8 September 2006 LostCousins Newsletter
Newsletter - September 2006
CONTENTS
* The incredible journey of Mary Bryant
* 1837online adds 1841 & 1871 Censuses
* Would you like a free subscription?
To visit the main LostCousins site please go to www.LostCousins.com
The third series of 'Who Do You Think You Are?' (which began on BBC1 on Wednesday) signals the end of the summer and the start of autumn, when the attention of millions turns from sea and sunshine to censuses and certificates.
We've already seen a sharp increase in the numbers of new members joining LostCousins, which is good news for everyone reading this newsletter. The more members we have, the more matches we're able to make, and the more 'lost cousins' you'll find!
Meanwhile, here at LostCousins we're hard at work making the changes in our software that will allow us to allow us to match relatives from the 1881 Census of Canada.
Whilst we can't give you a precise date when the new census will be introduced, one thing we can tell you is that existing LostCousins members will have the first opportunity to enter their Canadian relatives.
A consequence of the extensive testing we'll be doing is that there are likely to be delays in replying to emails and messages for a period of 10-12 days starting on September 10th - we apologise in advance for any inconvenience.
QUICK LOG-IN
LostCousins site: http://www.LostCousins.com
Your email address: ~1~
If you can't remember your password, and haven't opted to be logged in automatically, please click on the link below for an instant email reminder:
http://www.lostcousins.com/pages/login/forgotten.mhtml
One of our members recently drew our attention to the 1851 Census entry for William Dye, who was apparently described as a "Retired snob"!
Did any of your ancestors have an unusual or amusing occupation?
In 1797 there were severe restrictions placed on the use of gold currency, and the Bank of England was for the first time forced to issue large quantities of one pound and two pound notes.
Unfortunately the quality of the printing was poor, and soon forgers were capitalising of the opportunity to literally print money. There's a scan of an 1818 forgery on our website at:
http://www.lostcousins.com/forgedpoundnote.jpg
Between 1797 and 1818 the bank brought 998 prosecutions for forgery, and secured 834 convictions. 313 people were executed - but those who pleaded guilty were, from 1801 onwards, subject to the lesser penalty of transportation to Australia.
Even today, possession of this 1818 forgery is a crime, though fortunately the penalty is less onerous (otherwise the owner wouldn't have allowed us to display it on our site!).
THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF MARY BRYANT
A few years earlier, in 1787, a Cornish girl called Mary Broad was sentenced to death, later commuted to 7 years transportation to Australia, for the highway robbery of a silk bonnet, jewellery, and some coins.
She gave birth to a daughter while on the high seas, and soon after arrival in New South Wales she married William Bryant, a convicted smuggler by whom Mary bore a son.
In 1791 the four of them escaped, together with some other male convicts, and sailed 3000 miles to the island of Timor, an arduous journey that took 66 days. There they claimed to be survivors of a shipwreck, and were initially believed.
Eventually, however, the truth came out, and they were dispatched to Batavia (now Jakarta) where William and his son died. Mary and her daughter were sent back to England, but the child died on the journey.
Back in England Mary Bryant was tried, and could have been hung - but a public outcry and the support of James Boswell (the biographer of Samuel Johnson) led to her pardon, and she went back to Cornwall.
Mary's baptism is recorded in the IGI (http://tinyurl.com/enkek) but there's little known of her after 1793 (some sources say that she remarried). Perhaps someone reading this is related to, or even descended from, Mary Bryant? If so, do let us know!
1837ONLINE ADDS 1841 & 1871 CENSUSES
Next week 1837online will be adding the 1841 and 1871 Censuses of England & Wales to their site, making a total of four censuses (the others are 1861 and 1891).
And until Monday 11th September you can save 6 pounds on an unlimited use subscription to the BMD indexes and censuses at 1837online, which is currently available at the reduced price of 59 pounds, equivalent to less than 5 pounds per month.
In this article we're going to focus on the LostCousins site itself. Have you ever wondered what a red ! symbol means on your My Ancestors page - or what Ancestor Numbers are? All this and more will be revealed!
TIP #1
A red ! symbol alongside one of the relatives on your My Ancestors page indicates a possible error. Typically it means another member has entered the same person, but that there's a small discrepancy between the two entries.
The chances are it isn't you who has made an error - but why not look up the census entry, just to make sure?
Click on the ! symbol then select Edit (if you need to make changes) or Confirm (if you're certain everything is correct). The next time you click the Search button the ! symbol will disappear.
TIP #2
Entering Ancestor Numbers makes it much easier for us to help you. Only direct ancestors have Ancestor Numbers, and when you tell us that someone is a direct ancestor you'll see an extra box open up.
How do you work out an Ancestor Number? The simplest solution is to look it up on the blank Ancestor Chart we provide. Ancestor Numbers are also known as 'Ahnentafel numbers' (enter that into Google if you want to know more).
TIP #3
Another useful tip is that when you see information displayed in blue, you can click on it (and, by the way, this applies to many websites - not just LostCousins).
For example, on your My Ancestors page the names of your relatives are displayed in blue - click on any one and the full details are displayed, allowing you to check them and make any necessary changes.
TIP #4
Have you ever clicked 'Print format' on your My Ancestors page? You might think it would print something, but in fact what it does is to display a more detailed version of the page, one that's too wide for some screens (hence the term 'Print format').
It's a great way to see at a glance all of the information you've entered, including maiden names, baptisms dates, and all the census references. You can copy and paste it into a spreadsheet if you like - and of course it makes a great printout!
TIP #5
Puzzled? Answers to many common questions can be found on the FAQs page, but some pages have specific help information. Just click 'Help' on your My Ancestors or My Cousins page to find out more about how those pages work.
TIP #6
Do you know what your personal code is? It's a unique number that identifies your LostCousins account - your membership number - and you'll find it at the top of your My Summary page.
One application of personal codes is to link together the accounts of a husband and wife so that they can take advantage of the discounted joint subscription rate. Just enter your spouse's personal code in the appropriate box on your My Details page.
TIP #7
Why do we ask you to enter ALL of your relatives, when you're trying to find people who share the same ancestors? Because someone who is a blood relative of yours could be the direct ancestor of another member!
Our matching system is clever enough to make matches even when the common ancestors died long before 1881 - but we can only do this if members enter their blood relatives.
WOULD YOU LIKE A FREE SUBSCRIPTION?
When you next log-in to LostCousins watch carefully - there could be a message telling you that you've won a free subscription, but it will only appear once!
If you see this message, email us quoting the special code in the message - and we'll upgrade you to subscriber status for a full year, a saving of 10 pounds.
We're giving away up to 10 free one-year subscriptions to LostCousins - but you must email us with the code before midnight on September 17th.
AND FINALLY......
One of our most experienced members, who as a 'buddy' devotes a lot of time to helping others, wrote to us with a great idea:
"Would members of LostCousins be willing to have an email signature mentioning LostCousins - I know I would?"
Here are some of the suggestions she came up with:
I'm a Cousin - are you? http://www/LostCousins.com
Cousins circle the world! http://www/LostCousins.com
Proud to be a member of LostCousins! http://www/LostCousins.com
Whichever email program you use it's easy to set up a signature (and it saves you having to type your own name every time). Here's a page that explains how to do it if you use Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/oe/personalize.mspx
Do you have any ideas how to spread the good news about LostCousins? There's a free subscription for the best new idea! Email info@LostCousins.com now with your suggestion - if two people come up with the same great idea the first to contact us will win.
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?