Coming up later this year...

My diary for this year is filling up, so for the benefit of anyone who wants to know what I am up to, here are some of the major events that will be keeping me busy over the next few months.

The big event for February is of course Who Do You Think You Are? - Live and there's a lot of work to be done before then, starting with something new we are trying out at Kew.

Thursday 21 February 'Focus on...' sessions at The National Archives Kew

The Thursday immediately before 'Who do you think you are? - Live' has turned into one of my busiest, as part of the day job. Large numbers of family historians come to London for the show, and extend their visit to take in some research at The National Archives and elsewhere while they are here. Last year we had the biggest turnout ever for a Thursday afternoon talk - it was given by Paul Carter, who always draws a crowd. And if the coach full of loyal regular visitors from Doncaster hadn't been held up in traffic we would have had to turn people away, as the Talks Room was already full to bursting! (They could at least catch the podcast by way of compensation). So this year we are trying something different, with a set of four short 'drop-in' sessions on popular research topics between 10am and noon, repeated between 2pm and 4pm.

Friday 22 February - Sunday 24 February Who Do You Think You Are? - Live

I'm really looking forward to this year's show. For the first time since 2009 The National Archives has an official presence. There won't be a stand, but there will be two talks each day in The National Archives Theatre. In addition to these, six more talks from staff (including me) are part of the main programme, and you will find full details in the full workshop timetable. I have no idea why these sessions are called 'workshops' because all the ones I have given or attended are what I would call talks or lectures (or classes, for Americans). In keeping with this year's migration theme, my talk is called 'There and back again - going away doesn't mean staying away' and is based in part on story from my own family which I wrote about in a blog post a couple of years ago.

For the rest of the time you can find us in a variety of places around the show; I will mostly be on the Findmypast and FamilySearch stands, or at the Society of Genealogists 'Ask the Experts' sessions on Friday and Saturday. You will be able to pick out staff from The National Archives by our distinctive polo shirts - I haven't seen them yet, but I am assured by the marketing department that they will be very tasteful. I'll be there all day on Sunday too, but on my own time, and in civilian clothes, so that I can get round and do all the things I won't have time for on Friday or Saturday.

Thursday 21 - Saturday 23 March Rootstech 2013

Another huge event, and by contrast with WDYTYA Live, I shall be attending in no official capacity whatever, but reverting to my habitual 'loose cannon' status. I attended the first two Rootstech conferences, and I wouldn't miss this one for anything. Although I'm not speaking at Rootstech, I have been asked to give a talk at the Family History Library on 'Lesser-known sources for births, marriages and deaths in the British Isles' on Wednesday 20 March. I'm hoping to get some research done there too both before and after Rootstech. I'm also looking forward to meeting up again with a number of friends that I haven't seen since Rootstech 2012 (and one of them is having a birthday party!).Should be a lot of fun. You can still register at the earlybird rate until 15 February, by following the link at the top of the page.

Saturday 27 April - Discovering the North West in The National Archives

This is another new departure, a day of talks by speakers from The National Archives at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. I shall be speaking about Civil Registration in 19th Century Lancashire, and my colleague Briony Paxman will be looking at education, but the star of the show will undoubtedly be the afore-mentioned Paul Carter, who starts off the proceedings with '...medical neglect of paupers in the North West 1834-1860' and ends the day with a joint presentation with Briony on criminal records and political reform. The cost of the day is £27 (less for concessions), including lunch. You can see the full programme and book a place through the UCLAN website.

No paperwork required

It can be hard to imagine yourself back into the past, to get any real sense of what your ancestors'  lives were like. However much research you do into their clothes, their food or their occupations, it can be harder still to get onto their heads. Without realising it, we probably make a lot of assumptions that just did't apply a century or two back. Some people have great difficulty grasping the idea that it was once perfectly possible to get through life with few, if any, official pieces of paper. If your ancestors were unskilled workers, and illiterate to boot, like most of mine, they could quite easily not have known exactly how old they were. Or even cared very much, in many cases. This is often the reason that their ages in census returns and other documents are inconsistent; it just wasn't all that important. Near enough was often good enough.

Certificate of Registry of Birth - introduced in 1875 (England and Wales)

Nowadays we are in the habit of carrying all kinds of documents or cards around with us that prove our identity, and possibly date of birth too, because we need them. Some of these wretched things even include photographs - my purse contains two photo-ID cards, and I can think of another three or four at home in a drawer. I have to produce one or more of my numerous pieces of plastic or paper on a regular basis, and I expect you do too - and that's before we even start on the log-ins and passwords!

But wind back a century or more, and many of the actions that are part of our everyday lives didn't apply. Most people didn't have a bank accounts, or passports, and no-one had a driving licence, three things that can only be obtained today on production of a number of documents. There were occasions when you might be asked for your age, such as when you joined the army or the navy, but proving it was another matter - if certificates of birth or baptism were produced at all, they could not have been examined very closely or else there would not be so many demonstrably wrong ages on service records. In practice, it would not have been difficult to produce a plausible-looking baptism or marriage certificate from a parish register entry, as there was no standard official format, and although many were on printed forms, some were simply copies out on plain paper and signed by the incumbent. A forgery would have been easy enough to spot, if anyone took the trouble to go to the actual church and compare the handwriting, or simply ask the vicar. but in practice, this was unlikely to happen. Many families have stories about ancestors who were believed to have lied about their age when they joined the army or the navy, and some of them are true. I have certainly found records from both services where I know (and can prove) that the person was born on a different date from that shown in the official record.

There were some occasions when a document might be required, perhaps to be produced as evidence in a court case; poor sailors or their widows had to provide evidence of their child's age for the child to be admitted to Greenwich Hospital School, and also proof of their own marriage. Many of these certificates of baptism or marriage are still held in the application files, in record series ADM 73 in The National Archives (in the process of being name indexed). The files also include amny requests from widows for the return of their 'marriage lines' because they needed to present them to some other body, often Poor Law authorities, or charities. They were not so concerned about baptism certificates.

Legal evidence of a woman's marriage was extremely important in establishing her place of settlement, ie the parish or union that was bound to look after her if she was unable to fend for herself. The introduction odf compulsory schooling in the 1870s meant that for the first time a large proportion of the population now required some official proof of age on entering school, and, even more important, on leaving it once they were old enough. After some discussion, the Registrar General decided to include in the 1874 registration act a clause introducing the Certificate of Registry of Birth (often mistaken for a short birth certificate). This did not have the legal status of a proper birth certificate, but could be obtained cheaply when a birth was registered, and was acceptable to schools as proof of age. When old age pensions were introduced in 1908 for people over 70, this produced for the first time a mass demand for documentary proof of age from the other end of the age spectrum. most of these people, of course, were too old to have birth certificates so they needed baptism or marriage certificates, or even searches in the still-closed early census returns.

And so it went on, with more and more official bodies asking for more and more pieces of paper, but many of our 19th century ancestors could have led virtually document-free lives. What is most surprising, perhaps, is the fact that, despite the importance of the marriage certificate itself, little or no paperwork was required to acquire one in the first place. Instructions to registrars of marriage, and 'suggestions for the guidance of clergy' in the 19th and early 20th centuries contained long and detailed sections on the correct procedures regarding banns, notices of marriage and marriage licences; but as to establishing the correct names, ages and marital status of the parties to be married, this was to be done by 'earnest enquiry'. They were encouraged to ask more probing questions if they suspected the couple were not being truthful, but that was it. Basically, if you presented yourself to be married, the celebrant would believe what they were told. The penalties for making a false declaration were severe, as the offence was equivalent to perjury. I have my grandparents' original marriage certificate, which spells out the possible consequences of such actions. These even included the threat of transportation; they married in 1917, and transportation had ended half a century earlier, but a prudent Glasgow registrar presumably saw no need to waste good stationery just because it was a teeny bit out of date. The threat of dire penalties may have deterred some people from lying to the registrar or the vicar, but plenty were happy to take the risk. This is how some under-age couples managed to marry without their parents' consent, and some men were able to marry their deceased wife's sister, which was illegal until 1906. Nobody was going to demand any proof, or check anything. Well, most of the time, anyway.

Looking forward to...WDYTYA Live

Dick Eastman and Sarah Williams at last year's show.

 In four weeks' time it will be all over again for another year, the event that has become Britain's biggest annual genealogy extravaganza, Who Do You Think you Are? - Live at London's Olympia. As before, the show takes place over three days, Friday 22 to Sunday 24 February.  Many features of the show are the same every year, but there is always something new, too. The Show Guide is out, with the February edition of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, but details are on the show website, too.

Many of the regulars are in their usual places, notably the big stands in the middle section of the hall, such as FamilySearch, Ancestry and Findmypast. Some other regular attenders with smaller stands have their favourite places, too, like Bob Blatchford with his Family and Local History Handbook now a familiar fixture   on his corner pitch close to Findmypast and Deceased Online, another show regular. The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain are also back in their usual corner spot, strategically sited next to Pizza Express and and a staircase to the upper gallery and the restrooms - maximum foot traffic guaranteed.

Paul Gorry giving advice for the National Archives of Ireland 

Other familiar faces are back at the show, but not in their usual spots this year; the theme of this year's show is migration, and a number of stands form the Migration Zone, next to the Society of Genealogists Regional Theatre. These include the Families in British India Society (FIBIS), the Anglo-German Family History Society and the Anglo-Italian Family History Society who are usually to be found in the Society of Genealogists (SoG) Family History Show area. This is where you will find most family history society stands. Exhibitors from Scotland, Wales and Ireland are grouped together close to the SoG Regional Theatre. Ireland is particularly well-represented, with sponsorship as usual from Tourism Ireland and this is a big year for Ireland with its year-long celebration The Gathering. Nearby is the DNA Theatre, and a number of related exhibitors.

The ever-popular Military Pavilion is again on the upper Gallery Level, along with the Photography Gallery, the SoG 'Ask the Experts' area and four of the studios or theatres where lectures are held. There is also a cafe bar on this level with some seating, generally less crowded than the ones downstairs, and the Ancestry Members' Lounge. The gallery is also a good place to look down on the main hall and get your bearings.

Ian Tester, Captain of the Titanic (2012)

 There is a wide range of talks to choose from; admission is by ticket for some, others are on a drop-in basis, and very few are repeated, so working out the action plan for your day(s) requires almost military precision. Tickets are free on the day, but many of the sessions 'sell out', so the ticketing area (upstairs) should be your first port of call if you are very keen to attend one of them. Some can be booked in advance with your show tickets, but there is a charge for these. If you miss out on a ticket for a talk in SoG Studios 2 and 3 or the Regional Workshop you can still hear the talk from outside, because the Studios are only surrounded by little waist-high barriers.The SoG Studio 1/Celebrity Theatre is in a separate room, but has many more seats than the others. Some major exhibitors have unticketed talks, like the Ancestry Academy, and Findmypast, who get into the spirit of things by dressing up and styling their stand on a different theme each year - I hear that choosing their costumes is one of the highlights of the year for Findmypast staff (and that Ian Tester has the sharpest elbows when it comes to picking out the best ones from the dressing-up box!)

I think that most of this year's progamme is very good, not that I will get to hear any of Friday or Saturday's offerings because they are both working days for me; The National Archives has a presence at the show again, for the first time in a few years, and there will be staff at the show on all three days. There will be a dedicated theatre, with two lectures a day, and two more sessions each day as part of the main programme. My colleagues and I will also be on hand for advice sessions in the Ask the Experts area, and the rest of the time you will find us on a variety of stands. I haven't seen the whole schedule yet. but I know that I will be spending time with Findmypast, FamilySearch and the Genealogist. See you there?

People who are travelling some distance for the show often take some extra time while they are in London to do some research, and the Thursday before WDYTYA Live has become one of the busiest days of the year for me, back at the day job at The National Archives. Last year there was a capacity crowd for the Thursday afternoon lecture and the reading rooms were full of family historians. This year we are trying something a little different, a series of  Focus on... short sessions throughout the day.

Once WDYTYA Live is over, it will be less than four weeks to Rootstech, a very different kind of event, now in its third year, but already the biggest genealogy event in North America. This is another event I am looking forward to, but more of that later.

Mappy Monday - A couple of Westminster maps

I did something recently that I haven't done for a long time. I bought a couple of maps and a picture, and I blame it all on my nephew. If I hadn't been taking him to see the Horrible Histories stage show at the Garrick Theatre, I wouldn't have found myself near one of my favourite shops with time on my hands and money in my purse.The shop is called Notions Antiquaria in Cecil Court - an interesting street with a number of book and print dealers, and quite a lot of history of its own.

Before the erection of Great George Street

The maps I bought come from 'Old and New London' and show Westminster between 1734 and 1748, before the building of Great George Street and Parliament Street, respectively.

Before the erection of Parliament Street

Where did Mr Selfridge come from?

Out of print, but available in libraries

He is sometimes described as coming from Jackson, Illinois, but that was where he grew up; he was actually born in Ripon, Wisconsin. His birthday was 11 January, but his year of birth has been the subject of some debate. In his book 'Selfridges - Seventy-Five Years. The Story of the Store' Gordon Honeycombe devoted a chapter to the story of the Selfridge family. Harry Gordon Selfridge Jnr said that his father was always cagey about his age 'In the end he was taking ten or fifteen years off it'. He mentioned seeing his passport in the 1930s which said 11 January 1864, but his year of birth was also often given as 1858. He claimed that his father's actual year of birth was 1856, although his tombstone and death certificate suggested 1857.

Now we have the advantage of being able to search a whole range of records online, we can find a lot of evidence for his age. The 1860 and 1880 censuses say 1858, 1870 says 1859, but in 1911 he claimed he was 50, ie born in 1861. Five passport applications between 1914 and 1918 consistently give 11 January 1864, while the age quoted on the various passenger lists for his many transatlantic voyages suggest every year between 1858 and 1864, except 1860. When he married Rosalie Amelia Buckingham in 1890, his age was given as 32, again supporting the 1858 theory. For what it's worth, I'd go with 1858, because he is listed in the 1860 census as 2 years old, the closest I have seen to a genuine contemporary source. You choose.

He is supposed to have had two brothers who died in infancy, Charles Johnston and Robert Oliver, the last named after their father. Robert Oliver Selfridge married Lois Frances Baxter on 15 June 1853 in Tecumseh, Michigan, but by the time of the 1860 census they were in Liberty, Texas where Robert's occupation was 'Merchant'. However the following year Robert joined the Third Michigan Cavalry and rose to the rank of major. Harry always claimed that his father had died in the last year of the Civil War, but in fact he was honourably discharged in February 1865. He never returned to his family, and Harry Gordon Selfridge Jnr was told by a family friend that his grandfather had 'gone off by himself' and was killed in a railway accident in St Paul, Minnesota in 1873. As a result, the household in which Harry grew up consisted only of himself and his mother, to whom he remained very close until she died.

The first Selfridges in America are supposed to have been Robert and Agnes Selfridge who emigrated from Ulster to Massachusetts before 1700, and whose many children were the ancestors of a number of Selfridge families who settled all over the United States. Harry Gordon Selfridge claimed kinship with several distinguished naval officers, including three admirals. There are several public member trees on Ancestry with details of the family, which I haven't checked to see if the sources hold up. Maybe I'll do it one day. Or not. I have to confess that I have only done the kind of cursory research that I can do online, but I'm a good enough genealogist to know THAT'S NOT ALL THERE IS. I'm not dumb, I'm just lazy.