December 2006

Docklands Ancestors Ltd

Docklands Ancestors Ltd have informed us that their catalogue of the transcriptions of Parish Registers of numerous London East End Parishes has been revamped and is now more user friendly. The complete list with prices available from the bookstall.

Origins Network

Origins Network now have Teachers Registrations from 1870 - 1947. The list covers over 100,000 people, more than half of them women. The records provide the following information –

• Name and, where married, often the maiden name as well
• Register no
• Professional Address
• Attainments
• Training
• Experience

They can also now offer an index to all 82,000 cases tried in the Court of Chancery during the reign of Charles I, i.e. 1625-49. The Index identifies only the surnames of the plaintiff and defendant with the reference for the source documents held at the National Archives. If you don't already have an account with them it will be necessary to subscribe to be able to access all this information.

The National Monuments Record

Received recently from English Heritage, an informative little booklet telling us about their public archive, The National Monuments Record.

Visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/NMR. There you will find links to the following online resources as well as additional information about what they can offer the family historian. All of these resources are free to browse. They include such things as tens of thousands of digital images of old photos from the 1840s to the present day. A photographic record, named Images of England, of listed buildings as they were at the Millennium.

Pastscape

Or, do you need information on old buildings and ancient sites then visit Pastscape at their web site At their offices in Swindon they will be pleased to handle individual enquiries or carry out searches for you. The standard service is free. You can also do your own research in the public rooms, best to make an appointment.

Old Photos

While manning our stall at the Federation Conference I purchased a couple of old photos of villages and churches where my ancestors lived from a fascinating stall crammed with old photos. Apparently he has over 22,000 in stock. They aren't cheap but they are fascinating.

DNA Testing

Ever wondered why to bother with testing your DNA? If you have a common surname, (e.g. there are only thirty nine surnames for about 90% of the Welsh) it might be useful to have a "genetic surname" that identifies you more closely than your surname could ever do. Relationship testing can help you resolve problems with your family tree more accurately. If you have a gap in your family history records (such as the parish your relations lived in prior to 1837) our testing will aid you in identifying geographic "hot spots" of people with similar genetics to you.

DNA genealogy relationship tests will also benefit family historians who have lost the link to their roots due to social upheavals such as the Industrial Revolution, Highland Clearances and the Irish and Highland potato famine. Relationship tests are useful for your Family History and Surname projects to find out : How related you are to other people with the same/similar surname. The common ancestor you share with people of the same/similar surname. Tracing lines of descent.

The Original Record

The following new data has gone onto www.theoriginalrecord.com from Oct 25th.

• Carew Manuscripts (Ireland) 1575-1588.
• Correspondence of Charles Talbot 1674-1708.
• Lancashire and Cheshire Marriage Licences 1680-1691.
• Baptist Messenger 1870-1871.
• Baptist Almanac 1871-1872.
• British Imperial Calendar 1953.

INTERESTING NEW FEATURE: There is also a new feature that you will, I hope, find rather fascinating. On the toolbar at the top there is now a tab, "Surnames", by which you can go to the compete list of surnames indexed so far. At the last count there were 151,477 different surname spellings, so the list is broken by the initial two letters - Aa, Ab, Ac, etc. It is a great way to browse for unusual variants. Go to www.theoriginalrecord.com and have a look.

I hope you find what you are looking for, if not just enter your name of interest on our WISH LIST and we will e-mail you when we have some records for you.

From Sue Fowler at the Original Records Team

South from Barley, by Ken Barker

Book Review - Maureen Faubel

When Ken Barker's book arrived for review in our Journal I was delighted. Ken has been a member of our society for a number of years and I have been following his research into the South/Bysouth family on his web site. The story begins in Barley which most of you will know is a small village just a couple of miles from Royston. Joseph South was born in 1822 in Barley, he worked in the brickfields close by. He married Emma Bright in 1844 and not long after this his journey to North London began. Ken takes us through Hertfordshire until Joseph sets up home in Edmonton, Middlesex where, in 1868, Joseph set up a small pottery business making flower pots. The family business grew and in 1874 Joseph emigrated to New Zealand with some of his family. Before he left he sold his pottery business to his son Samuel.

We hear what happened to the family in New Zealand and how Samuel built up the pottery business in the Tottenham area. I really enjoyed this book, I live close by Barley and know the area well. I also lived very close to the potteries in Tottenham before they closed in 1960.

I admire the amount of research that Ken has carried out to make this book so interesting for the reader. Even if you don't have Bysouth or South ancestors it is good to read of a village boy making a success of his life. He also built a future for his family.

The book is available from -