News & Information

Seasons change, the clocks go back, Halloween has happened and Guy Fawkes is about to be commemorated with bonfires and fireworks just as the autumnal coloured leaves drop from the trees and (far too soon?) Christmas Decorations begin to appear.  How did our ancestors mark the seasons?  This project into British Life and Culture is intended for school age children but you can go through the entire year looking at examples of traditional activities which may have entertained our families. 

Parish Boundaries

• Do you know the area covered by the parish in which your family lived?    You can see current parish boundaries at a new facility called Parish Finder.  Enter the area in England in which you are interested and then click on the map where your ancestors lived and you will find the parish and adjacent parishes listed in the side panel.  The Parish boundaries will have changed over the years but it does give an overview of the situation today and the strange shape of some parishes.  Look at the boundary for Winscombe for example.
• Another site for locating adjacent parishes is the Parish Locator  This is a site I have been using for years and it lists parishes within a specific distance.  It is free to download and use - the only problem that I have found with it is that the distances are as the crow flies so consequently Lavernock in Glamorganshire, South Wales is listed as 9.7 miles West by North East of Weston without taking into account the Bristol Channel.  It uses the historic County names and boundaries. 

Weston-super-Mare Library

• Our WW1 exhibition is back in the main library in Weston-super-Mare for November – so do visit if you haven’t already done so – Why not come in on a Saturday when you will have the chance to meet other Society members?
• Saturday afternoons at the Library have been a little quiet of late.  If you have a query and can get to Weston-super-Mare Library between 2.00pm and 3.30pm you will find some eager helpers ready and willing to assist you.  The people who have been coming in have brought some very interesting problems with them.  Saturday we were faced with a challenge which included Italian and Hungarian ancestors, links with Dr Barnados, the 2nd World War, London Workhouses and legal adoptions so this just shows that although the Local Studies section is full of information about North Somerset  the range which we can get asked about is very much wider. We learn a lot as well!  For the record we couldn’t answer all the queries immediately but could suggest avenues for further research and often a 2nd opinion can be very useful.

Research Forum

• If you can’t get to the library why not try our Research Forum on the web site? Thank you to all who add comments to the Research Forum. You never know who will read your query and reply.  . It may be someone who is trying to help you having no connection with your family but is keen on researching or it may be someone who shares your interest in this particular family and you may even be able to help them in return.  It does help if you put the SURNAME in UPPER CASE – it makes the surname stand out.   
• There is another benefit in posting your queries here because the message can be seen by people who are surfing the net looking for a particular name.   Anyone putting the name of their ancestor in inverted commas into a search engine such as Google perhaps coupled with the place where they lived may find other examples of queries posted on other mailing lists or web sites.  See the September 2014 Update  for use of Search engines in Family History.   
•  Last week the Society received a small water-colour painting named on the back as “Simon Palmer, Parish Clerk”.  This was sent to us because the owner had found a series of questions and comments put on our web site in 2011 about Simon PALMER and wanted the portrait to go to a good home and for this we are very grateful.  It greatly resembles in style and size the series of paintings which make up the “Weston Worthies” – There are several Journal articles on our web site concerning them.  We will be consulting the Museum about adding it to the collection once some more research has been done on Simon PALMER.  In the meantime a copy has been sent to the person who first asked the question about Simon Palmer, to his great delight!

Ancestors who were servants?

• Tiger Aspect Productions are looking for people whose ancestors lived or worked in a grand house in the Victorian period. Was one of your ancestors a butler or a hall boy? Was your great-grandmother a housemaid or a cook? Did your forbears employ domestic staff? If so Tiger Aspect would love to hear from you. They are looking to speak to people of all ages who have a direct family connection to a historic house. They would like to hear what you know about your ancestor’s life and see any information you might have. They are not looking for comprehensive knowledge, just a connection and an interest to learn more. If you are interested in taking part, please contact Alice Ankeny at Tiger Aspect

Wills

• The British Government has produced a site called Find a Will which allows you to  search for the will or probate of any person in the UK who died in or after 1996 and download the will for a fee of £10.00. 
• You can also search for the will of a soldier who died while serving in the British armed forces between 1850 and 1986 and download their will for the same price. 
• You do need to know roughly the year in which the person died. 
• For wills between 1858 and 1996 you will need to apply by post – the cost is the same – full details from here  where you can download the application form. 

Pre 1841 Censuses

• Some of you will have noticed that the 1801 census for Huntspill has recently been put on our site.  This was found in the Baptismal Register for Huntspill.
• Censuses for a few parishes for the 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 have survived.  This one lists the name of the Head of the Household and the number of people living at that address.  Of course they may not all have the same surname at each address but it might be possible to reconstruct the parish for 1801.
• Genuki does have some
• There are at least two books which I know of which might help in finding other pre-1841 censuses
  • Census Listings, 1522-1930: Holdings in the British Isles by Gibson and Medlycott - which is in our Society Library and available for loan
  • Pre-1841 Censuses and Population Listings in the British Isles by Colin R Chapman
• It is worth enquiring at the Record Office of the county where your family lived if any have survived - In Bristol Record Office is the 1831 census for Bitton which lists name of the head of the household and the age and sex of others at that address but not names.  However I have been able to identify my family on it.

Society Meetings

• David Milner, our Treasurer, gave a very interesting talk at our October meeting about the background to some of the military memorials he had researched pointing out the very human stories behind the words carved in stone.  He also included much of local interest including the story of George BANWELL who was buried in Banwell but David queried the accuracy of his tombstone.
• He also spoke about Joel FISHER, a veteran of the Waterloo Campaign who may well have been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when he killed his wife in the London Inn in Weston-super-Mare.   Joel FISHER never made it to the Weston Worthies but he did add his bit to history as this drawing of him was the first illustration to be published in one of the local papers.
• Our November meeting will be a Members Evening when you are asked to bring along any memorabilia which you have about members of your family and be prepared to talk about it (and your family) for a few minutes.  This will be followed by a short quiz, raffle and refreshments getting you in the mood for the Christmas season as we do not meet in December.
• We will have a stand at the Rotary Christmas Charity Fair at the Winter Gardens on Saturday Dec 6th - come along and see us there. We offer help in your research but other stands will give you a marvellous opportunity to buy cards, decorations and presents there.