Although I took 'A' Level art, I'm not much into crafts but I do remember making paper lanterns in primary school. I just decided to have a quick go to see if I could still make one and this is my feeble attempt for old times' sake.


Paper Lantern
[Why Advent Calendar? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Blogging Prompts at Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories at Geneabloggers]

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1st DECEMBER

1898 - it's the anniversary of my grandpa's birthday. Born at Soldier's Point, Dundalk, Ireland, Charles George Hibbitt would have been 113 years old on 1st December.

1738 - Richard King, the youngest son of my 8 x great-grandparents, Thomas & Margaret King, died in Fretherne, Gloucestershire, and was buried there a few days later.

2nd DECEMBER

1813 - Sarah didn't need to change her surname when John Rowlandson & Sarah Rowlandson were married at Hadstock, Essex, 198 years ago.

3rd DECEMBER

1857 - Henry Lane & Hannah Young were married at Aston Ingham, Herefordshire.

1872 - Emily Jane Weaver, eldest daughter of my great-great-grandparents, was born in Curry Rivel, Somerset.

4th DECEMBER

1797 - my 5 x great-grandmother, Ann Dando (nee Brothers), died at the age of 54 and was buried at Rodborough Tabernacle near Stroud, Gloucestershire.

5th DECEMBER

1848 - 163 years ago, my 5 x great-grandfather, William Henry Weaver (known as Henry or Harry), was born illegitimately in Curry Rivel, Somerset.

1857 - my 3 x great-grandparents, William Smale & Mary Jane Moore, celebrated their marriage at St Mary's Church, Black Torrington, Devon.

1861 - Nathaniel Dando, the younger, & Rosa Ann Dingle tied the knot at Christ Church, Turnham Green, Middlesex. Nathaniel, a warehouseman, had previously been widowed.

1899 - just before the turn of the century, Thomas Sargent, died, aged 75, and his headstone can be seen at Chepstow Municipal Cemetery, Chepstow, Monmouthshire.

7th DECEMBER

1862 - my great-great-grandparents, Charles Newbold Hibbitt & Mary Ann Pitcher, were married at St John Baptist Church, Claines, Worcestershire. Their original marriage certificate has been handed down and is the oldest original document I have in my possession.


1862 Marriage Certificate for Charles N Hibbitt & Mary A Pitcher
Click the image to see a larger version.
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For many years my grandparents had an artificial Christmas tree which I don't remember in great detail. However, there was always one thing that fascinated me about it and that was the sheet of cotton wool which was placed around the base in an attempt to mimic snow. I think my gran used to decorate the tree and there was a foot-or-so high statue of Father Christmas which used to adorn their front room too.

It's always been my job to decorate the tree in our house but I have to admit that after more than 20 years, I finally got fed up and so we bought a miniature tree, complete with decorations, which I just have to whip out of the box and plonk on the hearth. Simples!


This is our orginal Christmas Tree
[Why Advent Calendar? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Blogging Prompts at Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories at Geneabloggers]

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Today is the launch day for the British Newspaper Archive - www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk. The archive will offer access to up to 4 million pages, 65 million stories at launch, fully searchable online, featuring more than 200 newspaper titles (mainly dating from the 19th century) from every part of the UK and Ireland.

It's free to search but you'll need to pay to access the content. A 12 month subscription costs £79.95 for unlimited access. The cost of 3000 credits, valid for 30 days, is £29.95 and 500 credits, valid for 2 days, is £6.95. The following table shows how many credits each type of content costs to view for both Package options.

Type of Scanned Page	Credit cost per page	30 Day Package Equivalent Cost per Page	2 Day Package Equivalent Cost per Page
Published over 107 years ago (B&W) Pages scanned from microfilm (B&W	5	£0.05	£0.07
Published over 107 years ago (colour scan)	10	£0.10	£0.14
Published within last 107 years	15	£0.15	£0.21

Be aware that UK citizens may already have free access to some of these publications through their local library membership. This doesn't mean you have to go to the library to view the material, you can do it online at home with your membership card.

[Why Tuesday's Tip? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

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Family Tree section

• Added a few more notes for my 3 x great-grandparents, George Arnold (b. abt 1822) & Mary Bacon and also George and his second wife, Mary Ann Garlick.
• Updated notes for my 4 x great-grandparents, George Arnold (b. abt 1793) & Elizabeth Raynor/Rayner.
• Added further notes for Elizabeth's first husband, Thomas Avins.
• Added Thomas & Elizabeth's daughter, Mary Avins and Mary's daughter, Eglah Swinnerton Avins.
• Added my 5 x great-grandparents, John Raynor & Mary Wagstaff and also their children.
• Added James Alcock, husband of Ann Raynor, together with a few notes.
• Added my 5 x great-grandparents, George Arnold (b. abt 1755) & Jane Orton.

Relevant place names: Nuneaton, Ansley and Chilvers Coton, all in Warwickshire.

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Today is American Thanksgiving Day, which has strong ties with Plymouth, England. Plymouth is home to the Mayflower Steps from where the Pilgrim Fathers left England aboard the Mayflower to cross the Atlantic Ocean to settle in North America on 6 September 1620.

To celebrate, two ceremonies were held to mark Thanksgiving Day this year, the Flag raising ceremony at the Guildhall and a Thanksgiving ceremony at the Mayflower Steps Memorial. The ceremonies were organised by American citizens living in Plymouth and were attended by the Lord Mayor and local Councillors.

I popped down to the Mayflower Steps and captured parts of the ceremony on my camera. Apologies for the sound quality of the video but it was quite a breezy day. You should be able to make out the sound of the seagulls squawking when the wreath was being layed and I particularly enjoyed the rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.


Read more about the Mayflower Steps in my previous post.

[Why Those Places Thursday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

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Series 2 of the American 'Who Do You Think You Are' TV show hit our screens last week and last night's episode featured the film star, Ashley Judd. Of course, I know this is old news to American readers but I thought it worth commenting on anyway.

The first part of the program featured an ancestor of Ashley's who was in the American Civil War but it was the second part which most fascinated me. Timed to coincide with Thanksgiving, the program unravelled the life of William Brewster, one of the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed to America on the Mayflower in 1620.

Ashley travelled to England and visited York, Cambridge and Boston before ending up at Plymouth in Devon. The final scene showed Ashley and her father standing at the Mayflower Steps Memorial on Plymouth's Barbican, a place I'm very familiar with, being a native of Plymouth (see my previous post).

The story was very interesting but I find, in general, the American show skips along at a far greater pace than the English version. There isn't so much time given to the celebrity's musings about what they've discovered so far. Generations are quickly pushed to one side as they rush towards the story they're featuring. I imagine the reason for this is because of the need to build in time to show adverts in the US whereas the BBC has the luxury of being able to dedicate a complete hour to each episode.

So in summary, a great subject for the second show in the US 2nd series but it left me wanting more.

For UK viewers who missed it, the program can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer until 14th December.

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

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Happy Thanksgiving from across the Pond!

Did you know the Pilgrim Fathers are not just remembered in the US but in Plymouth, England, too? Amongst the many references to the Mayflower and the Pilgrims here in Plymouth, the Mayflower Steps Memorial is located in the area known as the Barbican in one of the oldest parts of this city in the South West of England.

The actual steps from where the Pilgrims departed no longer exist. A granite block set in the pavement was the original memorial, although this was previously set in the roadway. A plaque commemorating the historic journey in 1620 was erected alongside in 1891 and the Doric portico was added in 1934. This in turn is flanked by the American and British flags.

Some of the Pilgrim Fathers spent their last night at the 16th century Island House where there is a plaque on the wall listing all the names of the passengers who sailed on the voyage.

Photographs of the Mayflower Memorial and Island House are available for immediate download in my online shop for £0.60, less than $1. Is your ancestor one of those named on the Island House Plaque? If so, I'd love to hear from you.

You can read more about Plymouth's Pilgrim heritage in my earlier post.

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

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Amongst the genealogy community I've read so much about the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and I can see the merits in having such a useful little gadget. In fact, I'm sold on having one except, wait for it, you still can't get one in the UK.

I've been in touch with the manufacturer and their response was...

"Unfortunately, we do not yet distribute in UK. Of course we are actively investigating what that would take. It is a matter of both the distribution/support processes as well as regulatory approvals. Currently, even if you could have a friend in the US or Canada order and ship it to you, the warranty is not valid outside of the US."

I replied that I didn't mind about the warranty but didn't know anyone in the US who could help me get hold of a Flip-Pal but the reply was much the same.

How disappointing that after more than a year (perhaps longer) since launch they still haven't come up with a way of sending the Flip-Pal abroad. I can't believe it takes rocket science!

Ah well, I'll have to start looking around for an alternative so I can quickly and easily scan the numerous boxes and albums of photographs which I have in my possession. If anyone can suggest something similar that is available in the UK (not sure the hand-held ones are all that good), please could you let me know, either by leaving a comment or using my contact form.

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

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I can't believe I've overlooked the television show, Find My Past. 4 of the 10 episodes have already been aired but I shall definitely be watching as from tomorrow (Thursday).

I imagine it takes a similar format to Who Do You Think You Are but with ordinary people. Each episode features three members of the public who are connected to each other through an event in history. This week will be about the Mutiny on the Bounty.

The program goes out on Thursdays at 9pm on the Yesterday Channel: Freeview channel 12, Sky 537 and Virgin Media 203. I understand that repeats are aired the next day.