Essex Society for Family History
RECENT MEETINGS AT SAFFRON WALDEN
June 2009 - Richard Harvey visited us in June and prefaced his talk by saying that he would concentrate on “School Records”, as education records would take all night. In justifying this decision, Richard told the members & guests attending that school records can be so valuable as, not only do they give the name of the student, but usually the name of the father and often address. According to him there are 5 (five) categories of school with many sub divisions. These range from Public schools, including Eton, Harrow etc. through Charity schools with local parish & ward schools being included, State schools-following the 1870 Education Act, Private Schools, including prep and finally problem schools which would encompass Poor Law , Industrial & Reformatory schools. It should be noted that in the final category attendees often were sent great distances to attend such establishments, so looking for ancestors’ files, including census returns could prove difficult. Richard then moved on to the actual records to look for. Commencing with original files he mentioned admission records, log & punishment books as well as minutes of governors. Such files would include father’s name (or mother’s) if no father present and possibly also cover the discharge of a child (including where they ended up or even died). Additionally local interest may be recorded; this could include fairs or epidemics. One word of caution though related to “closure” with access to records being restricted as they may well refer to living individuals. Location of records can vary, they may indeed still be with the school, or deposited elsewhere (local record office) or possibly a central holding point such as the Church of England Records centre at Lambeth Palace Library. The London Metropolitan Archive has a fine selection of school records although they apply a 30 year closure on all records so held. There are many and varied published reports although it has to be said these mainly relate to boy’s public schools with the Society of Genealogists & Guildhall holding a good collection. There may well be printed Rolls of Honour or Service as well as School histories which can be found in the local library. Additionally, quite a number of schools print their own “Old Boys” and “Old Girls” magazines. He also touched upon Local Directories such as Kelly’s, Village or Town directories, Schools directories and the Victorian County History project. Richard further pointed out that large scale Ordnance Survey maps show, and often name schools. Finally Richard covered the subject of “Ephemera” which families may well have inherited; these could be school programmes, or prizes awarded to pupils such as books or certificates giving clues to locations & names. "
May 2009 - For our May meeting, Laurie Page addressed the members & guests on the history of sport. Although sport participation can be traced back to at least Ancient Greek and Roman times, much of the early games were rooted in military prowess (archery, jousting, javelin etc) and were obviously a way of honing the skills of participants for future battlefield encounters. Probably one of the earliest sports enjoyed by the working class (or peasants) was the mob football, pitting village against village with no rules, which started in the middle ages and alarmed the monarchy as it interfered with archery. Oliver Cromwell was later to become an active participant in the game. Sports for the masses (especially as spectators) were firmly established by the 18th century with bear & bull baiting & cock fighting being prevalent. There were also regular & famous bare knuckle bouts to watch and place bets on. The upper classes continued to enjoy their fox hunting, angling & game shooting and with the advent of trains people could travel greater distances to watch their favourite pastime although most workers were just too tired to participate until more time off was allowed with such innovative legislation as the Bank Holiday Act of 1870. Possibly the two oldest established sports still in existence today are a) Cricket with records going back to the 16 century & b) Golf which was introduced by the Stuart monarchy when they brought it to England. Many other pastimes grew in popularity during the Victorian era when it was realised that exercise was generally a good thing and public schools had a strong influence in this presumption. Swimming baths were constructed, gymnastics took off, and athletics and running caught on. This was followed soon after by cycling as a leisure activity. The first paid professional sportsmen were footballers in the 1880’s although rugby continued as an amateur sport. Before about 1800 there is little documentary evidence for sporting ancestors, indeed until the 1870’s when newspapers took up the cause and started publishing detail of games & activities, it is difficult to trace people. The only other useful source would be club records (display boards, cups & possibly club reports). Laurie finished his session with questions from the audience.
April 2009 - Ian Waller addressed a packed April meeting on the subject of the lives, identities and records of Agricultural Labourers. Interestingly the term “Ag Lab” or Agricultural labourer did not exist before the 1841 census. It was the government of the day that sought to identify such characters and categorise them. Ian took the members & guests through a whole raft of topics relating to one of the most commonly found occupations for over 150 years. He commenced with an explanation about the difference between farm servants & labourers, the one living-in and usually single as opposed to married men in tied cottage or rented accommodation somewhere nearby. The contracts under which they were employed differed also. There was a third class, often youngsters (mainly boys) being employed by gang masters and paid a pittance. Children (boys and girls) as young as 7 years could become “Ag Labs” usually doing such work as stone picking, bird scaring or weeding. There were of course regional variations, and the more rural areas reflected the lower wages available as there was little competition for labour from factories or big cities. The working day was long and arduous and as pay was poor, much reliance was put upon wives and children earning additional coppers to make ends meet. For genealogists Ian had many useful tips about finding ancestors and then cross checking data. Depending upon availability, Ag Labs can be found in the census returns, Overseers accounts, Bastardy orders, settlement certificates, birth and marriage certificates, removal orders & examinations. Additionally there are often records of individuals held in Quarter session & petty session papers, farmer’s diaries, charity records (often village related to give money to the poor of the parish), estate records, maps & photos. Ian said that during the run up to the implementation of the Poor Law Amendment Act, labourers were interviewed by Royal Commission in 1832 about their circumstances and it was all written down, with names of those interviewed being recorded. Much of the above relates to the years of turmoil in the countryside, after the wars with France, imposing high taxes on farmers who then kept wages artificially low and laying-off men leading to unemployment. The “Swing” riots erupted around 1830 in the rural areas and Ag Labs were very much involved. Ian also covered in some detail, the clothes (smocks and Billycock hats) worn by Ag Labs as well as the hiring fairs (maybe 15-20 miles away) that were a regular feature of life in the country. With unionism came regular meetings of those involved, all recorded in provincial newspapers and again names of participants written down for researchers to find. Before questions (of which there were many) Ian finished off with a mention of the Tithe Survey of 1836 wherein, using the Map & key, ancestors’ residences can also be identified.
March 2008 - Our well attended March meeting saw one of our own colleagues addressing members & guests on the subject of Good Computer Practices and Family Tree Maker software. Brian Gough commenced with a list of the topics he intended covering and suggested that during the tea break, members would be able to share their own ideas with him as well as each other. Usefully he had produced a CD of his main points with a handy guide, for people to purchase at cost. Brian’s theme reinforced his underlying message about storage & retrieval of information, tidiness and a disciplined approach to all computer usage. Prior to the meeting Brian had asked members to send him their questions (particularly in relation to Family Tree Maker). He was then able to analyse each one in turn, demonstrating the best ways of overcoming difficulties experienced by members, as well as comparing FTM with other known popular software packages
February 2009 - Due to inclement weather, unfortunately our February meeting had to be cancelled. It is hoped we can invite John Drury back at another time to give his talk on Workhouses. In the meantime our Branch is preparing itself for the first ever Uttlesford History Fair, to be held in the Town Hall on Saturday 28th March. This free event, being run by the Recorders of Uttlesford History, a federation of local historians and history societies from across our region, will have many local organizations, including village history recorders as well as our Group, in attendance.
January 2009 - Our January meeting was addressed by one of own members. John Read had a number of old documents (currently stored in the Town Hall) with him that told the story of how the resident family of Madingley Hall lost their fortune and why the property and surrounding estates were eventually divided up. John informed the members & guests about the prevailing situation with the hall and its gardens as it is presently owned and run by Cambridge University as an Institute of Continuing Education. He then outlined the early history wherein he mentioned the house was built between 1543-6 by Sir John Hynde whose family and heirs lived there for nearly 100 years. Thereafter it passed into the Cotton family through a female connection. There were so many admirals & military men in the family it became extremely difficult to follow the tree without illustration which John thoughtfully provided to the audience. Everything seemed to go wrong when the 6th baronet, Sir St. Vincent Cotton inherited his title at the tender age of 11 years in 1812. His reputation became legendary with a life spent gambling, womanizing, brawling, playing cricket & amateur boxing and his debts grew to astronomical size, such that his mother had continuously to mortgage the hall & estate to pay off debts for which he was imprisoned on several occasions. Such a profligate life took its toll, he became infirm later in life through sports injuries and he died aged 62 years, having gambled away the family riches. His creditors broke up the estate and the title died out, with the Hall passing out of family hands in 1871. Madingley did have one claim to fame however, Queen Victoria rented the Hall as a residence for the Prince of Wales (Later King Edward the VII) in 1860 when an undergraduate at Cambridge University. "
December 2008 - The meeting was led by our own member, Stan Sutherland with one of his memory stretching quizzes on a family history theme. One couple from the members attending managed to score 100%. Christmas fare followed to wrap up the old year’s proceedings.
November 2008 - Our November meeting saw
the newly appointed Archive Services Manager of
Essex Record Office
addressing members on the existing & future role of the ERO in the current
economic climate. Stephen
Dixon commenced with a list of more than 20 topics to be covered, many of which
gave an insight into the structure & functions, not only of the main office but
also the local access points and collections dotted around the county (including
Non-conformist records, charities, sermons & family/estate records). Subjects
such as digitisation, documentation, conservation and sound storage were listed
along with the content and type of archives held and, more importantly how the
public can access and use them. He also touched upon the current targets and
objectives of the ERO but stressed the difficulty caused by tight budgetary
controls. Stephen then put forward his own ideas, particularly on the subject of
uploading much of the digitally based material to the internet, as well as
increasing the amount of information that would be available. He also wants to
encourage more interaction with users through the medium of forums on the
internet. However, with only one member of staff working on digitisation,
clearly there is still a long way to go, although the ERO’s database, namely
SEAX (and its soon to be released upgrade) makes a good starting point. He
rounded off with a mention of related or kindred organisations including the
ESFH, Friends of Historic Essex, Heritage Development & Victorian County
History, to name but a few.
October 2008 - Our
October meeting saw a good turnout of members & guests regaled by Bill Wittering
on the subject of “Bottles”. Bill had brought a significant number of bottles
along to illustrate his talk and they varied from glass to clay with numerous
hues & shapes. Bill’s obsession began more than 30 years ago when he became
aware that before about 1933 much rubbish was dumped in hedgerows & ditches, so
such places could provide rich pickings for the collector, although he had found
quite a lot in his own back garden. Historically early glass i.e. before the 12th
century was made by the Flemish, who came over especially to make abbey & church
windows. In the Tudor period, bottle glass was used and the familiar diamond
shapes evolved from the round flat glass “gobs” of that time with lead as the
frame work for windows ( in the homes of the wealthy). With the advent of spring
water, which became fashionable in the late 18th century, watering
holes appeared all over England and bottling became more prevalent. Glass
bottles were fairly crude even up to about 1890 when the tops of bottles were
rough as they were hand finished. Many innovations appeared in the Victorian
period with Cod bottles (those with glass marbles) being introduced in 1875. The
beer makers were concerned about competition from the water & mineral producers
even although the screw top was invented in 1872. Additionally the swing top was
devised in 1875 & the Crown cork in 1892-all basically to keep the “fizz” in the
bottle. Earthenware remained popular because of its strength (much less likely
to explode than glass). Being relatively cheap it was used extensively for
storing ink (there are over 1000 different ink bottles even today). Colours
featured large in the collection especially where drugs, poisons & embrocations
were concerned. Bill polished off with his collection of miniature bottles,
filled with some interesting beverages
September 2008 - Our Annual General Meeting saw many people unable to attend due to holiday commitments. Apart from Mrs Margaret Graves who is standing down for family reasons, all other officers confirmed their willingness to carry on and were therefore re-elected. Following the completion of the other formalities, members were able to exchange views and ideas on an informal basis. There was also an opportunity to view online records on a lap-top set up for those members without their own internet connection.
July 2008 -The members & guests attending our July meeting were treated to an entertaining & educational talk from Mrs Fiona Lucraft when she addressed them on the subject of “Georgian Dining”. A food historian, Mrs. Lucraft commenced her talk with popular cartoons of the time of the Napoleonic wars from which she could derive much in relation to the nation’s eating & to a lesser extent, drinking habits, including the size of joints & the large puddings enjoyed by the more affluent members of society. She also touched upon the development of eating utensils and the use of tablecloths for tucking under one’s chin to catch the wayward morsels! An early illustration of dishes making up courses one & two in a meal, which had to be symmetrical, usually depicted 10 different dishes in the first course and a further 10 in the second course. Such dishes as “Rabitts Larded, Green Pease, Pickell’d Fowls or Frigacy -White” featured. However Mrs Lucraft pointed out that if food was uneaten it was returned to the larder to be re-served again & again, sometimes many days after it was first seen on the table. Mrs Lucraft also cited the comprehensive work by Martha Bradley, aptly called “the British Housewife”, a compendium of cookery, gardening, animal husbandry and general household medicine which was published in two volumes in about 1760. Still available today in Facsimile version, it gives an amazing insight into domestic life in a relatively wealthy household of the era. There is much less actually available on the history of the poor in the same period, although we do have some records following a generation of Irish potato famines (where potatoes were not cooked through so they took longer to digest) as well as early published dietary sheets for the workhouses. Beer figured large at the time for its nutritional value as well as being generally safer than water. Mrs Lucraft wrapped up the talk with the famous witty & subversive William Hogarth illustrations of “Gin Lane” & “Beer Street” which were an acute observation of the impact on the poor and artisan population by cheap imported hard liquor.
June 2008 - In June Gary Baugh transported the members & guests back into the living history of artefacts and collectables. Gary has spent many years collecting memorabilia, but although he originally embarked on a quest to collect antiques & other interesting objects, he soon realised that it is more meaningful to target items that have a history, often directly known to members of his audience. This was prompted by his job in a residential home for the elderly, where he met a man who showed him his most treasured possession, namely his “soldier’s bible” from the First World War trenches. Gary started accumulating soldiers’ bibles and his collection currently numbers some 500, dating from 1795 to the Gulf War! Gary’s Salvation Army background came to the fore when he played his cornet as well as an old bugle from his collection. This, coupled with the compilation of 78 rpm records moved the evening along at quite a pace. After a refreshment break, when members were encouraged to pick up and examine the eclectic mix of items from clothing to comics, he took a variety of questions from his audience.
May 2008 - At our May meeting the speaker did not turn up, so Mike Furlong stepped into the breach with the Baptist Church Marriage transcript project. Members proof read the computer printouts to the original photocopy entries. By the end of the evening the whole 475 entries (over 8000 pieces of information) had been checked & ticked back. After the amendments have been keyed into the spreadsheet, a CD version will be made available for researchers.
April 2008 - The members & guests attending our April meeting were comprehensively entertained by Ian Waller on the “India Connection”, a subject which, historically spanned 100’s of years as well as spawning a diverse & far reaching company with interests in numerous geographic locations, although India and the far east were where fortunes were made and lives shaped & changed forever. He was, of course talking about the East India Company, established by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 and still operating up to 1947 when India finally gained independence from Britain. In that time there were a total of 1.2 m employees, many who stayed in the United Kingdom, so it would not be unusual for anyone to find an ancestor somewhere in the records. There were three “Presidencies” established by the EIC in India, namely Bengal, Bombay & Madras so records can be quite spread around although the main source for research still remains The British Library (Dictionaries, “Who’s Who” & Thackers), with over 300,000 names in their biographical index. In addition to the many records held there are several indexes (some online) to help researchers. Furthermore the EIC records included ecclesiastical returns, salary books, and most importantly pension records and widows funds. The enormous spread of the Company’s business also encompassed Army, Navy & Indian Railway personnel, many of whom commenced careers in England, were posted, and (sometimes) died or returned to take up jobs back in their home country. The English end of the operation included the East India & Blackwall Docks, Haileybury College, Addiscombe (for military training) as well as Ealing Lunatic Asylum. The presentation was well received and many questions ensued.
March 2008 - The March meeting was addressed by the ESFH chairman, John Young on the subject of family historians’ acceptance (or otherwise) of official records. When John commenced his own research 8-9 years ago he soon realised that not all files explored were accurate or indeed complete. This led him on a quest to establish the presence of elusive ancestors which took in bigamous marriages, false age declarations and the many other pitfalls that we all have to endure. John spent much time at Kew studying military & marine records as well as visiting the now defunct Family Record Centre. During his quest he had unearthed surprisingly local connections, as well as linking the many names with clues gleaned from different sources. In the question & answer session he added a few useful comments and particularly drew attention to how the internet has impacted on genealogists’ approach to investigations.
February 2008 - Our February meeting consisted of a workshop to transcribe the marriage records held in the Baptist Church safe. The church only holds about 500 entries since all the previous books have been surrendered to Essex Record Office. Stage one of the transcription process was completed on the night. Stage two (entering the records onto an Excel spreadsheet) will take place later by volunteers working at home. Finally all the records will be combined into one searchable database for researchers to access.
January 2008 - For the New Year, our January meeting saw a divergence from our usual themes by introducing a different slant on historical records and access thereto. Mrs Susan Jellis gave an interesting and enlightening talk to a well attended meeting on the recently completed Kings Cross Voices Oral History Project, supported by the London Borough of Camden. This grew out of the original “Arrivals” project for the re-vamped St. Pancras station just before Christmas 2007 and the re-development of the King’s Cross area. The project provides a vital record from the people, of the transformation occurring around the stations & their environs. Mrs Jellis, using illustrations, was able to show some of the changes that have occurred over the years, including the Foundling Hospital’s sale and lease of land that impacted on what was then green fields & meadows. She presented a map of the area covered by the volunteers (between 20-30) who visited and interviewed many residents, and this included those people living on barges on the Regents Canal, which cuts right through the heart of the district concerned, on its way to Paddington Basin. In describing some of the characters and their stories, sound clips were used to emphasize what the team has achieved. Interestingly, in comparing the area with Saffron Walden today Mrs Jellis remarked upon the village atmosphere prevailing in the region of King Cross, which she feels Saffron Walden now lacks due to its recent growth. Indeed, she went on to develop the theme around the varying national communities such as the Welsh, Italians, Jews & Russians that were attracted to and grew out of a great transport hub. Her sincere belief is that there have always been immigrants-today they may come from different countries but the diversity of cultures continues. She also touched upon people’s memories of the evacuations during World War 2 and the damage sustained from attention by the Luftwaffe coupled with the more recent red-light and old pub scenes. Following questions from the floor, Mrs Jellis concluded with a selection of sound & video recordings. In closing she confirmed that most of what had been seen would be loaded onto a dedicated website for anyone to access and this should be available later in the year.
Mike Furlong
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