Family Tree News 16 October 2011

The annual Blitz Remembrance Service is fast approaching. It will take place at 3pm on Sunday 13th November at London Road Cemetery, Coventry. I would like to thank Coventry Bereavement Services for letting us know the details.

The busy season is upon me once again, and I am now working on family tree projects as Christmas gifts for loved ones. We did, however, find time this week to update the website in response to a couple of queries from people who looked me up in Yellow Pages or similar because they had difficulty using the email links on my site. I now have a new web page on the site which provides two different ways of getting in touch with me online regarding family tree research.

Family Tree News 09 October 2011

Looks like a new 2012 version of the excellent Family Tree Maker will be available on or around October 14th. Early information indicates there may be three versions: Deluxe, Platinum and World editions. More info about these soon.

Family Tree News 25 September 2011

Hope you are enjoying series 8 of Who Do You Think You Are? This week we have UK daytime TV celebrity Richard Madeley finding out about the part his great grandfather played in fighting between New England colonists and Native Americans in Rhode Island.

I should like to thank Peter who got in touch last week with a correction in the data about his half sister Gretna Edwina Elliot on my Coventry Blitz Victims pages. As is often the case families have more accurate historical information than official records, so many thanks Peter for the update.

Also, author Jayne Shrimpton has been in touch this week with news about her new website. Jayne is an expert at dating old family photos and has written two great books on the subject.

Family Tree News 11 September 2011

Thanks this week to Sally M, who got in touch regarding details about her Great Uncle in a page on First World War burials in the Coventry At War section of my site. It is great when people share more accurate family history info than provided by public records. I am more than happy to update data, or include related anecdotes or photos that family members wish to share.

The Dictionary Of Old Occupations had a significant update this week. About 20 census occupation definitions have been added to the site, and some existing definitions updated. We are very grateful to Richard W who sent me a list of occupational titles and descriptions from the Barnsley area (many of which were mining related) which he researched for publication in his local Family History Society journal. After checking into all these my husband and I were delighted to write up some dictionary definitions and share all this additional info with you via my site.

Last reminder - For those living nearby there are still a few hours left to head into Coventry and enjoy the Heritage Weekend events!

All the best
Jane Hewitt

Family Tree News 03 September 2011

Ingrid B sent me some information about the old occupation of Pitcher, and Spike M emailed with info about the old occupation of Tisserand. Having checked these out both have been added to the free online Dictionary of Old Occupations. Many thanks to both of you for getting in touch.

Ingrid was initially prompted to get in touch after hearing the term Pitcher on a TV show, where it was used to describe a type of porter who carried meat goods into market overnight. If anyone has evidence to confirm this then it would be great if you got in touch so we can expand the definition.

Also of note this week is that Colin Water’s excellent reference book 'A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations' has just been released as a Kindle ebook. It makes a great alternative to my own work – it is bigger but somewhat pricier. As I have mentioned before, the only reason I do not own a copy myself is so that it did not influence my own work.

Family Tree News 31 August 2011

The Coventry Family History Society website has had a facelift. I am biased of course (I helped a bit) but I think the new look and feel are great! Check it out here: http://www.covfhs.org/.

We currently have a small backlog of old occupations to process. Am aiming to review these shortly (i.e. in the next week or two) and confirm their accuracy before adding them to the site. Thanks to everyone who sent me info to expand the old occupations definitions.

Family Tree News 21 August 2011

In response to a query from Liz I am for looking evidence regarding the old occupation of Plod Weaver, possibly spelt as Plodweaver. My current thinking is that this is a textile industry occupation (obviously), but the query is whether 'plod' refers to a person operating a loom via their feet, or whether it is a spelling variation on ‘plaid’, describing the fabric.

This occupational title may be a regional term. Liz found it in parish registers for Gt Harwood, LAN near Blackburn. Please get in touch with me if you have any information to share regarding Plod Weavers. If we can crack this one it will help Liz out, and can also be added to my Dictionary of Old Occupations to assist fellow family tree enthusiasts.

Secondly, many thanks to Anita for the lovely flowers she sent me after we researched her husband's family tree as a present for his birthday. The flowers were a wonderful surprise and look beautiful.

Family Tree News 14 August 2011

Phew! Having returned from a summer holiday I am now back at work and busily researching a variety of family trees. Of specific interest this week I have been going through late 19th century workhouse records for one particular family. Even though a couple of registers were missing I was able to fill in the missing information by looking at the Indoor Relief books.

I would like to thank Ingrid B for supplying me with a couple of suggested additions to the Dictionary of Old Occupations. Whilst doing some volunteer work for FamilySearch, Ingrid came across occupational titles Schoolmistress and Furnace Tender in census records. These have been added to the site, along with Schoolmarm and Schoolmaster.

I have also performed a lengthy spell-checking exercise across http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/. Some classic typos from my original family researcher site back in 1995 had somehow been carried forwards, but have finally been sorted. Not an easy task when there are thousands of names and archaic job titles being incorrectly flagged up as errors!

For those interested in local history, Coventry Heritage Weekend is not far off. There will be lots of interesting and educational things to see. On Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September. Heritage Weekend provides a rare opportunity for the general public to visit some of the historic buildings in the city free of charge and is well worth checking out. The Old Grammar School will be open for the first time since 1995, and on Sunday there will be a re-enactment of Mary Ball’s trial. She was a convicted poisoner and became famous (or should that be notorious?) for being the last woman in Coventry to be hanged.

Family Tree News 17 July 2011

It has been a while since I last updated the website because I have been very busy researching family trees for people. I notice an increasing number of Wikipedia entries are citing my website as references within their encyclopaedia articles; these are very welcome as it is nice to be helping people in this way.

I made a little time this weekend to add two occupational definitions to the site. Firstly, in response to a query from Jessica I researched and added a lengthy definition of Zinc Worker, and secondly, I would like to thank Geoff J-Brett for the information he supplied regarding the use of Datallers in coal mining. This has been added to the Dictionary of Old Occupations.

All the best,
Jane

Family Tree News 26 June 2011

Found a lovely review of my Family Researcher website this week. Head on over to Illiana Ancestors to see what Joan Griffis has to say about some of my free family tree and blitz research resources.

Thanks for your kind words Joan. And I know what you mean about the spellchecker – mine just could not cope either!

Went to the Coventry Archives this week. As I have said previously, it is great to see them open again, and really helpful as I needed to look up historical Workhouse records. Not everything is back to normal yet, in that some shelves are still bare but the records are safe in the vault and available on request. I suspect they are being cautious due to recent vandalism which resulted in broken windows.

Family Tree News 20 June 2011

Many thanks to the Questionable Content Team at Lulu.com for their quick response. I was delighted to find that Lulu’s service was helpful and swift in regards to the issue of the counterfeit version of the Dictionary of Old Occupations which my husband quickly spotted and reported.

I suppose I should see it as flattery that people rip off my work from time to time and pass it off as their own, whether it be website content or otherwise. Just glad I have help on hand to diligently search for and deal with these incidents so that I can focus on family tree and historical research without all these distractions myself! I do feel sorry for anyone taken in by perpetrators though.

Finally, there was a good piece in the Coventry Telegraph this week regarding the reopening of the history centre, and a list of some of the valuable and fascinating old documents they hold – such as a charter from King Henry III, King Edward III and a letter from Anne Boleyn. Great to see things are back to normal, I will be popping in any day now.

Family Tree News 19 June 2011

Family Tree News 12 June 2011

Good news! The Coventry Archives, aka the Coventry History Centre re-opened on June 9th after having been closed for repairs since before last Christmas. Opening hours for the Archives are 10:30 to 3:30 Tuesday to Saturday.

This week I have been working on a variety of photo family trees for people. It is interesting to see what the ancestors you are researching actually look like. Compared to a traditional family tree document, I often find that a photo family tree has that bit of extra magic, particularly when I unearth old photographs from 70+ years ago. Do remember to ask about photo family trees if you wish to commission me to research your family tree.

Family Tree News 5 June 2011

I have been focussing on researching more details about victims of the Coventry Blitz recently, and publishing the findings on my family tree website this week. If you have the surnames Gaskine, Gibbons, Gillespie or Golder in family trees you are researching then these may be of help.

Family Tree News 29 May 2011

Family tree research has certainly been keeping me busy this week! I found time to add details about members of the Copeland, Cotton and Coulter families to the Coventry Blitz Resource Centre. I was also able to add another photo of a Blitz victim – Alan Hiscocks – kindly supplied by Trevor Harkin

I had some good news this week; Barnes and Noble are now selling my Dictionary of Old Occupations too. So, if you are a family tree researcher with a Nook then this may interest you. You can find my ebook by searching for either for 'old occupations' or 'Jane Hewitt' on their site, or from this link http://bit.ly/lE1p3R.

Family Tree News 15 May 2011

Author and historian Trevor Harking kindly donated some photographs of victims of the Coventry Blitz who went to Bablake School. If you are researching Farren, Fraser or Worrod family trees then these may be relevant to you.

Trevor has a new book out about the April 1941 air raids on Coventry. I have always been impressed with Trevor's work, and would encourage anyone interested in WW2 or local history to seek out a copy.

Family Tree News 08 May 2011

This week sees some promising news about the possible restoration of Coventry Old Grammar School, a magnificent building and part of Coventry’s heritage which is currently suffering from years of neglect. The Church of England has announced the setting up of a trust fund for this purpose. You can read more about this historical building in my Disappearing Coventry section.

I stopped by the Coventry History Centre (a.k.a. Coventry Archives) this week to check on progress. Busy workmen were to be seen, and the floor looked better than last time. Still no definite opening date though.

I have added new research data to my website regarding the Coventry Blitz. If you are tracing local Hockton, Singer, Shaw, Sims, Sharrocks, Scannell or Sharratt family trees then you may find useful data in the Blitz Victims section of my Coventry Blitz Resource Centre.

Family Tree News 01 May 2011

I would like to give a big thank you to everyone for the supportive comments and nice feedback about our new ebook, the Dictionary of Old Occupations. The kindle version has been most popular so far, but that may change now that Smashwords, who provide the eBook in all other digital formats, have reviewed / quality assessed the book and accepted it into their premium catalogue. This means that it will soon be more widely distributed by organisations such as Barnes and Noble.

Recent family tree research has had me tracing Scottish ancestors back to the early to the early 1800s so far in the Lanarkshire and Ross and Cromarty areas. I have also been tracing English family trees, including one focussing on the Lancashire area which I have managed to research back to 1745. Whilst I have uncovered lots of agricultural workers, my favourite occupation discovered this week was a chap born in 1823 who according to a series of census records spent decades working as a travelling wine and spirit merchant before settling down as a distiller when he got older. You never know what you will uncover when you trace your family tree!

Family Tree News 17 April 2011

Some great news this week. My Dictionary of Old Occupations is now available to purchase for your ebook reader!

Don’t worry, you can still access the full dictionary online free of charge, only from www.familyresearcher.co.uk. However, for those of you who want to be able to download the dictionary onto your ebook reader to access offline you can now do so legally and cheaply.

You can buy a low cost my Dictionary of Old Occupations from Amazon to use on your Kindle, and it is also available DRM-free from Smashwords in a variety of ebook formats . Enjoy!

Family Tree News 12 April 2011

Been busy working on my Dictionary of Old Occupations this week. Am delighted to announce that I have added in occupational definitions for trades etc. beginning with M and J. That means that the whole alphabet is covered, finally. A huge amount of time and effort has gone into making this free resource, hope you find it useful! I would like to recognise and thank my husband Paul for all his unpaid work on this project too.
The Dictionary of Old Occupations is not finished though. We have hopes and plans to enhance it further. Check in later to see how this progresses!

Stopped by the Coventry Archives yesterday to see how work is progressing on the repairs. It was good to see work actually taking place. We also took the opportunity to visit the Egypt exhibition at the Herbert gallery, well worth stopping by if you are in the area.

All the best, and have a great Easter.
Jane

Family Tree News 3 April 2011

I have some good news about the Coventry History Centre. It looks as though, after a lot of waiting, repairs may be about to commence! The good staff at the Herbert told us that building repair work is due to start any day this week.

While there is no definitive timescale, the building work is anticipated to take 3-4 weeks. After that is complete the furniture and equipment will need to be installed, this will take another week or two. Fingers crossed we might have access to our local archives in a couple more months.

Special thanks to Ami at the Herbert for updating us on the state of play.

Family Tree News 27 March 2011

Today is Census Day, so we all have to fill out huge census forms. Some people have valid concerns about the intrusiveness of some questions this time around. As a genealogy enthusiast I hope you can see the value in recording all this personal information which will benefit our descendents when they are researching their own ancestral roots.

The 1911 Scottish Census will be made available to us the public on April 5th this year. Not long to go now, great news for anyone with Scottish ancestry.

Family tree research continues at full pace as always. My spare time this week was spent performing a long overdue housekeeping exercise on the earliest pages I wrote for old occupations beginning with A and B. I am pleased to have updated all 12 of these web pages with additional information to existing definitions, some amendments and clarifications, and to have added several more old occupational titles and their definitions to the dictionary.

The Herbert website still says that the Coventry History Centre (a.k.a. the archives) will reopen in April, but says that the opening date is still unknown. We contacted them for an update, and I will try to stop by to the centre itself to check for notices on the premises. Given the council cutbacks in Coventry we can only hope that they will reopen the archives soon to give us access to records about our heritage. We have been without this facility for several months now.

If you have been trying to contact the Herbert to query the Coventry History Centre reopening then watch out for the broken link on their web page. When you click on the email address it chops off the last few letters so they will not receive your email. You can get around it by copying and pasting the address into an email instead. My husband reported the problem to them today, so hopefully the good people at the Herbert will be able to fix it soon.

Family Tree News 13 March 2011

Have just completed one of my Silver Family Tree packages for a particularly interesting family with a member in the British army serving in India in the late 1860s (a little after the mutiny), and I was able to unravel the mystery of their family legend linking ancestors to a major player in the old cotton trade.


I would like to thank the person who sent me information about blitz victim W T Upham, I have checked the details and added the information to the website.

This week my husband stumbled upon a website belonging to a genealogist elsewhere in the UK who appears to have outrageously copied 90% or more of his website content directly from my Family Researcher site, pasted it into his own website page after page, then replaced my name and other details with his own. The site appears to have been running since 2009 and the content looked so much like my site that one independent person commented he thought the sites were related.

One can only speculate as to the quality and originality of family tree research one might receive. My husband was in the early stages of initiating legal proceedings as recommended by the US hosting company when the person in question took down their site. He did so after his hosting company contacted him. For this reason I will not ‘name and shame’ him or the site.

Finally this week, I am delighted to report that I have completed another major update to the Dictionary of Old Occupations. Approx 160 old occupations, trades, professions etc. beginning with the letter T have been added to my site, bringing the dictionary total close to 2000 definitions. This project has taken me years of work in my spare time, so it is great to see how near completion it is.

Family Tree News 27 February 2011

My professional family tree research work has certainly been keeping me busy, but I have made time in the evenings over the last week or so to work on the Dictionary of Old Occupations.

Years ago, when I started typing up my notes on old occupation definitions, there were lots more jobs beginning with the letter C than other letters. I recall starting on these, getting as far as publishing three pages of C prefixed them on my website, before deciding to move on to other letters of the alphabet in order to speed up the overall process.

I am delighted to have revisited the mountain of jobs beginning with C, organised my notes and published the definitions online yesterday. 190+ jobs beginning with C have been added to those previously published. This takes the estimate number of definitions in the entire dictionary to over 1500!

If you know the definitions of old or archaic jobs titles, trades etc. beginning with C that are not on the list then please get in touch with me via http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/.. Lots of people are sharing my free dictionary now, it would be great to expand the dictionary even further to help fellow family tree enthusiasts.

Family Tree News 20 February 2011

The last few weeks have been busy ones where family tree research work has been concerned.

In my spare time I have made several updates to the website:

The Dictionary of Old Occupations has proven popular with fellow family tree researchers. I would like to acknowledge the various people who have been in touch regarding old definitions for occupations such as Hind, Vestry Messenger, Intelligence Office and Bondsmen. Some of these were queries from people asking for help with their own ancestors, other were kindly supplying additional info to share on the site.

I would especially like to thank Ibrahim Leadley for generously providing two photographs related to his ancestor Hannah Harrison Lowe, who is reputed to be descended from royalty. An interesting story, from which I typed up a few research notes of my own and added a new page to the familyresearcher website to share these alongside the photographs.
All the best
Jane Hewitt

Family Tree News 30 January 2011

If you are waiting for the archives at Coventry to reopen so you can research local history then I am afraid I have bad news. Despite the Council website presently estimating that the History Centre will reopen around now ("late January") the Herbert website says that the History Centre is closed until further notice, which seems a bit vague.
I have been along to the premises to find out more. The floor is still stripped right back, and repairs seem to be progressing much slower than we hoped. Signage on the premises indicates that it will be around April before the History Centre reopens. Sadly it looks like we will be without access to our heritage records for twice as long as we originally believed!

I would like to thank Sue B this week, who got in touch to tell me about a book called "The Fateful Battle Line" which is full of information about the 1/7th Territorial Battalion and what befell them during the war. The book ties in with the Coventry At War section of the site, particularly the war diary of Sgt Edward Brookes.

I am also grateful to Colin and Carol, who provided me with more old job definitions to add to the Dictionary of Old Occupations. I have updated the site this week, and added them in as promised. Carol – In addition to the other occupations you sent me I have added a paragraph about Day Labourers to the site, and will add Junky to the Dictionary along with all the jobs beginning with J as soon as I am able. I only have a few letters of the alphabet to check and transcribe onto the old occupations A-Z lists, but it’s a time consuming job!

Family Tree News 23 January 2011

This week I have added another 112 old job definitions to the Dictionary of Old Occs. Having spotted too late someone on an online genealogy forum seeking an explanation what a Higgler was, and finding that the answer was in my to-do list, I decided to focus on transcribing my notes about jobs beginning with the letter H and make them available FOC on my familyresearcher website.

So if you discover anything from a Haberdasher to a Huxter in your family tree and are unsure what the job actually was then you may find the answer here.

Jane Hewitt 23 January 2011

Family Tree News 16 January 2011

My family tree website has been updated this week. I have added new information about members of the McKnight, Pointer and White families who were killed in the Coventry Blitz. You can find them in the alphabetical lists in the Coventry Blitz Resource Centre. I have also added a new definition to the Dictionary of Old Occupations for a Watch Case Joint Finisher.

Family Tree News 9 January 2011

As pleasant as it was to take a week off over the holiday period, I am thoroughly enjoying getting stuck back into family tree projects. The December post was particularly slow this year, but did not stop me completing all family tree Christmas presents and sending out the presentation packs to arrive on time (despite the postal service having an interesting definition of ‘next day delivery’!)

This month Computer Shopper magazine reviewed the latest version of Family Tree Maker, which came out very well indeed. It really is an excellent package and is surprisingly cheap. It is listed on my family tree software page, along with other good packages.

Over the holidays I found time to go through more of my notes about old job and trade definitions. I picked on jobs beginning with the letter F this time. This week I added these to the website, they amounted to six new web pages containing details of 165 definitions. From Faber to Fuyster, you can find these on my Dictionary of Old Occupations, available free of charge to help you understand census records when you research your family tree.

Sadly Coventry Council has yet to announce the reopening of the Coventry Archives after the pre-Christmas flood. Their website page appears to have not been updated since December. It still says that the History Centre is unlikely to reopen before late January, but it also says this is because of the approaching bank holidays. I still recommend you check if the History Centre is open before planning a visit. The number is 024 7683 4060.

Family Tree News 5 December 2010

Thanks to Anita for the beautiful plant which arrived yesterday, it was very kind of you. Hope your family enjoys the presentation packs.

Thanks also to Michael Watson for the photograph and extra Blitz information on the Ager family. This has been added to the site.

Finally, some sad news this week. The cold weather has caused a water pipe to burst at Coventry Archives. Fortunately the records have survived intact, but the Archives will be closed for a few weeks while all is put back in order. If you were planning a trip to the Archives any time soon I would suggest phoning ahead to check they are open before setting out.

Family Tree News 28 November 2010

Christmas is approaching, and I have been busy researching family history for those of you who ordered a family tree project as a Christmas gift for loved ones. Work is progressing on schedule, and some family projects have already been completed and shipped.

We attended the Blitz memorial service at Coventry Cathedral on November 14th, exactly 70 years after that dreadful night. The service ended with the sounding of an air raid siren, mini spotlights circling the old cathedral ruins and the peals of cathedrals bells. Despite having had a long day which started with me arriving pre-dawn at London Road Cemetery for my spot on BBC Radio 5, the commemoration service was an historic event which was thought provoking and well worth attending.

You may be interested in a new website which launched recently. Coventry Memories presents a timeline of Coventry history where people can look up the memories people had of living in Coventry during the last century, and share their own recollections. Go have a look!

I would like to give my thanks to Ruth Kennedy, Mary, and Iris Griffiths for sharing your family stories and photographs about the Coventry Blitz. A new page has been added to the Coventry Blitz Resource Centre telling the stories of Denis and Edward Brown, and Gilbert John Griffiths.

Family Tree News 13 November 2010

If you are up early tomorrow morning, you can catch me speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live. The Weekend Breakfast show will be interviewing me about the Coventry Blitz and will be on air at 06:20 am. So, early night then!

Aside from local history, I am working hard producing Family Tree Christmas presents, which are all on schedule.

Family Tree News 31 October 2010

I have spent my evenings this week revamping the index page for the Dictionary of Old Occupations. It is now much easier to find the job you are looking for because the Index now shows all jobs currently listed and each title is a working hyperlink to the relevant page and job definition. With over a thousand hyperlinks on the page this was no small task. I still have several pages of notes to type up for the last few letters of the index, but it was worthwhile taking time out to make the index page friendlier to use.

The 70th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz is looming. Many events are scheduled to take place to mark this major event in the history of Coventry. I have added a bit more information to the details of the blitz victims, my thanks to family members for getting in touch. Please keep these pieces of family history coming, they make valuable additions to the site to preserve local history and educate future generations.

A list of events taking place to mark the 70th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz can be found on the Coventry Blitz Resource Centre page. If you are running an event which is not listed and wish me to add it then please drop me a line.

Family Tree News 24 October 2010

Conscious that it has been some time since I added any more historical job definitions to the Dictionary of Old Occupations, I have today published a large update. Over 200 descriptions of old trades and occupations have been added, all beginning with the letter P.

That makes definitions for 21 letters of the alphabet complete, with 5 to go. Hope you are finding the dictionary a useful resource when researching your ancestors and interpreting census records!

Family Tree News 17 October 2010

The new and improved 2011 versions of Family Tree Maker Platinum and Family Tree Maker Deluxe have just been released. Both contain a useful selection of new features and handy enhancements to existing facilities. Definitely worth checking out. If you are still using an aging verion of Family Tree Maker then the new features may well make you want to upgrade.

Christmas is starting to appear on the horizon already, so now is the time to get in touch if you would like me to research a family tree as a present for a friend or loved one. My family tree packages make for a delightful and original present, and can become family heirlooms to pass down through the generations. Look as the fantastic letter I received earlier this week, transcribed below.

All the best,
Jane Hewitt

11.10.2010

Dear Jane

Thank you so much for the package you sent on my family tree. I am really, really delighted with it, at 85 years I have time to spend and am so happy with all the information you have uncovered.

As you will know, I am one of five siblings, they in turn have children and although it was my granddaughter who paid for this for my birthday it has turned out a present for all the family who are delighted as well.

Thank you so much.
Yours sincerely
Pamela A.

Family Tree News 26 September 2010

Recently I visited the archives to check the apprentice records for a Watch Making family and a family of Saddle Collar & Harness Makers. Checking these records showed that the first Watch Jeweller was apprenticed by his father, a Carpenter and the Saddler, by his widowed mother. This enabled me to trace this family back to their original home in Stretton on Dunsmore, Warwickshire.

I have also been tracing an interesting family of Canal Boatmen from the Cheshire and Derbyshire areas the census returns gave some fascinating information including in one instance the name of the boat. Other trees are progressing nicely.

In local news, it is good to hear that the council have decided to sound the air raid siren at Coventry Cathedral to mark the 70th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz this November. Also, Coventry Market plan to hold a special event to remember the spirit of the Blitz, with an opportunity for Coventrians to record their Blitz memories.

More info about the Coventry Blitz

Family Tree News 12 September 2010

Earlier this week BBC local radio interviewed me at London Road Cemetery again. This time I was able to attend in person, where we discussed the neglected state of the Blitz memorial. We hope that something will be done to clean up the green stonework back to white and replace the missing tree. It would be nice if the surrounding bushes were pruned back so that visitors can sit on the bench again!


Coventry and the surrounding area held their annual Heritage Open Days this weekend. It was great to see the local historic buildings opened up to the public for a friendly, educational day out for adults and children. Draper’s Hall was looking in need of maintenance, with peeling paint on its wonderful ceilings. The Coventry Watch Museum was opened up, with some interesting displays about the local watchmaking industry of yesteryear. The Coventry family History Society stand was very popular, with lots of useful resources for sale. I picked up a couple of good data CDs for my collection! We saw the wool dying demo at the old Weaver’s House, Black Swan Terrace and admired their Tudor garden.

Far too many things were going on to list here – suffice to say that if you missed it this year then keep an eye out this time next year.

Family Tree News 5 September 2010

Some additional blitz details have been added to the site this week, this time for the Currie and Reeves families, including a photograph kindly supplied by Jean Hodes.

I would also like to thank Anita for the lovely flowers she sent me as a ‘thank you’ for a family tree research project I did for her. The flowers have been brightening up my home since they arrived, and are much appreciated. I hope your mother enjoyed the family tree presentation pack on her birthday - Jane.

Family Tree News 30 August 2010

There seems to be a debate going on in Coventry at the moment as to whether the air raid siren should be sounded to mark the 70th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz. Needless to say, I am in favour of honouring the memory of this important part of Coventry’s past.

Genealogy is keeping me very busy at the moment, but I have found time to transcribe a very interesting text about the Coventry Blitz written and donated by Paul W. Currie. It is an extract from a larger document entitled One Man: One Day, and recounts his father, Sam Currie’s days in Coventry during the blitzes of 1940 and 1941. I encourage you to have a read, it is a very personal account of a family’s experiences during the horror of the blitz. You can find it on my site under Coventry Blitz Memories. Many thanks to Paul for contributing this valuable document to the site.

Some readers may have heard me being interviewed on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio last week. They were running a story about the history of the Blitz memorial at London Road Cemetery. It was a pleasure to contribute.

All the best,

Jane Hewitt

Family Tree News 12 August 2010

Well, having returned from a short summer holiday I am back at the helm. A stack of assorted birth, marriage and death certificates have arrived over the last week, enabling various family tree projects to continue now.

Although busy processing the new certificates, I have found time to update the Coventry Blitz pages with details for several families including the Holt, Miles, Neale, Neville, Newson, Nichol, Walters and Watkins familes. I also added some notes about a member of the Langshaw family to the World War 2 burials page.

Finally, I have signed up with House of Names, who sell a wide variety of merchandise bearing family crests of your choosing. These are great present ideas, and a good complement to a family tree project.

Family Tree News 18 July 2010

I have updated the Coventry At War section of my website with extra details and other amendments. Many thanks to Susie, senior journalist from the BBC who got in touch regarding the Royal Engineers, 9th Bomb Disposal Company. After checking burial records and the Midland Daily Telegraph from October 1941 I have updated the relevant pages on my site for Ernest Arthur Stote.

Recent research projects include the Parish records for Avon Dassett and Tanworth in Arden. Also, I have tracked down records for an early 20th century bigamist who jumped ship during WW1, been tracing a chap who was in the Metropolitan Police from 1884 and an ancestor who was in the Royal Navy through the National Archives.

Family Tree News 27 June 2010

I had the pleasure of attending an award ceremony at St. Mary's Guildhall, Coventry where one of my family received an award for fiction writing in a competition organised by Coventy Council and the local newspaper. Whilst there I was able to take some photographs of the plaque by the doorway commemorating the local firemen who gave their lives during the Coventry blitz. I intend to add these details to the Coventry Blitz Resource Centre soon.

Other than that, family tree research continues at full pace. Website updates have been sparse in June because I always prioritise family tree research so that projects are completed in time for birthdays and special occasions!

Family Tree News 06 June 2010

I would like to thank Mrs Hope for sending me her family story about the Coventry Blitz. It is published under the Coventry Blitz Resource Centre pages, along with a wonderful wartime photo of the Auxilliary Fire Service. Mrs Hope also supplied additional info and a photo of another Blitz victim, Violet Hickling nee Ludlam. These too have been added to the Resource Centre.

I have made time this week to do some website housekeeping. In addition to several many minor changes and corrections, I have archived the 2009 family tree news updates, which helps keep the main family tree news page at a reasonable length.

Family Tree News 30 May 2010

I have created a new web page for poems about the Coventry Blitz. Starting this off is a poem written by John J. Rattigan when he returned to Coventry in November 1940 whilst on leave from the army.

Whilst searching through the Parish Registers for St Michaels (Coventry’s old Cathedral) I found the following, which illustrates the fascinating snippets of history to be found in Parish records: John Life of St Michael’s parish buried 23rd October 1829 Aged 48. Lost his life in a fray with the military while standing peacefully at the shop of his employers Moss and Goodacres, Grocers. He was wilfully cut or stabbed with a sword.

Family Tree News 16 May 2010

I am delighted that Maurice Rattigan has provided me with a thoroughly researched and informative document full of Coventry Blitz facts and figures. Maurice compiled this information many years ago and has kindly given me permission to reproduce it online. Follow the link to read his work, it is very informative. There are also some sketches and a plan of bomb sites which Maurice drew as a teenager, some of which have been included in an exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry. Many thanks to Maurice for sharing his excellent work.

2010 marks the 70th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz. Maurice got in touch after seeing my request for information in the Coventry Telegraph. If you have any Blitz information, be it simply family anecotes of the bombings or research you have undertaken yourself, then please get in touch if you are willing to share. I created the Coventry Blitz Resource Centre as a free place to preserve and share information about this significant part of Coventry's history. Scans of old photos of Coventry after the Blitz would be especially welcome.

Free Family Tree Research

A new page about free family tree research info is available on my main website.

Hope it helps you researching your own family tree.
Jane Hewitt
3 May 2010

Family Tree News - 25 April 2010

I have made several updates to my website this week. My online Family Tree Shop has had a bit of a facelift, and is well worth a look if you are seeking family tree books and software, local Coventry information or military history books and DVDs including the Blitz.

At the archives this week I was able to find evidence from an 1836 copy of the Coventry Herald and Observer newspaper showing details of the trial and conviction of a customer’s ancestor showing why the ancestor had been transported to Australia.

I will finish on a cautionary note. I have been contacted by a chap who wanted to check up on a letter his elderly mother-in-law received. Someone wrote to her claiming to be a genealogist / researcher and requesting private, personal data from her about her family. The letter alleged that this is in relation to a ‘family entitlement’.

As proof of authenticity, the letter writer claimed that he has written articles for my Family Researcher website. For the record, I have no knowledge of any such researcher. I would advise anyone receiving similar correspondence to thoroughly check the authenticity of the sender before releasing any personal information.

FREE CENSUS SEARCH RESOURCES

For a great list of free census resources, follow the link!

Family Tree News - 18 April 2010

This week’s family tree news is brought to you by the letters Q and L.


Just kidding! I have found time this week to add four more pages of definitions to the Dictionary of Old Occupations, so check out the occupations lists Q and L if you want to know exactly what that old occupation listed on your ancestor’s census record means.

Also this week I was able to provide details from local records to the son of a Coventry Blitz victim.

The highlight of my week was one particular family research project. I was delighted to hear that the information provided has reunited siblings who had lost touch with one another.

Family Tree News - 10 April 2010

Amongst the interesting projects I have on the go at the moment, I have been helping an ex-Coventry resident discover the details of how his old school friend died in World War 2. Turned out the chap was an Ex-Daimler employee who was killed in action in 1945. I was able to track down the grave reference details; he was buried in the Netherlands.


I have been spending a lot of time at the Archives over the last couple of weeks. Sad to report that they have reduced their opening hours, so I was kept hanging around outside last week waiting for them to open up! When I finally got in out of the rain I was able to research the Parish records for Avon Dassett and local directories for records on a Coventry Coal Dealer from approx 80-90 years ago.

I have added another 100 job descriptions to the dictionary of old occupations, so if you are interested in information about old jobs beginning with the letter D then take a look.