After some time without, getting access to the British Newspaper Archive – part of a (half price) FindMyPast Pro subscription – raises the dilemma of where to start researching. Perhaps firstly with those individuals in the tree most likely to appear in the news, and then close relatives to see if any notices, in the absence of news items, might add another angle.
There are various articles on Cutlock & Co covering 1914 to 1918 family experiences. These are linked below, along with some further information.
Note that only about 40% of World War One army service records survive. Medal records can give some minimal info, if the name isn’t too common -otherwise look out for local press coverage of casualties or other events.
The family history research reflected in the Cutlock & Co website may appear to have crawled along in 2013, with only 14 articles (excluding this one), but there has actually been quite a lot of activity behind the scenes. Adding in newly available records, tidying up the notes on already identified individuals, filling in small gaps, and plenty more. Subscribing to FindMyPast has given access to the British Newspaper online archives, with a few interesting results.
It is not often nowadays that an article in Who Do You Think You Are? magazine sends me off immediately to follow it up. But the March issue, received yesterday, has a Focus article on ‘Masters and Mates Certificates’ {4} which indicated it was worth checking to see if the 3 x great grandfather who had the title Captain could be found. He was born in the 1790s, so was already a master mariner when certificates came in from 1850.
Continue reading Entirely to the Water from Birth The nautical Harper Smiths
As mentioned in the last Cutlock & Co article A bunch of artists, I have recently added Facebook to the tool set used in finding relatives. Clearly this is mainly useful for living cousins etc. but the odd ancestral photo and possibly historic info can crop up too.
For a change, an item featuring contemporary relations, as various cousins have been caught in a Facebook trawl over the last month or two. Apart from being a source of family photos, including a few oldies (thanks Brenda), the number with an artistic line of work (or serious hobby) was noticeable. While this may be down to other occupations not leaping out quite so obviously, it seemed worth doing a round up, whether they are on Facebook or not.
