buried in 1829 and the second in 1870 aged 65 so it is conceivable that either could be the wife of Joseph.  A search through the 1851 census or the marriage might give a pointer to which of these is the right one, it is possible that one might be the sister of Joseph. The origin of SMALL could be from the diminutive size of its original holder.  The Old English word smael meant someone that was small slender or thin.
Carol BATTY has written to me.  Her father comes from Yorkshire and wants to know the background of her maiden name JESSOP.  The Jessop name can be found dotted throughout the county but there is now doubt that this is a Yorkshire name through and through. The reason that this surname is JESSOP is entirely due to the fact that it is a Yorkshire name, and that the Yorkshire accent has altered the name JOSEPH to the spelling JESSOP.  Simple isn’t it.  Oddly enough there is a similar origin for Carol’s surname.  Not many of the surnames that have a present day derogatory meaning started life as such.  One only has to think of the present day use of the word that has been hijacked to point out sexual orientation – gay.  BATTY comes from the pet form of the Christian name Bartholomew and its short version Batt.
Bits and Bobs
Extracts relating to the operation of the Poor-laws. - Printed in the year 1833. - HOLBEACH, LINCOLNSHIRE.  Informants, the Overseer and Master of the Workhouse.  Many illegitimate children; ten or twelve every year; bastards increasing; order from 1s. to 2s. 6d. and above,—depends on the circumstances of the father. An unmarried girl, upon leaving the workhouse after her fourth .confinement, said "Well, if I have another child, 1 shall draw a good sum from the parish. and with what I can earn  myself, shall be better off than any married woman in the  parish;" and the master added, that she had met with the good luck she hoped for, as she told him, a short time before I was at Holbeach, that she was with child I  asked him what she had for each child ?  He answered 2s;  And that women in that neighbourhood could easily earn 5s a week all the year through.  Thus she will have 15s a week.
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