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Word-Smithing from Smyrna
or: Lyrical lines from Lydia {2}
or: Lyrical lines from Lydia {2} A year ago, ‘Hanging by a thread‘ traced the delicate strands which led to establishing the family of John Harper Smith junior, master mariner {1}. I speculated that the reasons he and his spouse couldn’t be found in 1871 and 1881 England census was that they could be on voyages out of British waters. Now there is some indication of this, in the shape of a poem of his penned from port: Update: here’s a plain text copy » »
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No beating about the Bush
Dreadful conditions, strong community, in Cwm Clydach
Dreadful conditions, strong community, in Cwm Clydach The Cutlock & Co articles on Bush Houses are some of the most popular on the website. As the latest batch of old news uploaded to the Welsh Newspapers Online archive includes nine year’s worth of the Rhondda Leader from the start of the 20th century, a quick trawl seemed a good idea. Forty items came up for “bush houses”. Here are some key ones about the place {1}, which also shine a light on inhabitants’ lives. Constructed in » »
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Historical maps online – update
Historical maps have continued to appear online since the last Cutlock & Co article on the subject back in March 2012 {1}. Here are some fairly recent additions and relevant news items. Also, a new reference page has been created: Press, maps, images. Combining the Visual Resources section of the Research Links page with newspaper archives links and tips. Welsh places Help wanted: A project launched in October 2013 is asking for help with “collecting all the names of places and features in Wales » »
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Finding Howes on (Spinal) tap
An amusing aside, particularly for those in the US with Howes connections. A rock musician cum brewer has produced a batch of stout called Red Howes, after his grandfather. Created with the Allagash Brewing Co in Portland, Maine, cranberries also by the name of Red Howes are part of the mix. No known relation to either Red! More in the video on Metal Underground, news item on Decibel mag. Or find video on Vimeo Thanks to HowesFamilies.com monthly update. » »
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Some new Ancestry records
Ancestry has recently had one of its massive uploads of new datasets – in this instance showing as done on 21st January. These are “select” baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials and more from around the world. In other words, incomplete parish register or similar records, from centuries ago up to the 20th century. They are (all?) sourced from FamilySearch, a tie-up which was announced relatively recently. In this case, not entirely new to the web, then. UK records include: Isle of Man Channel Islands Bristol Cheshire (including » »
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Online records for British in India
FindMyPast has put online two and a half million records from the British Library’s India Office Records collection, reports Who Do you Think You Are magazine. These would appear to be under (or connected with) Travel and Migration on the current FMP site – a new version is due soon. One of the things that is on the wish-list for FMP improvement is flagging up new record sets more consistently and clarity on what they contain. The specific FMP India Office birth and baptisms search page » »
