Nov 162011
 
Hmm, not quite Saturday but my writing is done when I can find some time.
Thomas MacEntee has revived Craig Manson’s 2009 Meme. It is a great one to redo as it really publicises the names we are researching. The names  will be picked up in Google and other search engines which will hopefully then lead to new cousin contacts where hopefully they do actually contact you! (Of course you have made it easy for them to contact you by having contact details on your blog or at the very least having a comment option?)
A slightly perplexed moan here: I have put some photos up on Ancestry to share and while I don’t mind people copying them (after all that was why I put them there). I still don’t understand why those same people don’t contact me and ignore me when I contact them. Do they seriously believe that is all the information I have on that person or family?
Back to the Meme and How This Meme Works
To participate, do the following at your own blog and post a link back on Thomas’ blog in the comments:
1. List your surnames in alphabetical order as follows:
[SURNAME]: Country Town/State or County/, date range
as in:
AMOS surname: England, ( Kent, Molash) 1820- (Kent Selling) 1820+

BUSBY surname: England  (Oxfordshire, Coombe, Oxford) 1760+ Australia (Queensland, Brisbane) 1882+

CADWALLADER surname: England (Shropshire) 1790-

CARTER surname, England (Sussex, Northiam) 1803, (Kent,  Lydd, Brabourne, Sellinge, Boughton Under Blean) 1860+

CLEAVER surname: England (Warwickshire, Coventry) 1800s

COURTENAY surname: Ireland (Monaghan, Scotstown) 1846, Australia (Queensland, Toowoomba, Brisbane) 1865+

CULLEY surname: England (Cornwall, Mabe) l840+

CULLICOAT surname: England (Cornwall, Mabe) 1840-

EVANS surname: Wales (Radnorshire, Rhayader) 1830-, England (Middlesex, Enfield) 1840+, Australia (Queensland, Brisbane) 1865+

HAMER surname: England (Shropshire, Ludlow) 1780+

HOWARD surname: England (Buckinghamshire, Great Marlowe) 1760+, England (Buckinghamshire, Woburn) 1816, England  (Oxforshire, Summertown) 1840+

JELLEY surname: England  (Middlesex, Enfield) 1765+

LEWIS surname: England (Shropshire, Pontesbury, Church Stretton, Ludlow) 1790+

LONGLEY surname: England (Sussex, Northiam) 1740+

MCATAVEY surname: Ireland (Monaghan) 1846

NICHOLLS surname: England (Cornwall, Mawnan, Mabe and Stithians) 1700+

PHILPOTT surname: England (Kent, Saltwood, Hythe, Tonbridge) 1780+, 1840+, 1910+

PLUMRIDGE surname: England (Berkshire, Abingdon) 1720+ (Oxfordshire, Oxford) 1820+, Australia (Victoria, Geelong) 1850+

QUESTED surname: Anywhere, Anytime, One Name Study registered with Guild of One Name Studies

ROBINSON surname: England (Middlesex, Enfield) 1720+

ROLLASON surname: England (Warwickshire, Foleshill) 1720+ Australia (Queensland, Brisbane) 1863+

SMITH surname: Lucky me, I have  nine lines of Smith but the main one is England (Kent, Lower Hadres) 1800, (Kent, Boughton Under Blean and Hernhill) 1820+

TREMAYNE surname: England (Cornwall, Constantine) 1750-

WEEKS surname: England (Cornwall) 1790+, England (Devon, Plymouth) 1820+

WILLS surname: England (Cornwall, Perranuthnoe)  1680+

WINN surname: England (Cornwall, Constantine) 1770+

2. At the end, list your Most Wanted Ancestor with details!

While I always want to know more about all my ancestors my most wanted Ancestor is actually a marriage and a late marriage, during civil registration, at that:

William PHILPOTT born in 1838 in Cheriton, Kent marries Sarah MORGAN born in Llansafried, Wales. Well we assume they marry somewhere around 1858 as their first child was born in July 1859 in Folkestone, Kent. They go on to have another 12 children in Saltwood and Hythe (two of the other supposed children were actually her daughters’ children). William dies 3 Military Terrace, Hythe in 1898. Sarah dies there in 1912.

Per the 1911 census where it asks ‘how long have you been married in your current marriage’ Sarah says “37 years” which would make a supposed year of marriage 1874 (Sarah signs the form, so possibly it is the truth or they never married). William does die in 1898 so it would also depend if Sarah still considered herself married or not in 1911 (my mother still considers herself married even though Dad died seven years ago) in which case the marriage may have been 50 years previously eg 1861 if my maths is right?

William was employed as a groom in his early days so it is possible that they met while he was in service., as it is interesting that they come from different sides of the country.

I would love some fresh eyes on this as I have looked for this marriage for a number of years. I did a search from 1858 to 1898 which is when William died.

 It is possible that Sarah was previously married which would muddy the waters somewhat. Unfortunately Philpott, while not Smith is still not an uncommon name, especially when you add in a possible marriage anywhere in the country or even possibly out of it!


Aug 202011
 

Have had a great weekend giving two presentations in Coffs Harbour.

The first on Friday evening was at the Coffs Harbour City Library on Next Steps in Family History, looking at a number of sites of interest and some research methods. The Library has a nice selection of family history resources. They have set up a good gateway site on their links webpage.

Light refreshments were provided (thank you for the ginger kisses which were delightful!). The audience were great and the talk went well.

On Saturday it was the Coffs Harbour District FHS and the presentation was in a nice size room at the Botanic Gardens.This presentation was on Death Certificates, Archaic Medical Terms and Headstone Symbolism. The forty plus audience were enthused and asked interesting questions.

It was good to meet up again with people who I had initially met on the Unlock the Past Cruise and also at the Unlock the Past NSW Expo. One person whom I had helped  at the NSWExpo, with some ways on breaking down her brick wall, had followed my advice with great results. Always nice when people are successful.

Another had heard my pleas to talk to their relatives about the stories to show why they are interested in family history. She was rewarded with a pile of old books “that she might as well have, as they were of no use to them”. Among that pile was an old Birthday book from around the 1880s with birth-dates of the family listed from the 1830s onwards including some death dates and causes of death. A happy dance was done by all.

Having Judy Webster’s company and expert knowledge along on this trip has also made this a great weekend.

The next trip on my agenda is the Unlock the Past Victorian Expo in Geelong in September. Apart from the many speakers and wide range of exhibitors of interest to me, the area is particularly interesting  as three brothers of my Esther Plumridge (my great-great-great-grandmother) emigrated to Victoria.

Henry and William and their families settled in the Geelong area while Frederick and family settled in Ballarat. So while I am there I will be speaking to the Geelong Family History Group and the Geelong Heritage Centre.