Rare colour film of the invasion forces, many of whom embarked from Weymouth and Portland,
Somerset Voices: Ernest Redwood (b1897)
June 9, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Ernest Redwood, Milverton, Somerset
Ernest Redwood started working on a farm when he was twelve years old at a wage of sixpence a week. He helped with everything, milking, ploughing, cider making and sheep shearing. Ernest lived in Milverton all his life. His father kept two pigs a year that were slaughtered. His mother would cure the pigs and prepare hams and pork. Lard was made from the pigs fat and she used to make ‘scrap cakes’ with the lard.
Census maps from 1871 now online
June 7, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy, History)
Tags: Census
Digital versions of the original Registration District maps from the 1871 census (Catalogue reference RG 18/1-110) are now available to browse and download at cassinimaps.co.uk.
Edward Tompkins
June 5, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, Genealogy)
Tags: Edward Tomkins
Whilst not my own family line , readers may be interest in A record of the ancestry and kindred of the children of Edward Tomkins, sr: late of Oakland, California (deceased), by Edward Tompkins. Published by and printed for the compiler, 1893. This 65 pages booklet was digitized by Google on Jan 17, 2008.
Whitaker surname origins
May 29, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Whitacre, Whitaker, Whiteacre, Whittaker
Surnames in England were originally largely derived from one of three sources. The location they were associated with, their occupation or the given name of their father. My Whitaker ancestors are no exception and fall into the first category of location based names.
Somerset Voices: Jack, George and Madeleine Paul
May 28, 2009 at 5:54 am (Genealogy)
Tags: George Paul, Jack Paul, Madeleine Paul, Somerset, Wells
Jack, George and Madeleine Paul worked all their lives in the well-known firm of builders and painters and decorators, founded by their grandfather in 1893. They undertook various kinds of work in the business – George specialised in sign-writing and Madeleine ran the office. The firm painted schools, offices, pubs, and churches and was contracted to build some of the military camps that sprung up in Somerset during the Second World War.
listen to Jack, George and Madeleine and read the transcript.
Memorial Day
May 24, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Memorial Day
Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the United States, a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
Feet of Fines
May 23, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy, History)
Tags: Dorset, Edward Alexander Fry, Feet of Fines, George Samuel Fry
The Full Abstracts of the Feet of Fines Relating to the County of Dorset: Remaining in the Public Record Office, London, from Their Commencement in the Reign of Richard I, was published by Edward Alexander Fry and George Samuel Fry in 1896.
William Horsforde of Dorchester
May 21, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, Genealogy)
Tags: Dorchester, Dorset, William Horsforde
This extract of the Last Will and Testament of William Horsforde of Dorchester was first published in Genealogical gleanings in England By Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, on behalf of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1885.
Heart of the Vale, Soul of the Town
May 18, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Dorset, Farm Radio, Sturminster Newton
It is now more than ten years since the livestock market at Sturminster Newton closed down, bringing to an end 700 years of tradition. There was a project gathering views and ideas on video from the users of the market as part of the effort to keep it open. The realisation of what the closure meant to the people who used it was part of the inspiration behind the concept of “Farm Radio“.
