Write it down

[jmadone]

I have half/part of a photo of my grandad from WWI when he was in the Labour Corps. It's a group photo of him and 6 others.

Unfortunately there are no names on it but at some stage someone has put a cross above his head which makes me smile because they are disparate group and my grandad is easily picked out.

I also wonder if descendants of the other men have the same photo and also look at it, wondering who the others were.

Further to your post I too stumbled across a similar photograph whilst doing some family tree work. It's a very distant relative named Reuben Charles Haynes and was taken when he was serving with the Hampshire Regiment.

 

[www.midlandspubs.co.uk]

Going back to the original theme of "writing it down," I was rather flattered last week on a South African blog .....

"Without people like him, these stories will be lost forever and I salute him for this! In years to come people will understand it, value it and talk about it. Why? Because he took the time to research it and to write his work down!"

Oddly, as a veggie, I was being bigged-up by a bloke writing about Birmingham bacon!

The Life and Times of George Samworth Sen. - Foundation of Greatness!

The Life and Times of George Samworth Sen. - Foundation of Greatness! Eben van Tonder 3 September 2021 Introduction One of the iconic food producers in England is without question, the legendary Samworth Brothers. As an amateur food historian, my interest in the company is obvious. They owe...

earthwormexpress.com

 

[I Am Nico]

Well I have written all my poems down, turned one in to a song. So it can be either. Put them in a binder, with the stand up performances and programmes I did with a group, some of their stuff too, my unpublished novel in an folder with the no thank you publisher's letters and my one article I did get in to print for the princely some of £15. I am proud of that. My eulogy I wrote for my friend's mum, I am proud of that too and because I was asked. And my fairly secret periodical I penned when at work. Somebody may come across them or bin them.
The novel was written on our star writer now defunct. I couldn't transpose the disc either without something to read it so I had to re type it on line. I had to retype it with double spacing for the publishers as I was green, I still am, and then they moaned as I had done it unwittingly in flowing text.
My cousin's great grandmother wrote her life story down, hailing from Cradley before they emigrated to New Zealand and when she returned to Brum for a visit. I have that in flowing text sent to me on line and I have managed to decipher it, so I sort of see what the publisher meant, and I will at some point put some interesting snippets from it as it has Brummie connections on a Forum thread. The Victorian Grocer Green Grocer - The Tricks of the Trade, and Life As It Was Then. I need a title so any suggestions appreciated.
I sent my scant recollections of one of my Great Grandad's song he wrote, to The Rotundas as they collect old songs. When Nan remarried she burned all his songs and his wine recipes! Had i been older I would have nabbed them.

 

[Spargone]

I think I might have finally put a name to lost cousins. The search started with a name written in an old address book, the internet 'writing down' a street view helped match the address to an old photograph with limited information 'written down' on the back. The familial ressemblance suggested that the lost cousins were on a different branch to that suggested by my mum but nothing matched.

Fortunately the street directories of the time had been 'written down' and are online. Oh dear! Nothing there! When did they all die? Back-track a bit more and there they are but the surname has an extra 's'. Silly compilers! A few more directory searches and I can establish 1949 as the last year of entry and the surname keeps its extra 's', it's Mum's 'written down' record that is wrong.

More searching using 1949 and 'billion graves' turns up a curious entry where the father is younger than the son! Nice photo of a husband and wife memorial, both expired in 1949 the wife has an uncommon Irish surname, shared by my Mum's grandmother's mother, which is to say that the ressemblance in the photograph is with two ladies who could be first cousins.

Thanks to those who took the grave photographs but whoever transcribed the details and 'wrote them down', what a mess, dates out by 100 years. Another failing of these memorial sites is that the physical grouping of stones gets lost, they are obsessed with grouping surnames creating false links and hiding physical ones.

 

[I Am Nico]

They are often transposed by people who just guess at the names, like we had microfisches incorrectly transcribed from the originals. e.g. Bezara became Bayard and Brydger became Brydges. This wasted lots of time effort and money on or part but we got there in the end.I have also had problems with Ancestry, according to them I have a different Christian name and I am my full sister's half brother and my uncle is on twice, as his brother!

 

[Bob Davis]

A common problem, census enumerators and vicars clerks wrote down names as they heard them, more often with church records, the vicar wrote the names on a piece of paper, screwed it up, put it in his pocket and passed it to his clerk weeks later. I could show myriad examples which do not have a Birmingham connection, but one that does is my great grandfather, Durows, probably originally DuRose, but variously over censuses, Darrow and Durries. It makes the search far more interesting and in the case of my family means that at least one DuRose family is actually Durows by birth.
Bob

 

[I Am Nico]

A common problem, census enumerators and vicars clerks wrote down names as they heard them, more often with church records, the vicar wrote the names on a piece of paper, screwed it up, put it in his pocket and passed it to his clerk weeks later. I could show myriad examples which do not have a Birmingham connection, but one that does is my great grandfather, Durows, probably originally DuRose, but variously over censuses, Darrow and Durries. It makes the search far more interesting and in the case of my family means that at least one DuRose family is actually Durows by birth.
Bob

I have a relative whom one of his given names was Eric, which was written as Herrick. Another who may have married a Challenor and a Challenger or they could have been the same person. One of the Birmingham relative's given names looked like Haire, it was actually Harry. There is definitely a letter with a dot.

 

[maypolebaz]

Further to your post I too stumbled across a similar photograph whilst doing some family tree work. It's a very distant relative named Reuben Charles Haynes and was taken when he was serving with the Hampshire Regiment.

View attachment 161422

I've been looking at this photo and can say that those men aren't in the Hampshires. What I can also say is that I've never seen that cap badge before !

 

[maypolebaz]

I've been looking at this photo and can say that those men aren't in the Hampshires. What I can also say is that I've never seen that cap badge before !

A quick update !
I've tracked this badge down, it belongs to a Territorial unit, 7th Bn, The Hampshire Regiment. Same Regiment but different cap badge.
(The British Army has some strange traditions !).

 

[jmadone]

A quick update !
I've tracked this badge down, it belongs to a Territorial unit, 7th Bn, The Hampshire Regiment. Same Regiment but different cap badge.
(The British Army has some strange traditions !).

Hi Maypolebaz, the photo is of the 7th Battalion Territorials as you quite rightly say. They were then sent to India and served there throughout the 1st WW. This is a picture of them during that time
Jim

 

[maypolebaz]

Hi Maypolebaz, the photo is of the 7th Battalion Territorials as you quite rightly say. They were then sent to India and served there throughout the 1st WW. This is a picture of them during that timeView attachment 161708
Jim

Thanks Jim, fascinating.

 

[jmadone]

Thanks Jim, fascinating.

You may find these equally fascinating. I don't know the location but it shows Reuben and a.n.other outside a building. The interior seems to be a fully equipped gymnasium.
.

Or was it their Barrack room? Judging by the pictures on the wall and the boxes at the end of the beds/benches it could be either.
Jim

 

[maypolebaz]

You may find these equally fascinating. I don't know the location but it shows Reuben and a.n.other outside a building. The interior seems to be a fully equipped gymnasium.
View attachment 161714 View attachment 161715.

Or was it their Barrack room? Judging by the pictures on the wall and the boxes at the end of the beds/benches it could be either.
Jim

Bedrolls, Soldier Boxes, equipment hung up. Yep, that's a barrack room ! I like the Indian clubs there, they were used for exercise in those days.
Great picture Jim.

 

[Pedrocut]

From “Who do you think you are” magazine. Ancestry’s claim to copyright of the info you provide…

 

[Richard Dye]

From “Who do you think you are” magazine. Ancestry’s claim to copyright of the info you provide…

View attachment 162006

Unfortunately Pedro, Ancestry’s has gone the way of other so called techs, what’s yours is theirs and what’s theirs is theirs! In the US they have acquired many smaller networks and a few religious based like the Morman version that was free if you were not an ardent user. But your rights and contents were yours.
To us it is so disappointing that these companies are turning into Big Brother!
My wife and I took a couple of courses at our library on how to use Ancestry, we really enjoyed it. The free access they had for infrequent (my word) users during the first class disappeared a few weeks later!

We support our local library, the Forum and have given to others including the Sutton Library.

 

[Spargone]

I'm no fan of Ancestry. They shouldn't be providing services for the likes of National Archives. If we have to pay for data then the Scottish model is far better.
Ancestry tries to draw people in by deliberately setting wide search parameters, John Smythe, Canterbury, 1789 somehow brings up Jane Smith, New York, 1968, or so it seems.
They managed to ruin the Family Tree Maker program - all my ancestors who had any connection with Edinburgh, Scotland suddenly got moved to a one-horse town in the USA that opens to vistors two weeks in the year.
To be honest I would be dubious of any information that they supply, a) you don't know where it came from and, b) it is their interest, not yours, that they come up with links. Certainly use with caution.

 

[mikejee]

Spargone
I am not sure what information you refer to , but I am of the opinion that one should never definitely believe any information that is NOT the original document. I would trust, in so far as one can , a scan of an original document ( including with provisos that of a book, directory etc where one has to trust the original writer), but not any transcript .or manufactured item such as a family tree. If Ancestry supply an original scan then one should be able to trust it, If that scan is not correct then surely they should be sued for fraud.

PS. Just realised I missed out a "not", which I have now inserted (in capitals]

 

[pjmburns]

I agree Mike. I never go with other people trees on Ancestry unless I can see original documents which support my own research.

 

[MWS]

My tree(s) is on Ancestry and some of the hints can be irksome and obviously have no chance of being correct but there have been a few (a couple quite recently) that have been quite helpful. With quite distant relatives but still helpful.

I'm not sure if I'm understanding the article correctly but it seems to say that if you delete your tree they can no longer use anything you've uploaded (photos etc) unless it's been copied to another tree, and having a private tree would prevent that.

And should have said I always keep hints from other members' family trees turned off.

 

[Bob Davis]

It is interesting how many times members of your family appear incorrectly in other people's trees, even stranger is that when you politely correct them because you have visible proof that they are wrong, they rudely dismiss you. I have at least 6 instances of incorrect persons, same name but a date of birth that i know is wrong and that I have proof of, where I have been told I am the person who has the incorrect information.
Bob

 

[Richard Dye]

It is interesting how many times members of your family appear incorrectly in other people's trees, even stranger is that when you politely correct them because you have visible proof that they are wrong, they rudely dismiss you. I have at least 6 instances of incorrect persons, same name but a date of birth that i know is wrong and that I have proof of, where I have been told I am the person who has the incorrect information.
Bob

When we took the classes which was about the use of Ancestry, the instructor who was an historian cautioned us about that. And that many times people simply just want to complete their family treeWithout sufficient care. And of course once the tree was completed it was cast in stone!

 

[MWS]

Can't understand why anyone would not want the correct people in their tree. I was gutted when I had to delete a fair few people from my tree after I realised I made a mistake but I still did it.

I think some people discover that genealogy is not as easy as it appears (even these days).

 

[Richard Dye]

Can't understand why anyone would not want the correct people in their tree. I was gutted when I had to delete a fair few people from my tree after I realised I made a mistake but I still did it.

I think some people discover that genealogy is not as easy as it appears (even these days).

MWS, because you realized your mistake. Too many people suffer from NIH. Not Invented Here, in other words if it’s not my idea it’s not any good!

 

[Spargone]

I bought the LDS 1881 Census on CD-ROMs when it first came out, (the distribution centre was in Birmingham!). At that time my tree had perhaps a thousand or so names, all individually checked out. Someone in the office asked if he could borrow it 'to check out a few relatives' and thinking he was new to the hobby I agreed to keep him interested.

When I got the set back I asked if he had found anyone. He said "Not yet, I spent my time copying the discs". Being at a bit of a loss as to what to say to that blatant act of theft, I said, "How many people have you got on your tree then?", expecting a hundred or so, "Oh, about five and a half thousand." I guess if you can 'borrow' 25 CDs you can 'borrow' a few thousand names too!

Years ago I used to search through some of the online forums but gave up after too many queries like "Has anyone got the Smith family tree?" I have met up with extended family via the web but I am very wary of adding too from them, perhaps limited to siblings who emigrated but never direct ancestors without good evidence. At most they only amount to a few dozen, never a few thousand. I like to feel that when I am up to speed I 'know' everyone on my tree.

 

[MWS]

There are a few relatives it would be nice to get in touch with, some second cousins and such, just to see if you can compare photos and maybe work out who the people on them are. Which I wouldn't need if names had been written on the back of them.

However, I have shared photos with people in the past and heard nothing from them thereafter.

 

[Richard Dye]

There are a few relatives it would be nice to get in touch with, some second cousins and such, just to see if you can compare photos and maybe work out who the people on them are. Which I wouldn't need if names had been written on the back of them.

However, I have shared photos with people in the past and heard nothing from them thereafter.

MWS, yes unfortunately it’s about people. Not everyone shares the same interests or excitement of finding someone from our history. My wife’s family were Italian immigrants in New York, the common thread was that they were all Italian and not necessarily family. They lived very closely together for maybe two generations, my mother in law who was a wonderful person died about 6 years ago aged 99. It seemed like with her passing the extended family drifted apart, still friendly and civil but not like before. Unfortunately in today’s world you have to be your own best friend (I don’t like that).

 

[jmadone]

However, I have shared photos with people in the past and heard nothing from them thereafter.

A few weeks ago I unearthed a photograph of someone I didn't recognise at all. On the reverse written in pencil was written the dedication "To Edna with love from Win" and an address. My mom Edna had lived just a few doors away from this address. To cut a long story short after researching the address and Ancestry records I discovered who the mystery girl was and her family who were living in Canada (She had emigrated in 1952) I contacted two members of the family via Ancestry offering to send a copy. One person replied and expressed great delight at the find and asking for further info regarding addresses, Mom's address and a few other bits of information. I duly sent the picture and info off to her. Since then nothing, not even an acknowledgement to say she had received the picture not to mention a thank you.

 

[devonjim]

My daughters bought me a subscription to Ancestry recently so apart from a U3A course some years ago all very new to me. Strikes me unless you have living memory of details it's all very hit and miss or is this because I have grandparents with names like James Brown and John Williams. I have found a "cousin", we share one set of great grandparents, and find we have both attended the same family weddings without meeting or at least remembering. Already very wary of the information I am gathering.

 

[jmadone]

My daughters bought me a subscription to Ancestry recently so apart from a U3A course some years ago all very new to me. Strikes me unless you have living memory of details it's all very hit and miss or is this because I have grandparents with names like James Brown and John Williams. I have found a "cousin", we share one set of great grandparents, and find we have both attended the same family weddings without meeting or at least remembering. Already very wary of the information I am gathering.

I understand the trepidation you are feeling and you are right to be wary especially of those Ancestry hints that you receive. Check them out by all means but make sure that everything can be verified by certifiable records. I have used Ancestry for many years and have been pleased with my family trees but I've also learned that not everything on Ancestry is correct.
Jim

 

[Bob Davis]

I havejust finished sorting hundreds of birth certificates, census prints, records from Kew and Berkshire family history at Reading that were passed to me by the son of my great grandfather's grandson. We had corresponded on the family, who originate from Boxford and District in Berkshire and his work was magnificent, not only did he identify the line from which we are descended right back to 1740 but he found marriages and children for all the family and whilst only a part came to Birmingham, one couple, the rest of the family covered Berks, Willis, Oxon, Surrey, Hants, Mx and the City of London itself, and he meticulesly wrote it all down, so that he could understand it. One of the sons ,married a Palmer who lived in a nearby village. I had the records for about 45 Palmer families from the area,unfortunately every family had a daughter called Anne. This he had achieved for about 70 children over two hundred years and there were at least two to three hundred children, where he had a name and a pencil question mark and loads of paper for the name mostly crossed through. He had been a master mariner ex merchant navy ships chain. Extremely well respected as shown at his funeral
. Yes he wrote it down but only he could understand it.
Bob