Issue 46 Cover

Discover Your Ancestors

Issue 046

Issue 46 Cover

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Welcome to the February issue of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical, with the usual fascinating mix of family and social history.

As I write we’re getting ready to distribute Issue 6 of our annual print magazine to shops around the country, including WHSmiths and some supermarkets, so do look out for that. It’s packed with more than 30 brand new features, as well as having a fantastic cover DVD with lots of useful data and amazing offers worth more than £170. If you’re impatient to get your hands on one, though, you can also order a copy right away via discoveryourancestors.co.uk or www.genealogysupplies.com.

Meanwhile, this issue of the monthly Periodical boasts its own interesting variety of features, on subjects as diverse as Victorian prostitution and the Scottish court system! Also, we have the fruit of local history expert Melvyn Jones’s fascinating research into the demographics of Yorkshire mining communities.

As ever, I hope you enjoy the issue. Andrew Chapman, Editor.

Articles

The migrant miners

The migrant miners

People today seem to be more familiar with the colonisation of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand than they are with the population growth and decline that was fuelled by high levels of migration within the British Isles. As will become clear, migration levels were so high in the second half of the 19th century and the first 25 years of the 20th century in South Yorkshire that the concept of the ‘Yorkshireman’ (and woman) may need some reappraisal. In the period in question the South Yorkshire coalfield was like the Wild West. Migrants flocked in from every corner of the country and beyond. But it was not only the urban centres that grew and changed at a rapid rate. Agricultural villages were changed almost overnight into mining villages and completely new mining settlements also sprang up.

The oldest debate?

The oldest debate?

The Victorian era was undoubtedly a period of contradictions, characterised by growing affluence and wealth existing alongside widespread poverty. This was also the case with the issue of prostitution: despite Victorian values promoting high moral standards and sexual restraint, and prostitution being condemned as a ‘great social evil’ by puritan lobbyists, it was widespread. The moralists insisted that urgent action should be taken to rid the nation of what was seen as a dangerous threat to decent society.

In search of the Chief Scout

In search of the Chief Scout

Robert Stephenson Smyth Powell was known for much of his life as Baden-Powell, or sometimes just B-P. The founder of the scout movement and one of the most famous of Victorian generals, who successfully defended the African town of Mafeking in the siege of the same name, was born in Paddington, London. A search of the birth records for 1857, on TheGenealogist, reveals that he was registered at birth with the single surname of Powell. He had, however, been blessed with three other forenames at the time of the registration – Robert Stephenson, after his godfather the civil engineer and ‘Father of Railways’, and Smyth, after his mother’s line.

The Scottish courts

The Scottish courts

While Scotland has been a part of Great Britain since 1707, a key part of the Treaty of Union was the preservation of an independent Scottish judiciary. From a family history point of view this means that whatever you may read concerning English and Welsh records in books and publications, when it comes to Scotland you will need to park all of that to one side, and to understand how things were done differently north of the border. While there may be an overlap in parts between what English and Scots law might cover, there are many other areas where the two nations diverge completely – and where many unique record collections of genealogical value exist that quite simply have no English or Welsh equivalent.

History in the details: Bodices

History in the details: Bodices

Historically the part of female dress clothing the torso from neck to waist was called a ‘body’ although it was united with the skirt until the mid-16th century, when body and skirt became separated. By the 1560s the plural term ‘bodys’, or bodice, was in use, as the fitted Elizabethan garment comprised a ‘pair of bodys’ joined together. One bodice style was figure-hugging with a short point to the waist and a side-fastening; the other was high-necked with a front-fastening, both variants fastening with hooks and eyes. Bodices had sleeves attached and were lined and often boned, or worn over stiffened under-bodices and/or rigid stays (later corsets), to give support and produce the fashionable silhouette.

Place in focus: Shrewsbury

Place in focus: Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is only nine miles from the Welsh border, a situation which is reflected in its history of conflict between the English and Welsh. In the 6th century it was even possibly the capital of the kingdom of Powys, and before that the town was a significant Roman settlement. The town which developed into modern times was founded c800AD.

Books for February 2017

Books for February 2017

The Boer War took place between 1899 and 1902, just 15 years before the start of the First World War. Some 180,000 Britons , mainly volunteers , travelled 6,000 miles to fight and die in boiling conditions on the veld and atop ‘kopjes’. Of the over 20,000 who died more than half suffered enteric, an illness consequent on insanitary water. This book is an informative research guide for those seeking to discover and uncover the stories of the men who fought and the families they left behind. It looks in particular at the kind of support the men received if they were war injured and that offered to the families of the bereaved. It explores a variety of research materials such as: contemporary national and local newspapers; military records via websites and directly through regimental archives; census, electoral, marriage and death records; and records at The National Archives.

Additional Information

Other Formats

You can buy a printed version of the annual Discover Your Ancestors bookazine directly from the publishers, please see www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk and click on ‘Order print copies’ at the bottom.

Editorial Office

Discover Your Ancestors Publishing,

PO BOX 163,

Shaftesbury,

SP7 7BA

E: [email protected]

W: www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk

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Discover Your Ancestors Periodical is published by Discover Your Ancestors Publishing, UK. All rights in the material belong to Discover Your Ancestors Publishing and may not be reproduced, whether in whole or in part, without their prior written consent. The publisher makes every effort to ensure the magazine's contents are correct. All articles are copyright© of Discover Your Ancestors Publishing and unauthorised reproduction is forbidden. Please refer to full Terms and Conditions at www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk. The editors and publishers of this publication give no warranties, guarantees or assurances and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised.