When a person died without making a will, a relative or creditor could apply for letters of Administration (or Admon). They become known as the Administrator or Administratrix of the estate, the latter often being the widow of the deceased.

Admons include the name, address and occupation of the deceased and administrator, along with the date and place of death and the relationship between them. The identity of beneficiaries is not noted, nor any details of how the estate is distributed.

Letters of administration could be granted in other cases, such as where a will is made but no executors are mentioned. Alternatively a testator might appoint executors who died before the testator or who “renounced” or refused to act in such capacity. In such cases the court granted letters of administration with “Will attached” or “Will annexed”.

The records that have been added to the Members Area are the Admons granted by The Prerogative Court of Canterbury for the period 1750-1800. They are particularly useful to family historians as the court had jurisdiction over the estates of those who died at sea or abroad.

Indeed a third of all the records relate to these 2 categories, reflecting the large number of sailors and soldiers killed in battle during this period (which included the Seven Years War with France (1754-1763), the American War of Independence (1775-1783) and the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802).

The serviceman’s dependents would have been entitled to pay or prize money owed to the deceased, and thus an admon may survive for a person who would not otherwise have appeared in probate records.

The Society is grateful to Anthony Camp and the team of dedicated volunteers (listed on the Members Area) who have made this valuable index available to researchers. The original documents can be consulted at the National Archives at Kew.

Non-members can carry out a free surname search on these records by going to http://sog.frontisgroup.com/bin/aps_person_search.php but to view any records found you will need to join the Society.

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, Members' Area

To celebrate the addition of the new records an article will appear here each Friday describing them in more detail, starting tomorrow with an exciting collection that lists many people who died at sea.

Non-members can carry out a free surname search on the site but to view any records found you will need to join. New records are being added all the time so check back regularly – you may just find a reference to that elusive ancestor.

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: Family History News, Members' Area, the society of genealogists

Society of Genealogists Chairman, Collin Allen will be appearing on Radio 4 on Wednesday 28 July at 11am, being interviewed by Trade Unionist Bill Morris about the Chartist William Cuffay and his family history links to Medway towns in Kent.

The website for the radio programme Britain’s Black Revolutionary tells us that,

“as far back as the London of 1848 the son of slave was leading one of this countries most powerful political movements.
Few of us have heard of William Cuffay, a physically deformed tailor who lived in Soho. And yet he was notorious in his day, to the extent that the political class of the 1840s dubbed him “the pore old blackymore rogue” as he went on to lead a political movement so powerful that Britain cowered behind its shuttered windows and the massed ranks of its armies.
Just as the thrones of Europe were yet again tumbling to revolution, the 1848 Chartist uprising in favour of democracy and equality in London threatened the status quo in Britain. History records that an articulate democrat, William Cuffay, emerged as a key organiser of the mass demonstration that faced the Duke of Wellington’s army in the demand for the vote. Revolution threatened the capital – but who was the diminutive tailor holding such sway? ”

Lord Morris follows a predecessor in the labour movement through his fascinating story – from son of a St Kitts slave to political leader, and ultimately into exile at Her Majesty’s pleasure in Tasmania.

Producer: Philip Sellars.

Broadcast
Wednesday 28 Jul 2010 11:00 BBC Radio 4

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, William Cuffay

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Proposals will be accepted starting 1 May 2010 for the Society of Genealogists’ Centenary Conference, Breaking the Barriers, to be held at The Royal Overseas League, Over-Seas House, Park Place, 5 St James’s Terrace, London SW1A 1LP on Saturday 7th May 2011.

The conference lectures will be a celebration of the past century of genealogy and the Society of Genealogists and will look forward to the future of the subject. The conference will include a full day of lectures, networking luncheons, and workshops featuring nationally and internationally known genealogical speakers. To learn more about forthcoming news on the conference and other centenary celebrations see the SoG Centenary Conference Blog and web pages

Deadline for Submissions — 31 July 2010

Conference Themes
The Society is inviting submissions for papers and presentations on a variety of themes and expects submission topics to include, amongst others:

How the SoG has affected genealogy
Expanding the frontiers in genealogy
The development of genealogy. Then and now and what next?
Expanding the frontiers in genealogy
Problem solving. Breaking the barriers in genealogy
London research and London problems
Technological innovation in genealogy (with a particular look at British innovation).
Social themes from 2011, the end of the Edwardian Age ¬ – Women’s suffrage, pensions etc

General genealogical topics including methodology, skills building, record analysis, problem solving and writing family history

Sessions are generally limited to fifty minutes plus a ten-minute question-and-answer session. Syllabus material (word documents or PDF files), due in early 2011, is required for each lecture or workshop presentation

Guidelines
Anyone wishing to submit a talk for the conference should contact the conference team genealogy@sog.org.uk who will supply a conference proposal form which should include the following information:

• Speaker’s full name, address, telephone and email address.
• Lecture title, not to exceed fourteen words, and a brief but comprehensive outline
• Short summary of the lecture; word count not to exceed 100 words, which will be used in the program, if selected.
• Brief speaker biography, not to exceed 100 words.
• Resume of recent lectures given by the speaker. Those who have not spoken previously at a regional or national conference are encouraged to submit an audio or video tape of a recent lecture.

Speakers are expected to use an electronic presentation program. Such as Powerpoint. The SoG will provide the data projector, VGA cable, stand and power. Talks using OHPs will NOT be accepted.

Individuals may submit any number of proposals. SoG members will be given first consideration as speakers.

Completed proposal forms must be e-mailed to genealogy@sog.org.uk  with the subject: 2011 SoG Family History Conference-Call for Papers.
Selected speakers will be notified in August 2010. Speakers will receive a complimentary full conference registration

Compensation by the Society of Genealogists

Speakers selected by the SoG, and who are not sponsored elsewhere, will receive a speakers fee and reasonable travel expenses, within the UK, agreed in advance with the SoG.

Sponsorship opportunities
Sponsorship for individual lectures and lecturers may be agreed with the Society. Speakers who have their sessions sponsored will receive a complimentary one-day conference registration. Compensation and travel expenses are at the discretion of the sponsoring organization.

Questions  – Contact the Conference Team on genealogy@sog.org.uk  

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: conference, family history, Family History News, Society of Genealogists

Following on from the poster exhibitions and displays on the SoG stand at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010, The Societys’ blog and website familyhistorytreasures.org.uk will provide regular insights and updates illustrating interesting and unique items. Look out for news and updates in the Treasures Tuesday blogspots which will explain what’s in the family history collections and how to use them. We hope you find this new venture of use. If so spread the word and tell other family historians how to discover more about the Treasures of the Society of Genealogists.

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, Society of Genealogists

“Oh my ears and whiskers – how late it is?”

The next workshop is about to start. Has the speaker arrived – does her laptop work? Will the celebrities finish their shows on time so our next speaker can set up? Where did I put my notes for my talk? Have all the experts found their way to their allotted desks on time? Oops we have two people booked for advice at the same time – find a quick stand-in who can help with French military history or Dutch ecclesiastical records without the aid of Google. Where’s the key to the lockable cabinet?  – we’re running out of membership forms. Quick sign them up now. Life dissolves into a blur at the largest genealogical show in the world and we spend a lot of time scampering about but it’s all huge fun, if not a little bit stressful. You may have seen several of our staff and volunteers running at full pelt throughout the weekend but at the end of the day everyone had a great smile on their face because all the hard work has paid off.

A lot goes into preparing for the show. A small team of staff and trustees prepare our stand, create posters and displays focusing on the Treasures of the Society of Genealogists Library;  arrange how we look after new member sign ups, run the technology and deal with volunteers. Thanks to the team everything was ready for setup. We even remembered to take the ladder to build the SoG Tower.

We plan 100 talks for all levels of interest over the three days in the Who Do You Think You Are? Theatre and SoG workshops. They are always extremely well attended and this year we had Welsh and Irish key themes and speakers. Many of the speakers are exhibitors at the show but some come from other record offices and libraries to help and most are SoG members. So thanks to all the speakers who volunteered talks. You were all so professional and unflappable – and everyone finished on time!!

Society of Genealogists workshop at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010

In addition to our speakers, over 160 SoG volunteers help out. Most work on the SoG Ask the Experts Area where over 1600 individual people who booked twenty minute sessions received individual help and advice. The queues snaked round the gallery yet everyone remained calm and dependable. A special thanks to the Census Detectives and Jean Bunting who wheeled up in her buggy despite a broken leg. Thank-you all!!

The Library staff and volunteers were on hand to answer questions on our own stand and do look ups on the library catalogue. The Library second hand books stall had some good items this year and brought a tidy sum for the librarian to spend on new acquisitions. The membership secretary tells me we broke all records for new members sign and as usual she dragooned her partner to help out  by handing out  membership special offer leaflets because that’s the only way she can get to see him on his birthday! How’s that for devotion?

Generally attendance figures seemed higher though, I haven’t had final numbers yet. Friday was certainly busy and visitors had to be held outside briefly as the hall apparently reached capacity on Saturday and the venue had to arrange to open up more fire safety evacuation routes in case of emergency.  The SoG Family History Show was bigger this year with more exhibitors and tables booked. An American contingent including amongst others Boston University and the New England Historic Genealogical Society flew the Stars and Stripes and are very much looking forward to the screening  of the USA version of the Who Do You Think You Are? TV show. It was good to meet up with our Dutch equivalent the Central Bureau voor Genealogie. The DNA workshops, military memorabilia stands and photo galleries were all much bigger and attracted lots of people. New databases and books were launched on several of the commercial stands as well as an intriguing new DNA test from Familytree DNA  based on autosoma dan which allows comparisoms to be made between cousins  rather  than purely on eiether Y-DNA which is only passed down the male surname line or MtDNA which mostly passes down the female line.

I never get enough time to visit all the stands I want to see nor to speak to everyone I should. So sorry if conversation was fleeting, but I did find time to send some tweets on Twitter reporting our news. The most exciting of which is that Your Family Tree Magazine  readers awarded the Society of Genealogists the Best Book Publisher of the Year 2009  award for our My Ancestor Was … series  and the guide to the most important record launch of last year How to Get the Best from the 1911 Census by John Hanson. Thanks Guys.

Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010Society of Genealogists Stand at Who Do You Think You are? Live 2010

Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010

The following response has been sent  in response to the  the Ministry of Justice Proposal for reform of the published electoral register for England and Wales.

Kirsten O’Connell

Ministry of Justice

Elections and Democracy Division

Floor 5, 5.18                                           

102 Petty France

London, SW1H 9AJ

Dear Ms O’Connell

Edited Electoral Register Consultation (ref: CP 46/90)

This response is made on behalf of the Trustees and members of the Society of Genealogists, the leading national learned society concerned with family history and genealogy and their associated social science disciplines. It is the largest society of its kind in the UK, with nearly 12,000 members.

The Society campaigns for the integrity and preservation of records relevant to current and future research and optimum access to such records. Members of the Society are all researching family history, mostly as amateur hobbyists, though a significant number are professional researchers. Hence the Society’s main, but by no means exclusive, concern is for access to records and genealogical information on behalf of genealogists who are researching their family history and individual ancestors and relatives. It is not insignificant that within the Society’s archives can found be the correspondence with the Home Office reflecting the Society’s success in making the 1841 and 1851 censuses available for public inspection in 1912. Since its foundation in the previous year, the Society has continued to lobby on behalf of the genealogical community and takes an active role in rescuing documents that are of interest to family historians but which have been discarded by other larger and often public archives. It seeks to influence record holders so that the particular needs of family historians are recognised.

Vision for organisation
The Society of Genealogists seeks to promote a genealogical community in which everyone has convenient, affordable access to records, finding aids, knowledge and skills necessary to conduct authoritative research in family history.

Comments on the consultation

Genealogy is an ever increasing activity. Millions subscribe to online databases of genealogical information and post their own family information online. A huge number wish to find living relatives, inspired by popular television programmes such as Heir Hunters of Who Do You Think You Are?

 Also, often when searching for these relatives, a name is all genealogists have. This is what makes the current edited Electoral Roll even more valuable because it allows a search to be made without knowing a location, unlike directory enquiries. Plus one can search by the full name of any adult living in a household, again unlike directory enquiries. There will be no substitute database if the edited Electoral Roll is taken away.

As the edited Electoral Register is so important to tracing living relatives and the preservation of documents is so essential to genealogists, we do not support any moves that would stop the collation of the edited Electoral Roll and remove this useful service from our users. Therefore, we are strongly in favour of retaining the edited Electoral Register in its current form.

Family historians are well aware of the balance to be struck between the desire to know about one’s family and respect for a person’s privacy. Hence most family historians comply with the advice given by The Society of Genealogists that they do not publish personal information about living individuals without permission.

The current edited electoral register is integral to for search for family members and is not abused by genealogists. Hence we feel that the register should be retained in its current form in line with option 6 of the consultation – that there should be improved guidance for the public about the Edited Register so those who wish can  be made aware that they may opt out as required and give an opportunity for that information to be removed or corrected.

Else Churchill

Genealogist, The Society of Genealogists

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, UK electoral records

A dedicated team at Familyrelatives.com spent several months painstakingly scanning and indexing original medical registers allowing them to be searched on different criteria including surname, forename and date to provide one of the most comprehensive and accurate databases available.  The records pre-date the foundation in 1858 of the General Medical Council, set up in a back room of what is now the University of Worcester to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the community.

photo credit: Sarah G…

Prior to 1858 anyone could call themselves a medical practitioner with some of the treatments worse than the disease and devices resembling ancient instruments of torture but it gave an insight into Victorian imagination  and ingenuity. The years 1853 to 1943 saw remarkable developments in the field of medicine and notable medical practitioners:

John Snow (1813-1858) – Discoverer of the means  or transmission  of Cholera

John Snow (1813-1858) – was voted in 2003 as the greatest Physician of all time some, 145 years after his death, for his evidence based investigation and tracing of Cholera in Soho in 1854. He was the first person to dispel the myth that Cholera was caused by miasma or poor air. He traced the source to a public hand water pump in Soho . Those who drunk from it were infected by bacteria although remarkably all those that worked in the nearby brewery (where water was heated and subject to a separate water source) were not affected.

Joseph Lister (1838-1912) Discovered Carbolic Acid (Antiseptic)

In 1865 Joseph Lister (1838-1912) discovered that by using carbolic acid as an antiseptic during surgery and by ensuring hygienic conditions in theatre and around patients greatly improved chances of survival.

Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) – His discovery saved 200 million people

Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) is arguably responsible for saving in excess of 200 million lives having in 1928 discovered the antibiotic-penicillin, which although accidental has been hailed by many as possibly the greatest advance in medicine. He was Knighted in 1944 and won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945.

He was also recognized by being awarded the Honorary gold medal from the Royal College of Surgeons, received a fellowship from the University of London, a fellowship from Toronto, Philadelphia, and many other institutions including from Harvard, USA and from Spain. He is buried in St Pauls Cathedral, London.

Sir Ronald Ross (1857-1932) – Identified mosquitoes as the cause of malaria

Another Nobel Prize winner Sir Ronald Ross (1857-1932) identified the mosquito as the cause of malaria during his service in India and distinguished himself in tropical medicine and the prevention of malaria in Indian, Africa , Egypt , Cyprus and Mauritius

© 2009, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: dentists, doctors, Family Relatives, midwives

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Mz9HLIcTM

The Genealogists’ Magazine is the flagship publication of the Society of Genealogists distributed free quarterly to all members. Here Else Churchill the Genealogist at the Society interviews Michael Gandy who has been the editor for the last ten years. Sign up to our mailing list below and get a free copy of this quality magazine

© 2009, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, Genealogists' Magazine, genealogy, Society of Genealogists