S&N Email News: March/April 2008

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Newsletter for BMDindex, TheGenealogist, Genealogy Supplies, BMD Registers, BDA, GENfair.co.uk

In this issue:

* New BMD Registers on TheGenealogist

• A premium research database with births back to 16th and 17th Centuries

* UK Events

• Free London Olympia Tickets (Limited Supply)
• Come see us at a local event and benefit from show specials

* Special Email News Offers

• Save over 60% on our book offer
• 2 for 1 ticket offer for Olympia WDYTYA Show

* What's New Online?

• Millions of 1901 Census Transcripts added. England and Wales now complete on TheGenealogist
• BMD Registers now on TG! Dates go back to 16th and 17th Centuries
• Add pictures to your trees and add Data exhibits to people on TreeView - Free Service
• Bond of Sacrifice now on TheGenealogist

* What's New on CD

•  1901 Census, School Records and Huguenot Records

* The Community area on TheGenealogist.co.uk

• Tell your story and maybe you could win a brand new laptop
• Learn about the forum, Guide and Tips

* Family History Articles - The Real Aunt Anne by Sylvia Kendrick

• A voyage of discovery showing how methodical research can reveal hidden branches of the family
• Email your stories to [email protected] or submit them in the Community Area of The Genealogist. You could win £100 or even a laptop

* Top-selling Products

We are currently giving out a free online trial to an all-inclusive subscription. This comes with a special offer for all those who take a Premium subscription out after the trial. Go to www.TheGenealogist.co.uk/freesub to sign up now.

New BMD REGISTERS

BMD Registers are now part of your All Inclusive

We have had many requests for these being on TG but the high costs and also the negotiations with The National Archives have prevented us from putting these live until now.

The Non-Conformist registers include some of the earliest records of births and can now be found under the BMDs section of TheGenealogist. These are a fantastic resource that has proved very popular on our TNA Official site www.BMDRegisters.co.uk

They include records of Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Protestant Dissenters, Congregationalist, Presbyterians and Unitarians with Quakers coming soon.

This is a premium resource and as such the cost of credits reflect the high cost of digitisation and transcription. If you have a credit based All-Inclusive be warned that viewing records cost 25 credits, approximately the same costs as on the TNA BMD Registers site.

In association with The National Archives

UK EVENTS May 2008

'Who Do You Think You Are?' live
Fri 2nd - Sun 4th May 2008 at Olympia, London

The major show of the year with celebrity speakers and a host of societies and companies.

Limited free tickets, just ring us for yours when ordering any item from S&N Genealogy on 01722 716121

On request only while stocks last, limited to one per customer.

Kent Family History Fair
Sunday 18th May 10-5
Market Hall, Barker, Lockmeadow, Maidstone

Central England Fair
Sunday 24th May 10-5
Pavilion Gardens, Buxton

For further details of fairs visit www.genealogysupplies.com/events.htm

SPECIAL EMAIL NEWS OFFERS

The Family and Local History Handbook - 10th Edition

Click here to save over 60% Was £12.99 now only £4.97.

This is the latest in the series of handbooks, with over 448 pages, this comprehensively covers all aspects of family & local history, with listings of over five thousand useful addresses. Each edition complements the previous, providing new articles on all aspects of Family, Local & Military History. Softback.

Two for one deal on WDYTYA Olympia tickets

Just ring 0871 230 1091 and quote SNG241 or ENEWS241 when asked for a code.

Free Library Subscriptions to Census Transcripts BMDs and More

If you work for a council library your library could benefit from a three-month free subscription. Our transcripts cover the period 1841 to 1901 and are fully searchable across Name, occupation, relationship etc.

WHAT'S NEW ONLINE

www.TheGenealogist.co.uk

New BMD Registers now on TG

The BMD registers are a premium resource containing millions of early birth records going much further back than the standard BMDs. The service gives you the chance to find three generations in one record as they often name grandparents as well as the child and parents. You'll find them under Births Marriages and Deaths.

1901 Census Transcription

We have now completed the census transcription of England and Wales.

The importance of this is that it allows us to give many major new features that aren't available on other systems that just index names to images.

Our plan is to launch a series of tools that are based on the extra data fields we have.

Street and House Search

For the first time it will be possible to view a household by selecting an Area and a street. This has been available in the past for the 1901 census but we are opening it up for 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891.

1841 does have problems in that often the enumerator doesn't record individual house addresses.

A beta version for London is available to our All Inclusive subscribers which will be followed by a PAYG type subscription.

New Search Facilities

We will be launching several new features at the WDYTYA show at Olympia. Watch www.TheGenealogist.co.uk website for details.

TreeView - the free service open to all

Add exhibits to TreeView

Proving the information on a tree is an important stage in research. We now allow subscribers to TheGenealogist to save data entries to both the Research Log and to TreeView. Once the data has been saved to TreeView it can be linked to an individual. Using the census entries, this will help you substantiate both the family links and years of birth.

Why not start now and introduce your kith and kin to your ancestors on TreeView today.

If you haven’t used TreeView just signup to a free subscription at www.TheGenealogist.co.uk/freesub and from then on you can use the link http://tree.thegenealogist.co.uk.

New Census Transcripts Completed

We have completed the following census transcripts for 1901:

• Brecknockshire 1901 transcript nearly 55,000 records complete with images.
• Cardiganshire 1901 transcripts nearly 85,000 records complete with images.
• Carnarvonshire 1901 transcripts nearly 140,000 records complete with images.
• Carmarthenshire 1901 transcript nearly 125,000 records complete with images.

• Denbighshire 1901 transcripts over 125,000 records complete with images.

• Derbyshire 1901 transcript nearly 500,000 records complete with images.

• Gloucestershire 1901 transcript nearly 650,000 records complete with images.

• Huntingdon & Rutland 1901 transcript nearly 70,000 records complete with images.

• Merionethshire 1901 transcript nearly 65,000 records complete with images.

• Montgomeryshire 1901 transcript nearly 65,000 records complete with images.

• Nottinghamshire 1901 transcript nearly 600,000 records complete with images.

• Pembrokeshire 1901 transcript nearly 85,000 records complete with images.

• Shropshire 1901 transcript nearly 260,000 records complete with images.
  
  

All of the new data has been added into the All-Inclusive subscriptions which cost as little as £4.66 a month.

www.TheGenealogist.co.uk

WHAT'S NEW ON CD

www.GenealogySupplies.com

New Data CDs

The Community Area on The Genealogist

Community View is open to all T.G. subscribers and can be accessed from the My Subscriptions page. It gives access to a number of features to help you make the most out of The Genealogist.

Tell your story and win £100 of S&N vouchers or if your article is really good you could win a Laptop

Our subscribers have also written articles and stories about their research, which you can see under the ‘Subscriber Articles’ section. If you feel you also have a story to tell, whether it’s skeletons that you never knew were in your closet, family reunions or you just want to share your journey, why not write one yourself. You could win £100 worth of S&N vouchers if your article is chosen to feature in our monthly email news.

Our top prize for articles is now a wireless laptop with DVD drive

Get help and tips

If you’re having problems with your research or have come across a dead end, you could take a look at The Genealogist Message Board, where Premium subscribers can post queries and get advice directly from our admin team. It’s also a chance for all our subscribers to share their knowledge and experiences with one another.

Guide

Read David Tippey’s ‘Researching Your Family History’ for help with your research. David Tippey has written for well known family history magazines such as Family History Monthly and Your Family Tree.

News

Get all the latest news including the latest updates to the site.

The Real Aunt Anne

by Sylvia Kendrick

www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles

All articles are Copyright © of the author and TheGenealogist. These may not be reproduced in whole or part without prior permission.

Finding the reality behind family stories can sometimes be a heartbreaking or rewarding journey. This is Sylvia Kendricks research path that lead her to the reward of discovering a branch of the family hidden from view...Ed

...it was spoken of in whispers behind your hand..

So what did I know about Aunt Anne?

Verbal information from her brother (Grandfather):
“She was jilted and went a bit funny.” Sounded ashamed of her. Mental illness was something to be ashamed of in 1900; it was spoken of in whispers behind your hand.

Thinks: What mental hospitals were in existence around Mobberley, Cheshire, circa 1900? Anne was born in Mobberley in 1882.

Telephone: Used to locate Manchester Mental Hospital. No - she had not been a patient there. They suggested I try Denbigh Hospital, North Wales, it might have been a possibility for someone living in Cheshire at that time.

Telephone: Imagine my delight when I spoke to the Administrator there and she said Martha Anne Pickin had been a patient there from 1909 until she died in 1944 and that her death certificate had been issued to her son Maurice!

Tot of brandy! Maurice, Maurice - a son Maurice - this was news!

..maybe she shouldn’t have told me..

Faux-pas! I blurted out that Maurice was an unknown element. The Administrator started to flap - maybe she shouldn’t have told me etc….. assumed I would have known…….

BMD Indexes: Martha Anne Pickin born in 1882. I searched from her 14th year until 1912. Found only one Maurice Pickin in all those years - it had to be mine!

Certificate: I purchased Maurice’s birth certificate. He had been born 15th October 1901 in the Workhouse at Stoke-on-Trent. Mother entered as Sarah Ann Pickin, domestic servant of Hanley.

Thinks: Was this when she was “jilted”? Was she thrown out because of the pregnancy?

Melodrama: Was she thrown out with the proverbial shilling and told never to darken these doors again?

Memo: Must stop watching those movies!

Six months later: I wrote to Denbigh to clarify a point. Their reply provided more astonishment:
Martha Anne Pickin was admitted on 4th May 1909 and died on 26th February 1944. Her next of kin was listed as Noel Pickin (son) of St.Vincent’s Home, 102 Moseley Road, Birmingham. The death notice was sent to Maurice Pickin at Farringdon; the only other information is that his Army number was 15448.

Double brandy! Noel, Noel - another son Noel!

BMD Indexes: Another search soon turned up Noel, born 10th March 1907 in Caledonia Street, Liverpool; mother a hospital nurse.

Trade Directories: The couple living there were a Mr and Mrs. McKenzie, her occupation being a midwife. So I don’t think the actual house is of any relevance.

Liverpool Library: The street was no longer standing, but I asked at the Central Library, Liverpool and found a photograph of the street circa 1965. I had it duplicated.

Noted: There are several hospitals in close proximity to Caledonia Street and maybe Anne may have worked in one of them.

Jobs to do: Write to the Central Liverpool Hospital and try to see if Anne was listed as an employee in their records.

Denbigh Hospital: I asked them whether they photographed patients on admission. They replied, “No.” However they did tell me that the medical cause for Anne’s placement in the hospital was melancholia and hearing voices.

What a thing to be locked up for, for the rest of your life

Dictionary: Definition of melancholia: mental illness characterised by depression, habitual tendency to sadness and depression, pensive sadness, sad, saddening.

Thinks: What a thing to be locked up for, for the rest of your life - it was probably post-natal depression, plus a dim view of two men who had left her in the lurch!

Search for Maurice: Knowledge: 1944 (mother’s death) he was based at Farringdon and his Army number 15448.

Army records: Letters galore to Army records turned up nothing. Without his regiment they can’t locate him.

Thinks: Ask what is available in Kew with regard to men discharged from the 2nd World War, in the way of indexes. (Told recently this army number is prior to 2nd World War).

BMD Indexes: Searched for marriage and death certificates (for both sons). Neither found up to the present day.

Thinks: Did they emigrate?

Search for Noel: In 1944 (mother’s death) he was living at St. Vincent’s Home, 102 Moseley Road, Birmingham. Who should I write to after all this time?

Directory Enquiries: Have you a number for a St.Vincent’s Home in Birmingham? Surprise - the place still existed, now an old people’s home, but, yes, it had been a boys’ home. Would I write in with my request - would I!

Letter: Reply confirmed that Noel had been admitted to Father Hudson’s Homes in February 1916, at the request of Wrexham Union Central Home. He remained there until November 1924 when he transferred to their Working Boys Hostel in Birmingham. In 1928 he left to go into lodgings - he would have been 21 years of age - but no, Maurice had not been brought up there.

Thinks:

1) Wrexham again!
2) Grandfather had attended Ruabon Grammar School - why there if they lived in Mobberley, Cheshire.
Letter: Unfortunately no records retained by the school.

Letter: To Wrexham County Council - where were the Wrexham Union Central Home records kept? Eureka! At Ruthin Record Office.

Letter: To the Archivist at Ruthin RO. Someone must have been in a good mood that day, because the Archivist evidently searched through the records and sent me the following information:

Admission and discharge books of the master of Wrexham Workhouse 1907-11 and 1914-17:
Noel Pickin admitted 5th April 1909: born 1907: child under three years: admitted from Marchwiel
Parish by order of “the Board”, dated 1st April 1909; Observation “removed from Rainhill, Liverpool”. Discharged 25th February 1915, aged eight years, to Central Home. Admitted to Wrexham aged three years, a Roman Catholic. Child maintained because mother, Martha Anne Pickin, in Denbigh Asylum. Case papers No. 194. Unfortunately the case papers have not been retained.

A thank you: I have looked through the books recently myself - they are not indexed and the information must have taken ages to find. I was most grateful when I realised how lucky I had been.

Curious point: Noel was entered on these registers as Roman Catholic, hence him being sent to the Catholic Boys’ Home in Birmingham in 1916. Anne was not RC, but she may have had Noel baptised in a Catholic Church. I have tried all the Liverpool ones. Or, could it have been one of those bureaucratic mistakes, a simple clerical error? Unless I find a baptism for him, I will never know.

Thinks:

1) Try Catholic Church in Wrexham, also Rainhill and and Prescot.
2) Did these brothers know of each other’s existence?
3) Where was Maurice brought up?

Letter: I even wrote to the Special Department at DHSS, Newcastle - no luck.

..the book had travelled around all those years and amazingly presented itself..

Possessions:

1) Anne’s own hymn book and prayer book, inscribed “A Pickin 1897, given to her by her mother”.

I “discovered” it at my sister-in-law’s in a spare bedroom. She thought it was her husband’s and had never even opened it. My sister-in-law and family had lived in Birmingham, Holland and Belgium and returned to Cheshire - the book had travelled around all those years and amazingly presented itself on a table when I chanced to be visiting.

2) A small green book entitled The Home Circle. It contained a record of births, marriages and deaths and printed on the flyleaf is M A Pickin. It contains many family names plus several names unknown to me, together with references to a Plaistow Hospital against a couple of names.

Discovered: A Plaistow Hospital in London. Did Anne go there between 1901 and 1909? The book was printed in London.

Letter: To Plaistow Hospital - no records of staff remain from around 1900.

More recent research: When I visited Ruthin RO to look for myself at the Workhouse records and entries for Noel I had the pages photocopied and the column show: Roman Catholic, quite clearly: mother in asylum; child - unfit at present; adopted 10th November 1910. When I pointed out to the Archivist that he had in fact been brought up in several Boys’ Homes, she was surprised and said perhaps the adoption intended had fallen through. Unfortunately the case papers had been lost.

Electoral Registers: for Marchwiel were referred to when Noel was placed in Wrexham Workhouse. I looked back from 1909, the date of Anne’s entry to the asylum. 1904 back to 1888 revealed her father Thomas Pickin farming at Plas Eyton, Marchwiel. He farmed at Mobberley from 1879 to 1888 and not as I thought up to 1900. Hence the sightings of Anne and her brother horse-riding around Wrexham in their youth. So was she thrown out in 1901, before she gave birth to Maurice in the Workhouse at Stoke-on-Trent? Was she allowed back? Did she work in London? In 1904 her parents moved from Marchwiel to Prescot, nearer to her brother: he had opened an upholstery business there. Who did she stay with up to 1909? The Wrexham entry stated “admitted from Marchwiel, observation,” and “removed from Rainhill, Liverpool”.

Letter: To Rainhill Mental Hospital but no records of her there.

To do list: I am still working on the various avenues to follow and one day I WILL find out what happened to Maurice and Noel.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE OF OUR £100 WINNER

If you have a story to tell you too could win £100 in S&N vouchers. If you submit a really exceptional story you could win a laptop.

Email your stories to [email protected] or submit them in the Community Area of TheGenealogist.

www.TheGenealogist.co.uk

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Who Do You Think You Are? Theatre

Hear Alistair McGowan tell the story of his family history on the Who Do You Think You Are? Theatre featuring previously unseen footage. Plus, see other celebrities who have appeared on the TV programme and get an exclusive behind the scenes look at how the show is made!

SoG Family History Show

The Society of Genealogists Family History Show will take place for the 16th consecutive year and will feature more family history societies and organisations than ever before. If you are tracing Scottish, Welsh or Irish ancestors there will be many more exhibitors to help you at the show this year.

Experts Galore!

The SoG Workshop Programme will continue to provide the most comprehensive level of family history expertise and information than anywhere else - speakers include Geoff Swinfield, Mike Gandy, John Hanson and Else Churchill. As well as this, the Ask the Experts area is where you can get one-to-one guidance and have specific questions answered by leading family historians.

New for 2008! Military History LIVE

Military History LIVE is a new part of the show that will feature the largest number of military records available than anywhere else, a militaria shop and rare exhibits of military vehicles. Plus, Peter and Dan Snow will be hosting a new ‘Battle Theatre’ where you’ll be able to learn about the strategy of key battles of the twentieth century and the people that fought in them.

New for 2008! Discover Archaeology LIVE

The new Discover Archaeology LIVE section of the event is the place to meet leading archaeology experts who will be able examine and identify your finds. Plus Time Team presenter Tony Robinson will be on hand giving advice and tips to eager archaeologists who love to dig up the past.

Save £20!! 2 tickets for the price of 1 !!!
We’re offering you the chance to buy 2 tickets for £20*, saving £20 on the full ticket price.

Simply call 0871 230 1091 or visit www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.co.uk and quote SNG241 or ENEWS241 when asked for a code. 

Normal on door ticket price £20, all activities at the show included in this price Offer end 18.4.2008. *£1.95 per transaction fee applies.

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Happy Researching

Sue and Nigel

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