Volume 11 No 5 March 2008

197 NORTH WEST KENT FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Volume 11 No 5 March 2008 Editor Valerie Pike. 25 Knoll Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 4QT e-mail: editor@nwkf...
Author: Louisa Nash
10 downloads 2 Views 632KB Size
197

NORTH WEST KENT FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

Editor Valerie Pike. 25 Knoll Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 4QT e-mail: [email protected]

CONTENTS Future Programme

198

From Your Editor Chairman’s Letter

Valerie Pike Walter Eves

199 200

An Appeal for Help from your Secretary

Vera Bailey

201

Letters to the Editor

203

Latin for Family History

Mari Alderman

207

Society Website

Stephen Archer

209

Searching for Cousins - DNA

David Pike

211

Homes for Little Boys, Hextable

Greg Daxter

212

The Story of Mary Bellingham Part 2

Ann Rawlinson

216

Every Family Has One Society Project Work News from Medway Archives Society Information, etc. Adverts

Pat Manning Robert Woodward April Lambourne

222 224 225 230 242

COPYRIGHT The NWKFHS owns the copyright, as do the authors and owners, of any articles and photographs printed in the Journal and permission must be sought from both NWKFHS and from the contributors before any material can be reproduced.

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

198

FUTURE PROGRAMME All members are welcome at any, or all, of the venues.

BROMLEY Mar 20 Apr 16 May 21 Jun 18

Dockland Past, Present & Future Picture Library, National Maritime Museum The Pilgrims Way in Kent The Muvver Tongue: the Cockney Language.

Peter Lawrence David Taylor Douglas Chapman Robert Barltrop

Meetings are held at Bromley Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley, Kent on every third Wednesday of the month. Doors are open from 7.30pm. Why not allow plenty of time to browse the Bookstall before and after the talk, which normally begins at 8.00pm? We are open until 10.00pm. *

DARTFORD Mar 01 Apr 05 May 03 Jun 07

Education Records for the Family Historian The Ghost in the Looking Glass The IGI Useful or Not? Origin and History of Nursery Rhymes

Richard Ratcliffe Lee Ault Ian Waller Dr John Reuther

Dartford Branch meets at Dartford Technical College in Heath Lane, Dartford. Travellers from the A2 turn right at the Shepherd’s Lane / Princes Road traffic lights and at the Princes Road / Heath Lane traffic lights turn left into Heath Lane. The school entrance is on the left just beyond the ‘MFI’ entrance on the right. There are 50+ parking spaces. Doors will be open at 9.45am on the first Saturday of the month. The meetings commence at 10.30am. Please come early if you are seeking help with your family research.

* SEVENOAKS Mar 13 Apr 10 May 15 Jun 12

AGM Speaker TBA ‘They’re Not There!’ Census Indexes The Villages of East London The Work of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies

Jeanne Bunting Peter Lawrence Mr C Humphrey-Smith

Please note the change of date for May at Sevenoaks due to a mistake in the Hall bookings. Meetings are held at Sevenoaks Community Social Club, Otford Road, Sevenoaks on the second Thursday of the month and start at 7.15pm. The Bookstall will be open, so do come early if you can. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

199

FROM YOUR EDITOR

VALERIE PIKE

I

t is the end of January as I write this and spring is already on the way. The afternoons are lighter for longer and we have crocuses and snowdrops blooming in the garden and the magnolia outside my study window is about to burst into flower. You might think it strange that the March Journal is prepared at the end of January, but it takes quite a long time to collect articles and letters together and prepare the Journal on the computer. I have to try to fit everything onto the correct paper size and the appropriate number of pages (multiples of 4) in order to keep the postage costs down. Once the first print has been proofread it is then corrected, put onto a CD Rom and th sent to the printer. The printer requires the disk by February 10 , so you see why I have to set the deadline so early. The photograph of Smokey Joe that appeared in the September issue triggered many responses and in my December letter I promised to find out more of his history. I have not yet finished my research and I am trying to solve the mystery of his so called ‘wealthy’ family. I hope to reveal all my findings in the June journal. Thanks to all the members who have kindly sent copies of newspaper cuttings referring to Smokey. He was obviously a very well known character and seems to have been remembered somewhat fondly by many. I am looking forward to our ‘Day Back at School in Sevenoaks’ on Saturday, April 12th, and I hope to see many of you there. Sevenoaks School is an excellent venue and the opportunity to visit Knole House must not be missed! If you haven’t already booked, Walter, our Chairman, has indicated how you can still do so in his letter. Please continue to write to me. Valerie

DEADLINE FOR THE JUNE 2008 JOURNAL th 28 APRIL 2008 Please send your articles, letters, photos and snippets to the Editor. MATERIAL RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE CANNOT BE CONSIDERED FOR INCLUSION IN THE NEXT EDITION. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

200

FROM OUR CHAIRMAN

O

Walter J. Eves

th

ur 30 Anniversary is rapidly approaching. To mark this event our one th day Conference and AGM is to be held on 12 April 2008 at Sevenoaks School, the oldest secular school in the country. It also adjoins Knole House, Henry VIII’s favourite place. The speaker will be Michael Gandy and there will also be plenty of other activities on the day, so I hope that you can join us. I am sure that you will have an enjoyable and instructive time. If you have not filled in your form and sent it in yet, don’t panic there is still time. If you have lost your form please do not worry. If you could let Stella Baggaley (Saddlers House, High Street, Farningham, DA4 0DT)) know that you will be attending and if you wish lunch (£15). You are more than welcome to bring your own lunch if you do not wish to have lunch. We also hope to have a Mini bus operating between the Train Station and Sevenoaks School. There is sad news of the death of Nic Tregaskes, former Chair of the Sevenoaks Branch and Branch Representative on the main Committee. Nic was always an enthusiastic member of the Society and represented Sevenoaks branch with a passion. He will be sadly missed. My sincere condolences go to his wife Eve and their family. You will find an article by the Society Secretary, Vera Bailey, following this, in the Journal regarding the situation of vacancies on the main Committee, Treasurer, Publicity and the Journal Editor. I hope that you will consider stepping forward to help. The Society can only function with the participation of volunteers and we are reaching the point where it is essential that vacancies on the Committee are filled. I have been on the Committee since 1999 and Chair from 2001. The Committee is very supportive of each other and more than willing to help anyone. So if you are interested and can help please do so. You can contact myself, the Society Secretary or any of the Branch Committee members who will be only too willing to help you. Lastly you may have noticed the availability of the many Parish Registers on CD/DVD from the Society. You can see the entire list on the website. These are copies of the original registers. Bob Woodward is also heading an indexing project on these registers. You may also be interested to hear that for Dartford the 1801 and 1821 census information has survived. The 1821 gives surname and first name of the heads of household, the 1801 census gives details of all the occupants including, in many cases, relationship to the head of household, a rare and unusual survival. The census is now available on CD. Indexing is almost complete and should be available soon. WJE. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

201

AN APPEAL FOR HELP FROM YOUR SOCIETY SECRETARY

A

s your Society Secretary I am appealing to all members for their help, in the hope that some of you will come forward to become members of our Executive Committee. We are fast becoming a Society that will no longer be able to function, if some of our membership does not heed our request for help. To run North West Kent Family History Society, we need an Executive Committee, namely, a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, Librarian, Publications Organiser and Branch Representatives. We have no problems where the Library, Publications & Branch Reps are concerned, but despite having split the post of Treasurer and employing a paid Book-keeper and repeated requests through 2007 for someone to sit on our Executive Committee and complete the Final Accounts, still no member has come forward to offer his/her/their help. We are now in a position where our Editor, Valerie Pike, who has held the post for 5 years, has decided to retire after she has completed the December 2008 Journal, and our Chair, Walter Eves, has said he wishes to retire after our AGM 2009, having then spent 10 years on the Executive, including 8 years as Chair. This means that the Society will eventually be without a Chair, without an Editor and without a Treasurer. As we hold Charity status, this will become a very serious matter and the long-term view is not good and could have grave repercussions where the Charity Commission is concerned. Where the Journal is concerned, if no member comes forward to take on the post, then we are all going to be without our quarterly Journal and I am sure no one will want that, as we all enjoy picking up our Journal off the mat for a good read. And how are you going to know what the Branches are doing throughout the forthcoming months, or what is available at the Records Offices, or who is researching what name? I feel sure all members enjoy our journals and would not like to be without it. Printed in our June 2003 Journal Volume 9 No.10 was a poem that went as follows:

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

202

Are you an active member, the kind that would be missed? Or are you just contented, your name upon a list? Do you attend meetings and mingle with the flock? Or do you mostly stay at home and criticise and knock? Do you take an active part and help the work along? Or are you satisfied to be the kind to just belong? Do you push the cause along and make things really tick? Or leave the work to just a few and talk about the ‘Clique’? Think this over members, ‘cause you know right from wrong’ Are you an active member – or do you JUST BELONG? I feel this poem is extremely appropriate in our Society’s set of circumstances, so please think very hard about what you have just read, and please ‘BE AN ACTIVE MEMBER’ and not ‘JUST BELONG’! Poem reprinted from Generations, the quarterly journal of the Genealogical Society of Queensland – March 2000. It was reproduced in the Essex Family Historian – May 2001 and the Kent Family History Society Journal – December 2002. Our acknowledgements to all 3 publications and to ours of June 2003. Vera Bailey, Hon.Sec., NWKFHS – address inside front cover or email [email protected]

VACANCY FOR THE POST OF TREASURER The Treasurer is one of the key jobs in the Society. As part of the Society Committee you would be responsible for agreeing budgets, advising Trustees on all financial decisions and preparing the final accounts. You will be supported by a bookkeeper who will keep the day-to-day accounts and take them up to Trial Balance. You would need to be able to attend Committee Meetings, normally at Hextable. The work is rewarding and important in ensuring that the Society continues to maintain its service to members. If you are interested in joining the Society Committee as the Treasurer, would like to talk about the job or would like a Job Specification please contact the Society Secretary, Mrs. Vera Bailey, 58 Clarendon Gardens, Stone, Dartford. DA14 4QT. E-mail [email protected]. You can also contact the Chair of the Society, Walter Eves, at [email protected]. Any of your Branch Committee will also be only too pleased to help with any details.

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

203

JOURNAL EDITOR From December 2008 the Society will be requiring a new Editor for the Journal. Please consider taking on this enjoyable and rewarding post. Access to a computer is necessary. For more information please contact the Society Secretary. * LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Valerie st

4890 Pte Charles Martin, 1 Bn., Rifle Brigade. I have read Ms West’s interesting letter in the December Journal and think perhaps I can offer an explanation for her ancestor’s military funeral and provide some information, which might help her with her research. Although perhaps uncommon it is certainly not unknown for a popular and much loved local veteran to be given such a send off. I suspect that Mr Martin was well known in Greenwich and also to some members of the Woolwich Garrison and on his death they decided to honour him with a military funeral. I therefore believe it would be wrong to read anything else into the event. st

I can tell you that the 1 Battalion, Rifle Brigade landed in the Crimea at the beginning th of August 1854 and moved on to take part in the battle at the Alma River (20 th September 1854) and the battle of Inkermann (5 November 1854). The battle of Balaclava was primarily a cavalry action and the only infantry regiment present was rd the 93 Regiment of Foot (The Thin Red Line). Other infantry regiments, including the Rifle Brigade, did receive the Balaclava clasp to their medals but did not participate in the action as complete units. st

The 1 Battalion received drafts of Riflemen from England throughout the whole of the campaign and I see from the information that I have immediately to hand that Rfmn. nd Martin landed in the Crimea on 22 February 1855. This being so he could not possibly have been present with the Battalion at the action in the crossing of the Alma River or the battle of Inkermann. The information I have also indicates that he was awarded the Crimea Medal with the single clasp ‘Sebastapol’. Ms West states that she has contacted the National Archives for his service records but has been advised that they cannot trace him. Personally, I would not take this at face value and would search file WO.98 / 1694 to make quite sure that they have in fact been destroyed. Admittedly, there is every likelihood that the documents are missing but her research need not end there. First she should search the annual NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

204

Muster Lists

(Pay Lists) in Class WO.12.

These will give his date of

enlistment and record his movements with the Battalion right up to his date of discharge. Depending on the information that the Musters provide she could then search Pensions Records (Class WO.117) and Regimental Returns (Class WO.23). In summary, although a soldier’s service record is the prize, nevertheless if it is missing there are still avenues open to learn a lot more about a soldier’s career. I hope all the above will be of some help to Ms West. Barry Langridge Email: [email protected]

* Dear Editor, I am writing to you to ask for your help. On behalf of the JENNER TRUST I am seeking things related to Smallpox, a disease unique in that it is the only infectious disease eradicated by deliberate action so far. The Jenner Trust is based at Jenner’s house, The Chantry, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire where he carried out his first vaccinations against smallpox. At times in the past smallpox has been only too common, although often records have been lost. I would be most grateful if anyone in your society could spare the time to consult your records and to let me know of any references to smallpox or vaccinations that you discover. I wonder if any of your members or their families have recollections of smallpox or of vaccinations? If so, I would be pleased to hear from them. Yours sincerely Professor R A Shooter Smallpox Archivist The Edward Jenner Museum, BERKELEY GL13 9BN * Hello Valerie, I am, may I say, a bit 'long-in-the-tooth, and I wanted to record, while I could, a bit of information which baffled another researcher into my family, but I was told by my Father in about 1940! My Dad's Sister, Ellen (known as 'Nell' or 'Nellie' in the family) Eaglen, married a Leslie Coeshott, a Postman, employed on the Post Office 'Sorting Trains' between London and Bristol. Dad also said that Uncle Leslie had changed his name BY DEED POLL from Cockshott to Coeshott. I don't know when the change was made, and there are no living descendents from their line. However, I do know that Uncle Leslie NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

205

had a Brother who lived somewhere in Essex. That family may be as baffled when their researches come to a dead end, as my Cousin was when looking for a Marriage Certificate c.1915 for Ellen and Leslie. I have just two photos of the man himself, one of which is here.

Yvonne Wakefield (Mrs.) Member No.6365

* Dear Mrs Pike I was very interested in the sad story of young Thomas Peak who died at the brickclamp in Crayford. It held special interest as I had found on the census record for 1861, that my Great Grandmother, Catherine White, a young widow aged only 28 and lived in Erith, was working in brickfields to support herself and her three young children. The eldest child was aged seven and the youngest only one year old. As Erith is not far from Crayford it is likely that this was where she worked. She must have led a very hard life, and I would like to know, what kind of work a young woman could do in a brickfield, especially someone who was uneducated and unable to read and write. Does anyone have this information, please? Thank you [email protected] Mrs K Herdic 6400 66 Hawthorn Grove, Penge, SE20 8LF NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

206

Dear Madam I have read with great interest in the North West Kent Family History Society website about the article ‘Pitcher’s Dockyard at Northfleet’ by Dr C.S. Pitcher, published in the Society’s Journal, Vol 7, No. 10, June 1997 pp. 13-16. Let me introduce in brief my activity related to the above subject. I am currently preparing a book on the Bulgarian sail training vessels since 1879 to present. The first of them was the naval auxiliary steam wooden schooner Kelasury, built by the Pitcher’s Dockyard at Northfleet in 1859, for the Imperial Russian Navy. In 1879 she was donated by Russia to the newly liberated Bulgaria (Bulgaria had wrestled independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878), and was commissioned as the first sailing school ship under the Bulgarian flag, so that she occupies a very significant place in the long tradition of sail training in Bulgaria. Regretfully, still there are gaps in the information available to me about Kelasury, especially in respect to her construction and technical data, and still no photograph of her has been found. I am seeking any additional information about Kelasury (and, hopefully, her picture(s)), and by that reason I would like very much to get in touch with Dr C.S.Pitcher, in order to request any information about that vessel which might be available – judging by the name, the author of the above article is probably a descendant of this famous family of shipbuilders. If you consider it appropriate, I would be very grateful if you could send me Dr. C.S. Pitcher’s contact details, especially e-mail, which would be most useful. If of interest, for instance for a research on the ships built by the Pitcher’s Dockyard at Northfleet, I will be happy to send to Dr. C.S. Pitcher all the information available to me about Kelasury. Providing any information about that vessel by Dr. C.S. Pitcher would be of great service for my research on the Bulgarian sail training vessels and the unbroken tradition of sail training in Bulgaria since 1879 to present, which is one of the most important aspects of the Bulgarian maritime heritage. The World Ship Trust presented me with the Award for Individual Achievement in 1992. The holders of the World Ship Trust’s Award for Individual Achievement are announced in the respective part: www.worldshiptrust.org/awards2.html of the website www.worldshiptrust.org. Hoping to meet your kind assistance, I look forward very much to hearing from you. With best wishes Miroslav Tsanov PO Box 851, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria Tel.: + (359 2) 826 55 97 e-mail: [email protected]

* NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

207

Dear Editor I went to an auction recently and found an indenture – so I bought it! Now I am hoping to return it to a member of its family. Names mentioned are: Cathrine Mary Ann Bell, The Rev Charles Wellbeloved, Henry Buggs of Overton in the West Ridding and James Russell. th It is dated August 10 1837. If anyone recognises the names they can gladly have it. Thank you Norma Holmden Email: [email protected] *

LATIN FOR FAMILY HISTORY

MARI ALDERMAN

B

efore 1733 many official documents were in Latin including some parish registers, although by no means all, and the practice of using Latin for registers was dying out by that date. Stock phrases were used, such as: Baptism baptizatus est/fuit = he was baptised bapt.e baptizata est/fuit = she was baptised gemini/gemelli baptizati sunt/fuerunt = they were filius baptised filia = daughter susceptores filius/a nullius/a = illegitimate filius/a populi spurious/a = illegitimate nothus/a, gnothus/a cuius patrem ignoramus = whose father we do not know

= was baptised = twins = son = sponsor/guardian = illegitimate = illegitimate

eg.

Ricardus filius Ricardi Smith batizatus est Richard son of Richard Smith was baptised. Maria filia Johannis et Margaretae Brown baptizata est Mary daughter of John and Margaret Brown was baptised. The child is the subject (nominative case), the parents take the genitive case, ie. possessive. In practice abbreviations were often used to avoid using cases. Marriage duxit in matrimonium/uxorium = led into marriage/took as a wife nupsit/nupti errant = were married solemnizarunt matrimonium = solemnised marriage copulate sunt in matrimonio = joined in matrimony NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

208

per bannam/licentiam = by banns/licence eg. Johannes Smith nupsit Mariam Brown. John Smith married Mary Brown. (husband is the subject, the wife the object of the sentence.) Thomas Hayman et Anna Allen solemnizarunt matrimonium. Thomas Hayman and Anne Allen were married. (both parties are the subject of the sentence.) Burial sepultus est/fuit (m) = he was buried sepulta est/fuit (f) = she was buried obit/obierunt = he/she died/they died mortuus/a = dead decessit = he/ she departed (died) interrabat/interrabant = he/ she was interred/ they were interred iacebat in terram = he/she was thrown into the ground (for a dissenter) eg.

Johannes Ruffold sepultus est Aprilis tertio. rd John Ruffold was buried on 3 April.

Other Words and Phrases in haec parochial = in this parish anno praedicto = in the year aforesaid uxor ejus = his wife idem = the same (person) eodem die = on the same day dominus = lord domina = lady/dame aetatis suae (xxx) annis th = in his 30 year conjugata = a married woman

senex generosus generosa puerperio relicta vidua viduus infans

= old man = gentleman = lady = childbirth = widow = widow = widower = infant/baby

cuius

= whose

Verbs include the pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we and they and are indicated by the ending. The verb ‘to be’ in the third person: est = he/she is erat = he/she was fuit = he/she has been/was sunt = they are erant = they were fuerunt = they have been /were Names Surnames did not take a Latin form or cases but first names did. Most are recognisable – feminine names usually added an a, while masculine names added us. eg. Carolus = Charles Anna = Anne, Anna, Hannah, Nancy Radulfus = Ralph Elena = Eleanor, Ellen, Helen Dionysis = Dennis Isabella = Isabel, Elizabeth Galfridus = Geoffrey NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

209

Jana = Jane, Joan Maria = Mary, Maria Johanna = Jane, Joan

Galterus Gulielmus Jacobus

= Walter = William = James

Beware! Thomas becomes Thomae and Thoma, Johannes (John) sometimes becomes Johanne, not to be confused with Johanna. Ordinal Numbers primo 1st nd secundo 2 rd tertio 3 th quarto 4

quinto sexto septimo octavo

th

5th th 6 th 7 th 8

nono 9 decimo 10th undecimo 11th duodecimo 12th

th

vicesimo tricesimo

O

20 th 30

Numbers above 12 are often represented by a numeral + o or mo, eg 14 or 20 Roman Numerals I or j =1 II or ij =2 III or iij =3 IV or IIII (iiij) = 4 V or v =5

VI or vj VII or vij VIII or viij IX or viiij X or x

=6 =7 =8 =9 =10

XI or xj = 11 XIX = 19 XX = 20 XXX = 30 XXXX or XL = 40

L XC C D M

mo

= 50 = 90 = 100 = 500 = 1000

* SOCIETY WEBSITE

STEPHEN ARCHER (SOCIETY WEB MASTER)

I

n January we embarked on a new initiative, the addition to the Society website of two sets of searchable family history data. Both datasets are incomplete and unchecked so wouldn’t currently be suitable for our normal method of publication, but much of it isn’t available elsewhere. To explore the data, visit the Society website at www.nwkfhs.org.uk and click on the “Searchable Data” link at left. The data can be freely searched by all, not just Society members. Brockley & Ladywell Cemetery This is an incomplete transcript of some 13,700 gravestones at Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery, containing the names of nearly 37,000 individuals buried there. The cemetery is located in the western part of the ancient parish of Lewisham, close to Ladywell and Crofton Park stations. There were originally two cemeteries called Lewisham and Deptford respectively, both established in the same year (1858) to receive burials from those two parishes. This was partly in response to legislation that banned further burials in London's overcrowded churchyards. Later extensions to the NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

210

two cemeteries resulted in them abutting one another, and now the dividing wall between them is marked only by a grassy ridge. By 1914 Lewisham Cemetery had been renamed Ladywell, while Deptford later became known as Brockley. Following the creation of the London Borough of Lewisham in 1965 they have been administered as a single unit. The website database comprises 702 pages of gravestone listings, with a further 153 pages of detailed name index. It is derived from a transcript made several years ago by a Mr B. Clark and donated to the Society around 1986 for typing and indexing. This work has been undertaken in phases since then, involving contributions from a number of Society members - David Warren, Joyce & Charley Hoad, Walter Eves, Bob Woodward, Peter Searle & Stephen Archer. Back in 1988 a small part of the data was typed and deposited in the Society library, but this is the first time that the entire database has become available for searching. Unfortunately Mr Clark’s work included no plans or any kind of grave numbering, and it wasn’t initially clear whether he’d attempted to record all of the gravestones or only a selection. So three of us visited the cemetery last September to try and establish how complete his work is. Unfortunately we discovered significant gaps such as legible inscriptions that don’t appear in our listings. Neither could we uncover the logic behind his recording sequence – he doesn’t seem to have tackled the work area by area. As a result of these difficulties we haven’t been able to assign each inscription to a cemetery plan, even in general terms. So finding an individual gravestone on the ground may prove difficult and the on-line transcription must be regarded only as a "lucky dip" only rather than a definitive listing of surviving MI’s. The information as originally recorded doesn’t contain the full text of each inscription, just the most important genealogical information: for each gravestone the full names, ages and relationships of the people, with death dates as years only. As regards obtaining further information, the original burial registers are now held in the Cemetery Office at Lewisham Crematorium (1 Verdant Lane, London SE6 1TP). They also hold the registers for other cemeteries in the Borough. More information about an individual burial may be available including, if you're lucky, the location of the surviving gravestone using their set of contemporary plans. Searches currently cost £20. To explore this follow the link from our Brockley & Ladywell website introductory page to the relevant page on the Lewisham Council website. We are not the only group to be taking an interest in Brockley & Ladywell. A recently formed group is the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries (FOBLC) – see their website at www.foblc.org.uk. They organise meetings and volunteer days to improve the cemetery for users, relatives and wildlife. 1861 Census The other new dataset is some partial 1861 Census for Bromley Registration District (piece numbers RG9/463 & RG9/464). This is derived from transcription & data input work that was undertaken by Society volunteers in 1993-97 and is no longer being NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

211

considered for CD-Rom publication given the availability of commercial on-line indexes. It includes 11,685 individuals in six parishes: Bromley (5422 entries) Chislehurst (2259), Foots Cray (285), St Mary Cray (1463), St Paul’s Cray (531), and Orpington (1725). The detail for each individual is full name and age. This is still a “work in progress” since another 8,685 names have been recorded and remain to be added to the website.

* SEARCHING FOR COUSINS WITH THE HELP OF GENEALOGICAL DNA TESTS DAVID PIKE

M

any of my ancestors left the UK well before census and civil registration records began to be kept, so for me it has been a challenge to try to make connections with distant family members who descend from my ancestors’ kin that remained in the UK. Census and civil registrations are wonderful genealogical tools, but it has been nearly impossible for me to look at them and tell which people are, and which are not, my relatives. On this point I reckon that I am not alone but instead enjoy the company of many fellow genealogists. As for how I am overcoming this obstacle, I have turned to the aid of DNA tests. As a case in point, my surname is PIKE and my PIKE ancestors likely resided in Poole, Dorset in the late 1600s or early 1700s, just prior to their settlement in Newfoundland. There is speculation that Poole may have only been ‘home’ to my PIKE ancestors for a few generations. My PIKE line might have originated somewhere else, but where? Pike is a common surname in the West Country. In Dorset alone, there are clusters of PIKEs in Stour Provost, Wareham and Church Knowle, Worth Maltravers, Pimperne, Shapwick, etc. Moreover, there are many additional groups of PIKEs in other counties, such as Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon to name just three. But which of these families, if any, am I related to? I could easily waste both a fortune and a lifetime trying to research potential connections with traditional records and still not obtain any answers. So, I am delighted by the advent of genealogical DNA tests that can tell whether two family lines are related or not, and all with the ease of mail-order DNA tests that can take just a few weeks to process. My task now is to find other people with PIKE ancestry, and in particular those who have inherited a Y chromosome (a small portion of DNA that is passed only from father to son) from a PIKE ancestor, so that we can compare our genetic signatures with one another. To say a few more words about the PIKE family, there is an active effort at building a genetic census, to be used hand-in-hand with traditional census records and other NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

212

genealogical tools at our disposal. Although the PIKE project has discovered a number of genetic matches that have subsequently helped to unravel enigmatic genealogical connections, so far I personally have not found any genetic matches in anywhere in the UK. Far from being discouraged, this means that I can stop wasting time and money trying to find elusive connections with those families with which I am a genetic non-match. I now know that I can focus my efforts elsewhere (and if/when I do find a genetic match then I can further concentrate on finding connections between my PIKE ancestors and those of my new-found cousins). One of the goals in this article is to provide a glimpse into the utility of genealogical DNA tests, which, I hasten to point out, are quite different from the DNA tests used by government and law enforcement agencies. (Their tests focus on those parts of a person’s DNA that are unique to only one individual, whereas genealogical DNA tests aim to reveal genetic signatures that are shared by extended families along either paternal or maternal lines). An excellent book with more details is ‘Family History in Genes: Trace Your DNA and Grow Your Family Tree’ by Chris Pomery , (Available from the UK National Archives Bookshop.) People wanting to learn more about genealogical DNA tests might also find the resources ‘For Newbies’ at: http://www.isogg.org to be helpful. Also, Family Tree DNA (one of the companies that specialises in providing genealogical tests) has links to websites for over 4000 family DNA projects, just one of which is the PIKE project. The website for the PIKE DNA Project is at: http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/ (It can also be easily found by doing a Google search for ‘Pike DNA’) There is a map on the project’s ‘results’ page that shows where in the UK we have found members of several different PIKE families that are involved in the project (including one PIKE family with its roots in Kent).

* HOMES FOR LITTLE BOYS, HEXTABLE, SWANLEY, KENT GREG DAXTER

I

was talking to John a little while ago and he told me that his father had been in the Navy, while his mother was left at home looking after the family. One day while his father was at home, on leave, he said to John, “Come on son, we’re going on a train to London!” What a thrill for a little 6 year-old! They said “Goodbye!” to Mum, at the gate, and made their way to the station. They got on the train. Though Dad was rather quiet, John was full of excitement. Then they arrived at, was it Waterloo? Any way Dad said “Now John you be a good boy and go over there to that lady with the two boys. I’ll see you soon. Bye for now, son!” John turned round and Dad was not there. Whatever was happening? The lady and her boys greeted John and helped th him on the train to Swanley. John was overwhelmed. It was the 11 June 1936. In a few days he was going to be 7! He had no idea where he was going or what it was all about. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

213

That afternoon the family, together with John, arrived in Hextable, and this is what they saw. John was taken to meet the matron of Sidney Hills’ House. He says he cried for a week! Was his Dad being cruel? We might say so, but probably he was in as much despair himself at that time. Gradually others in the family went into Children’s Homes as well, and one brother even joined John in Hextable. In 1942 John left what old boys affectionately refer to as HLB, and went to the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook… This is part of one story, which could be repeated, more or less, by many boys from across the country, who were orphans. Some boys came to the Homes from overseas. Each Cottage was a home for about 30 boys. In the 1860s the first of these was set up in the nearby village of Farningham. It was th part of the 19 C move to take “waifs and strays” from the workhouse environment and give them homes in small family groups and in a place where they could go to school and have the opportunity to learn a trade, such as carpentry, horticulture, tailoring, boot-making, printing and even photography, and, at Hextable, seamanship, so that they could play a worthwhile and fulfilling part in society. As the demand grew for th more such Homes, on 20 July 1883 the Prince and Princess of Wales opened the Hextable Homes. In about 1909 Lord Christopher Furness of the Furness Withy Shipping Line funded the building of “Lady Furness House”, for the training of boys for the Merchant Navy. After this HLB in Hextable became known as a Naval Orphanage and when they were old enough many boys were transferred to the Royal Naval School in Holbrook, or if for the Merchant Service they were prepared for the Second Mates’ Examination and left as Apprentices, being placed on board their ships. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

214

Hextable boys served with most of the main Shipping Companies throughout the nd st world, many as 2 and 1 Mates and some as Master Mariners with their Captain’s tickets.

Records show that some 500 former Homes’ boys served on land, at sea and in the air in 1914-1918, and many were casualties. Some of them are remembered in what is now called Furness School. They seem to have been involved in all the major battles and some had no friends to tell of their deaths. In 1939 –1945 again many served their country. One was awarded the OBE for skill and courage when his ship was attacked en route to the USA. The same old boy took part in the Russian and Atlantic Convoys and on one occasion when his Commandant was injured took charge and got the convoy safely through. For his “bravery and outstanding ability” he was awarded the CBE. I wonder what his name was? HLB was my first school in 1947, not because I was an orphan, but the son of the Boot-maker/repairer. I left in 1953 and in about 1955 the Homes finally closed. Two years later it opened as Furness School - a boarding School for boys and girls, with special needs. In the 1960s I returned as a gap-student/ assistant houseparent, and again in the early 1980s as a teacher/ assistant houseparent. Today it caters for boys of all ages with special needs. From time to time old Homes boys return, as do their families from home and abroad, nd USA, Canada, Australia… “to see where granddad was sent…”. Many tell of the 2 World War and the bombing of the School and Houses and the underground bunker where over 120 would retreat in the air raids on Hextable. Then there was the evacuation in 1944 to Honiton in Devon, alongside the camp of the American forces. Every place like this has its characters: Mr LOWES, who was the Superintendent for over 30 years, Mr JENNER who succeeded him in the war and Mr SCOTT, who taught in the School for many years. In the early days Christopher CASSTINE was the Homes’ “Photographic Artist” and later became Arthur Mee’s photographer for the Children’s Encyclopaedia. Then there were matrons, Miss RAY, Mrs WILTCHER and her husband, Miss THOMPSON, Nurse BALL and more. The work staff included old NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

215

“HUCK”, Mr TOLLY the Head gardener, “DAFFY” the boot maker/repairer, Mr COOMBES the ploughman with his horses criss-crossing the fields in the centre of the village. Then of course there were the boys. Names come to mind - some real characters! “Fatty” RULE, Jake BLAKE, the CLAYTON brothers, Edward ELLINS, Reg BREACH, the JACKS brothers, John INCH, Ian McGREGOR, the BELCHER twins, Dennis CHAWNER, “Piggy” EDWARDS, “Dongo” EASTERLOW, “GANDY” (who left in 1947 to join the Merchant Navy), George GATTING and Brian FISHER, (who tried to run away to Gravesend!) Of course there were many more, and I wonder if any of these names, places or faces are familiar to any one reading this.

The Headmaster Mr Malcolm TONGE and a group of Boys in 1945 Since 2005, together with the staff at Furness, I have been gathering the memories of those who were there and the first volume of their stories has been printed. Others are still being gathered, some from the 1880s. Gradually the history of the Homes for Little Boys in Hextable, sometimes called Swanley, is being recorded and is now an important part of the School’s GCSE History Course. I have been in touch with old boys and their families all over the country, several in the USA and Canada, two or three in Australia and New Zealand. I am constantly amazed by those contacting me with vivid memories, family histories, wartime stories of tragedy, bravery and making good. All well worth being recorded for posterity. Eventually I hope to write the book. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

216

So…… What happened to John? He said I could tell his story. John joined the Navy when he was 15. “I was only a young man when the Atom Bomb was dropped on Japan, but I remember it well. I was included in the occupation of Japan and visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki but all was rebuilt by the time I went there. I also visited Kure, Japan’s Naval Dockyard, and I saw the remains of the Japanese Navy, blown to bits in the dry docks, which was before we landed in Japan in 1945. Then I spent three years in the Korean War in the ship’s crew of HMS “Ceylon”. “It was not until my mother died that I found out why we were all put away in Orphanages. She could not cope with all the children, and my father intended to leave the navy and return home to look after us, but the war changed all that. Then sadly on th the 24 May, 1941, my father went down on HMS “Hood”. I must have cried for days. There were nine of us in the family and I was the middle one. Now I am the only one left.” They say that the discipline was hard and while some hated it, most old boys would agree with the one who said “The Homes helped me through many difficult times, and I was taught self-respect, discipline and always to work hard. It made me what I am and I will always be grateful for that.” If you know of anyone who had links with the Homes for Little Boys in Hextable, or were there yourself as a boy, or on the Staff, I would be very pleased to hear from you. Do contact me and I will be glad to send you more details about this Project. If you would like a copy of “Swanley Homes Remembered”, I will be delighted to send one to you. Greg Daxter. Mem. No. 11666  36 Lyncombe Crescent, Higher Lincombe Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 2HP  01803 296 267 *

THE STORY OF MARY BELLINGHAM –

ANN RAWLINSON

Part 2 Charles Dickens relates in his book "Bleak House" the story of the Wards in Chancery and how the court case relating to their inheritance rumbled on for many, many years. By the time it was resolved the inheritance had evaporated in costs and many of those involved had long since died. Such was the case of the Will of FRANCES WALE and of the involvement of MARY BELLINGHAM and her husband RICHARD. In the year 1742 FRANCES WALE widow and Coalmonger of St. Clement Danes in the County of Middlesex made her will. She died the following year. It was this document and the legacies it contained which was to prove the identity of Mary Bellingham and to reveal details of her siblings and of her mother's family - the SUDDS. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

217

Frances Wale was Mary Bellingham's aunt - the sister of her late mother Mary. In her colourful Will, with its delightful descriptions of the items of clothing she leaves her nieces, Frances asks to be buried beside her son James in the churchyard at Lingfield in Surrey. Her bequests help to piece together the SUDDS family tree and part of Mary Bellingham's lineage moves from Kent into Surrey. Frances Wale names as beneficiaries her two brothers: WILLIAM SUDDS of Lingfield and JOHN SUDDS of Limpsfield, also the children of her late brother THOMAS of Shoreham and the children of JAMES AND MARY SAWYER: Mary ( the wife of Richard Bellingham) William, James and Elizabeth Sawyer. Frances Wale had named her niece, FRANCES SUDDS, as her executrix and beneficiary of the residue of her estate. But her niece "having disobliged her"; Frances Wale made an alteration to her Will. She obliterated the clause, which related to her niece's bequest, effectively cutting Frances Sudds out of her Will. It then fell to her nephew WILLIAM SUDDS, the brother of her disinherited niece and MARY BELLINGHAM, another niece and daughter of her late sister MARY SAWYER, to act as executors. On 30th June 1743 Mary Bellingham was sworn before the Surrogate and the following day the Will was proved and administration granted to Mary and in September of the same year also to William Sudds the other executor. In view of what was to happen it seems likely that Mary Bellingham assumed that she was the residual legatee and had the right to dispose of her aunt's property after the other legacies had been dealt with. It was sixteen years later on "Fryday the 13th July 1759” that Richard and Mary Bellingham found themselves before the Deputy Remembrancer of the Court of Exchequer at Westminster where they had to answer the following in respect of a Court case against them and all the other beneficiaries. This had been instigated by the other executor William Sudds, Mary's cousin. William Sudds claimed that his aunt's personal estate at the time of her death was valued at one thousand pounds and upwards - the legacies in the will amounted to £205. As the case proceeds family relationships become clear. The proceedings were a mine of genealogical information and the story of the death of Frances Sudds and what happened next begins to unfold:. Eliza Sawyer (wife of George Napper) and Ann Price (wife of Thomas Price) were with Frances in the room wherein she dyed at her death. Bridget Harding, Mary Pew and Mrs. Jobson (who lodged in the Testators House) were in the room with her about three hours before her death. They offered to sit and watch by her but Eliza Napper and Ann Price would not permit them saying that Textatrix was just upon the point of death and that there was no occasion for any other persons besides themselves to sit with or take care of her. The three ladies went to their beds and about three hours later they heard the noise of trampling of feet and pulling out of drawers and the removing of boxes, trunks and other things in the textatrix room the night she dyed NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

218

until about eight the next morning when Eliza Napper informed them that Frances Wale had died. The ladies spoke of various sums of money at the house and also that there were two large chests below stairs and five boxes filled with her fine linen clothes. Eliza Napper informed her sister Mary Bellingham that their aunt was dead and she and Richard came the next day to the deceased's house where, it was alleged, they locked themselves up where the Textatrix had died and spent all that day in looking into and packing up all the most valuable parts of her goods and effects and upon the next two days they sold part of the goods and removed away the greatest part of the remainder in seven carts before an inventory could be made altho Textatrix had got watches, money, gold rings and a great quantity of silver plate, fine linen and rich laced clothes.. Mary and Richard then made an inventory of the goods and effects they thought fit to leave at the house. Mary Bellingham had proved the Will but refused to exhibit to the court an Inventory of the Goods and Chattels and William Sudds was unable to discover the true value of the estate. He had applied to Richard and Mary to join with him in the administration of the estate but claimed that they, together with the other beneficiaries named in the will, refused. Eliza Napper admitted that a few hours after the death of Frances she sent to inform Mary Bellingham and that on the next day but one came to her house and spent all or the greatest part of that day packing and locking up the most valuable part of her goods they could find and carried away the remainder in one cart only. Eliza said that an inventory was made before any part was sold or removed and they also took into their custody several bonds and securities for money and other papers and writing they could find and also her Will.

Mary Bellingham stated that on 5th July 1743 she caused an advertisement to be published in the Daily Advertizer viz: If William Sudds son of Thomas Sudds husbandman late of Shoreham in the County of Kent will apply himself to Mr. Geo. Napper at the Wheat Sheaf in Fleet Lane near St. Pauls Church Yard London he may hear something to his advantage. As the case proceeds more family relationships are divulged - FRANCES SUDDS the disinherited niece had married JOHN JOHNSON. She died in 1757. WILLIAM SUDDS, brother to the Textatrix had died in 1756 his estate going to his daughter ELIZA the wife of JOHN TAYLOR. JOHN SUDDS, another brother, had died in July 1755 his estate passing to his son JOHN and that SARAH SUDDS, another niece, had married GEORGE ADAMS. William Sudds would seem to have won this part of the case. The Court ordered that any funds relating to the estate be paid into the court pending settlement of the dispute. Richard and Mary were to bear the costs amounting to £5. Although another hearing was fixed no records of this have been found. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

219

Some eight years later in 1767, and 24 years after the death of Frances Wale, William Sudds was examined before the Deputy Remembrancer and stated: "Some short time after the death of Frances Wale he came to London and went to the house where his aunt liv'd and found that all the goods and furniture of the said house was taken out. He was informed that it had been removed to the defendant Snapper’s house at the sign of the Wheatsheaf in Fleet Street where he went and was informed that all the goods was sold according to Appraisement except a bed and a parcel of old books which he, having a mind to purchase, treated with Richard Bellingham who was then at Napper’s house about purchasing the same and agreed with him for the purchase for the sum of three pounds and three shillings. William Sudds was sent for by Richard Bellingham to receive his legacy left him by his aunt and he said that he came to London and went to Richard Bellingham who offered to pay him his legacy provided he would set his hand to some agreement not to trouble himself further about his aunt's affairs which he refusing to do Richard Bellingham would not pay him his legacy and that it would be worse for him. William Sudds said that "the said bed and books which he purchased as aforesaid were all the goods and effects belonging to the deceased Frances Wale that ever came to his hands". He was further interrogated about a bond note or security for money belonging to Frances Wale which he said had never been in his custody and he denied receiving the sum of forty pounds or any other sums of money being a debt due to Frances Wale from a pawn broker trading near the Clare Market." Twenty four years after the death of Frances Wale the case had not been resolved. No further documents have survived and it is likely that the matter was eventually either withdrawn or settled out of court. Unlike the Wards in Chancery in Dicken's tale we will probably never know the final judgement of the court. The loss of Frances Sudds inheritance was most certainly our gain. The repercussions of her aunt's actions have provided a gold mine of genealogical information. As details of Mary Bellingham's family emerged from the Court documents, information collected over the years could be slotted into place and new areas of research were opened up. Mary's pedigree in Ightham was traced to her great grandfather THOMAS SAWYER who had married ALICE MASSOCK in 1644 in Shipbourne. The records of Lingfield and Limpsfield in Surrey gave details of the Sudds family. Frances Wale nee Sudds had been baptised in 1677 in Lingfield the daughter of WILLIAM SUDDS who was Mary's maternal grandfather. The problems and frustrations of many years research were resolved and we finally discovered exactly who Mary Bellingham was and where she came from. Now it just remains for us to discover the origins of her husband Richard Bellingham. Please see the family trees for the Sawyer family of Ightham, the Sudds family of Lingfield and the Bellingham family of Shipbourne on the next pages:

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

220

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

221

Sources: The National Archives Parish Registers of Shipbourne, Ightham, Wrotham, Plaxtol, Swanscombe and Sevenoaks in Kent - CKS Parish Registers of Limpsfield and Lingfield in Surrey Surrey Record Office West Kent Marriage Index East Kent Marriage Index Bishops Transcripts and Probate Documents - Lambeth Palace Library Ightham Overseers Accounts - CKS The Will of Frances Wale, London Metropolitan Archives Memorial Inscriptions in Shipbourne Church by Colyer Fergusson - Kent FHS Fiche Land Tax Assessments - CKS Society of Genealogists IGI Bibliography: 17th Century Kent - Chalklin Plaxtol in the 17th Century - Mary Lewis West Kent Sources - NWKFHS Clandestine Marriages in the Chapel & Rules of the Fleet Prison - Mark Herber Irregular Marrriage in London before 1754 - Tony Benton Inns and Taverns of Old London - Henry C. Shelley

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

222

EVERY FAMILY HAS ONE

PAT MANNING

ntonia DOYLE from Rue D’Assas, Paris put a message on my message board enquiring about the BAKERs of Beckenham. Her great grandmother, Ann WHEELER, had been a domestic at the house in Bow where the children had all been born in the 1840s to stockbroker James Robert BAKER and his wife Elizabeth. The 1851 census has them all living at Grove Road, Mile End Old Town, Tower Hamlets with Charles born 1840, Arthur born 1843, Alfred born 1846, Frank born 1848 and Clara born 1850. By 1881 Frank was living at home with his widowed mother, two unmarried sisters, Augusta and Mary but also his married sister Olive and her family with three young children. His three brothers had married and left home.

A

The 1881 census revealed that Charles was living at Mason’s Hill, Bromley with his wife Mary and their family of four daughters and two sons, all born in Bromley. The Beckenham Street Directories show that both Arthur and Alfred were living in Beckenham from the early 1850s. They were all highly successful stockbrokers no doubt tempted to move to southeast London by the large houses that were being built in the second half of the nineteenth century. Arthur had married Clara Mortieau in 1866 and in 1881 was living in Copers Cope Road with eight of his eventual family of four boys and six girls. Not long afterwards he moved to Elderslie in South Eden Park Road where the railway line to Charing Cross from Hayes opened in 1882.

Elderslie

At first the station Eden Park was just a halt used by Elderslie and the other four houses along the road because the adjacent housing estate of Upper Elmers End and Monks Orchard was not begun until 1928. The name Elderslie was given to the houses by its first resident, Mr Wallace, perhaps after the village in Renfrewshire where William Wallace of Brave Heart fame was born. It was demolished in 1939 to make way for Elderslie Close. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

223

In 1881 Alfred was in Eastbourne at St Brannock House with his wife, Alice MOODY, who he had married in 1871, and family, but again those Beckenham Directories are of use showing us that they were about to settle at Westgate in Foxgrove Road – within a stone’s throw of Beckenham Cricket Gound. Of their six sons, Harry died when only eight years old but the other five became keen cricketers. In the middle 1890s these Bakers fielded a team entirely of Bakers against the Beckenham Cricket Club. Alfred John would open his garden at 5, Foxgrove Road after the Beckenham Cricket Week for a grand party. There would be Chinese lanterns and fairy lights with the band of the Royal Marines for entertainment. The 1895 team was made up of Harold Eustace, Walter Bernard, Cecil Douglas and Arthur Ernest – all sons of Arthur Henry BAKER- and Alfred Augustus, Percy Charles, Claude Malcolm, Gerald and Zouch – all sons of Alfred John (who also played) and M. BAKER, probably the son of Charles BAKER. They called themselves, not surprisingly, the Eleven Bakers, but they had to be careful because there was another team of Bakers (the bread makers) who played the Butchers and the Milkmen amongst others. Two of Alfred’s sons played for Kent – Percy Charles and Herbert Zouch, who was especially gifted. It was said of Zouch that he was probably the best all-rounder that Beckenham ever had. He was a very correct bat yet full of strokes, a fast medium bowler of immaculate length, doing a bit each way with the ball and a fine fielder. In one season he took 100 wickets at an average of 11.47 runs. You would have thought that lots of grandchildren would have sprung from all these Bakers, but few married. Perhaps cricket played too great a part in their lives. Alfred Augustus and Herbert Zouch Baker

The family graves of both Arthur and Alfred can be seen on the north side of St George’s Churchyard in area I. Both had been JPs for Kent, members of the Stock Exchange and of the Kent County Council. Alfred John had moved into Southend Road, first to the Red House and then, in 1914, to number 10 – the house that he called St Brannock. Alfred John was a member of the School Board and represented Eden Park Ward on the Beckenham UDC at the same time as James Crease. Now, if every family has a skeleton in the cupboard, where was the one belonging to these exceptional Bakers? Antonia Doyle’s great grandfather was Harry BAKER WHEELER, born illegitimately when his mother, Ann WHEELER, was the cook at the Baker’s house at Bow. The NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

224

1871 census shows that the occupants of Grove Cottage were Elizabeth BAKER, son Alfred 25, and daughters Clara 21, Augusta 18, Blanche 16 and servant Ann WHEELER 22. Harry’s education was subsidised by this family until he was 16. Harry’s father was Alfred John BAKER. References: Census and BMD using www.ancestry.co.uk Beckenham Journal of August 1895 for the Baker’s Cricket team. Ronnie Bryan’s 100 Years of Cricket at Foxgrove. Bromley Record July 1899 p.104 Street Directories for Beckenham and Bromley on open shelves in Bromley Local Studies Beckenham Journal of 30.10.1926 for Alfred J Baker’s obituary. Beckenham and Penge Advertiser Jan 1906 for Arthur Baker’s obituary. Bavington and Pike p.320 for portrait and short biography of Alfred J Baker.

* SOCIETY PROJECT WORK

Robert Woodward Society’s Projects Co-ordinator

T

he Society is currently undertaking a Parish Register Digital Scanning Project. The intention is publish, on disc, facsimile images of the Registers and other Records for the Parishes in our area of interest. The work is done in conjunction with the Archive or Council department that holds the original documents. Mostly the work is funded either wholly or partly by the Society in furtherance of our stated Charitable Objectives. The project could not proceed without the co-operation and assistance of the staff of the various Archives and Council departments and the Society is indebted to them for their unfailing help. The preferred procedure is to make a digital scan of the 35mm film copy of the original register that most archives already have. This approach keeps the cost to a minimum. On occasion filming of the original is necessary, if for example either no film exists or it is so badly worn from use as to be unsuitable for scanning. The digital data is also given to the Archive to enable them to place it on their own website if they so desire. Each Archive is being approached in turn. To date a large number of the parish registers held by the Medway and the Bexley Archives have been published. We have also been fortunate in having been given access to the registers of the Municipal Cemeteries for the Dartford and Gravesham Council areas. These documents had never been copied before. Currently some registers held by the Greenwich Heritage Centre, the Gravesham Council and the London Metropolitan Archives are being processed. The interest shown in these records on disc has been most gratifying. A large number have been sold and naturally any profit made from these sales is put back into funding further project work. While it is true that much of the data is being made available free of charge on Archive websites such as Medway’s CityArk; the ease of NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

225

reference when using an inexpensively priced disc has proved to be very useful to family historians. The discs available are listed on our Website – www.nwkfhs.org.uk - and may be purchased from the usual Society sources. Transcribing and indexing of the registers is also being done with a view to publication. There is a vast amount of data now available and volunteers to undertake this task are badly needed. Currently Dartford, Holy Trinity; Northfleet, St Botolph and Stone, St Mary are being transcribed. Volunteers willing to assist should contact me on - [email protected] *

NEWS FROM MEDWAY ARCHIVES AND LOCAL STUDIES CENTRE Forthcoming Events ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL: a selection of pictures photographic archive, an exhibition by Pat Salter. 31 January – 29 March 2008, admission free

from

the

Cathedral’s

BARGES AND THE RIVER MEDWAY BARGE MATCH, an exhibition by Bob Ratcliffe, President of the City of Rochester Society 31 March - 9 May 2008, admission free PLACE-NAMES IN KENT PART 2 a talk by Dr. Paul Cullen 8 April 2008 7.30 pm, booking necessary CHATHAM PUBS, an exhibition by Roy Murrant 15 May - 1 August 2008, admission free ONE FOR THE ROAD: a talk on pubs by Roy Murrant 27 May 2008 7.30 pm, booking necessary THE BOMBING OF THE DRILL SHED: an exhibition by the staff of the Drill Hall Library, University of Greenwich at Medway 26 June - 1 August 2008, admission free THE BOMBING OF THE DRILL SHED: a talk by staff of the Drill Hall Library, University of Greenwich at Medway 8 July 2008 7.30 pm, booking necessary Exhibitions are free to view. Please check normal opening times of venues. Tickets for talks are £4, or £3 for Friends of Medway Archives (FOMA) members, available from MALSC unless otherwise stated.

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

226

British Library’s Hidden Treasures Competition Readers may recall Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre and the Dean and Chapter of Rochester jointly submitted and won a competition run by the British Library for the Textus Roffensis to be included in their Turning the Pages 2 web site http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html Our latest information is that the Textus Roffensis page should go live in February 2008 and should therefore be available by the time you read this article. RECENT ACCESSIONS A recent deposit of High Halstow Parish Council records included some surviving records of High Halstow Lawn Tennis Club 1956-1969 (DE1154) Records of the Gillingham Recorded Music Society, formerly Gillingham Gramophone Society 1947-2007 (DE1156) Scrapbook compiled by Charles G. Miller, 17 Rochester Avenue, Rochester, son of Rev. G. Anderson Miller and inscribed by him 21 August 1916 with additions by some later compilers. Items relating to Miller’s family, their church, Rochester Baptist Church, Maidstone Road (later Crow Lane), Rochester, local nonconformist Sunday schools, Kent and Sussex Baptist Association, together with photographs of members of Medway Swimming Club [see also Couchman Collection DE402] Labelled Miller of Rochester 1888-1979 (DE1157) Records of Enon Strict Baptist Church, High Street and 33 Nelson Road, Chatham, comprising: minute book, with copy correspondence (1842) and list of church members at front, 1843-1883. NB includes loose enclosures (1 volume) [UFP]; minute book, with list of church members at front, 1883-1954 (1 volume); receipts and expenditure book 1843-1877 (1 volume) [UFP]; receipts and expenditure book of benevolent society connected with Enon Chapel, High Street, Chatham, with memoranda about pastoral visits (1860), 1860-1916. NB includes loose enclosures (1 volume) [UFP]; retrospective card index of church members c.1842-c.1900, giving names, addresses, chapels or places from which joined or transferred to, dates of birth, baptism, confirmation and marriage (as applicable) and name of officiant at marriage (as applicable), etc., compiled c.1990 (1 bundle) (N/B/85; DE1166) Chatham, solicitors, clients’ records including Dartford Brewery Company and Style and Winch, brewers (14E), Budden and Biggs’ brewery Ltd., 116-118 High Street, Strood, brewers SPOTLIGHT ON PUBS AND BREWING Lisa Birch, Archives Assistant, is making good progress with the records of Rogers, Stevens and Chance, public house and hotel valuers. The company also valued breweries throughout Kent, many of them now gone; the records however contain detailed plans, inventories and photographs. This is a large collection and complements our other public house and brewery related collections: Best family of Chatham and Boxley, family, estate and brewery business records (U480), Hulkes NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

227

(formerly Wildash) of Chatham, brewers (DE505, DE528), Dove, Phillips and Pett of Strood and Rochester, mineral water manufacturers (U1782) In addition we hold the local authority building plans for the Medway Towns, containing detailed drawings of pubs erected or altered from roughly 1850 to 1974. Maps and photographs also exist aplenty and we have the North Aylesford Petty Sessions licensing registers 1869-1937, making this office something of an oasis for researching the region’s history of providing beverages. AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY An historic hand-drawn and coloured map of Rochester surveyed by William Bushell for Rochester City Council during the mayoralty of Edward Manclark Esq. in 1822 has been discovered in the attic of The Cedars School at 68 Maidstone Road, Rochester where it had been languishing for several decades. Covered in soot and dust, it is rather the worse for its time spent above the rafters in conditions more reminiscent of a bygone Dickensian age. The existence of the map and several others was alerted to the council's archives section by local councillor Ted Baker, who appropriately enough was first elected to Rochester City Council in 1961. The map had no doubt been left behind inadvertently at the time of the last local government reorganisation in the Medway Towns in 1974, when Rochester City Council, Chatham Borough Council and Strood Rural District Council combined to form a new authority, subsequently known as Rochester upon Medway City Council. Until 1974, the house had been used as the old city surveyor's office. After a brief period of use by the new authority into the 1980s, the building was sold to the school. We are extremely grateful to the school’s proprietors Mr. and Mrs. Gross for reinstating the map to the city archives. The map is so important that the City of Rochester Society has offered to help fund the map's conservation and repair in order that it can be made available to researchers at Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre. The map gives us a snapshot of Rochester in 1822, the time the young Charles Dickens first became acquainted with the city. The map shows field names, street names, woods, farms, the street layout and the limited extent of building development. Of particular interest are the Mill Pond at Strood, part of the city it should be remembered, Horsnail's Mill near Fort Clarence, Stedman's Mill at the top of Star Hill, Great Delce and Fort Pitt. We hope future generations of researchers will benefit.[See also MP/P/3/2] (RCA; DE1161) ARCHIVES OF GREAT EXPECTATIONS Following about two years of detailed preparation, the Friends of Medway Archives should be submitting their bid for funding from a major national grant making body before Christmas. I am glad to say we have recruited a team of volunteers to help with this project, aimed at listing and making fully available the Rochester City Archives. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

228

VOLUNTEERS’ DAY On 31 October 2007 we held a special training day for all of our prospective volunteers. It was hailed a great success. Volunteers have been enrolled for the listing of the Ian Fraser slide collection, Archives of Great Expectations, recording of Rochester High Street and identifying unknown photographs. I am also glad to report we received expressions of interest from several volunteers to assist with our annual programme of inspecting parish records at churches throughout north-west Kent. Until the 1990s volunteers routinely assisted with this work but for about ten years the burden has fallen on staff. The next round of parish records inspections begins in Spring 2008. The day began with a touching tribute to the work of one of the Kent Family History Society searchroom volunteers, John Witheridge, who has been coaching a novice researcher with a background of learning difficulties. Few in the audience can have been unaffected by John’s account of this painstaking mentoring work. John is also a dedicated member of the FOMA committee and Vice Chairman. For our readers’ information, several KFHS volunteers assist searchroom duty staff by coaching novice family historians and genealogists each Tuesday and Thursday morning, on a first come, first served basis. All at MALSC are immensely appreciative of this contribution. April Lambourne, Archives and Local Studies Officer, MALSC Medway Council, Civic Centre, Strood, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4AU  01634 332714 e-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://cityark.medway.gov.uk For opening hours, please see page 236.

Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

229

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

230

HOUSE GROUPS

A

t our House Groups, members meet together in small groups in their own homes to help each other with family history problems, do project work and make new friends. If you are interested, please contact the organiser for your area.

BECKENHAM

Ann Fox

020 8460 6150

BEXLEY / CHISLEHURST

Barbara Godfrey

01474 356603

MEOPHAM

Joan Goodwins

01474 812596

ORPINGTON / PETTS WOOD

Jean Rawlings

01689 876385

SEVENOAKS Day:

Hilary Kidd

01732 454214

SEVENOAKS / SEAL

Linda Meaden

01732 762679

SHIRLEY / WEST WICKHAM

Joan Field

020 8777 5273

DARTFORD VILLAGES

Pamela Eagles

01474 705523

* PUBLICATIONS Publications Co-ordinator

Maureen Wilkins

I

n view of the very slow sales of microfiche in 2007, the Publications Committee has decided to withdraw all microfiche from sale. This will include our own Society publications and the watermen and lightermen, riverside parishes and docklands ancestors series. In most cases, all of these items have been available on CD for some time. For our older material, such as MIs, which are currently only on microfiche, the publications team are working to transfer as much as possible onto CD format. More news on this during the year. Where we still have some stock of these fiche, a copy will be donated to the NWFKHS library at Hextable. If you would like an electronic copy of the newly updated publications list containing many new CDs of parish registers, cemeteries etc. please send an e-mail to [email protected]. If you would like to receive a printed copy, please write to Maureen Wilkins (address on journal inside cover), enclosing an A5, stamped, selfaddressed envelope. If you wish to order any publications directly from us, please order from: Mrs Barbara Attwaters, 141 Princes Road, Dartford, Kent, DA1 3HJ. Please enclose an A5 self-addressed envelope or a large self-addressed adhesive label. Cheques in sterling only please should be made out to NWKFHS. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

231

If you wish to pay by credit card, you can also purchase publications online from either the FFHS bookshop (now run by S&N) at www.genfair.co.uk or the Parish Chest online bookshop www.parishchest.com *

THE SOCIETY'S PUBLICATIONS LIST

T

his is a 12-page booklet containing over 180 items. It includes NWKFHS own publications, Rob Cottrell's Watermen and Lightermen series and Riverside Parishes series, James Leg on Docklands Ancestors publications, together with an order form. If you would like an electronic copy of the list, please send e-mail to [email protected] If you would like to receive a printed copy, please write to Maureen Wilkins (address on journal inside cover), enclosing an A5, stamped, selfaddressed envelope. If you wish to order any publications directly from us, please order from: Mrs. Barbara Attwaters, 141 Princes Road, Dartford, Kent, DA1 3HJ Please enclose an A5 self-addressed envelope or a large self-addressed adhesive label. Cheques, in sterling only please, should be made out to NWKFHS. If you wish to pay by credit card, you can also purchase publications online from either the FFHS bookshop at www.genfair.com or the Parish Chest online bookshop www.parishchest.com *

CALLING ALL NWKFHS EMAIL ENABLED MEMBERS. NWKFHS MEMBERS email list

Denise Rason

If you are on email, then do consider joining our society mailing list. If you have a query then we might be able to help. We have over 350 members, so can answer most questions that you might ask, or we will know someone who can. Our members are very helpful. If you would like to see the kind of messages posted before, have a look at the list archives on: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ENG-KENT-NWKFHS/ NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

232

Rootsweb have recently made some changes to the way the list works so if you do want to subscribe, it is best to send a message direct to me at: [email protected] with the word ‘subscribe’ and your membership number in the body of the message. You will then receive a Welcome message explaining how the list works, how to post messages and how to unsubscribe etc. Please keep this for future reference. *

FORTHCOMING FAMILY HISTORY EVENTS exley Local Studies Family & Local History Fair, usually held in March, may be deferred/cancelled/relocated due to the refurbishment of Hall Place. We are awaiting further information.

B

For further information about these and other Family History Fairs/Events in general, contact www.geneva.weald.org.uk Please consult our own website for details of specific events that we will be attending as there may be others or changes to original plans. For other queries, please contact me on [email protected] *

FEDERATION OF FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES FAMILYHISTORYONLINE

T

he FFHS pay-per-view online database has been operational since Christmas 2002. The data available is provided by member societies and royalties are paid to the Society for access to the data. The amount of data currently available exceeds 7 million records and will increase with time as more data is added. The 1891 Census transcript and index is now available on the FFHS – Pay Per View site. The website address is www.familyhistoryonline.net Access is made in a similar way to the 1901 Census by means of prepaid vouchers. These vouchers are available at £5 value at the Branches or from the Treasurer by post, £5.35 post paid. They have a six-month credit life once opened online. Prepaid vouchers for the online 1901 Census are also available at Branches, at £5 & £10 value, or by post from the Secretary (35p p & p). Check with [email protected] for overseas p & p.

* NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

233

NORTH WEST KENT FHS LIBRARY.

Janet Rose

M

embers and visitors are very welcome to visit our library, which is open every Wednesday from 10.00 until 16.00 and on the second and fourth Fridays of the month from 10.00 until 14.00, for project work. Helpers are needed for Wednesdays, 10.00 -16.00 or split shift 10.00 - 13.00 and 13.00 - 16.00 and for the Friday sessions. The Society Library is situated at the Hextable Heritage Centre. It has the complete Society collection of books, fiche and other reference material. Location. The Heritage Centre is located off College Road, Hextable. Take Dawson Drive, which is the second turning on the right from the mini roundabout in the centre of Hextable, turn left into ‘Crawfords’, then go straight on into the car park. Please see the map on the next page. To get to us by public transport: Transport from Market Square, Dartford take the 477 bus to Hextable Green. Walk up College Road to Library. Transport from Swanley Station, Swanley take the 477 bus to St. David’s Road. Walk up College Road to Library. Catalogue: This is being updated and new material added all the time. CD ROMs and new books are being added to the Library. There is information on most counties and, of course, lots on Kent. Facilities: Tea and coffee is available. There are toilets in the building and wheelchair access is possible because the Library is at ground floor level

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

234

INDEX OF INHABITANTS OF NORTH WEST KENT

Linda Meaden

inda Meaden, 7 Middle Lane, Seal, Sevenoaks, TN15 0BB will check for specific surnames in this index. This is the whole collection of Indexes, Transcriptions and lists generated by the Society and individuals of the Society over the years. Linda also has a collection of fiches on Thameside parishes.

L

The Wrotham and Northfleet 1851 census indexes are separate from ‘The Index’. Please send s.a.e. or 2 IRCs; no search will be made unless an s.a.e. or 2 IRCs are provided. No charge is made but donations are welcome. If no entry is found, the inquirer will be notified and a note kept in order to check against a later interim index to that parish. The enquirer will then be contacted. Please give forenames and approximate ages of those sought if possible. If the entry sought appears in either the Wrotham Sub district of Malling Registration District or the Northfleet Sub district of North Aylesford Reg. District there is a charge of £2.00 per enquiry payable in advance + A4 s.a.e. is required. Please make Cheques payable to the NWKFHS and in Sterling only. Postal requests only please.

* OUT- OF- AREA CO-ORDINATOR

STELLA BAGGALEY

Stella will undertake all members' research tasks. Please contact Stella directly. If you have a problem, we can refer you to some of our very experienced members to, hopefully, point you in the right direction. We are able to consult the Society's library on your behalf, and would be prepared to look up a specific item in local records. However, please remember this is not a professional research service. We are all volunteers! Please give information clearly. A brief ‘tree’ is often easier to grasp than a long rambling letter! Stella Baggaley Saddlers House, High Street, Farningham, DA4 0DT e-mail [email protected]

COURIER SERVICES

Stella Baggaley

N.B. A charge of £2.00 is added to the cost of each request. This goes to the Society and has been added to the cost shown NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

235

All Birth, Marriage & Death certificates, Census returns and P.C.C. Wills are now accessed on line. This means some changes in the information that members need to supply. CHARGES (Overseas members- STERLING only please) GRO CERTIFICATES Full GRO reference if possible or date within 5 years COPIES OF ALL CENSUS RETURNS Full name and age ONLY It is no longer possible to search even a small area PCC WILLS & ADMINISTRATIONS Full name and approximate date of death (The NA charge £3.50 for each download)

£9.00 each

£3.00 each

£5.50 each

WILLS AND ADMINISTRATIONS 1858 TO DATE These at the moment will still be obtained from the Principal Probate Registry. Information needed: full name date of death and place 5 year search.

£7.00 each

Please enclose an s.a.e as postage is not included. Overseas members must add an extra £2.00 to cover the postage. Please make cheques payable to:Stella Baggaley, Saddlers House, High Street, Farningham, Kent, DA4 0DT e-mail [email protected] *

OVERSEAS CO-ORDINATOR

T

he Meopham House Group runs the Overseas Co-ordination service and they answer general queries on local family history topics, which our overseas members cannot answer for themselves from their local sources. It is not a research service but information can be drawn from the Society library, local libraries and record offices and the Group's own references. If you have a problem with your research and they cannot help, then they know and can consult with, some of our very experienced members who may have the answer. Joan Goodwins, 35 Cheyne Walk, Meopham, Kent, DA13 0PF

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

236

LOCAL STUDIES CENTRES It is advisable to telephone a centre prior to your visit in order to save a wasted journey. Bexley Local Studies and Archives Central Library, Townley Road, Bexleyheath, DA6 7HJ Opening hours: Mon, Tues, Wed: Fri:

9.30 – 5.30pm, 9.30 – 5.30pm,

Thursday: Sat:

9.30 – 8.00pm 9.30 – 5.00pm

 020 8836 7369 or 020 8303 7777 Ext 3470 www.bexley.gov.uk

Medway Local Studies Centre and Archives Medway Archives & Local Studies Centre, Civic Centre, Strood, Rochester, ME2 4AU Opening Hours: Mon 9-5pm, Thu 9-5pm,

Tues Fri

9-6pm 9-5pm

Wed closed Sat 9-4pm

www.medway.gov.uk The catalogue is on http://cityark.medway.gov.uk

Lewisham Local Studies and Archives Centre Lewisham Local Studies and Archives, Lewisham Library, 199-201 Lewisham High Street, London, SE13 6LG  020 8297 0682 e-mail [email protected]

Bromley Local Studies and Archives Centre Central Library, High Street, Bromley, BR1 1EX  Direct line: 020 8461 7170 email: [email protected] Archives on-line catalogue: www.library.bromley.gov.uk/archive/index.htm The library stocks vouchers for the 1901 census and for 1837 online (£5.00 each)

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

237

LB Bromley Archives now have their catalogue online. It was formally launched on 8 July and received over 750 hits in the first two weeks. The cataloguing package used is DS CALM. Much of the content is the result of participating in three A2A (Access to Archives) projects - Local Governance, Aladdin's Cave and Magpie's Nest. They are halfway through a HLF-funded cataloguing project 'From Penge to Petts Wood' which has added nearly 3000 entries to the database. The URL is www.library.bromley.gov.uk/archive/index.htm.

The Greenwich Heritage Centre Greenwich Heritage Centre, Artillery Square, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, SE18 4DX Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday 9.00 – 5.00pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays.  020 8854 2452 Fax: 020 8854 2490 [email protected]

Centre of Kentish Studies Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1XQ www.kent.gov.uk/

KCC Libraries & Archives www.kent.gov.uk/e&l/artslib/archives/home.html It covers all archives in the Kent area and gives details of where to search and what areas

* NWKFHS TAPES LIBRARY

Stella Nicholls

T

he NWKFHS Tapes Library consists of audiotapes made at the talks given by various speakers at our Branch meetings and Society conferences. This has been happening since September 1985, and the list currently exceeds 350 tapes. In addition, we joined together with other Societies to form Network 11. Membership of one of the family history societies within the Network allows access to the other tape libraries. The Tapes Library List for NWKFHS and Woolwich FHS has now been added to our website. Members can obtain a complete list of NWK and Network 11 Tapes 1985 - 2007 by sending 30p + an s.a.e. 11 x 22 cm. Normal quarterly updates will continue to appear in the Journal. Members in the U.K. can borrow tapes from the address below. Cost: £1.60, by post only, for 14 days hire. Cheques / P.O. should be made payable to N.W.K.F.H.S. NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

238

Lists are available at Branch Meetings and at the Library. To conform with copyright laws and undertakings given to speakers: TAPES ARE FOR INDIVIDUAL USE AND AVAILABLE TO U.K MEMBERS ONLY

Latest additions to the Tapes Library are: 374

The Children of John Company

375

Kent Heroes, Brave, Resourceful and True Brickmaking with References to North West Kent, Crayford & Dartford Spirit of Invicta, 20c People and Places Trade Routes (The Growth of Highways) Reading Old Handwriting

376 377 378 379

Geraldine Charles. May 2007 Chris McCooey. June 2007 David Cufley. July 2007 Bob Ogley. July 2007 John Elderton. Sep 2007 Mari Alderman. Sep 2007

The Tape Library Co-ordinator, 1 Beacon Drive, Bean, Dartford, Kent, DA2 8BE. [email protected]

NETWORK 11

TAPE LIBRARY LISTS

WOOLWICH & DISTRICT F H S (Please note that this list is also on the NWKFHS website.) Tapes may be hired, at a cost of £1.60 including p&p, for 14 days. Please make all cheques payable to WOOLWICH & DISTRICT FHS. Please give NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, your FHS and Membership Number. (UK members only) Send requests to: Woolwich & District FHS Tape Library, 129 Yorkland Ave, Welling, Kent, DA16 2LQ

WEST MIDDLESEX FHS 04/3 05/1 05/2 05/3 05/4 05/5 05/6 05/7 05/8 05/9 06/1

THE PERILS OF CENSUS TRANSCRIPTION BROOKWOOD CEMETERY “WHAT HAVE THEY LEFT BEHIND” A MEMENTO FROM FERNANDO PO HAPPENSTANCE AND SERENDIPITY THE CIVIL WAR IN HOUNSLOW COMPUTERS FOR FAMILY HISTORY WHAT’S IN YOUR PARISH CHEST? APPRENTICESHIP THE WORKHOUSE VISITOR THE VICTORIAN WAY OF DEATH L/CPL CECIL WARNE ON ACTIVE SERVICE

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

Jeanne Bunting John Clarke Joyce Finnemore Maggie Mold Rob Purr Andrea Cameron Jeanne Bunting Jean Debney Richard Harvey Liz Carter Tom Doig Roy Hewitt March 2008

239

Tapes may be hired, at a cost of £1.60 including p & p for 14 days. Please make cheques payable to WEST MIDDLESEX FHS. Please give your NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, FHS & MEMBERSHIP NUMBER. (UK Members only) Send requests to: West Middlesex FHS Tape Library, c/o Muriel Sprott, 1 Camellia Place, Whitton, Twickenham, Middx, TW2 7HZ Please mark letter NWK and allow 2/3 weeks and 3/4 weeks for a reply for UK and overseas respectively. *

N.W.K.F.H.S JOURNAL BACK ISSUES email: [email protected]

P

hotocopies of individual articles from all issues of the NWKFHS journal (i.e. from Volume 1 No 1 onwards) can be obtained from Chris Barnett. The Society's website contains a name and subject index to articles which have appeared in journal back issues. Printed copies of the indexes for Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4 are also available from Chris. Cost (inc. p&p) Per photocopied article Per volume index

UK £1.00 £1.00

Overseas £2.00 £2.00

Please make all cheques payable to NWKFHS or, alternatively, UK postage stamps will be acceptable. Chris Barnett 46 Pollards Oak Crescent, Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0JQ *

OFFERS OF HELP AND HELP WANTED Those responding to Offers of Help should enclose an s.a.e. or IRCs as appropriate. We welcome entries for both the HELP WANTED and OFFERS OF HELP sections of the Journal. Please submit entries in the format as printed below and both queries and offers of help to: Miss Caroline Blackett, 58a London Road, Bromley, Kent, BR1 3QZ. email: [email protected] This email address is for offers of help and queries to be published in the Journal only. Please send your query in the main body NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

240

of an email, not as an attachment. Don’t forget to include a postal address as not everyone who reads the Queries section will have access to email.

HELP WANTED QUERIES BOULT

Pat Cryer, Lansdowne, Fishers Hill, Woking, GU22 0QF, (tel 01483 728371) is seeking early 1900s photographs from Chislehurst Road Board School in Orpington? Her husband's great grandfather, Henry BOULT was the headmaster there and his wife Lucy BOULT and daughter, also Lucy BOULT (Lucy BEST on marriage), taught there. The only two photos held of Henry are very poor, copied from reproduced newsprint in his obituary and a book about the school see http://www.cryerfamilyhistory.btinternet.co.uk/boult-henry.htm. and there are no photos at all of Henry's wife other than one suspected to be her. Quality scans of original photos featuring these people much appreciated. Email attachments would be fine, although the Cryers will willingly visit to do the scans themselves or rephotograph the photos. Email: [email protected]

O’CONNELL

Ron Ellis, 44 Mayfield Drive, Brayton, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 9JZ is trying to find out more about John O’CONNELL born 27 Jul 1881 Hackney who married Elizabeth FROST 1908 Stirling when he was a soldier in the Argyll and Sutherlands. Family stories suggest that he was also known as Jack or Patrick (despite having a brother Patrick), that he had a house in Thornton Heath, that at sometime he was an Orpington Rural Councillor and that he married again when his wife in Scotland died. Ron would love to hear from anyone who can verify or add to this information.

* RECORD OFFICES FAMILY RECORD CENTRE Fiche of the 1901 census is available with street indexes to the major towns.  020 8392 5300 or visit the PRO’s homepages on the Internet. 1 Myddelton Street, Islington, London, EC1R 1UW e-mail: [email protected]

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

241

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES (formerly PRO, KEW.) Contact details are: The National Archives (PRO), Kew, Richmond, TW9 4DU. Tel: 020 7242 1198. Email: [email protected] Website: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk TEMPORARY CLOSURES AT KEW - PLEASE CHECK BEFORE YOU PLAN A VISIT Public areas of The National Archives are being transformed over the next few months in order to accommodate the Family Records centre (FRC). During the inevitable disruption caused by building work means that you should check before planning a visit. Online services will not be affected, and the FRC in Islington will be open as normal. The website will give full details. For details visit: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk or phone 020 8392 5200 .

LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Rd., London, EC1R 0HE  020 7332 3820 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/archives/lma e mail [email protected]

FEDERATION OF FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES For general FFHS enquiries e-mail [email protected]

IRISH FAMILY HISTORY RESOURCE Roseann O’Sullivan has sent details of the new Irish Family Resource – Pensear.org email: enquiries @pensear.org and website: www.pensear.org

FINDMYPAST.COM (1837 ONLINE – Renamed) www.findmypast.com The GRO index is online and certificates can be ordered at no extra cost, i.e. £7.00 per certificate. The index pages are pay-per-view at 10p a page. Full surname and first name initials, enabling more efficient searching, have now been indexed by the GRO. www.findmypast.com now has the overseas birth, marriage and death records on their website. If your ancestors were born overseas, or perhaps died whilst serving in the armed forces during WW1, WW2, or the Boer War, or were even married abroad NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

242

whilst resident within British lines during WW1, then you will find these records useful. Some of the records date back as far as 1761 and include regimental birth indexes, whilst others, such as the GRO Deaths Abroad indexes, date up to 1994. New additions include 1861 and 1891 census returns, Death Duties 1796 –1903, Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea, 1854-1898, Divorce and Matrimonial 1858-1903 and a section on Living Relatives. In total there are over a million new records to view.

* ADVERTISING IN THIS JOURNAL Services relevant to Family History and of particular interest to the area will be preferred. Prospective advertisers should submit their own artwork in black and white. COST OF ADVERTISING A full A5 page £40.00 per issue Half page £20.00 per issue Third page £13.00 per issue Quarter page £10.00 per issue We will offer a 10% discount for 4 consecutive issues. Please send applications for advertising space to the Editor. The Society cannot accept responsibility for any services or goods that are advertised in the Journal

UPPER NORWOOD TRIANGLE MEMORIES (Social history of the 20c) by Beryl Cheeseman Price: £7.99 including p & p ISBN No. 976-0-95 18801-2-6 Contact: Theban Publishing (Beryl Cheeseman) 33 Beacon Hill, Dormansland, Surrey RH7 6RQ

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008

243

KENT BOOKS AND INDEXES Based on 30 years of professional research, Latin and palaeography Kent Probate Records East Kent Parishes The Kentish Census Returns 1801 -1901 The London Probate Index 1750-1858 East Kent Burial Index 1813-1841 The West Kent Probate Index 1750-1858 (new CDRom) Full details of all of the above at: www.canterhill.co.uk/davideastkent/ Dr David Wright, 71 Island Wall, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1EL  01227 – 275931 email: [email protected]

FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH IN KENT & SUSSEX Research by friendly, professional, qualified researcher Weekly visits to the Centre for Kentish Studies and East Sussex Record Office. Research by arrangement at Medway Archives, Canterbury Cathedral and Bexley and Bromley Local Studies Centres. All sources searched, including Parish Registers, Parish Chest, Census, IGI, Wills, Manorial Records Diane Thomas ACIS, 21 Bayham Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5HR Tel: 01892 522543; e-mail: [email protected]

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No 5

March 2008

244

GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH IN KENT BY AGRA MEMBER Particular interest in South West Kent, rather than North West Kent or the parts of the County, which are now in Medway or in London. Own extensive indexes held:1851 Census index for 95 parishes, most in West Kent, with 6 in East Sussex, including Maidstone, Gravesend, Tonbridge and districts (about 168,000 persons). Church of England Baptism index, 1813-1840 or later, for over 80 parishes, most in West Kent, but again 5 in East Sussex (over 160,000 baptisms included). General index, including "stray" and Nonconformist entries and late baptisms, altogether over 65,000 entries. For index searches alone - first search in any index £10.00; for each additional search in any index, requested at the same time, add £5.00. For postal enquiries, please send SAE, or (overseas) 2 IRCs or £1.00 postage. Searches in my indexes and other sources in my genealogical library made free of extra charge for those requesting general genealogical research. MATTHEW COPUS, 307 DALE STREET, CHATHAM, KENT, ME4 6QR Email [email protected] Website www.mcopus.co.uk

NWKFHS

Volume 11 No. 5

March 2008