I've reorganised the DNA section of my website and now I have an index page available here.


There are a few links near the bottom of the page, one of which is a tutorial to help you get started with GEDmatch. This can be found here.

GEDmatch is a free service where you can upload your raw DNA data file with the potential of matching with more cousins than just the ones you see at your testing company. The site also provides some useful analysis tools, not necessarily available at your testing company, and other utilities such as Admixture (ethnicity) tools.

I highly recommend GEDmatch for anyone who wants to make more of their DNA results.

[Note: All content on the Hibbitt & Barnes Family History website and blog is copyrighted. Click here for conditions of use.]

Will belonging to George York of Kidderminster
Today's genealogy tip: when you come up against a brick wall sometimes collaboration can be key. It's wise to carry out your own research as much as you can beforehand as it's not fair to expect others to do all the spadework for you. Two heads are often better than one and it may be that you can help other family historians with their research making it a mutually beneficial exercise.

You may recall in a previous post that I was trying to obtain a second will in the name of George York from Kidderminster. Having acquired the first will which didn't belong to my family (he may be an, as yet, unknown distant cousin) I did manage to get hold of the second one via the Worcestershire Archives Digitisation Service. This time I hit the jackpot - the will belonged to my 5 x great-grandfather, George York, who died in 1767.

George's will was straightforward, leaving his four properties in Franche, Kidderminster, to his wife, Hannah (nee Dixon). After her death or remarriage, the various houses were to be divided between George's four children, together with the residue of his estate.

I was able to confirm my suspicion that George, who was a yeoman, had previously been married to Ann Youngjohns. Ann died a couple of years after their nuptials but they had a son called Henry who was mentioned in the will.

A crucial piece of the puzzle in trying to trace further back in time was that George named his cousin, Thomas Crane of Habberley, as one of his executors. Low Habberley, where Thomas lived, is not far from Fanche but there were quite a number of Crane families in the area so it wasn't easy trying to work out who was who. I was fortunate to find a tree on Ancestry constructed by a descendant of Thomas Crane and the tree owner was very helpful in supplying me with the information I needed to confirm how George and Thomas were related.

George was born in 1727 in Old Swinford (called Oldswinford nowadays) which is in Stourbridge. There were quite a number of York families in and around Stourbridge so it was vital to eliminate them one by one, finishing up with Thomas Crane being George's 1st cousin once removed; George's father and Thomas' grandfather were brothers.

One small mystery remains. George mentioned in his will 'my Son in law Job Mitchel' to whom he gave 'two of the largest pewter Dishes that were his Mothers before her intermarriage with me'. I have been unable to figure out how Job fits into the family but it might be that son-in-law meant something different in the 18th century than it does today.

Finding George's will opened doors to several more generations. More on them soon!

If you've managed to break down any genealogical brick walls please share your experiences in the comments section of my blog or on Facebook.

[Note: All content on the Hibbitt & Barnes Family History website and blog is copyrighted. Click here for conditions of use.]

Early aviation during the First World War was a hairy business. Harvey's grandad, Cyril Ellen, was involved in two recorded incidents whilst serving with the R.N.A.S. (Royal Naval Air Service) onboard HMS Riviera. Riviera saw service with the Dover Patrol where her aircraft flew spotting missions for naval bombardments off the Belgian coast. Both times Cyril was in a Short Admiralty 184 Type Tractor Biplane Seaplane, often called the Short 225, which was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane. A Short 184 was the first aircraft to sink a ship using a torpedo.

The first incident was perhaps indicative of the difficulties which often occurred when hoisting seaplanes out of the water. Recorded in a book entitled 'Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Units, 1911-1919' by Ray Sturtivant and Gordon Page as follows...

8384: Damaged while coming alongside after patrol 31.5.16 (F/L GW Price & CPO Mech3 Ellen).

The repair must have been relatively straightforward as the seaplane was flying again on 3rd June.


Possibly a photograph of the damaged seaplane reported in the incident of 31st May 1916
The second incident took place on 18th June 1916 and was potentially more serious...

8357: Engine cut, FL in German minefield 8m N of Ostende, put fire out, attacked by 3 enemy seaplanes which were driven off by Lewis gun fire, towed home by ML105 18.6.16 (F/L GW Price & CPO Mech3 Ellen).

ML105, the vessel which gave the crew a tow, was a Motor Launch of the Fairmile A class.

The action was cited by HMS Riviera's Commanding Officer in a letter written to the Vice Admiral, Dover Patrols, dated 29th July 1916 when he stated that Cyril had "assisted to beat off attacks of enemy seaplanes" and the event also received attention in a newspaper at the time...


Cyril Ellen kept this newspaper cutting of the incident on 18th June 1916

June 18 - A seaplane was forced to descend, owing to the engine catching fire, into the middle of an enemy mine-field. A hostile aeroplane and two seaplanes attacked it with machine guns, but the enemy was driven off by our fire. Our seaplane was uninjured, and drifted on the tide towards Nieuport, where the crew were safely rescued.

Cyril's ordeal lasted for several hours. Riviera's ship's log recorded how the seaplane was airborne at 3.32pm and did not arrive alongside until 10.15pm. Both pilot and observer must have been exhausted.

Were your ancestors in any close scrapes? Please share your stories.

[Note: All content on the Hibbitt & Barnes Family History website and blog is copyrighted. Click here for conditions of use.]

I've created a timeline of my ancestry showing my great-grandparents and grandparents. Come and see. (Click the image below.)


My Who Do You Think You Are? Timeline
And click the tree below to view the people mentioned in my timeline.


Click the image for a larger version.