Airedale & Wharfedale Family History Society
Finding New Routes to Trace Your Old Roots
By Stanley Merridew
School records are an excellent and often overlooked resource for family and local history, giving much information, not just about the child but also the local community. They are well worth pursuing for additional family history material.
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Friendly Societies are mutual aid organisations designed to help people protect themselves against hardship. Their emergence can, in some cases be traced back to the seventeenth century. However, the onset of the French Revolution and industrialisation, meant that the government became very nervous of groupings of the working classes. One could also argue they were brought about by the factory system. Many families had moved away from their traditional occupations and the support of the estate village and craft industries and were suddenly working at the behest of the industrialists. The Gilbert Act of 1782, introducing a more regimented system of workhouses must also have created some concerns among the less well-off. Often it was a case of work or enter the poorhouse. Living in towns and cities the accommodation frequently came without gardens in which to produce their own food. All industries were liable to trade fluctuations which could cause seasonal unemployment. The operatives were also using unfamiliar machinery with little or no protection and many accidents occurred.
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Have you ever wondered what happened to medals awarded to members of your family for serving in the Armed Forces during World War 2? They could have been sold or now be in the possession of another relative. There is also the possibility they were never claimed.
Read MoreBy Stanley Merridew
After seeing this illustration and the following article about a former local company I set about researching their origins.
Read MoreBy Stanley Merridew
In tracing your ancestry obviously a grasp of history, historical dates and facts can be useful but it is worth taking into consideration that geography, economic geography in particular, plays just as an important part in our research. Some researchers are fortunate in finding a family stayed in one parish for generations but they are in the minority. For the majority our forebears flitted from place to place leaving no apparent trail.
Read MoreBy Stanley Merridew
Whilst on a visit to The National Archives I overheard a conversation regarding probate. A researcher was saying that their ancestors had not left any wills as they had searched the index at TNA without success. I didn’t get the chance to put my oar in before they had moved on. When searching any index the researcher needs to be aware of the extent of the index and in particular what is doesn’t contain. Wills and probate are possibly the most complex of the subject matter we tackle as family historians and without some understanding success will be limited.
Read MoreTracing your female ancestors can be a challenge since almost all women took their husband’s family name when they were married. But, not all is lost, below are some of the many ways you can locate your ancestor’s maiden name.
Read MoreThe following is a link to a list of units of measure, many of which are now obsolete and which may be of assistance in your research.
Regrettably the source for this document is unknown but I would be happy to reference it if identified.
Read MoreBirth Marriage and Death records in England & Wales – Key Dates
I would like to acknowledge that this work is not my own. It is an amalgum of many other web sites visited that together have helped me to create this information.
The Census in England is taken every ten years and has been since 1801; the only exception being during World War II (1941). Most pre-1841 census were not kept and therefore only a few pre-1841 census returns have been found.
Census in the UK was conducted on the evenings of the following dates:
1801 – 10th March
1811 – 27th May
1821 – 28th May
1831 – 30th May
1841 – 6th June
1851 – 30th March
1861 – 7th April
1871 – 2nd April
1881 – 3rd April
1891 – 5th April
1901 – 31st March
1911 – 2nd April
1921 – 19th June (Expected to be released by TNA in January 2022)
1931 – 26th April (Destroyed during WW2)
1939 – 29th September (WW2 National Registration)
1951 – 8th April
1961 – 23rd April
1971 – 25th April
1981 – 5th April
1991 – 21st April
2001 – 29th April