26 August 2006 LostCousins Holiday newsletter
Newsletter - Holiday 2006
CONTENTS
* Three month delay for army records
To visit the main LostCousins site please go to www.LostCousins.com
Shortly after sending out our August newsletter we received an email from Rachael. Here's what she had to say:
"Something I've been meaning to say for ages - that LostCousins mailouts are the best of any genealogy website. They are friendly, helpful and informative - I look forward to them as much as I do emails from friends and family!"
These days we're all bombarded with junk mail, so it's good to know that our free email newsletters are valued by LostCousins members.
In fact, so many members have asked for copies of our July newsletter, which featured hints and tips for searching the census, that we've put the article online at:
http://www.lostcousins.com/pages/members/searching_the_census.htm
Note: you'll need to log-in first as these tips are for registered members only
Make sure you read right to the end of this newsletter because we're once again offering free subscriptions for the lucky members whose personal codes are listed! (Your personal code is shown on your My Summary page at the LostCousins site.)
From Friday September 1st it will be illegal in the UK to analyse a person's DNA without first obtaining their consent.
Up to now it has been possible - in theory - to take a sample covertly, perhaps from a glass, cup or cigarette stub - and whilst most laboratories insist on the consent of the individual concerned, they have no way of verifying who the sample came from.
What are your views about the use of DNA testing in genealogy?
THREE MONTH DELAY FOR ARMY RECORDS
Requests by former soldiers for a copy of their Army files are being hampered by delays, with a minimum wait of 3 months being quoted.
When you consider that anyone who fought in World War 2 must now be in their 80s or 90s, it's a matter of great concern that they should have to wait so long.
This page gives the addresses to write to:
http://www.army.mod.uk/contacts/divisions/records.htm
General information on the availability of service records is given here:
http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/service_records/service_records.html
Please note that where the person concerned is still living, the application must be signed by them.
Most of the photographs of towns and villages that have survived from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are found on picture postcards.
Many areas that are suburbs of London today were hamlets at the time of the 1881 Census. Just look at the age of the houses - you'll see that nearly all of them have been built since then.
It's often only through old photographs that we can envisage the open views that existed before the green fields became housing estates.
Whilst you'd be very lucky to find a postcard that illustrated your ancestor's house, there's a good chance of finding a contemporary photograph of the church in which he or she married.
There are over 22,000 church postcards (and tens of thousands of other views) available from:
http://www.churchpostcards.co.uk
Although the range is not available on the website, there's a link to an eBay shop where at any time there are many hundreds of different postcards available to view and to buy.
Our August newsletter began with the words "So far as we know, none of our members has traced their ancestry as far back as 1085".
Since then we’ve been flooded with emails from members who have managed to trace their ancestry back even further.
One of Sue's ancestors was the 1st Earl of Lincoln, and through this connection she was able to trace her tree to Charlemagne, crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800AD, and thence back to the 4th Century.
Of course, when you're going back 50 generations there only needs to be a small chance of error in each for the results to be invalid - just one cuckolded ancestor would do it.
And as Sue points out, many people of European ancestry are likely to share her 48 x great-grandfather Afranius Syragrius, a Gallo-Roman consul who was mentioned in a document of 381 - the difference is that she can show how she's descended from him.
Some experts have estimated that as many as 80% of the population of England are descended from Edward III, who ruled from 1327-77:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201972,00.html
However this isn't something you'll find mentioned in the entry for Edward III on the Queen's own website:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page66.asp
Another of our members, Bob, can actually trace how he is descended from Edward III, albeit through an illegitimate child - and to Charlemagne.
When you're going back so far it's difficult to know who and what to believe. If you're trying to verify information you've found on the Internet, Sue suggests checking out sites recommended at:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.genealogy.medieval
Who has the oldest ancestry? Leona wrote to tell us that her father-in-law has traced his family back to a Viking named Streaf who lived around 400BC. We'd certainly be interested to know how he managed it!
The third series of "Who Do You Think You Are?" begins on BBC1 at 9pm on Wednesday 6th September, and on Saturday 9th September the National Family History Show 2006 takes place at the Gateshead International Stadium. More information from:
http://www.nationalfamilyhistoryfair.com
AND FINALLY.....
We have free one-year subscriptions waiting for another 5 lucky members. All you need to do is check your My Summary page to see whether your personal code matches any of the numbers shown here:
LC8116 LC679477 LC577866 LC50575 LC811877
If one of these is YOUR personal code, please email info@LostCousins.com to claim your prize (you must claim before August 31st).
Whether or not you're a winner, why not click the Search button on your My Ancestors page while you're logged in? And to maximise your chances of finding some 'lost cousins', why not add some more of your relatives from 1881?
The LostCousins Team
http://www.LostCousins.com
info@LostCousins.com
© Copyright 2006 Peter Calver & Lost Cousins Ltd
Please do NOT copy or republish any part of this newsletter without permission - which is only granted in the most exceptional circumstances. However, you MAY link to this newsletter or any article in it without asking for permission - though why not invite other family historians to join LostCousins instead, since standard membership (which includes the newsletter), is FREE?