Category: Watts
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Lording it in Bergh Apton – the variability of names
The spelling of surnames is a frequent problem for the family history researcher, for experienced hands as well as newbies. Usually this is put down to the poor literacy levels up to late 19th century, with those filling in the registers putting down how they think it out to be, based on what they hear. Here’s a nice little story which came my way this week through a Norfolk connection on the Watts side of the family. I had already encountered uncertainty in the spelling of » »
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In praise of .. Ancestry’s Member Connect Activity feature
The Ancestry website has a flexible (personalised) front page, where you can arrange or hide various modules showing particular information. I have chosen to have ‘Recent Member Connect Activity’ as the the top left box, which I find a bit addictive. It highlights activity by other Ancestry members connected with records which are on your own tree (or the ‘shoebox’ save-for-later area). There’s something new every week, often most days, usually just showing you who else has some vague interest in a particular person in the » »
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Wedding fashions through family photos
There are of course a number of wedding photographs in the family collection, dating back over a hundred years. I thought it might be interesting to look at the differences, from changing fashions and fortunes. The variation is no doubt as much as about what they could afford as personal taste and the conventions of the times. Summer 1905, Norwich, Norfolk Eric Laddiman and Eliza Neal are fifth and sixth from the left back row. The fact that this is their wedding is by deduction » »
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Photos of great great uncle Sam, farmhand
So the ‘major scanning exercise’ is done, with about 100 old family photos digitally processed. Not quite as good quality as I hoped as Dad’s HP all-in-one scanner didn’t want to budge from 200 dpi but should be adequate. It will take some time to check them through, clean up and arrange all these, but images have already started appearing on old posts. I’ll try to include all of them in gallery pages eventually. This is a gallery test post, for which I’ve taken the family » »
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Thomas Cook it
Newly discovered as a great great uncle: Thomas Cook Watts. Born in 1857 Worstead (Norfolk), discovered in the freshly Googled baptism records for St Mary’s. Unfortunately he died in about a year, hence not appearing on the census records. I guess he was named after Captain Cook, rather than a desire for a package holiday. » »
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Watts family
Norfolk and beyond
Norfolk and beyond Ellen Elizabeth Watts (sometimes given as Eleanor) was born 27th August 1852, Worstead, Norfolk. Parents Matthew Watts (b 1824, died 1884 Worstead) and Ann Cutting (b 1829 North Walsham, died 1907 Worstead). Worstead is an interesting place – see Norfolk/Norwich page. Ellen married Robert Smith Neal 4th March 1872 in Norwich – see Neal family page for her offspring. [toc] Siblings in America A number of her siblings emigrated to America – more details on the Abroad page: Jane, Emma and » »