You'll find baptisms and burials from 1639 to 1768 on Essex and Suffolk Surnames. Entries from the register covering 1769-1812 are on FreeREG, which I update more or less each day as I work my way through the register (as of today, I'm in the 1780s...). Marriages are available on Essex & Suffolk Surnames from 1638 to 1691, with marriages 1692 to 1753 on FreeREG - they'll be on my website soon.
Some of the entries from 1692-1713 consist of information from two separate registers, which I've combined. The information is rather interesting as we get people's occupations and occasionally their ages. From 1714, only the date on which the burial in woollen affidavit was sworn appears in the burial registers, but this does give you a rough idea of when the event took place as the affidavits had to be sworn within a certain time following the burial. Later in the register, it's not clear if the date is the burial or the affidavit, and later still, it seems the date is that of the burial rather than the affidavit. Sorry - it can get confusing!
The painting shown here is John Constable's depiction of Langham's church spire poking up on the skyline of the Dedham Vale.
I have fiche for Washbrook in Suffolk which I'll work on at some point, and I will also get on with more Dedham records. So lots to do!
Parish registers on the radio
I was on Peter Holmes' show this morning on BBC Essex talking about the fascinating historical nuggets I've found in parish registers. You can listen online via the iPlayer (I turn up 11 minutes in), or if you're outside the UK you can listen to the clip on my blog.
Meet the Authors at Shrewsbury Waterstone's
If you're a fan of crime fiction and non-fiction and live anywhere near Shrewsbury, you won't want to miss this event, organised jointly between Waterstone's and the Crime Writers' Association. You might meet authors you already know and love, or you might discover your new favourite author. Last year, at the event in Edinburgh authors Kate Ellis, Martin Edwards, Leigh Russell and Linda Stratmann amongst others were signing books and meeting fans.
And you'll definitely meet me, as I'll be there with my book Fatal Evidence, which wouldn't exist had it not been for a note in a parish register about an arsenic death.
Come along to Shrewsbury Waterstone's on Sunday 15th April 2018, from 2pm tp 3.30pm.
Snippets
There's some very interesting notes in Langham's registers so I'm writing a series of blog posts exploring them in more detail. Even if your family aren't from Langham, the notes bring to life everyday moments from ordinary people living in the past. So hopefully you'll find them interesting!
Neaten your tree - for free!
There's a very handy free tool called Family Tree Analyzer which you download to your computer, and then upload your GEDCOM file to for an analysis. I've tried it with mine and (yes, embarrassing to admit!) it picked up various errors. Someone who was apparently married at the age of 1 (erm...!), someone who married 100 years before they were born, people who were buried before they were baptised etc. It will also identify possible duplicates, and there's various tools which are very helpful. You can download your GEDCOM on Ancestry via the Settings page - look for the green "Export tree button."
Find people with your research interests
Just launched - Evidentree is a free site where you create a profile and find people researching the same places as you. Upload your GEDCOMS and Evidentree will analyse your file, matching each location to a page which will list the surnames you're researching there. It's a way to find out who else is interested in areas that you're researching, so you can share research and maybe even find a cousin you hadn't known existed.
As it's new, it's still being tweaked, but the developer is very responsive in dealing with any problems that may arise - my tree has over 11,000 people in it which it struggled with! It's definitely worth having a look at.
GDPR
You may have heard about GDPR, which is new legislation to control the way in which organisations use your personal details. In signing up to receive this newsletter, you have used your email address and possibly your name too. I don't require anything else - your date of birth, postal address, shoe size or the name of your first pet! I only use your information to send out this email - I most certainly do not share it with anyone else or send you anything other than this email (because quite frankly, it would annoy the hell out of me if someone did that with my details!). Your details are held securely by Mailchimp, the company I use for newsletters. You can unsubscribe easily by following the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email. Or you can email me direct and ask to be removed. I send out emails once or month or less (usually less, it must be said!).
