theBackstairs.com blog

Using compiled histories like the Victoria County History series

admin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:53:49 +0000

One of the reasons I use 19th century compiled histories is because the sources referred to are often ones that aren’t particularly well known. Finding the original material that is cited can be difficult in some cases. Sometimes the source is not clearly spelled out, or is referred to by a name or initials that would have been common knowledge at the time of publication. In one case a record group that was intact at the time one of the county histories was produced had later been split up, with some of the material being donated to a library which itself had later merged with a larger repository. Other portions had been put up for public auctions. Using newspaper accounts and other sources I was able to track down where most of the original collection had ended up. Some of the work I do involves exactly that, creating up to date assessments of whether material cited in these publications is still accessible or not. Publications like the County series are good resources, but if any information they contain is to be used to ‘prove’ anything than they need to be taken as just a guide to sources.

Question of timing of burials and baptisms (Church of England, 17th century)

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:13:42 +0000

I put up a link to a version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 1662 (BCP 1662). Not sure how exact this transcript is but it does have some useful information in it. Explanations about the requirement for godparents in a baptism, for example. Julie, normally the BCP required a week’s notification before the baptism. Usual practice for Anglicans seems to have been the first or second Sunday after the birth, so if the birth fell too close to the first Sunday, then likely would be done on the following one. But to make it clear, that’s the “normal” practice. If a child was very ill as a new born infant, then the baptism could be done at home (if the child appeared to be in danger of dying). Alternatively, it might be delayed until the child was better. Other reasons could alter the normal practice, but a ‘working assumption’ would be that the birth happened a week or two before the date of the baptism. Children baptized over the age of 12 could be labelled as ‘adults’. Have you looked at the original parish register entry itself? Sometimes there are notes added that won’t have been copied out in later transcriptions. Burials would normally be within a short period of time after death (days and not weeks), with exceptions of course. Often, in this early period, the burial date is the only reference to the time of death that you’re going to find (unless the death generated other records or the date of death was noted in the original register entry itself). Anyone else with thoughts on this?

Introductions

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:48:34 +0000

I’ve always had a strong interest in the Medieval period that I hope our conversations will centre on. And a particular interest in the Tudor period. My interest isn’t limited to just genealogical research, but being able to work on medieval genealogies has allowed me to do a lot of historical research at the same time. I’m gathering good recommendations for ‘off the beaten track’ medieval or Tudor sites to visit on an upcoming trip to the UK, both in London and in the north (Nottinghamshire, Lancs, Yorks). Generally my interest is in looking at the research options in this era, but also in any subject connected to these periods. I’m also a visual artist (painter/sculptor), and lately I’m thinking of becoming accredited as a designer of coats of arms. Seems a natural way of combining my interests in both visual arts and genealogy. The whole area of heraldry is a fascinating subject on its own, but also ties into some aspects of genealogical research. What brings other people to their interest in these time periods and subjects?Larry

Blog options

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:37:58 +0000

I’ve given the medieval users “author” status which means each of you can manage your own posts and publish them. If you’re going to introduce a new topic related to this area, probably a good idea to set a new category for it. I’m not sure how the ‘author’ option works, so we’ll have to see it in practice. Not sure if you will have the options that I can see here. For the moment I’m not hiding any of the posts or replies, but I am restricting comments and the ability to contribute posts to just subscribers. I have to manage subscriptions because otherwise the blog will be flooded by spammers (just removed 140 of them!). If you wish to, please feel free to describe your interests in this subject. Also, any links you think might be useful, send them to me and I’ll add them. Thanks.

Medieval and Early Modern periods

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:31:52 +0000

Most scholars mark the beginning of the medieval period to circa 800. For the purposes of this blog discussion, we will be looking at the period known usually as the Middle and Late Middle Ages, beginning with the Domesday Book (1086), and continuing up to the start of parish records in the 1500s. We’ll probably overlap a bit into the ‘early modern period’ (up until 1700 or so) because that covers the period when migrations to the New World began, and then accelerated.We tend to think that we live in a complicated world now. If we get into any depth in these discussions, that view may change dramatically. Medieval and Early Modern records are extremely complex and varied.