Lost and Found
Diana ROBINSON (nee GARDNER) of Rochester in the USA is looking into the history of her great grandmother Jane STUBBLEDAY who married William Dawson FLETCHER at St. Mark's Church in Lincoln on Feb. 20, 1848. The trouble is that William, on occasions, did not use his middle name of Dawson and this has caused some problems with identification. Jane’s maiden name can also be found being spelt in various ways by the family with one of her children it is down as STUBLEY. As Jane only put her mark on documents it is thought that she would not be able to correct the registrar’s mistake. What she would like to know is why, when Jane was born in Wyberton, would she be in Lincoln getting married and where was she in 1841 because she can’t be found on the census? Here we have the Son of Robin and a Gardener plus the person who puts the feathers onto arrows but STUBBLEDAY is not to be found. STUBLEY is thought to be a place in Essex. There is always a chance that the name could have changed from DOUBLEDAY.
Robin DUNN has dropped me a line. His family comes from the north of the county. A look at the 1901 census on line gives the names of George and Elizabeth as being the eldest members there. The trail through the 1881 census lead to brothers John and Joseph and their families. Most families in Lincolnshire were farm labourers but Joseph was the odd one out being a blacksmith by trade. Robin says that the family was living in Wrawby at one time. My transcript of the register confirms the link between Wrawby and South Ferriby with the same pairs of names turning up and this takes the family back to the baptism of William, the son of John & Ann in 1753. The surname DUNN is also the Old English word dunn for dark brown and was sometimes used as a nickname for a dark or swarthy person. The dark brown hedge sparrow is called a dunnock and gets its name from the same root.
Janice is now an OAKMAN and her husband George’s family come from Cambridgeshire and many of these lived in the Foxton area in the 19th century. There were none living in Lincolnshire in 1901 and only 51 individuals in Cambs, there were even less in 1881. The name comes from the Old English Acmann and is a straight forward sort of name as it translates to OAKMAN. Almost without exception the word oak in a name such as OAKES, NOKES or NOCK, OAKER and OAKENROYDE are all linked to people who live near the oak trees or in a clearing (royd). Oakman is slightly different as at one time (1219 in Yorkshire) it was used as a Christian name as in Alexander filius OKEMAN.
Bits and Bobs
Spalding Tuesday February 6th 1855 - Groundless Alarm - on Friday morning, at three o'clock, police constable MEASURES, while crossing the Victoria Bridge, heard cries of murder, fire &c. On proceeding in the direction of the sounds, he observed females with their heads out of the upper windows of the house of Mr. CULY, who, in answer to his inquiries, stated that someone was breaking into the house. The constable looked well around the premises, but saw nought but a heap of snow, which, it appeared, had just fallen over the back door from the roof of the house, and had awakened the inmates.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Friday, May 05, 2006
Da Vinci Is A Better
Da Vinci Is A Better Way To Be Noticed
Lincoln is soon to become one of THE places to visit after the film of The Da Vinci Code hits the screens. This event had been brought to mind with the reading of a book on almshouses and mention of Lincoln being the second most important site after London for a leper hospital. The Lazar is called thus from St Lazarus and was run by an off-shoot of the Hospitallers of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. It is supposed that the first ever leper hospital in the country was founded in Lincoln by Bishop Regimius during the 11th century. It was named the Malandry and built on common land just outside the city walls near Little Bargate. One item of note was the funding of the Lazar; on Canwick Hill was situated a gallows, those that were destined to take a last look at Lincoln from this viewpoint were buried by the lepers and the Lazar received payment for this service. Leprosy in those days was considered your own fault; you must have been afflicted due to your sinful way of life! After it was discovered that you had the disease you would be given a pep talk by the priest to mend your ways, sprinkled with holy water, given a black gown to wear, a rattle to shake to let all know you were coming by and put into a Lazar and left to fend for yourself. The Leper would not be allowed to visit a church, mill or bake-house, talk to strangers, touch anything that was for sale nor wash in a running stream. A shovel full of earth was thrown at the lepers feet and as far as the community was concerned the leper was already dead - just not buried yet.
A local name I have come across is that of FARMERY. This has little to do with farms but comes from the English habit of knocking letters of from the beginning of French words. Similarly the hamlet near Caenby Corner named Owmby by Spital gets its name from the shortening of the word Hospital. The Old French word is enfermerie is the origin of the English infirmary and a FARMERY would most likely work in the monastery infirmary.
While still on the subject of shutting people away it seems that Sue from Perth, Australia had a relative on the wrong side of the law as far as Australians are concerned. He, Nathaniel FARRANT lived in Stamford as the Goal Keeper. Sorry but when I first read this I was thinking of football and wondered what they called the team in those days!! By 1851 he was a Magistrates Clerk. Could this be thought of as a step up the social ladder? If this is your family Sue would be delighted to hear from you. By 1881 the solitary FARRANT family member to be found in Lincolnshire, is George the bolt-maker of Lincoln who is living in Gainsborough.
The name FARRANT is thought to either come from the Old French ferant which is short for Ferdinand or ferrant being the nickname for one with iron-grey coloured hair.
Bits and Bobs
Jan 6 1837 – there is now living at Misterton near Gainsborough, Mr James FARAM, who has reached the very advanced age of 102 years, and is in the enjoyment of considerable activity and health except for his eyesight, which has failed. He is proof that this neighbourhood is not so prejudicial to health as common opinion has held it to be.
Lincolnshire Family History Society 2001
Lincoln is soon to become one of THE places to visit after the film of The Da Vinci Code hits the screens. This event had been brought to mind with the reading of a book on almshouses and mention of Lincoln being the second most important site after London for a leper hospital. The Lazar is called thus from St Lazarus and was run by an off-shoot of the Hospitallers of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. It is supposed that the first ever leper hospital in the country was founded in Lincoln by Bishop Regimius during the 11th century. It was named the Malandry and built on common land just outside the city walls near Little Bargate. One item of note was the funding of the Lazar; on Canwick Hill was situated a gallows, those that were destined to take a last look at Lincoln from this viewpoint were buried by the lepers and the Lazar received payment for this service. Leprosy in those days was considered your own fault; you must have been afflicted due to your sinful way of life! After it was discovered that you had the disease you would be given a pep talk by the priest to mend your ways, sprinkled with holy water, given a black gown to wear, a rattle to shake to let all know you were coming by and put into a Lazar and left to fend for yourself. The Leper would not be allowed to visit a church, mill or bake-house, talk to strangers, touch anything that was for sale nor wash in a running stream. A shovel full of earth was thrown at the lepers feet and as far as the community was concerned the leper was already dead - just not buried yet.
A local name I have come across is that of FARMERY. This has little to do with farms but comes from the English habit of knocking letters of from the beginning of French words. Similarly the hamlet near Caenby Corner named Owmby by Spital gets its name from the shortening of the word Hospital. The Old French word is enfermerie is the origin of the English infirmary and a FARMERY would most likely work in the monastery infirmary.
While still on the subject of shutting people away it seems that Sue from Perth, Australia had a relative on the wrong side of the law as far as Australians are concerned. He, Nathaniel FARRANT lived in Stamford as the Goal Keeper. Sorry but when I first read this I was thinking of football and wondered what they called the team in those days!! By 1851 he was a Magistrates Clerk. Could this be thought of as a step up the social ladder? If this is your family Sue would be delighted to hear from you. By 1881 the solitary FARRANT family member to be found in Lincolnshire, is George the bolt-maker of Lincoln who is living in Gainsborough.
The name FARRANT is thought to either come from the Old French ferant which is short for Ferdinand or ferrant being the nickname for one with iron-grey coloured hair.
Bits and Bobs
Jan 6 1837 – there is now living at Misterton near Gainsborough, Mr James FARAM, who has reached the very advanced age of 102 years, and is in the enjoyment of considerable activity and health except for his eyesight, which has failed. He is proof that this neighbourhood is not so prejudicial to health as common opinion has held it to be.
Lincolnshire Family History Society 2001
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Good Old eBay
Good Old eBay
The internet selling site eBay has some Lincolnshire items for sale with surnames attached; the first is an indenture for land in Skirbeck Quarter. Dated from 1860 it is worded thus “This Indenture made the Seventh day of November One thousand eight hundred and sixty between Edward HILLSON of the hamlet of Skirbeck Quarter in the parish of Skirbeck in the county of Lincoln Gardener of the first part, the said Edward HILLSON and Elizabeth his wife (Devisees in fee under the will of Edward HILLSON late of Skirbeck Quarter aforesaid Gentleman deceased) of the second part and Valentine PEPPER of Carrington in the County of Lincoln Farmer of the third part ..... to the mortgage and the price paid which was £1,150”. A fair sum of money for the 19th century. The surname PEPPER comes from the original occupation as a dealer in pepper, a pepperer or spice dealer and is linked to the French variation PEEVER. It was to be found in 1298 when John PEPPER alias PEYUER is listed in one of the London rolls.
Next is an Indenture Deed in the parish of Wigtoft for the Release of a cottage and lands in Wigtoft, Lincolnshire, between Grace CHAPMAN of Swineshead, spinster, and James HOLBOURN of Wigtoft, grazier. Dated 21 January 1784 in the 24th year of the reign of George III. The property consists of All that cottage with a piece of ground adjoining of half an acre in Hofleet in the parish of Wigtoft now in tenure of Richard WARRINER. Also land in Wigtoft Marsh. CHAPMAN comes from the Old English ceapman who was a merchant or trader. The area in London known as Cheapside comes from the same root and ceapman had a market there.
Finally from the same vendor is an Indenture Deed in the parish of Helpringham An indenture regarding property in Helpringham, Lincolnshire, between Eustace PHILIPS of Lincoln, coal merchant, William DURANCE of Helpringham, butcher, and Mary his wife, and Boaz BAXTER of Helpringham, gentleman. Dated 21 April 1774 in the 14th year of the reign of George III. The property consists of: All that cottage with yard, barn, dovecoat and outbuildings in Helpringham in the tenure of Edmund FRITH. Surnames such as FREAK, FIRTH, FRITH, FRIDD and FRIGHT and the latecomer THRIFT all come from the Old English firhþe or fyrhþe which was a woodland. The TH pronounced in FIRTH is the Old English þ.
Bits and Bobs
The following link was given on the internet www.fred.net/jefalvey/execute.html. This link is for a page on Newgate Prison in London and the List of Executions from 1606. Newgate Prison was probably the most notorious prison in all England and one that almost everyone has heard of. A prison has stood on the Newgate site for almost a thousand years. The first prison was nearly as old as the Tower of London and much older than the Bastille. It is first mentioned in the reign of King John and in the following reign of Henry the III, (1218), the King expressly commands the sheriffs of London to repair it, and promised to repay them from his own exchequer. This shows that the prison was under the direct control of the King at that time. The prison itself was originally above the gate or in the gatehouse. Carry out a search for the word Lincoln and the first entry for Lincoln that comes up is - HORRY, William Fred 1872 01 Apr Murder of wife; Lincoln.
The internet selling site eBay has some Lincolnshire items for sale with surnames attached; the first is an indenture for land in Skirbeck Quarter. Dated from 1860 it is worded thus “This Indenture made the Seventh day of November One thousand eight hundred and sixty between Edward HILLSON of the hamlet of Skirbeck Quarter in the parish of Skirbeck in the county of Lincoln Gardener of the first part, the said Edward HILLSON and Elizabeth his wife (Devisees in fee under the will of Edward HILLSON late of Skirbeck Quarter aforesaid Gentleman deceased) of the second part and Valentine PEPPER of Carrington in the County of Lincoln Farmer of the third part ..... to the mortgage and the price paid which was £1,150”. A fair sum of money for the 19th century. The surname PEPPER comes from the original occupation as a dealer in pepper, a pepperer or spice dealer and is linked to the French variation PEEVER. It was to be found in 1298 when John PEPPER alias PEYUER is listed in one of the London rolls.
Next is an Indenture Deed in the parish of Wigtoft for the Release of a cottage and lands in Wigtoft, Lincolnshire, between Grace CHAPMAN of Swineshead, spinster, and James HOLBOURN of Wigtoft, grazier. Dated 21 January 1784 in the 24th year of the reign of George III. The property consists of All that cottage with a piece of ground adjoining of half an acre in Hofleet in the parish of Wigtoft now in tenure of Richard WARRINER. Also land in Wigtoft Marsh. CHAPMAN comes from the Old English ceapman who was a merchant or trader. The area in London known as Cheapside comes from the same root and ceapman had a market there.
Finally from the same vendor is an Indenture Deed in the parish of Helpringham An indenture regarding property in Helpringham, Lincolnshire, between Eustace PHILIPS of Lincoln, coal merchant, William DURANCE of Helpringham, butcher, and Mary his wife, and Boaz BAXTER of Helpringham, gentleman. Dated 21 April 1774 in the 14th year of the reign of George III. The property consists of: All that cottage with yard, barn, dovecoat and outbuildings in Helpringham in the tenure of Edmund FRITH. Surnames such as FREAK, FIRTH, FRITH, FRIDD and FRIGHT and the latecomer THRIFT all come from the Old English firhþe or fyrhþe which was a woodland. The TH pronounced in FIRTH is the Old English þ.
Bits and Bobs
The following link was given on the internet www.fred.net/jefalvey/execute.html. This link is for a page on Newgate Prison in London and the List of Executions from 1606. Newgate Prison was probably the most notorious prison in all England and one that almost everyone has heard of. A prison has stood on the Newgate site for almost a thousand years. The first prison was nearly as old as the Tower of London and much older than the Bastille. It is first mentioned in the reign of King John and in the following reign of Henry the III, (1218), the King expressly commands the sheriffs of London to repair it, and promised to repay them from his own exchequer. This shows that the prison was under the direct control of the King at that time. The prison itself was originally above the gate or in the gatehouse. Carry out a search for the word Lincoln and the first entry for Lincoln that comes up is - HORRY, William Fred 1872 01 Apr Murder of wife; Lincoln.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
New Database Online
New Database On-line
The 1837 online website now has a facility for looking up living relatives and ready to be searched through by those with a need. Living Relatives is a premium database, allowing you to search the current electoral roll, telephone directory (business and homes) and directors’ details to find up-to-date contact details. The service costs just six units per search across all three datasets - less that the cost of standard directory enquiries. You do have to upgrade from the standard subscription to get access but it could be very cost effective if it saves having to look through a county’s electoral roll. There is also a section for unusual names. A few that have been found in the public domain are Shrove TUESDAY, Preserved FISH and Shutters WINDOWS. The longest name that has been found for the site was that of KONSTANTYNOPOLITANCZYKIEWICZOWNA which had originated in Poland and before anyone asks I do not have the foggiest idea as to its meaning although I do make out Constantine as a start.
This is a cautionary tale for the users of the IGI. Mark VERNON was searching for his SCAMAN family but it appeared that they must have emigrated rather earlier than he had expected as there was absolutely no sign of them anywhere in the IGI. Mark was fairly certain that they were still in Lincolnshire and was lucky enough to already know their birth dates and the place of birth – Swaby of his great-great-great-grandfather. Bernie carried out some research for him and found that what was written in the parish register as SCAMAN had been read by the transcribers of the IGI as SEAMAN. No doubt there are people out there pulling out their hair trying to fit this SEAMAN family into their tree!!
Mrs HALL of North Hykeham has traced her maiden line back to John CUBLEY born in 1781 in Donington according to the 1851 census. His son was also a John. One possible addition to this family is that of James who appears on the 1841 census and who seems to be looking after his widowed mother Mary. Another piece of information I found on the IGI is that of a John being baptised in Donington in 1784 who was the son of Francis and Martha née PATMAN of Horbling who were married in 1783. Several other members of the family were born in Holbeach. The earliest place that I found them in is that of Harlaxton with the marriage of William to Agnes WAYT. This seems to be a family of Ag Labs who eventually put down roots in Gedney and stayed there. The name CUBLEY comes from the village of the same name. This village is west of Derby and originally was the ‘leah’ belonging to Cubba. PATMAN comes from the pet form of Patrick.
Bits and Bobs
Nettleham Register – Jan 20th 1790 – Clerks wages are as follows – Each messuage payes at Christmas and at Easter 6d and each cottage 2 ½ d and according to the old custom everyone who occupied a plow gave a pye. But some made the pye so mean of bones or even of what was not fit to eat that it was thought proper to pay 4d instead of the pye. So each possessor of a plow pays 4d more than what is charged upon a messuage or cottage. William HETT curate.
Bob Kershaw in the Lincolnshire Family History Society Magazine 2001
The 1837 online website now has a facility for looking up living relatives and ready to be searched through by those with a need. Living Relatives is a premium database, allowing you to search the current electoral roll, telephone directory (business and homes) and directors’ details to find up-to-date contact details. The service costs just six units per search across all three datasets - less that the cost of standard directory enquiries. You do have to upgrade from the standard subscription to get access but it could be very cost effective if it saves having to look through a county’s electoral roll. There is also a section for unusual names. A few that have been found in the public domain are Shrove TUESDAY, Preserved FISH and Shutters WINDOWS. The longest name that has been found for the site was that of KONSTANTYNOPOLITANCZYKIEWICZOWNA which had originated in Poland and before anyone asks I do not have the foggiest idea as to its meaning although I do make out Constantine as a start.
This is a cautionary tale for the users of the IGI. Mark VERNON was searching for his SCAMAN family but it appeared that they must have emigrated rather earlier than he had expected as there was absolutely no sign of them anywhere in the IGI. Mark was fairly certain that they were still in Lincolnshire and was lucky enough to already know their birth dates and the place of birth – Swaby of his great-great-great-grandfather. Bernie carried out some research for him and found that what was written in the parish register as SCAMAN had been read by the transcribers of the IGI as SEAMAN. No doubt there are people out there pulling out their hair trying to fit this SEAMAN family into their tree!!
Mrs HALL of North Hykeham has traced her maiden line back to John CUBLEY born in 1781 in Donington according to the 1851 census. His son was also a John. One possible addition to this family is that of James who appears on the 1841 census and who seems to be looking after his widowed mother Mary. Another piece of information I found on the IGI is that of a John being baptised in Donington in 1784 who was the son of Francis and Martha née PATMAN of Horbling who were married in 1783. Several other members of the family were born in Holbeach. The earliest place that I found them in is that of Harlaxton with the marriage of William to Agnes WAYT. This seems to be a family of Ag Labs who eventually put down roots in Gedney and stayed there. The name CUBLEY comes from the village of the same name. This village is west of Derby and originally was the ‘leah’ belonging to Cubba. PATMAN comes from the pet form of Patrick.
Bits and Bobs
Nettleham Register – Jan 20th 1790 – Clerks wages are as follows – Each messuage payes at Christmas and at Easter 6d and each cottage 2 ½ d and according to the old custom everyone who occupied a plow gave a pye. But some made the pye so mean of bones or even of what was not fit to eat that it was thought proper to pay 4d instead of the pye. So each possessor of a plow pays 4d more than what is charged upon a messuage or cottage. William HETT curate.
Bob Kershaw in the Lincolnshire Family History Society Magazine 2001
Friday, April 14, 2006
Lancashire Links
Lancashire Links
Gordon on blueyonder is looking for the surname COWLAYSHAW; rather a rare commodity in Lincolnshire when the 1881 census was carried out for there were just two people, father and daughter, with this surname. Matthew, the father, was from Derbyshire and died in Barnetby in 1893, aged 77 years, although at the time of death was living in Gainsborough. At the same time there was a much larger number of COLLEYSHAW families in the county. The eldest members were born and lived in the Folkingham - Heckington area. There is a COLLEYSHAW family in Derbyshire but they came from Metheringham possibly due to the father Charles working on the railway. These surnames along with the variation COWLISHAW and many others come from one of two places it is suggested. One in Derbyshire and the other in Lancashire. The Oxford Dictionary of Place-names comes up with just the Lancashire . There is some debate as to whether the first element – COWLI –could be a personal name, Cola, which turns up in COLLINGHAM and COLLINGTREE. The second element –SHAW – is a grove as in BIRKENSHAW which is a grove of birch trees.
I had a letter from Woodhall Spa this week. Marie is interested in her family names TETLOW and NEAL. The easiest one to explain is that of TETLOW, well it would be if I could find it on the map. The book says that it is a Lancashire village and in 1389 it is recorded as Richard de TETLAWE in that county but not in my gazetteer. This information most likely comes from the same source as that on the TETLOW website at www.tetlow.co.uk. There it says that ancestors to the family were living in Oldham in the 14th century. In 1321, Adam de TETLOW'S son Richard was granted lands in Werneth by Robert de OLDHAM. Fourteen years later, Richard obtained by grant further land in Northwood. On his death in 1337, the sheriff was ordered to enquire about his holdings in Oldham and Crompton. Adam had another son, Hugh, who in 1340 granted to his mother lands in Coppedhurst with the remainder to his brother Roger. In 1375, Roger de LANGLEY gave Richard, son of Richard de TETLOW, his land in Manchester, Crompton and Oldham and in 1391, Richard confirmed to Robert WALKER, chaplain, a burgage and messuage in Oldham and Manchester. An interesting item on the site is the coat of arms On a silver shield a black diagonal band with a scalloped edge, on each side a narrow red band. This was granted on 10 September 1760 to TETLOW of Houghton, Lancashire, and ended up in the 'Guinness Book of Records'. The crest recalls the grantee's feat of writing the Lord's Prayer on a silver penny with a quill pen and required the Herald Painter to repeat this achievement
NEAL and its multitude of variations, however, comes to England by a rather circuitous route. The Old Irish niall was a champion and was latinised to Nellis. The visiting Scandinavians or Vikings then took the name to their settlement in Iceland and thence to Norway as Njall. Later the Norsemen became Norman and it entered the French language and is brought to England with William in 1066. in Scotland and the border country the Irish name was taken straight there by the Vikings. The latinisation this time gave Nigellus and Nigel. This resulted in the large number of McNEAL and O’NEIL families. We know that the two are the same for in Yorkshire is to be found Robertus filius NIGELLI and Robertus NEL being the same person in 1221.
Bits and Bobs
The most difficult census to transcribe and read is that of the 1841 census because the enumerators used pencil thus making the microfilm almost illegible in places - so it's good to know that Ancestry's transcribers are making a special effort for us. Very soon the 1841 Census of England & Wales is going to be made available at Ancestry and it has been mentioned that this could be before the end of the month. Assuming that the costs will not change then a trip to www.Ancestry.co.uk with a visa card and your access to £4.95 will let you have 10 views of the enumerators records over the following 14 days. A reasonable cost I thought.
Gordon on blueyonder is looking for the surname COWLAYSHAW; rather a rare commodity in Lincolnshire when the 1881 census was carried out for there were just two people, father and daughter, with this surname. Matthew, the father, was from Derbyshire and died in Barnetby in 1893, aged 77 years, although at the time of death was living in Gainsborough. At the same time there was a much larger number of COLLEYSHAW families in the county. The eldest members were born and lived in the Folkingham - Heckington area. There is a COLLEYSHAW family in Derbyshire but they came from Metheringham possibly due to the father Charles working on the railway. These surnames along with the variation COWLISHAW and many others come from one of two places it is suggested. One in Derbyshire and the other in Lancashire. The Oxford Dictionary of Place-names comes up with just the Lancashire . There is some debate as to whether the first element – COWLI –could be a personal name, Cola, which turns up in COLLINGHAM and COLLINGTREE. The second element –SHAW – is a grove as in BIRKENSHAW which is a grove of birch trees.
I had a letter from Woodhall Spa this week. Marie is interested in her family names TETLOW and NEAL. The easiest one to explain is that of TETLOW, well it would be if I could find it on the map. The book says that it is a Lancashire village and in 1389 it is recorded as Richard de TETLAWE in that county but not in my gazetteer. This information most likely comes from the same source as that on the TETLOW website at www.tetlow.co.uk. There it says that ancestors to the family were living in Oldham in the 14th century. In 1321, Adam de TETLOW'S son Richard was granted lands in Werneth by Robert de OLDHAM. Fourteen years later, Richard obtained by grant further land in Northwood. On his death in 1337, the sheriff was ordered to enquire about his holdings in Oldham and Crompton. Adam had another son, Hugh, who in 1340 granted to his mother lands in Coppedhurst with the remainder to his brother Roger. In 1375, Roger de LANGLEY gave Richard, son of Richard de TETLOW, his land in Manchester, Crompton and Oldham and in 1391, Richard confirmed to Robert WALKER, chaplain, a burgage and messuage in Oldham and Manchester. An interesting item on the site is the coat of arms On a silver shield a black diagonal band with a scalloped edge, on each side a narrow red band. This was granted on 10 September 1760 to TETLOW of Houghton, Lancashire, and ended up in the 'Guinness Book of Records'. The crest recalls the grantee's feat of writing the Lord's Prayer on a silver penny with a quill pen and required the Herald Painter to repeat this achievement
NEAL and its multitude of variations, however, comes to England by a rather circuitous route. The Old Irish niall was a champion and was latinised to Nellis. The visiting Scandinavians or Vikings then took the name to their settlement in Iceland and thence to Norway as Njall. Later the Norsemen became Norman and it entered the French language and is brought to England with William in 1066. in Scotland and the border country the Irish name was taken straight there by the Vikings. The latinisation this time gave Nigellus and Nigel. This resulted in the large number of McNEAL and O’NEIL families. We know that the two are the same for in Yorkshire is to be found Robertus filius NIGELLI and Robertus NEL being the same person in 1221.
Bits and Bobs
The most difficult census to transcribe and read is that of the 1841 census because the enumerators used pencil thus making the microfilm almost illegible in places - so it's good to know that Ancestry's transcribers are making a special effort for us. Very soon the 1841 Census of England & Wales is going to be made available at Ancestry and it has been mentioned that this could be before the end of the month. Assuming that the costs will not change then a trip to www.Ancestry.co.uk with a visa card and your access to £4.95 will let you have 10 views of the enumerators records over the following 14 days. A reasonable cost I thought.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Oops Missed a bit
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Oops - Missed a bit last week
The name that I mentioned last week SCATCHERD which was of interest to Mike Parker was left with out any explanation as to its origin. The Old Norman French escache which today is echasse is a stilt and was most likely a derogatory term for some one with long legs. This explanation is further reinforced by the fact that the French word eschasseriaux is a man with a wooden leg. As with many similar French words such as estage if you remove the ‘e’ at the beginning the word you will recognise it as stage.
Mrs C WOOLLEY of Kexby has written in with a request for me to look at the SHAW family of Grimsby. Sadly there are a number of SHAW families in Grimsby and without a date, name or age it is rather difficult to pin point any particular one. However looking at the 1901 census there is just the one family in Grimsby whose head William H was born in Grimsby. A second individual is George aged 70 years who lives in Clee and is the Primitive Methodist Minister there – BUT – I am unable to say where he was in 1881 for I can’t find him listed in the census. William H is an educated man and is a Clerk to the Council. A search of the 1861 census gives us the information that William lives with his father George whose occupation is tailor, in Cleethorpes Road. George obviously believes in education for another son is a scholar at 13 years of age and takes in a boarder who is also a clerk. Somewhere along the line the family gets a link to London when Mary Jane marries James THAYERS of Chelsea.
The name SHAW comes from the Old English word sceaga for a copse or small wood and the person who dwells nearby. The WOOLLEY surname is also connected to a wood and the village of Woolley. The nearest one to Lincolnshire is in the west riding of Yorkshire and gets its name from the nearness of a wood that is frequented by wolves.
Alison posted a plea on the internet for any information on William QUINCEY who she thinks was born around 1740 in Sutterton. In 1773 William married Ann HILL. His father was also a William and he married Jane nee LUCEY of Sutterton in 1739. Alison is interested in any facts or information on this family and if you have them in your tree just drop me a line. The origins of the QUINCEY family go back to northern France and the village with the name Cuinchy. One of the earliest QUINCEYs is that of Saer de QUINCY who was a Templar in Oxfordshire around 1160. Later holders of the surname may be from Quincy villages in the Seine region.
Bits and Bobs
Louth Petty Sessions 11 May 1848
Wm. SLEIGHT, gardener, was charged by a prostitute named HOODLASS with being the father of her bastard child: case dismissed.
Grantham Petty Sessions 19 May:
Thos. CULLEN, of Rolston, a farmer's son, was accused of being the father of the illegitimate child of Ann ROBINSON. It was stated that defendant had pressed the poor girl to take something to destroy the child, and failing in that, the night before she left he fired a gun at her in the garden, the object of which may be imagined. The poor girl's evidence being deficient, the order could not be granted.
Anne has been busy looking at the newspapers again and the complete version of her findings can be bought from Lincolnshire Family History Society on microfiche.
Oops - Missed a bit last week
The name that I mentioned last week SCATCHERD which was of interest to Mike Parker was left with out any explanation as to its origin. The Old Norman French escache which today is echasse is a stilt and was most likely a derogatory term for some one with long legs. This explanation is further reinforced by the fact that the French word eschasseriaux is a man with a wooden leg. As with many similar French words such as estage if you remove the ‘e’ at the beginning the word you will recognise it as stage.
Mrs C WOOLLEY of Kexby has written in with a request for me to look at the SHAW family of Grimsby. Sadly there are a number of SHAW families in Grimsby and without a date, name or age it is rather difficult to pin point any particular one. However looking at the 1901 census there is just the one family in Grimsby whose head William H was born in Grimsby. A second individual is George aged 70 years who lives in Clee and is the Primitive Methodist Minister there – BUT – I am unable to say where he was in 1881 for I can’t find him listed in the census. William H is an educated man and is a Clerk to the Council. A search of the 1861 census gives us the information that William lives with his father George whose occupation is tailor, in Cleethorpes Road. George obviously believes in education for another son is a scholar at 13 years of age and takes in a boarder who is also a clerk. Somewhere along the line the family gets a link to London when Mary Jane marries James THAYERS of Chelsea.
The name SHAW comes from the Old English word sceaga for a copse or small wood and the person who dwells nearby. The WOOLLEY surname is also connected to a wood and the village of Woolley. The nearest one to Lincolnshire is in the west riding of Yorkshire and gets its name from the nearness of a wood that is frequented by wolves.
Alison posted a plea on the internet for any information on William QUINCEY who she thinks was born around 1740 in Sutterton. In 1773 William married Ann HILL. His father was also a William and he married Jane nee LUCEY of Sutterton in 1739. Alison is interested in any facts or information on this family and if you have them in your tree just drop me a line. The origins of the QUINCEY family go back to northern France and the village with the name Cuinchy. One of the earliest QUINCEYs is that of Saer de QUINCY who was a Templar in Oxfordshire around 1160. Later holders of the surname may be from Quincy villages in the Seine region.
Bits and Bobs
Louth Petty Sessions 11 May 1848
Wm. SLEIGHT, gardener, was charged by a prostitute named HOODLASS with being the father of her bastard child: case dismissed.
Grantham Petty Sessions 19 May:
Thos. CULLEN, of Rolston, a farmer's son, was accused of being the father of the illegitimate child of Ann ROBINSON. It was stated that defendant had pressed the poor girl to take something to destroy the child, and failing in that, the night before she left he fired a gun at her in the garden, the object of which may be imagined. The poor girl's evidence being deficient, the order could not be granted.
Anne has been busy looking at the newspapers again and the complete version of her findings can be bought from Lincolnshire Family History Society on microfiche.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Family Chat
Family Chat
I wrote, back in November, of the DIMBLEBY name and the latest information is that cousins of one sort or another keep popping up for Gillian BAKER. On the female side of her family is the HANDFORD surname and it is this one that has been found to have a connection with a family in Norfolk, it originates from one of the places by the same name. She has given me couple of other names that are in the family. On her father’s side her great-great-grandfather married Sarah MALEM in Lincoln. Happily for her their son Jabez Bunting DIMBLEBY was in the habit of writing to other relatives who lived in Derbyshire and some of these documents still survive. The family chat is all about other members of the family and the family history as it was in the very early part of the 20th century. Lucky thing!! The name MALEM is an unusual one for Lincolnshire. For me I have the feeling that it is a name straight out of a Victorian novel for it has that certain ring about it. According to the 1881 census there were few individuals living in the county; the concentration for MALAM is Cheshire with a sprinkling in Lincolnshire. However if it is spelt with two LLs the concentration changes to the northern borders and Dorset and a goodly number around Liverpool. It is thought to originate from the medieval female name MALIN which was a pet form of Mary. I do wonder though about the concentration around Liverpool and whether there could be an Irish influence here. The reason I say this is because of the surname MELLON for it has the variation of MALLEN and these are the anglicised versions of the Irish name of O Meallain, the descendant of Meallan.
A new name for me is SCATCHERD which was put onto the internet by Mike Parker who is looking for more information. One of the most prominent holders I found with this surname comes from Morley and she was the first Freewoman of Boston. Alice Cliff SCATCHERD lived from 1842 till 1906 and was a noted Liberal, philanthropist and radical suffragist; Alice sought to improve working women's legal and social position in many ways.
John PATEMAN has moved to Lincolnshire from London since the turn of the century. During his research he has found that there were a fair number of families with the PATEMAN name and they stayed stable in numbers between 1881 and 1998 he says. Using those two dates I assume that John has used the Surname Profiler but the highest concentration of the name is in the Stevenage area and a question that I must ask is “What does the website mean by the entry Mosaic type with highest index # - White Van Culture?” The name PATEMAN and its variation PATMAN have a very straight forward origin and comes from the pet form of Patrick. In England the name Patrick was found generally in the north as it was commonly of Scottish origin. Today we think of it as generally Irish but the name did not become popular in Ireland until the 1600s and the influx of the Scottish settlers. The PATEMAN family that John is most interested in is the one that lived near Sleaford and was thought to be either of gypsy or traveling origin. I guess if they had come all the way from Scotland they could be classed as travellers without much fear of contradiction. In 1881 in Lincolnshire the PATEMAN families were invariably linked to the land with many being Ag Labs as you would expect.
Bits and Bobs
March 7th 1817 – Marriage – On Tuesday last Mr John MAPLETHORP to Miss M BLOW, aged fifteen years: also Mr James FAIRWEATHER to Miss Elizabeth BLOW (sister of the above) all of Billinghay near Sleaford.
Lincolnshire Family History Society Magazine 2000
I wrote, back in November, of the DIMBLEBY name and the latest information is that cousins of one sort or another keep popping up for Gillian BAKER. On the female side of her family is the HANDFORD surname and it is this one that has been found to have a connection with a family in Norfolk, it originates from one of the places by the same name. She has given me couple of other names that are in the family. On her father’s side her great-great-grandfather married Sarah MALEM in Lincoln. Happily for her their son Jabez Bunting DIMBLEBY was in the habit of writing to other relatives who lived in Derbyshire and some of these documents still survive. The family chat is all about other members of the family and the family history as it was in the very early part of the 20th century. Lucky thing!! The name MALEM is an unusual one for Lincolnshire. For me I have the feeling that it is a name straight out of a Victorian novel for it has that certain ring about it. According to the 1881 census there were few individuals living in the county; the concentration for MALAM is Cheshire with a sprinkling in Lincolnshire. However if it is spelt with two LLs the concentration changes to the northern borders and Dorset and a goodly number around Liverpool. It is thought to originate from the medieval female name MALIN which was a pet form of Mary. I do wonder though about the concentration around Liverpool and whether there could be an Irish influence here. The reason I say this is because of the surname MELLON for it has the variation of MALLEN and these are the anglicised versions of the Irish name of O Meallain, the descendant of Meallan.
A new name for me is SCATCHERD which was put onto the internet by Mike Parker who is looking for more information. One of the most prominent holders I found with this surname comes from Morley and she was the first Freewoman of Boston. Alice Cliff SCATCHERD lived from 1842 till 1906 and was a noted Liberal, philanthropist and radical suffragist; Alice sought to improve working women's legal and social position in many ways.
John PATEMAN has moved to Lincolnshire from London since the turn of the century. During his research he has found that there were a fair number of families with the PATEMAN name and they stayed stable in numbers between 1881 and 1998 he says. Using those two dates I assume that John has used the Surname Profiler but the highest concentration of the name is in the Stevenage area and a question that I must ask is “What does the website mean by the entry Mosaic type with highest index # - White Van Culture?” The name PATEMAN and its variation PATMAN have a very straight forward origin and comes from the pet form of Patrick. In England the name Patrick was found generally in the north as it was commonly of Scottish origin. Today we think of it as generally Irish but the name did not become popular in Ireland until the 1600s and the influx of the Scottish settlers. The PATEMAN family that John is most interested in is the one that lived near Sleaford and was thought to be either of gypsy or traveling origin. I guess if they had come all the way from Scotland they could be classed as travellers without much fear of contradiction. In 1881 in Lincolnshire the PATEMAN families were invariably linked to the land with many being Ag Labs as you would expect.
Bits and Bobs
March 7th 1817 – Marriage – On Tuesday last Mr John MAPLETHORP to Miss M BLOW, aged fifteen years: also Mr James FAIRWEATHER to Miss Elizabeth BLOW (sister of the above) all of Billinghay near Sleaford.
Lincolnshire Family History Society Magazine 2000
Saturday, December 24, 2005
What to do in the boring bit
What to do in the boring bit twixt Christmas & New Year
Laura Hayes of Lincoln set the ball rolling with the question of where I found the information for last week’s column. She has been carrying out research into the THISTLEWOOD family for some time and so with everyone’s family getting together for the festive season now is the time to ask the questions. Where does the family come from? How long it lived there? What are the Grandparents names and where did they live? And so on and so forth. Paul at paul@pthistleton1739.freeserve.co.uk gave me the first part but then it was on line and from the census material which is readily available. Information from all the censuses can be found via the national Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/census/ and the IGI and 1881 census can be found at the Latter Day Saints site www.familysearch.org where you can also get the Personal Ancestral File program. Back ground material and some free forms to record your data can be accessed at http://genealogy.about.com/.
There are 129 different directories containing Lincolnshire information that is available for you to look at on the Leicestershire University website at www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp. Historical Directories is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919. It contains high quality reproductions of comparatively rare books, essential tools for research into local and genealogical history. The Historical Directories project came to the end of its funding on 31st October 2004 but the will remain freely available for the next 3 years. These directories have a mass of data on the villages that your ancestor lived in. If he was the butcher, baker or maybe the candlestickmaker he could be listed. You can, if you so wish, buy your own copies of Lincolnshire Directories via the Archive Books site at www.rod-neep.co.uk/acatalog/lin.html where you can also purchase some of the census material on CD.
For a look at the village layout where your ancestors lived and worked then the www.old-maps.co.uk/ site is the place to go to. There is a gazetteer that puts you in the right area and the maps are very high quality and detailed. You can purchase a copy if you wish. The one I looked at was dated 1854 with the option to print, look at an aerial version, see a modern map, then even enlarge or buy it.
To pinpoint a specific individual then take a look at www.freebmd.org.uk/. FreeBMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. It is a part of the FreeUKGEN family, which also includes FreeCEN (Census data) and FreeREG (Parish Registers). Here we are talking about 135,000,000 records. I’ll type that in again – its 135 million records. Many of these are the certificate information you will need to get a certificate from www.gro.gov.uk/gro/. The index reference number is the code that is allocated to every event of birth, marriage or death registered in England and Wales relating to the year, quarter, and district in which the event was registered. It is particularly important that you make a note of this, as you will need to quote it when you apply for a certificate in order for the GRO to identify the correct entry. I put in DRUST as I usually do when I want to make engines really work and found the Leonard DRUST was registered at Caistor in June 1910 in volume 7a page 678. If I sent this information to the GRO I would receive in quick time a copy of his birth certificate. I happen to know that his father was William Johnson DRUST and he was named after his uncle who died in 1875 and William’s marriage is at freebmd but they have not yet indexed his death.
All you need to do now is to have a long chat to all your relatives and you have started on a hobby that will last a lifetime or two.
Bits and Bobs
October 8th 1790 Marriage: On Thursday last was married at Donington, Richard NICHOLS, (commonly called ´Saucy Nichols´) aged 71 to Ann DIXON aged 22. The good old man, hoping to avoid the ridicule of the multitude, led his Bride elect along a bye lane to the Church.
Lincolnshire Family History Society – at www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/lfhs/
Laura Hayes of Lincoln set the ball rolling with the question of where I found the information for last week’s column. She has been carrying out research into the THISTLEWOOD family for some time and so with everyone’s family getting together for the festive season now is the time to ask the questions. Where does the family come from? How long it lived there? What are the Grandparents names and where did they live? And so on and so forth. Paul at paul@pthistleton1739.freeserve.co.uk gave me the first part but then it was on line and from the census material which is readily available. Information from all the censuses can be found via the national Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/census/ and the IGI and 1881 census can be found at the Latter Day Saints site www.familysearch.org where you can also get the Personal Ancestral File program. Back ground material and some free forms to record your data can be accessed at http://genealogy.about.com/.
There are 129 different directories containing Lincolnshire information that is available for you to look at on the Leicestershire University website at www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp. Historical Directories is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919. It contains high quality reproductions of comparatively rare books, essential tools for research into local and genealogical history. The Historical Directories project came to the end of its funding on 31st October 2004 but the will remain freely available for the next 3 years. These directories have a mass of data on the villages that your ancestor lived in. If he was the butcher, baker or maybe the candlestickmaker he could be listed. You can, if you so wish, buy your own copies of Lincolnshire Directories via the Archive Books site at www.rod-neep.co.uk/acatalog/lin.html where you can also purchase some of the census material on CD.
For a look at the village layout where your ancestors lived and worked then the www.old-maps.co.uk/ site is the place to go to. There is a gazetteer that puts you in the right area and the maps are very high quality and detailed. You can purchase a copy if you wish. The one I looked at was dated 1854 with the option to print, look at an aerial version, see a modern map, then even enlarge or buy it.
To pinpoint a specific individual then take a look at www.freebmd.org.uk/. FreeBMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. It is a part of the FreeUKGEN family, which also includes FreeCEN (Census data) and FreeREG (Parish Registers). Here we are talking about 135,000,000 records. I’ll type that in again – its 135 million records. Many of these are the certificate information you will need to get a certificate from www.gro.gov.uk/gro/. The index reference number is the code that is allocated to every event of birth, marriage or death registered in England and Wales relating to the year, quarter, and district in which the event was registered. It is particularly important that you make a note of this, as you will need to quote it when you apply for a certificate in order for the GRO to identify the correct entry. I put in DRUST as I usually do when I want to make engines really work and found the Leonard DRUST was registered at Caistor in June 1910 in volume 7a page 678. If I sent this information to the GRO I would receive in quick time a copy of his birth certificate. I happen to know that his father was William Johnson DRUST and he was named after his uncle who died in 1875 and William’s marriage is at freebmd but they have not yet indexed his death.
All you need to do now is to have a long chat to all your relatives and you have started on a hobby that will last a lifetime or two.
Bits and Bobs
October 8th 1790 Marriage: On Thursday last was married at Donington, Richard NICHOLS, (commonly called ´Saucy Nichols´) aged 71 to Ann DIXON aged 22. The good old man, hoping to avoid the ridicule of the multitude, led his Bride elect along a bye lane to the Church.
Lincolnshire Family History Society – at www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/lfhs/
Sunday, May 22, 2005
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