TNA podcast - West Africa and the First World War

The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) in England has a free to podcast online which may be of interest to those researching the First World War:

West Africa and the First World War
https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/west-africa-first-world-war/

The First World War had a great impact on West Africa, as Britain ordered the invasion of German colonies in Cameroon and Togoland, using its own colonies as base. The West African Frontier Force, drawn from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and Gambia played a key role in the campaign. War had also had a great impact on the civilian population, as the British drew off workers and resources. How did African soldiers experience the campaign, and what did the war mean for West African societies as a whole?

There is a downloadable media file on the page which can also be interacted with as you listen.

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Updates to the Original Record website

The following collections have been added to The Original Record website (www.theoriginalrecord.com):

1765
Kanturk to Fair Lane Turnpike Trustees
The act for making a turnpike road from the town of Kanturk in the county of Cork to Fair Lane in the north liberties of the city of Cork (5 George III cap. xiii) appointed a large number of local gentlemen to serve as initial trustees.

1774
Warwickshire Voters
The poll of the freeholders of Warwickshire was taken at Warwick from the 20th to the 31st of October 1774, the candidates being Sir Charles Holte baronet, Thomas George Skipwith esquire, and John Mordaunt esquire. The poll book is arranged by hundred, then by parish or township in which the qualifying freehold lay: the voters' full names are given, surname first, and their places of abode, not necessarily in the same district. Barlichway Hundred.

1797
Scarborough Lodging House Keepers
'A full and accurate list of Houses, appropriated to the accommodation of company', from A New Scarborough Guide, of 1797.

1834
Chimney Sweeps and their Apprentice Boys, London
An account of the number of boys apprenticed to chimney sweepers under the provisions of 28 Geo. III c. 40, at the several police offices within the London bills of mortality, during the previous nine years: giving the numbers of boys apprenticed each year, the year, the parish from whence taken, the name and residence of the master, the name and age of each boy (mostly 8 to 12 years old), and the evidence of such age.

1869
Births, Marriages and Deaths
Reported in the Pall Mall Gazette, May 1869

1891
Fellows of the British Gynaecological Society
The alphabetical list of fellows of the British Gynaecological Society gives year of election, full name (surname first), qualifications, and address. The abbreviations used are: C., member of council; F. F., foundation fellow (i.e., since 1884); Hon. Loc. Sec., honorary local secretary; Hon. Sec., honorary secretary; H.P., honorary president; L., life fellow; Libr., librarian; Pres., president; Treas., treasurer; V.P., vice-president.

1922
Residents of East Africa
The East African Standard compiled this directory of residents of Kenya Colony (K.C.) and Protectorate, Uganda Protectorate (U.P. or Ug.), Tanganyika Territory (T.T.) and Zanzibar Sultanate (Z. or Zbr.)

(With thanks to The Original Record)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Latest additions to The Original Record

The Original Records (www.theoriginalrecord.com) has added the following records to its site:

1558
Common Pleas
Pleas at Westminster Michaelmas term, 5 & 6 Philip & Mary and 1 Elizabeth, 1558. The court dealt with civil cases: debt, detinue, slander, assault, theft, breach of covenant, formedon, novel disseisin, &c. Each case is marked in the margin with the name of the county to the sheriff of which the writs were issued. Most often, but not necessarily, this would be the county of residence of the defendant. This calendar of the original formulaic record in abbreviated Latin on parchment has been made by David Bethell, preserving all individual detail from each case. The Latin text is translated: English phrases and passages are preserved literatim, in bold.

1558
Fines
Fines for fictitious a_ctions of covenant in the Common Pleas were a way of registering the transfer of landed property. The originals, entered on the Common Roll for Michaelmas term, 5 & 6 Philip & Mary and 1 Elizabeth, 1558 are here abstracted into English by David Bethell: the grantee is in each case the person named in the third line, covenanting with the grantor(s). The description of the estate names the number of messuages (houses), acres of (arable) land, pasture, meadow, &c. CP 40/1176 mm.1-100

1767
London Merchants
The Universal Pocket Companion of 1767 contained, among 'many other necessary and entertaining particulars' this directory of London merchants.

1822
South African Officials
The African Court Calendar and Directory for 1822, compiled under the sanction of government at Cape Town, lists government, bank and ecclesiastical officials in Cape Town, Cape District, Simon's Town, Stellenbosch, Swellendam, Caledon, Graaff-Reynet, Cradock, Beaufort, Uitenhage, Tulbagh, Clan William, Worcester, George and Albany.

1831
Muster of the Lurgan Yeomanry
This muster roll of the Lurgan Yeomanry, correct to 13 January 1831, was furnished by George Duglas, permanent sergeant.

(With thanks to The Original Record)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

Did your Irish ancestor apply for a pension whilst abroad?

I've been having a general look at the 1841/1851 Census Search forms used to prove age for the Irish based Old Age Pension applications from 1909 onwards, now available at http://censussearchforms.nationalarchives.ie/, and have figured out a few facts and figures that may be of interest. The following are not definitive, because the database has quite a few transcription errors and abbreviations in play, but it does give a rough estimation of how widespread the applicants were, and how useful the database may be for the Irish diaspora as well as for those with ancestors in Ireland.

Total number of applications: 33991

Ireland - broken down by county, in alphabetical order:

Antrim (2085), Armagh (1135), Carlow (95), Cavan (1980), Clare (1110), Cork (652), Donegal (1963), Down (1980), Dublin (283), Fermanagh (1218), Galway (2687), Kerry (1401), Kildare (159), Kilkenny (239), King's (367), Leitrim (942), Limerick (681), Londonderry (1096), Longford (348), Louth (353), Mayo (2998), Meath (359), Monaghan (899), Queen's (137), Roscommon (1072), Sligo (968), Tipperary (387), Tyrone (1400), Wexford (518), Waterford (295), Westmeath (228), Wicklow (134)


Ireland - broken down by county, in order of most applications to least:

Mayo (2998), Galway (2687), Antrim (2085), Cavan (1980), Down (1980), Donegal (1963), Tyrone (1400), Fermanagh (1218), Armagh (1135), Clare (1110), Londonderry (1096), Kerry (1401), Roscommon (1072), Sligo (968), Leitrim (942), Monaghan (899), Limerick (681), Cork (652), Wexford (518), Tipperary (387), King's (367), Meath (359), Louth (353), Longford (348), Waterford (295), Dublin (283), Kilkenny (239), Westmeath (228), Kildare (159), Queen's (137), Wicklow (134), Carlow (95)


Not all applicants were in Ireland, however - far from it:

• Number of applicants including the word 'Scotland' in the address: 387
• Number of applicants including the word 'England' in the address: 263
• Number of applicants including the word 'Wales' in the address: 40
• Number of applicants including the word 'Australia' in the address: 87
• Number of applicants including the words 'New Zealand' in the address: 46 (of which, 27 for the New Zealand High Commission in London)
• Number of applicants including the word 'Canada' in the address: 8
• Number of applicants including the words 'South Africa' in the address: 5

Unfortunately, these numbers are actually a gross misrepresentation of the true numbers applying for a pension overseas beyond Ireland, as there are many applications naming addresses with cities but not the country. For example, a search on the city of Glasgow returns some 603 applications, Edinburgh has 626 returns, Dundee 47, Ayr 4, Aberdeen 1, London circa 410, Birmingham 43, Manchester 219, Bristol 13, Cardiff 18, Swansea 5, and so on.

NB: Many British based entrants have 'LGB' in their address, as in 'LGB Scotland' - this is short for 'Local Government Board'. Other transcription errors include Coatbridge as 'Cootbridge', Wishaw as 'Mishaw', Dumbartonshire as 'Dumbertonshire', etc. Australia is sometimes down as 'Ans' instead of 'Aus' as an abbreviation also.

Number of applicants with a United States address - this one's a bit more complex, as the entries have been transcribed as USA, U S A, and others. The following is the result of a search by individual state, fully spelled out (and 1 federal district), which provided the following:

California (5), Colorado (2), Connecticut (4), Delaware (1), Illinois (7), Indiana (2), Iowa (2), Kansas (1), Kentucky (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (7), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (15), New York (50), North Dakota (2), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (2), Pennsylvania (4), Tennessee (1), Texas (1), Utah (2), Washington [DC] (1) and Wisconsin (4).
122 in total

Again, this is an underestimate, as there are many entries with abridged state names - e.g. 'Mass' for Massachussetts (another 37 entries), 'Massachusettes' for Massachusetts (1 entry), 'Penria' for Pennsylvania (1 entry), 'Winconsin' for Wisconsin (1), and many other variants.

If your Irish ancestor emigrated, it's plain to see that the database may well be worth a shot for additional information that may have been found from the 1841 or 1851 censuses.


UPDATE: More stats:

Australia:

Queensland (35), New South Wales (21) - and another 9 for 'N S W', 3 for 'New South Walls' and another 8 for 'N S Wales', Victoria (2) - also 19 more for 'Victoria, Australia', South Australia (4), Western Australia (6) - and one for 'Perth W Australia'.

Also, 2 applications from France (Marseilles and Rhone), and 4 from the Isle of Man.

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.