Archive for May 2011

Site Updates - Dando / Oliver / Sheriff / Smale / Wareham / Pitcher / Nolan

Category: What's New at Hibbitt.org.uk

Family Tree section

Relevant place names: London, Parkstone (Dorset), Poole (Dorset), Gisborne in New Zealand.

Resources > Biographies Section

Family Recipe Friday: Mead

Category: Mrs Beeton's Cookery Books

(Another recipe from my gran's 1894 publication of 'Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book and Household Guide' - see this post for more information.)

MEAD.
INGREDIENTS.- 7 lbs. of honey, 2 gallons of water, 2 tablespoonfuls of yeast.

Mode.- Boil the honey and water for an hour, straining very carefully ; drain the skimmings through a sieve and return to the pan. When nearly cold, stir in the yeast and put in a cask in a cool place. In a year's time, bottle; and use 3 months afterwards.

Time, 15 months. Average cost, 1s. 6d. per gallon. Seasonable at any time ; useful for a summer drink.

[Why Family Recipe Friday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Daily Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

On This Day...25th - 31st May

Category: On This Day...

25th MAY

1814 - Charles Tidmarsh Dando was born in Bristol. He was the son of Joseph Dando, the elder, and Ann (nee Murch) who were my 4 x great-grandparents. Charles married into the wealthy Spiers family of silk manufacturers.

1762 - Joseph Fryer married Elizabeth Cowles in Westbury on Severn in Gloucestershire, 249 years ago. Elizabeth was Joseph's first wife.

26th MAY

1839 - Carolina/e, nee Browning died in Saul, Gloucestershire, this day 172 years ago and was buried at Arlingham on the 30th. The cause of death was 'Decay of Nature'. Caroline was the wife of William Hall, and afterwards, the second wife of John Fryer, my 5 x great-grandfather.

27th MAY

1763 - John Taysom and Lydia Welch, my 6 x great-grandparents, were married by banns in the Church of St Mary, St Peter & St Paul in Westbury on Severn, Gloucestershire, some 248 years ago.

St Botolph's Church, Hadstock1819 - 192 years ago on the 27th May, Charles Free and Sarah Malyon were married in St Botolph's Church (right) in Hadstock, Essex. Charles was the son of William Free and Elisabeth (nee Fincham), my 4 x great-grandparents.

30th MAY

1738 - Infant, William Pitcher, son of my 6 x great-grandparents, James and Mary Pitcher, died and was buried in Lydney, Gloucestershire, this day 273 years ago.

40,000 new records for Gloucestershire at FindMyPast

Category: General

FindMyPast.co.uk have added 40,000 new 18th century records for Gloucestershire:

Baptisms - 18,985 records - Dates: 1695-1794 - Parishes: Cam, Coaley, Dursley, Nympsfield, Owlpen, Slimbridge, Stinchcombe, Uley

Marriages - 4,969 records - Dates: 1696-1796 - Parishes - Cam, Coaley, Dursley, Nympsfield, Owlpen, Slimbridge, Stinchcombe, Uley

Burials - 14,513 records - Dates: 1697-1795 - Parishes: Cam, Coaley, Dursley, Nympsfield, Owlpen, Slimbridge, Stinchcombe, Uley

I have family connections in Coaley, Uley, Slimbridge and Dursley but unfortunately I don't currently have a subscription to FindMyPast. I might have to do something about this but I need to check the IGI before shelling out my cash.

On This Day...23rd May

Category: On This Day...

1865 - Helena D. Jones was born in New York City, USA. She was the daughter of John Jones and Charlotte S. Dando. Helena later married Thomas Stotesbury Dando and they had 4 children.

On This Day...22nd May

Category: On This Day...

Grave of John Tyler1892 - John Tyler died 119 years ago on 22nd May and was buried 5 days later in St Mary & St Peter's Churchyard, Tidenham, Gloucestershire. His headstone is still visible today.

On This Day...21st May

Category: On This Day...

1786 - Robert Free, my 3 x great-grandfather, was born in Hadstock, Essex. He was the son of William Free and his second wife, Elisabeth Fincham.

1931 - My grandparents, Charles George Hibbitt and Ivy Alice Dando, were married at Devonport Register Office in Plymouth. Today would have been their 80th wedding anniversary. Family legend has it that my gran was engaged 3 times (to other people) before she decided to marry my grandpa. Because of all the broken engagements, she apparently decided to just get wed rather than bother with another engagement so this is what they did. It wasn't a quickie marriage though - my gran can be seen in numerous photos with her future father-in-law and he died nearly 3 years before the wedding took place.

On This Day...20th May

Category: On This Day...

1802 - John Ely and Sarah Fryer were married in St Mary the Virgin's Church, Fretherne, Gloucestershire. Sarah was the daughter of my 6 x great-grandparents, Richard Fryer and Mary (nee Harvey).

1890 - Emily Smale, my great-grandmother's sister, was born 121 years ago today.

Wordless Wednesday - Oil Tankers laid up on the River Fal (1950's/60's)

Category: Grandpa's Old Slides

Oil Tankers on the River Fal - Valor
Click the image above to see a larger version.

Oil Tanker on the River Fal
Click the image above to see a larger version.

My grandpa (Charlie Hibbitt) probably took these photos some time during the 1950's or 1960's.

(From my grandpa's collection of old slides - see this post for more information.)

[Why Wordless Wednesday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Daily Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

On This Day...17th May

Category: On This Day...

1709 - Richard Seldon and Hannah Clemett were married in the village of Merton in Devon. The couple were my 8 x great-grandparents.

1767 - Mary Fryer (nee King), my 7 x great-grandmother, died on 17th May and was buried three days later in her husband's tomb in St Mary the Virgin's Churchyard in Arlingham, Gloucestershire. I've visited the graveyard several times and the tomb is looking a little worn now and is slightly tilted too.

On This Day...16th May

Category: On This Day...

1816 - John Banister Worgan and Sophia Powell were married in Bristol. John was the son of Edward Worgan and Sarah Banister.

On This Day...14th May

Category: On This Day...

1746/7 - James Pitcher, my 6 x great-grandfather, died and was buried the following day in St Mary's Churchyard, Lydney, Gloucestershire. He was aged 56. Bigland had noted down the memorial inscription during the 18th century but when I visited Lydney in 2009, I wasn't able to locate the grave.

Mappy Monday: Look up ancestral homes with Google Street View

Category: General

Do you ever wish you could see the places where your ancestors lived but perhaps it's not possible or practical to visit? Well the next best thing might be to use Google Street View. I often look up my ancestors' homes, or the churches they were married in, etc. using this facility.

It's very simple - go to Google Maps (eg. UK = http://maps.google.co.uk, US = http://maps.google.com). The link is also available from the Google home page amongst the Google links at the top left.

On the Maps page, put in the number or name of the house/farm (if known), street name and the area you're interested in and, all being well, you'll see a conventional map appear with a marker showing the location of (or close by) the property. You may also see a preview of the street on the left of the map, which can be clicked on to reaveal the street in the larger pane.


If you don't get the preview, then grab the little yellow 'man' icon above the + (plus) sign on the zoom bar and drag him with your mouse to the marker on the map. You need to place the 'man' icon onto a road which becomes highlighted in blue when you drag him onto the map. The street view should now be visible.


To turn around, hold your left mouse button down on the image and drag it from side to side to suit. You can also drag the mouse up and down to view taller buildings. To move along the street, just click on the white arrows which should appear on the road.

To return to the map, click the - (minus) sign on the zoom bar a couple of times. You may find you'll want to zoom out a bit further when the map is displayed once more.

[Why Mappy Monday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Daily Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

Sentimental Sunday: Searching for Zachariah

Category: Ancestors Corner

Our names are used virtually every day of our lives and yet the oddity remains that it's the privilege of our parents to choose it for us, whether we like it or not. I tend to go by the name, Annie, when in fact I'm an Anne – I somehow think Annie sounds friendlier and less formal. It's not just people who have names, look at the clamour to get hold of web domain names for use in the virtual world. What we're talking about here is our identity, who we are and how we wish to present ourselves to each other. The fact is, names matter!

Looking through my family tree, there are several names belonging to various individuals, which have caught my eye along the way......Read more »