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Can anyone suggest any further sources to "add flesh to the bones" - Birmingham Area

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  • Can anyone suggest any further sources to "add flesh to the bones" - Birmingham Area

    I'm writing up a line of my mother in law's family tree who, so far, have all been from Birmingham and the surrounding areas.

    I have checked on Ancestry and Find My Past, so have births, marriages and deaths and addresses from the Censuses, Midland Electoral Register and 1939 Register. They don't appear to be in any newspapers or any other records. My narrative is a rather dull reading of where they lived and basic facts. She is from Birmingham so I don't need to add information about where the places are, etc. and I'm wondering how I can make it more interesting.

    I spent a large part of yesterday Googling asnd can't seem to find any further online sources available. Does anyone have any idea where I can look? They all seem to be Engineers / Electrical Contractors (so not policeman / railways workers whose work records may be available).

    Any advice gratefully received!
    :D Charney Jo

  • #2
    Depends how far back, date-wise? 1870 - 1910 I've used National school admissions & log books (FMP) Also have you looked at military records to see if anyone served in WW1? Crime and punishment records?

    Jay
    Janet in Yorkshire



    Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

    Comment


    • #3
      Newspapers can be good available on FMP or the British Newspaper Archive. Even if you rellies are not mentioned you can see local events which they would have experienced. Birmingham papers are well represented in the collection.
      Anne

      Comment


      • #4
        You might find something here?
        Historic images, documents and views from the past for the area where you live, work or visit.
        Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks all. I can't find them in the school records and they were the wrong age for WW1 and one died in Ww2, which I found out quite a bit about as he was in bomber command.

          Anne, that's a good idea to read what was happening in their surroundings. I know further back someone is mentioned but I am still on relatively close ancestors 1890+.

          Thanks Christine, I'll take a look.
          :D Charney Jo

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Charney Jo View Post
            I'm writing up a line of my mother in law's family tree who, so far, have all been from Birmingham and the surrounding areas.

            I have checked on Ancestry and Find My Past, so have births, marriages and deaths and addresses from the Censuses, Midland Electoral Register and 1939 Register. They don't appear to be in any newspapers or any other records. My narrative is a rather dull reading of where they lived and basic facts. She is from Birmingham so I don't need to add information about where the places are, etc. and I'm wondering how I can make it more interesting.

            I spent a large part of yesterday Googling asnd can't seem to find any further online sources available. Does anyone have any idea where I can look? They all seem to be Engineers / Electrical Contractors (so not policeman / railways workers whose work records may be available).

            Any advice gratefully received!
            You are coming to the point where you must close your computer and resort to archives and libraries as family historians have done for decades.
            Only a tiny percentage of (interesting) records have been digitised and though this is growing it will be many years before the internet will provide the resources that are available offline.
            Time to visit the local studies library for the areas your ancestors lived in the internet is good but incomplete.

            Cheers
            Guy
            Guy passed away October 2022

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Guy View Post
              You are coming to the point where you must close your computer and resort to archives and libraries as family historians have done for decades.
              Only a tiny percentage of (interesting) records have been digitised and though this is growing it will be many years before the internet will provide the resources that are available offline.
              Time to visit the local studies library for the areas your ancestors lived in the internet is good but incomplete.

              Cheers
              Guy
              Have you looked in these Ancestry records for engineers? Do you know what sort of engineers they were? It's worth googling to see if you can get an idea of what the job involved. I found carpet weavers In Kidderminster and potters in Glasgow in my line and was able to find out a good deal about what daily life was like for them and also the places where they lived by (a lot of) initial general searching and then buying useful books about the occupations and times.

              Caroline
              Caroline's Family History Pages
              Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks Guy, but unfortunately I cannot get there, so can only rely on what I can find online. As you say, so much is digitzed now and I am aware that Ancestry and Find My Past are just the tip of the iceberg. My family is from London and and I am far more aware of additional sites that I can use to check there. I was hoping that they might be listed on some other sites, but sadly not.

                Caroline - They are not listed on there sadly. Later ones were elctronic engineers. No idea about earlier ones.
                :D Charney Jo

                Comment


                • #9
                  You could use google maps street view to find the addresses they lived at, providing they are still there, and take a snip of the house. Add that to your census information.

                  If you have you tree on ancestry you could set it to show historical events on the facts in profile view that often gives interesting insights into what was happening at certain dates you have in the facts.

                  Find the local history society website and see what they can let you have. Also the local council website may have some links to sites that will give a flavour of local events.

                  Pictures of gravestones and cemeteries and any Wills you can find are all interesting additional bits of info.

                  Margaret

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks Margaret. I did a similar thing for another family member regarding pictures of the houses and hadn't really considered it for this as she comes from Birmingham, but it would still be a good idea. And also contacting the local history society is a good idea. I haven't managed to find any gravestones though :(
                    :D Charney Jo

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Birmingham is a big city, which area of Birmingham are you intersted in? When I want to put flesh on to ancestors, I look at all census to see what ocupations they had then look at places they came from and go into the histories of the places. Old Ordnnce Survey and Tithe Maps as well as newspapers will give you lots of ideas. Many places have bomb maps for w War 2. Did your ancestor live in one of the villages of Birminham, places like Selly Oak, Bourneville, Edgebaston etc as many of the Birmingham Villages have interesting histories. What about canal Life in B' Ham, as the Canal was the lifeblood of the area carrying all the raw material to London by barge. Where were their local "playgrounds", places to visit like the Lickey Hills? The old Bull Ring V the new Bull Ring and life before any Bull Ring!! The major roads into Birmingham and the railways when were they built. How places like Solihill have almost been absorbed into n Birmingham where not so vert long ago solihull was a small town. I could go on!!

                      Janet

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                      • #12
                        Sorry some how above post has now got on here twice. Could someone please delete one of these posts?

                        Janet

                        done
                        Last edited by JudithM; 17-03-17, 20:56.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Thanks Janet. They seem to be from Aston and Sparkbrook areas. I think this is where my mother-in-law comes from so she'll know the area far better than me, but checking it historically is a good idea.

                          I liked the earlier suggestion to read local newspaper reports. I'd forgotten that I did that for some of my relatives and found out about a murder in the (very small) street my ancestor lived in, while they were there!
                          :D Charney Jo

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Charney Jo View Post
                            Thanks Guy, but unfortunately I cannot get there, so can only rely on what I can find online. As you say, so much is digitzed now and I am aware that Ancestry and Find My Past are just the tip of the iceberg. My family is from London and and I am far more aware of additional sites that I can use to check there. I was hoping that they might be listed on some other sites, but sadly not.

                            Caroline - They are not listed on there sadly. Later ones were elctronic engineers. No idea about earlier ones.

                            Sorry but by limiting yourself by what you can find online is to seriously limit your research.

                            Even if you cannot leave your house you can use a huge range of resources simply by writing to them, phoning them or even emailing them.
                            I used to write to archives and libraries for 30 or so years before the internet was of use, it is still posible to do so and they can be very useful to the researcher.
                            In addition the archivists and librarians know their own records and can often provide records that are not even catalogued.

                            Please try it you may be pleasantly surprised

                            Cheers
                            Guy
                            Guy passed away October 2022

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Guy View Post
                              Sorry but by limiting yourself by what you can find online is to seriously limit your research.

                              Even if you cannot leave your house you can use a huge range of resources simply by writing to them, phoning them or even emailing them.
                              I used to write to archives and libraries for 30 or so years before the internet was of use, it is still posible to do so and they can be very useful to the researcher.
                              In addition the archivists and librarians know their own records and can often provide records that are not even catalogued.

                              Please try it you may be pleasantly surprised

                              Cheers
                              Guy

                              Guy has a good point, there. "Ask a Librarian" seems to function here, too, some of the time at least.

                              I got in touch with the local library in Lymington, and the librarian was able to find a baptism record form - and, in the process, began to get an inkling of why FH is so addictive... she obviously enjoyed the process. Of course, not everyone will feel like that about it.

                              Christine
                              Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                Have you tried searching the Birmingham Archives online catalogue?

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  I have to say that Guy is right in what he says. I have enough information on all sides of my Family History to have written six "books" averaging around 80 pages in each book, and most o my information came from travelling to the Archive in all areas of England, Scotland and Ireland. Go on holiday to these places and really feel the places your ancestors came from. Marriage Licences/Gamekeepers Records/Settlement Certificates/old Wills/books about places your ancestors lived and so much more are only to be found in Record Offices/Libraries, not online. The bare bones of BMD/Census is really no substitute for immersing yourself in a CRO andcoming away with so much material at the end of a day.

                                  I do not visit CRO so much these days, but I do still use their facilities by writing to them and one of my biggest gems was a photographic copy of a Commonwealth Marriage of 1655, that will not be online in my lifetime, but the CRO sent me a copy from their archives.

                                  By the way Birmungham used to be Warwickshir, not West Midlandands and the name of Warwickshire speaks volumes of its own!!

                                  Janet
                                  Last edited by Janet; 18-03-17, 11:31.

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    Originally posted by Janet View Post
                                    Marriage Licences/Gamekeepers Records/Settlement Certificates/old Wills/books about places your ancestors lived and so much more are only to be found in Record Offices/Libraries, not online.
                                    To be fair, marriage licences and wills for some counties are now online; not for Birmingham yet, as far as I know, although north Warwickshire is included in the Lichfield diocese records, which are online.

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      Thanks all.

                                      I'm not sure how in depth I want to go as she is interested but I have promised to continue a similar thing for my sister and cousin - so for my family - and I can get to the record offices there more easily. I think maybe I will do some writing off and see what else I can glean and revisit it later, after I have at least written up my side.

                                      Interesting that it used to be classed as in Warwickshire, Janet!

                                      Thanks for all your help. I don't mean to be an "armchair genealogist" - and usually I'm not! - but I only wanted to have a quick look at my mother in law's tree, but wanted it to be as interesting as possible!
                                      :D Charney Jo

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        I usually print out a photo of the church their ancestors were married in if I can find one copyright free. Preferably from about the same period. For more up to date photos of churches you could try looking to see whether we have one in our 'Places of Worship' project here in the Reference Library - https://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki...ces_of_Worship

                                        p.s. I have just checked and we have some Birmingham ones under Warwickshire.
                                        Last edited by Chrissie Smiff; 19-03-17, 15:57.
                                        Chrissie passed away in January 2020.

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