Letters were written in a very different way than they are today. For one thing, they were what we now call “cross-letters” thanks to the style in which most letters were written. The reason for this is that the recipient of a letter paid a fee based on the letter’s size and the distance it travelled. Smaller letters were cheaper; therefore, a cross writing style would better conserve space and allow more to be said for a smaller fee. for more click here
In this gallery we look at the crew of a typical warship from the Napoleonic era, from the officers to the common sailors. Large ships needed a skilled and varied crew to complete a successful voyage. The average third-rate ship of the line of 74-guns during Nelson’s day carried some 650 men, all of whom had particular jobs at sea and in battle. for more click here
The Articles of War on board a Royal Navy ship assumed the proportions and gravity of holy writ. It served as the law and axis mundi of the secular religion practiced upon His Majesty’s Ships otherwise known as the Service. It was read at least once a month, usually when church was rigged on Sunday, and when punishment was inflicted. for more click here
A fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London’s central criminal court. for more click here
CONCUBINAGE (Lat. concubina, a concubine; from con-, with, and cubare, to lie), the state of a man and woman cohabiting as married persons without the full sanctions of legal marriage. In early historical times, when marriage laws had scarcely advanced beyond the purely customary stage, the concubine was definitely recognized as a sort of inferior wife, differing from those of the first rank mainly by the absence of permanent guarantees. The history of Abraham’s family shows us clearly that the concubine might be dismissed at any time, and her children were liable to be cast off equally summarily with gifts, in order to leave the inheritance free for the wife’s sons (Genesis xxi. 9 ff., xxv. 5 ff.). for more click here
More and more local women are becoming published authors, particularly in the field of genealogy. I recently spent an interesting afternoon with a few of them who were brought together by Doris Lemon of Waterloo.
Doris’ quest, which has never stopped, began in 1978 when her son asked her to find out if their family descended from the United Empire Loyalists. She confirmed that they were indeed descendents and has since produced eight books on their ancestors. for more click here
The Scottish Catholic Archives holds parish registers for certain parts of Scotland. These registers are un-indexed. Researchers are welcome to visit the Archive and conduct their own research. Limited searches can be made of the registers held at Columba House, but requests must be very specific. There is a fee for searches conducted by staff. for more click here
There are a substantial number of repositories and societies in England and Wales that constitute national centres of genealogical information and expertise.
Particularly useful for researching registered births, deaths and marriages is the Family Records Centre. Located within London’s ‘Genealogists Golden Triangle’ it provides easy access to all the General Register indexes together with an ordering service for copies of birth, marriage and death certificates. It also provides easy access to a wide variety of microfilmed and computerised copies of genealogical records (census records, pre 1858 wills, death duty registers, nonconformist registers, IGI, etc). for more click here
A basic bibliography for Catholic family history. …. Irish famine orphans in Australia. for more click here
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