Death in the Family

I am back in Scotland due to the death of my mother Margaret Lindsay nee Hall, and will be here for a while. She had been sick with cancer for a while but actually died suddenly and peacefully from something else at Forth Valley Royal Infirmary, Larbert on Monday 9th July. The funeral service will be on Monday 16th at St.Ninians Old Parish Church and cremation at Falkirk. Her remains will be interred next to her mother Jean Hall.
She was ever a lady, diginified but with a silly sense of humor, stubborn, hard working, extremely talented at all she attempted. Totally devoted to her family and much loved by many people. She dedicated most of her life to the Girl Guides being on numerous committes and holding many leadership positions. and was also a member of the Tuesday Group (church). Professionally she had worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland in many capacities and was always quietly efficient.
Mother was an only child and raised with much fondness by my grandparents. They were a close knit little family and grandpa was very protective of the two ladies in his life till his sudden demise in 1965. He steered mother toward banking, and while it was not her first choice of career, she did well with it. While working at Drummonds in London she met my father and for us the rest is personal history :)
She loved her back stone walled garden and devoted numerous hours to tending it and making it beautiful. Dad increased his flower photography skills as a result. She spent even more hours chatting to everyone that passed by while she was in the front garden :) She also welded a paint brush with great ease and spent many an hour painting walls in our home.
She loved to get grubby in the dirt but was always immaculately dressed when leaving through the front door. (I don't have her fabulous dress sense unfortunately.)
Strict but fair and caring as a mother, caregiver to our father through his many health battles, much adored grandmother and loyal friend to those that knew her well. She will be missed but we know she is at peace with the Lord and enjoying the eternities with her beloved parents and son David.

The Tribes of Galway

I mentioned Eyre Square in my last posting. We noticed a number of banners with coats of arms and surnames on them and wondered what they were. Our tour bus guide told us what they represented.

From the mid 13th onwards 14 merchant families basically dominated the area through politics, commerce and social life. The families were Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, D'Arcy, Deane, Ffont, Ffrench, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martyn, Morris and Skerrett. The families traded with continental Europe. "The Tribes of Galway" was a derogatory term given by Oliver Cromwell but it was later adopted as a mark of defiance.

I have to say that the banners are a very colorful and striking way to introduce non-locals to the history of the town. The doorway to the old Browne family resident is now preserved as a monument on Eyre Square.

If you want to find out more about each family visit http://www.galway-ireland.ie/galway-tribes.htm

Later on our tour the bus guide told us that the number 14 shows up in other areas of Galway. 14 roundabouts and 14 childrens playgrounds being two examples he cited.

I went to Ireland

Indeed I did. With my husband and out two youngest offspring. We got back late on Tuesday evening. It was wonderful. The scenery is gorgeous and we saw a lot of it :)
While I did not physically sit down and do any paper genealogy or research we were in areas that some of my ancestors and other relatives came from which was great. We were not able to visit the area that some of my husband's ancestors came from (Co. Sligo) but that gives us an excuse for another visit :)
We did a number of bus tours which proved very interesting and learned a lot about Irish history and local customs.
"The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara got a lot of Americans with Irish ancestry in Connemara interested in their genealogy. Our bus stopped at the famous cottage, drove by the bridge and we also saw the village of Cong.
My great uncle came from Galway. We stayed at a B&B about 15 minutes outside of town for a couple of days. While the hubbie spent a day at the local office we explored the town. Lovely place and fairly simple to walk around once you get Eyre Square stuck in your brain as the center.
I'll share some photographs later.

USA 1940 census

On this side of "the pond" there is much excitement about the newly released 1940 census (2nd April). Lots of people are re-visiting their genealogy and family history while others are being inspired to start for the first time. For many the idea of possibly finding living relatives or themselves is exciting.

I took a look yesterday and was happy with what I found. The images are large and, on the whole, easy to read. Yes it is a disadvantage if you have no idea where your relative lived and you don't want to plow through page after page of images but I look on it as "the thrill of the hunt" type task :) Indexing is in process to make the process easier but will take a while.

Found my father-in-law with his parents and the family story about the surname being spelled differently is true. Does that mean we should switch back ?

I have a lot of cousins that came to the USA from Scotland so this census is relevant in my search. Looked for three so far. One stayed put, one moved within the town, another appears to have moved elsewhere.

Hints -
If you have relatives in the 1930 census type in the enumeration district number to get the 1940 one and see what happens.
Where to go? http://1940census.archives.gov/ Click on "getting started" and scroll down to "convert 1930 to 1940".
Try a smaller town first just to get your exploring feet wet and then graduate up to something larger. My large one will be Manhattan, New York.
If you find someone you can bookmark, download, or print.
Try not to use the site at peak viewing times.
Enjoy.

Barry Ewell of MyGenShare.com

I'm excited ....... Barry now has a blog ........ a good one. Lots of fun short videos to watch and learn from. It will be interesting to see what he shares over time about his journey through genealogy.
Go check it out.
http://barrysblog.mygenshare.com/

Ancestry.com - a plethora of leaves

I've been using Ancestry.com since it was a free site. Family trees for each of my grandparents are stored there on the public free section.
On a fairly regular basis I have been getting the leafy hints in my e-mail but could not attach the sources. Any research I've done at the site has been at the Franklin FHC, our local library, or through a couple of very kind, generous friends.
My husband recently surprised me with a subscription to Ancestry and I have been plowing my way through all the leaves attached to my ancestors. It will probably take months to get that all sorted out.
Major find - a descendant of my great great grandfather's sister Jane Fowler Lindsay. I'd about given up on ever finding her, or her daughter. It turns out she got married briefly, then moved to Australia and died a few weeks later. Her daughter was wooed over to Australia. It took her besotted intended two years or so to get her there :)
Once I knew what Jane's married name was it was fairly simple to find records for her at Scotlands People and some of her descendants through the Australian Electoral Rolls.
So some family names on my old calligraphy main line tree have now gloriously come to life and I finally feel at peace. I hope my newly found cousins and I can keep in contact.
Biggest surprise - most of my ancestors are not being researched by other Ancestry subscribers. A few of my "twiggy" cousins have worked hard at their research and I am impressed with their efforts. I won't be putting my BMD images or sources on my trees (which now includes one for my uncle's father). The BMD sources will remain at my web site or people can contact me for the info. I have not made up my mind about photographs yet.

Georgia Family History Expo Nov 11-12, 2011

From my e-mail in box.

We are excited to invite you to the second annual Georgia Family History Expo to be held again in the Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, Georgia, on November 11 and November 12, 2011.

Registration begins at 1:00 p.m., and the keynote address will begin at 2:00 p.m. This gives you plenty of time to check out exhibits before the program begins.

The exhibit hall is one of the best parts of the expo. Be sure to tell your friends and those curious about the expo but not committed to classes that the hall is open and free to the public. There will be excellent displays available for browsing in the exhibit hall.

Family History Expos’ Bloggers of Honor will be tweeting and blogging about the expo. You can follow the buzz by going to @FHExpos and searching on #fhexpo.

The opening keynote speaker will be M. Bridget Cook, who will speak on “Taking the Tiger by the Tail: Tackling Your Personal History with Creativity, Enthusiasm, Integrity, and Skill.” Bridget will share inspiring stories of human nature and teach attendees how to write their own lasting legacy.

The closing keynote speaker will be Holly T. Hansen, president of Family History Expos, Inc. Through Family History Expos, Holly has helped thousands understand techniques and technology that they can use to trace their roots in today's ever-changing technological environment.

Over 50 classes will be available and will cover a range of topics such as research tips, online resources, helps for writing personal histories, recent updates in FamilySearch (shared by staff from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah), and much more. You can review the class schedule at www.fhexpos.com/expos/

Exhibitors from throughout the U.S. will teach about the latest products and services available in the industry. Representatives from various genealogical societies will also be on site.

There is no cost for attending the keynote addresses, visiting the exhibit hall, or attending the three free classes on Saturday morning for family history consultants, stake directors and assistants, and priesthood leaders.

General questions relating to the expo should be directed to:

Family History Expos.com
P.O. Box 187
Morgan, UT 84050
E-mail: Expo@FHExpos.com
Phone: 1-801-829-3295
Web: http://www.fhexpos.com/expos/

Beginners Tip - when in doubt - Travel

More often than not when you are doing Scottish research people disappear. If this happens with your relatives think ...... travel..... i.e. check other countries. A large # of Scots have emigrated either by force or by choice, through military deployment or other work.
In some instances my relatives were traveling on business or vacation and important events happened so the BMD records are in other countries.

I've spent the past two weeks doing some extensive internet "travel" in various parts of Canada, USA, and India as I researched family members related to my great-uncle and one of my cousins. (I'm on a major dry spell with my family so I am "puttering" around with other family members info.)

Orkney is the main study area for my great-uncle's family but for a long time I could not find his uncle. I happened across a query on the internet about the same person and lo and behold he had emigrated to New Jersey and had  his family there. Then I ran across two of his brothers and their families in Nova Scotia ! The recorded "uncle" in NS is definitely NOT their "uncle" but as yet I have not worked out how they are related.

On my cousin's maternal line a lot of the research is in India military records, about the time Queen Victoria became Empress. Some of the family eventually moved to the same town I grew up in but I did not know that till about a couple of years ago. Small world.

Tip - At ScotlandsPeople there is a section called Minor Records, which is a useful area to look in if you have "lost" a relative. It provides some (but not all) records for Air Register, Consular Returns, Foreign Register, Foreign Returns, High Commission Returns, Marine etc. Returns, Marine Register, Marine Return, NRH, Other Returns, and Service Returns.

What internet resources did I use?
Google
ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk
FamilySearch.org
Ancestry.com
Genealogy.com
Rootsweb.com

I looked at some sites and books related to military history in India. Newspaper articles and local county sites for Nova Scotia (specifically Pictou County.)
For my home town I accessed the annual indexes for the local newspaper and found marriages and descendants. I also found a photograph on line for a family tombstone.
So by looking overseas I found siblings and their families, BMD's, christenings & burials, professions, immigration, census records, military records, newspaper articles, parents, and learned more about the history of the relevant time periods.

So travel on people and have fun exploring other countries and their resources.

Research Help - The Long, Long Trail

The Long, Long Trail - The British Army in the Great War was an invaluable tool as I tried to do some background research on my grandfather's WWI POW experiences http://www.1914-1918.net/

Recruitment Timeline
1914 - call issued for volunteers to join the army
May 1915 - upper age limit raised to 40
15 July 1915 - National Registration Act - men between the ages of 15 and 65 to find out what their occupations were
11 October 1915 - Derby Scheme - voluntary enlistment/semi conscripted, war pension introduced.
27 January 1916 - Military Service Act - All British males between the ages of 19 to 40 (on August 1915), unmarried or widower (on 2 November 1915) were conscripted. This came into force on 2 March 1916. Most males were conscripted to the army unless they expressed a preference for the navy.
1 September 1916 - Training Reserves formed.
25 May 1916 - Military Service Act extended to include married men
10 April 1918 - extension of Military Service Act, age of conscription lowered to 18.

The site has so much information in it that it's probably better to dip into it at a leisurely, timed pace than try to look at it all at once. You will find general information about WWI, the army and more specific information about army units, battles, maps, finding service records - to name but a few. It helps that the site is split into three main parts - Soldiers, The British Army and The Great War. Thanks to Chris Baker for giving us this wonderful resource.

My grandfather was in the Royal Naval Division which later became the 63rd RND. He was in the 189th Brigade. While the RND was originally under the command of the admiralty it transferred to the army in 1916 and I was able to find useful information at the site.

The Scottish National War Memorial

Gorgeous building but some of the tourists need to be a bit more respectful and show more reverence. There's no photography allowed inside but people still tried while we were there, and I found that upsetting.

The year was - 1898

Since I am doing some research about my grandfather, John Wilson Hall, I thought I would take a look at the year of his birth - 1898. My grandfather was the second of six siblings, all of whom were born at the Schoolhouse, Drymen, Stirlingshire. His father John, was the schoolmaster and local registrar.

This photograph from my grandfather's WWI personal book shows his 4 sisters. Surprisingly there was no photograph of his parents or his brother. (Maybe they got separated since the pages are loose.)

Other family births in 1898 were few i.e. James McGeachie McEwan (brother-in-law of JWH) and Frances S. Hall (1st. cousin to JWH) and so far I have no deaths.

World Events
Royal Army Medical Corps formed within the British Army
Henry Lindfield - first fatality in a car accident on a public motorway.
Spanish-American War
First official game reserve established - Sabi Game Reserve in South Africa
First Italian Football League games played
Joshua Slocum completes a 3 year solo circumnavigation of the world
Pepsi-Cola given it's name
Marie & Pierre Curie announce discovery of radium
meat slicer invented by Wilhelm van Berkel
Will Kellog invents corn flakes
Klondike Gold Rush
Neon, Krypton and Xenon discovered

Some famous births
Alvar Aalto - Finnish architect
Dorothy Gish - actress
Golda Meir - PM of Israel
Norman Vincent Peale - minister
Henry Moore - sculptor
Peggy Guggenheim - art collector
George Gershwin - composer

Some famous deaths
Lewis Carroll - British writer
Charles Pelham Villiers - longest serving MP in British House of Commons
Aubrey Beardlesy - artist
Gustave Moreau - artist
William Gladstone - British PM
Otto von Bismarck - German statesman
Wilford Woodruff - 4th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I have almost finished the first proof of grandpa's WWI POW memories. There's a few areas I would love to know more about but info "out there" is somewhat slim. My grandfather also wrote about a memorial visit the British Legion made to Europe so maybe I might find some information in there on my next trip to Scotland. (We did not have time to scan/copy all of that story.)

Family Obituary - William Seybourne Bailey

Death of Hong Kong Shipbuilder. (Singapore Free Press. 8 January 1936. Page 12)

Mr. W.S. Bailey's Forty Years of Residence

The death of Mr. William Seybourne Bailey, managing director of W.S. Bailey and Co., Ltd., Kowloon Bay, took place at the War Memorial Hospital, Hong Kong, on Dec. 27 after a short illness, at the age of 76 years.
A resident of the Colony for the past 40 years, the late Mr. Bailey was one of the best liked and most highly respected business men in the Colony, having earned the affection both of friends and the staff of the firm which he so successfully established and managed.
Born in Ireland, the late Mr. Bailey was formerly connected with the Australian coasting trade and with the China coast, before going to Hong Kong. The firm of W.S. Bailey and Co. was formerly Messrs. Bailey and Murphy before the deceased took over the sole interest.
For many years the firm has had a high standing as shipbuilders and repairers, specialising in smaller craft, which were regarded a s models of good workmanship.
Mr. Bailey was also the builder of several river gunboats from the Canton Government.
Mr. Bailey was a keen sportsman, and his speciality was boxing. He figured, as a young man, in many a hard-fought contest and was at one time light-weight champion of the Colony. Long after he had retired from the ring Mr. Bailey, as referee and general patron of the sport, was still one of the leading figures in Hong Kong boxing.
Mr. Bailey was also a keen swimmer and a fine long-distance runner. Until a few years ago, all through the summer he would swim his three or four lengths at the Victoria Recreation Club, and then off for a run, to keep himself fit.
Mr. Bailey enjoyed extraordinary good health until about three years ago but, while in England, he had rather a serious illness. Though from then onward he had to take things more easily than had been his custom, he still kept hard at work and in fair health. He was only in hospital for four days, and his passing was unexpected.
Mr. Bailey was a life member of the Institute of Engineers and Shipbuilders; past president of the Kowloon Resident's Association; a member of the Hong Kong Boxing Association and of the Hong Kong Club.
He was formerly a member of the Kowloon Bowling Green Club and was also a keen and generous supporter of St. Andrew's Church.
Mr. Bailey is survived by a widow and four young children, two of whom are in Hong Kong and two at school in Australia having left here only a few weeks ago.

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Jurors Lists for William Seybourne Bailey
1899 Merchant. Bailey's Engineering Agency. 17 Praya Central.
1900 Merchant. Bailey's Engineering Agency. 17 Praya Central.
1901 17 Praya Central, Hong Kong, China
1902 Merchant. Bailey's Engineering Agency. Hong Kong Hotel
1903 Merchant. Bailey's Engineering Agency. Hong Kong Hotel
1904 17 Praya Central, Hong Kong
1905 Merchant. Bailey's Engineering Agency. W.S. Bailey & Co. Hok-un
1906 Bailey's Engineering Agency. (does not show address)
1907 Bailey & Co Hong Kong Hotel
1908 Engineer. Bailey & Co., 20 Connaught Road.
1909 Engineer. Bailey & Co. Highlands, Kowloon
1910 Bailey & Co, Highlands, Kowloon

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Postcard of the Hong Kong Club Building c. 1905.
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"Twentieth Century Impressions of Hong Kong, Shanghai, etc." by Arnold Wright vol 1. page 242 has a good description of the company W.S. Bailey & Co.
Here's a few details
Founded - 1897 by W.S. Bailey
Partnership - 1900 with Mr. E.O. Murphy
First order - 50 foot steam launch "Ida"for the Hong Kong Steam Laundry Company
1905 - upwards of 2,500 men employed in the yard
Some other ships built - Kwong Chow, Kwong Tung, Loong Sheung.
Customers included Messrs. Markwald & Co., the Imperial Chinese Navy, Standard Oil Co. of New York, Manila Govt.,
Non ship related - metal work for Kowloon-Canton Railway Terminal Station (1914)

"The senior partner, Mr. Bailey, was born in Dublin and served his apprenticeship as an engineer with the Australian Steam Navigation Company, of Sydney, N.S.W. He came to Hong Kong in 1890 and joined the Hongkong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Company Ltd., in whose steamers Honan and Heungshan he served until he started in business for himself. Mr. Bailey is a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London."
At the time the entry was written his partner Mr. Murphy was vice-president of the Institute of Marine Engineers, London.
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St. Andrews Church c. 1906 shortly after it was built.