So, I thought I would do a quick poll, to see where you sit on the issue….
To be honest, I had been pretty oblivious to the switch from old to new until I saw a few tweets about it. ‘New Search’ arrived some time ago, and as I stare at so many sites that go under a re-design/upgrade, this would have just been another one that made a few design changes.
I can only assume that Ancestry made a change to its site because they felt they had a legitimate reason (remember, they are a business, and therefore have business reasons) to make the change, and I’m sure they believe that it will be an improvement, otherwise why spend the cash on doing it?
Whilst talking with the panel after last night’s What’s Up Genealogy? episode came off air, it was suggested that this change may well have been done to improve the notion of ‘connecting people’. Of course, connecting people is great for a genealogy site – doubt anyone would dispute that – and ‘connecting’ is a great way to get return visits, loyalty, and ultimately a subscription that means more developments and records can be added in future.
Take a look at the articles below which discuss the change, and let me know what you think in the poll and comments.
Catch up with my interview on episode 11 of the What’s Up Genealogy? show.
Last night I was the guest on What’s Up Genealogy? show – broadcast live via Google Hangout Air and streamed straight through to YouTube.
The show is hosted on US Central Time from Texas, meaning that whilst the show goes out each Friday at 8pm, for me here in the UK on BST this was a 2am slot. Fuelled entirely on extra strong tea, I was able to take part. I might even have been coherent – i’ll let you be the judge…
We covered the ‘controversial’ subject of the death of Ancestry Old Search – a topic that flared up on social media immediately after it was announced (check out Dick Eastman’s article on it). We also talked about the death of Google Reader and the rise of Feedly, and I talked about the importance of family/local history societies.
Andrew Martin will be interviewed live on Friday 8pm CDT for episode 11 of What’s Up Genealogy? show.
I’ll be beaming live on Friday/Saturday, as I take part in a live video interview with the What’s Up Genealogy? show.
I’m really looking forward to it, having watched the show evolve from it’s weekly 20 min format of its first episode, through to last week’s episode (over 1 hour, episode 10, and the first of its second series).
Led by Caroline Pointer of 4YourFamilyStory.com, and packed with tips, news, and a mighty slice of tech, I’ll be joining Caroline and fellow panelists Tessa Keough, Linda McCauley, Jerry Kocis, and Gena Philibert-Ortega to talk about researching genealogy, including my experiences of doing that in the UK.
Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall have returned for the third series of ITV’s Long Lost Family series.
Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall have returned for the third of ITV’s ‘Long Lost Family’ series, sponsored by Genes Reunited.
Often reuniting adopted children with their biological parents, the series is an immensely personal rollercoaster ride of emotions – sometimes making uncomfortable viewing.
The series, which is genealogy-lite (often only making passing reference to research techniques), is hosted by two Who Do You Think You Are? veterans – with Nicky’s episode detailing his own adoption.
Episode One follows the stories of mother Sue and daughter Kerry, and Alan and his search for his mother Pat.
Celebrating Father’s Day this weekend – check out my photo gallery of 14 of my ancestral fathers.
It’s Father’s Day here in the UK this Sunday, so in the same way that I marked Mother’s Day with a photo gallery, I thought that I would do the same for my paternal and maternal fathers.
Interestingly, there are fewer photographs of my male ancestors. This will of course be down to one or two instances where illegitimacy leaves them absent, but maybe the luxury of late-19th and early-20th century meant photography was only afforded for their wives?
Paternal Fathers
My Father, Dec 1950.
Paternal Grandfather, Percy Martin (1914-1991)
Paternal Great Grandfather, Alfred Sydney Newman (1883-1969)
Paternal Great Grandfather, Herbert Martin (1884-1917)
Paternal Great Great Grandfather, James Martin (1851-1934)
Paternal Great Great Grandfather, James Gilbert (1848-1916)
Paternal Great Great Grandfather, Alfred Newman (1849-1933)
Maternal Fathers
Maternal Grandfather John Edward Dewey (1931-1991)
Maternal Great Grandfather, Ernest Edward Thomas Dewey (1896-1991)
Maternal Great Grandfather, Ernest Herbert Barber (1902-1983)
Maternal Great Great Grandfather, John Freeman Dewey (1856-1943)
Maternal Great Great Grandfather, Edward Moden (1867-1932)
Maternal Great Great Grandfather, James Yarrow (1875-1946)
How The Eagle and The Lamb became extinct in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and how my ancestors survived it.
I get a sense of comfort or closeness in knowing that I am visiting somewhere where an ancestor once worked, lived, or even died. I don’t think I am alone in this, but it’s frustrating when you can’t see or visit the place they once knew.
Since then, my goal of seeing a photograph of her now demolished pub had drawn a blank and I aptly put it ‘on ice’. However, I recently received an email from a Robert Flood who had seen my request somewhere online, and had a photograph of the pub on file. This was Vine’s home and business. This was The Eagle and Lamb on Cambridge Road in Ely, Cambridgeshire.
The Eagle and Lamb just before demolition in the 1980s.
You can be sure it’s the same site, going by the distinct chimneys of the house next-door, and that the pub site was also home to the Eagle brewery, part of which has been incorporated into one of the few houses that the newer development contains. The photo is sad, and I can probably understand why it was demolished in 1987/88. The pub closed in September 1932.
The modern day site gives little away – the lampost has seemingly moved a few feet, and perhaps some brick wall survives, but aside from this, there’s no other mark of this once being a place where many patrons enjoyed getting slightly (respectfully of course) sloshed, and where my Great Great Great Grandmother ‘Vine’ Cross and her husband George worked and lived, and for a while seemingly brought up their daughter’s Moden family.
Between George and Vine, the couple had the second longest landlord holding of the property (12 years). They were beaten only by Charles Scarr who held it from 1873 to 1889.
As for the wider history of the site, I turn to ‘Ely Inns’ by Patrick Ashton. As part of his book he has documented its past from the land purchase in 1848. He says:
.. on 7th April 1856, Richard Porter, freehold brewer, purchased the site for £700 and ran his business from there until he sold the premises to Morgan’s Brewery Co. Ltd on 24th June 1889 for £1250. Morgan’s closed the brewery part of the business in 1902 but used the site as a distribution depot until 11th May 1920 when Ely brewers A&B Hall purchased the premises for £5000.
My Great Great Great Grandfather George Cross was landlord from 1892 until his death in 1898, afterwhich he was succeeded by his wife ‘Vines Cross’, who then held it from 1899 to 1904.
In 1901 Sabina appears as ‘Vina Cross’, a 48 year old widow. Joining her at The Eagle and Lamb, are a ‘roadman’Richard Ingrey (67yrs), and William Lemon (44yrs) a ‘railway platelayer’. In two rooms, it is listed that her 30 year old married daughter Mary Ann Moden, was living with there with her husband Edward and their three daughters (one being my Great Grandmother, Susan Jane Moden).
Calling time on pub life
Ten years later, she’s still on Cambridge Road, but living further along on the corner with Barton Road. She’s living alone, aged 58 years, and working as a shop keeper.
Sabina/Vine died in March 1916.
The shop was handed on to her daughter Mary Ann Moden who lived nearby, and the site remained as a shop until the 1980s (during which time I visited it once as a child, but was completely oblivious of my connection to it). It is now a private house.
What next for my Eagle and Lamb research
I hope to now find more records relating to George and ‘Vine’s time at The Eagle and Lamb, and also seek out an old photograph of Vine’s shop whilst it was under her ownership. It seems that there may be a trail of brewery documents to follow, but for now, it remains a mystery.
If you use Google to search for the Eagle and Lamb in Ely, Cambridgeshire, you pretty much only get search results for content that I’ve created. Surely there’s more information waiting to be discovered?
BBC looking for individuals who have video footage of their family in their own family archives.
I’ve had an email from the team over at Video2DVDTransfer, who are helping the BBC find personal archive video footage for use in a BBC2 documentary.
They write:
Help us help the BBC.
The BBC is looking for individuals and/or families who have charted their lives with a video camera – spanning decades and changing formats and technologies.
This is for a unique and fascinating BBC2 documentary that will hope to tell the story of a family by using their video archive.
Perhaps you know of a video enthusiast in your family who owns a camera and is prone to film big life events as well as the mundanity of day-to-day life? Whether it is filmed on Super 8, 16mm, VHS or digital, we are open to all formats.
You may have hundreds of hours of family archive sitting in your loft of you, your parents, cousins, siblings waiting to be pieced together – if this sounds like you or someone that you know, we would love to hear from you.
Video2DVDTransfer recently converted a 1987 primary school christmas play (starring yours truly in copious solo singing moments) from video to DVD and video file format. They did a great job of it, and carefully looked after my video tape and returned it with speed and care. You’re not going to see it though!
Utilising my search skills to see if i can find the celebrities that will feature in the 2013 BBC UK series of Who Do You Think You Are?
The internet is full of the great news and excitement that the US version of Who Do You Think You Are? has been picked up again by network TLC.
This has got me wondering who will be featuring in the forthcoming 2013 series of the UK edition of Who Do You Think You Are?, so I thought that I would employ my research skills to see if I could find out (naturally, I checked Twitter for those on-set spoiler tweets).
Sarah Millican (Comedian)
Comedian and writer Sarah Millican couldn’t be lured into giving any revelations about what is lurking in her ancestry – even after I offered my own prediction:
Gary Lineker (former Footballer, Sports TV Presenter, crisp advertiser)
Gary’s involvement was confirmed earlier in the year, after he tweeted about it, joking ‘..I’m a descendant of The Elephant Man. Would explain a couple of things.’
Filming Who do you think you are. They won’t tell me anything about what we’re doing over next fortnight
One helpful follower pointed out a possible ancestral trait (his ears) that might originate from the African plains!
Prediction: The Lineker ancestors will turn out to have invented the potato, which they originally used to kick around, as they didn’t realise it could be eaten.
Hollywood A-lister, Minnie Driver, turned heads at Stockton Library when filming her episode back in February this year. The article quotes her as researching her father’s family.
In a short series of tweets, she added this (amusing?) snippet of information:
staying at Crathorne Hall in Yorkshire, visiting my Dad’s past. Its basically Downton. Rather sad the dresscode is so informal
In the meantime, while we wait for the new series, turn your speakers on, press play on the video below and close your eyes…. and imagine your very own episode..
History Repeating 