Ancestors Technology Descendants

John Ridley in Pay Lists - WO12

2010-05-16T00:34:00.005-06:00

When I was at the National Archives many years ago I looked through the Pay Lists for the 7th Regiment of Foot. I knew from the pension records that John Ridley had served 16 Years, 10 months and he was discharged on Oct 21 1821. I ordered a series of pay list that for the 7th Regiment starting in the 1804 -1806 time period. (WO12/2542) I was thumbing through the actual pay list books that the regiment carried with them. I found in the list where John Ridley first appears. It was on May 10 1805 the he joined the 7th regiment of foot, he had volunteered from the militia. Many of the men on the list had joined from the militia about the same time he did. His pay due was 15 shilling. There is a column on the preprinted form that says ‘in lieu of Beer’ He received his pay in beer. Everyone on the page received some of their wages in lieu of beer. The list is dated June 7, 1805 at Wakefield. It appears that he joined the regiment while it was at Wakefield, Yorkshire.
I followed the movements of the regiment through the pay lists. In 1808 the regiment went to Nova Scotia. It was there most of the year. In early 1809 I find a list of men who were killed in the siege of Martinique, 38 privates and 7 officers. Over the next five years the regiment was in Denmark, Spain, Portugal, and France. In 1815 it says they camped near Paris. The 7th was in many battles and suffered many casualties. John Ridley was wounded twice.

Scottish Records Online - 1797 Horse Tax

2010-04-20T12:32:00.013-06:00

It has been about three years since I put a transcription of the 1797 horse tax for the Pairh of Urr in Kirkcudbright on a website. Today I have discovered that the horse tax lists for the entire country have been digitized and is now online. There is no searchable index. The images of the lists can be downloaded or saved. The lists are organized by county and then by parish. The name of the man who had the horses is recorded as well as how many horses he had and how much tax was paid. It also records the name of the land or estate that he occupied. Typically parish registers do not record the estate a family lived on. The horse tax is one source of many that one would put on his or her list to look at while at the National Archives. Also on this website is a record of all land owners in Scotland in 1872. I look forward to more records being put online. The guide for these little known or used records is the book, Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors.
At ScotlandPeoples website the probate indexes are available to 1900. They just put Catholic records on their website. The price to access these records is very reasonable and sometimes free. The record that I think would be of most value will be the militia lists created prior to and during the Napoleonic Wars (1800 to 1815). Kirkcudbrightshire has milita records that cover most parishes in the county. I have put the parish of Urr militia records online

Flory's in Tattingstone

2010-04-18T13:04:00.003-06:00

I have been attempting to assemble some of the Flory families in the Clopton and Burgh area of Suffolk. There are just enough of them to cause some confusion since there were 7 brothers marrying in the mid 1700’s, namely ; Richard, John, Isaac, William, Benjamin, Jonathan, and Thomas. As the generations continued they had a tendency to use the same given names. I have identified 27 of their children. There could be as many as 15 more that I have not found yet, because the parish records provide little identifying information. Much of the research is based on the assertion that families lived in the same parish for many generations. When a family moved some parishes or miles from where they were born it becomes a bit more difficult to identify them. I found a marriage of Jonathan Flory to Elizabeth Smyth in 1778 in Tattingstone. This marriage record states that Jonathan is from Clopton. They went on to have 10 children in Clopton. Tattingstone is about 10 miles south of Clopton on the other side of Ipswich. Susan the sister of Jonathan died in Tattingstone in 1795. I know this for certain because in a rare instance of record keeping the burial record records her father’s name and mothers maiden name; Jonathan Flory and Mary Abbot. I found 2 families in Tattiingstone that could have a connection to Clopton. There was a Thomas born about 1752 and one about 1757. Their children were born between 1786 and 1802. There is a headstone and will for the Thomas that died in 1812. It is the other Thomas that died in 1810 at the age of 53 that appears to have a connection to Clopton. His birth year of 1757 fits with being a son of Jonathan Flory and Mary Abbot. He married Sarah Potter in 1784 in Tattingstone. He named a daughter Ursula. The fact that two other family members have been identified there and his birth year fits; and Ursula is a family name points to him being from Clopton. The parish registers of Clopton has a Thomas born in 1755 and 1758. It appears that Sarah Bobbit married the Thomas born in 1755 who is the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Flory. As I looked through the Bishop Transcripts of Tattingstone I seen a number of Abbots’s, so it appears that Mary Abbot may have been the connection to Tattingstone to begin with.

Scoggin Family in 1600 Suffolk England

2010-03-28T15:00:00.014-06:00

I was looking at the new Suffolk Burial index that came out this past year (2009) and found some new burials for Scoggins in the 1600's. The last update for this index was in 2004. There are now over a million names in the index. It can be purchased from the Suffolk Family History Society. I found some Scogging's in the parish of Shimpling in West Suffolk. Where is Shimpling? It is some miles south of Bury St Edmunds. I have access to some parish register transcripts and found a number of children who were christened there starting in 1663. Robert and Grisiel Scogging had 6 children between 1663 and 1677. It appears that Grisiel died as Robert and Bridget continue on where Robert and Grisiel left off. Robert and Bridget had 4 children between 1682 and 1688. There is a Robert who was born in 1668 who could very well be the Robert of Helmingham. Helmingham is about 15 miles east of Shimpling. The last record of any Scogging in Shimpling is in 1708 when Robert died. I assume that this Robert is the father of the family, but I do not know for sure. It appears that the children of this family moved to other parishes. Is it the remnants of this family that we find in East Suffolk? The east Suffolk Scoggins do not have the given names of Bridget or Grisiel as found in Shimplling. None of the children were named Grisiel or Bridget, just Robert's spouses.

Lord or Loyd or Lloyd in Hemingstone

2010-03-27T11:57:00.020-06:00

I have been looking at records for Elizabeth Loyd (1756-1835) daughter of Richard Lord and Deborah Hagar. Elizabeth married Thomas Scoging in Otley, Suffolk County, England in 1776. One clue in the marriage record is that Richard Loyd was a witness. Soon after the marriage they settle in Badingham. The IGI has Loyd as a variant of Lloyd, but it appears that it in not so in all cases. I have studied the parish registers of the Lord family of Hemingstone. I discovered that the surname for the children who were born in the 1750's and 1760's was spelled Lord. The children I found who were marrying in the 1770's was spelled Loyd. Richard Loyd was a witness to many marriages in this time period. In one instances Loyd and Lord is written on the same certificate. In the 1790's and forward Loyd is no longer used. It was in a 20 year time period that the surname Loyd was used in Hemingstone. Further clues: There are no other Loyd or Lord families in the vicinity. A couple of the Scoging children settled in Hemingstone. Thomas Scoging snd Elizabeth Lord named a child Deborah and Richard.
Richard Lord died in 1803 at the age of 81 in Hemingstone. Richrd Lord Junior (1752-1801) died at the age of 48 in Hemingstone. No wills or headstones can be found for the family.
I also discovered a few more Mormon handcart pioneers that descend through the line of Richard Lord (1752-1801) who is the brother of Elizabeth Lord (1756-1835) Richard had a son named Rueben. Reuben is the father of Harriet (1817-1896) and Charles (1823-1857) who were Mormon hand cart pioneers. William Bye Scogings (1822-1886), hand cart pioneer, is a second cousin to Charles and Harriet Lord. Harriet (1817-1896) came to Utah in the 1850's with her husband, Edmund Kindred and family. They settled in Springville, Utah.
I have created a separate gedcom on my website for all the children who descend from Richard Lord and Deborah Hagar of Hemingstone.

Utah Digital Newspapers

2010-02-11T12:39:00.018-07:00

I have been searching the newspapers of Uintah and Duchesne Counties in Utah for tid bits of information about the Scogings on the website, Utah Digital Newspapers. One surprising find was that they were known as Scroggins. Myton is about 12 to 15 miles south of Cedarview.
On May 14, 1908, the Uintah Chieftain was launched in Myton with this fanfare: "Today the Uintah Chieftain makes its bow to the settlers of the former Uintah Indian Reservation".

The Myton Free Press
Feb 20 1919 page 2
Philip Scroggins has moved back to Bennett. He occupies the Rasmusen quarters. For the past two years he and his family have resided in Cedarview.

Mar 6 1919 page 2
Leeton: Mrs Philip Scroggins left Saturday for Cedarview to attend her mothers funeral.

Sep 18 1919 page 4
Leeton: Philip Scroggins and family also Richard Colton have moved from their ranches to Bennett for the school term.

Dec 4 1919 page 4
Leeton: Phil Scroggins has started building on the town site at Bennett.

Mar 9 1922 page 4
Alton Scroggins is reported to have tuberculosis in a very bad state.

Mar 30 1922 page 4
Leeton: George Evans and Oral Scroggins left last Tuesday for Salt Lake City where they were to be united under the bands of matrimony. They got as far as Roosevelt and the mud and failure of the stage to arrive forced them to remain their several days during which time they suffered a nervous shock but recovered the following Sunday when the mud laden stage started toward Price. Everyone here wishes them well in their new undertaking.

The place names are farming or ranching communities. Indian Bench is south of, Bennett, and Leeton is north of Bennett. Cedarview is about 5 miles west of Bennett. Montwell and Cedarview is in the same area. Montwell is no longer on the map. Roosevelt was the market or main community in the area now and then.
The Scroggins were part of the land grab that took place in 1905 when the government opened up Indian land for homesteading on the Uncompahgre and Uintah Reservations. It was reported that Alton Scogings was the first white to be born on the Indian land in 1905. The land was harsh and barren. Now to look at a aerial view it is just roads and empty lots where houses use to be.

I found some articles in the Salt Lake Deseret News pertaining to Rockville that are of interest. This is where William Bye Scogings was from 1862 to 1877. Rockville is 300 miles south of Salt Lake City. There are many articles pertaining to communities throughout Utah in the Deseret News. I could not get the search engine at the website to pull up Scogging. I found the article searching for Rockville.

Deseret News 1867 Aug 21 1867 page 6
Rockville, Kane Co., July 29
Editor Deseret News: Dear Brothers: - A few words from the upper valley of the Rio Virgin, will probably be interesting to the very numerous readers of the News. The weather has been hot and dry thus far through the summer. The wheat crop is light; there was but little cotton planted, and that is late; corn and cane are excellent; fruit is average. Health is generally good, though this climate is a little severe on children. Education is progressing, though feebly as yet. Improvements are advancing steadily. Religion is reviving. Our morals are not tainted with "regenerators." The Indians are quiet, and peace prevails. The 20th anniversary of the entrance of the Pioneers into Great Salt Lake Valley was celebrated in the usual manner, with a right good will, evincing that the people here duly appreciate the labors of that noble and honored band of veterans. Finally, "Mormonism" in these craggy regions is in the ascendancy. Yours, morst respectfully, G. Spilsbury

Deseret News Aug 19 1868 page 7
Celebration of the 24th in the Settlements
At Rockville, Kane Co., the people were fully up to the times in festive matters. They wasted their full complement of gunpowder, had a procession, music, speeches &c. In the afternoon the children had a dance in which a few of the Lamanites, attracted by the sound of the violin, participated. In The evening there was a ball for the citizens. Committee of arrangements, Thomas Bowman, H.B. Scogging, J.C. Hall

H.B. Scogging is William Bye Scogings.

London Marriage Registers on ancestry.com

2010-02-05T22:15:00.019-07:00

I have a number of marriages that I identified through the civil registration indexes in the London area. Since there are a number of churches in each district it would be unlikely that I would find the specific church the marriage took place in. I don't have access to all the church records nor the time to search them. I was going to have to buy the certificates from the registrar office.
How complete is this ancestry marriage index? I found 12 marriage records of the Scoggins that I am researching. I found almost every marriage I was looking for. This tells me that this index, linked to images, is very extensive. Yes, I was able to download the images as well. I also found a marriage not recorded in the civil registration indexes. My pioneer ancestor, William Bye Scogings, married Sarah Raper about 1850 in London. I found that marriage in the parish of St Mary, Rotherhithe. Now I have the certificate. I thought I would never find that record. He joined the Mormons in 1853. Sarah never did join. The story goes that he had to choose between his family and the Mormons. William left his family in 1859 for Salt Lake City never to see his family again.
It use to be that a methodical search was required to find most records. Now with the indexing that is going on it is increasingly only necessary to know the name and the place and the search engine finds the records. The new term added to the genealogist vocabulary is 'wild card'. The methodology of genealogical research is changing with this massive indexing effort. It pays to know the subscription sites. Library's now have subscriptions to some of these sites so it may not be necessary to buy one. The largest free site is familysearch.org and there are many others as well.
I would imgine that a small portion of the records in the world are indexed, and the subscriptions sites focus on those records of most use to the researcher ranging from census record, church records, directories, military records, etc.

John Rawling Scoging (1778 - 1827)

2010-02-02T01:39:00.017-07:00

The will of Thomas Scoging in 1785 mentions his son Robert Scoging (1742-18??). It does not say where he is. He is not an executor in the will so it appears that he is not close-by. He is the oldest surviving son. He married Elizabeth Rawling in Ipswich in 1772. Elizabeth's father, John Rawling was a man of means. When he died in 1779 he left 20 pounds for his grandson, Robert Scogging then age 5. John Rawling had property in Lindsay. Lindsay is about 13 miles from the parish of Clare and about 13 miles from Ipswich in the opposite direction. The parish of Clare is where we next pick up the trail of Robert Scoging and Elizabeth Rawling. They had six children; Robert, Elizabeth, John Rawling,Susannah, Mary, and Thomas. Robert is married in Falkenham, Suffolk in 1796, and John Rawling is married in London in 1810 and he is a victualer. I believe that I have found Thomas in London as well. The burial record of John Rawling Scoging has recently been found in St Leonard Shoreditch. Lacking direct evidence the following clues provide convincing evidence of the connection of John Rawling Scoging in London to our Scoging family. Due to the rarity of the surname 'Scoging' and then being combined with 'Rawling' and his age being recorded on the burial record as 49, I feel certain that this must be the son of Robert Scoging and Elizabeth Rawling baptized in 1778 in Clare. His name at baptism was recorded as John Ralling Scoging. John Rawling Scoging married Elizabeth Stuckey in 1810 in Shoreditch and they had 6 children. When Harriet died in 1876 she left a fortune of nearly 5000 pounds. It appears that she inherited it from her marriage in 1829 to Daniel Hagen. This is the wealthiest Scoging family we have in our family tree. The search continues for the burial, and probate records of Robert Scoging (1742-18??). I think it may be in London.

The Will of Thomas Scoging (1709-1788)

2010-01-31T17:26:00.026-07:00

Some weeks ago I found the will of Thomas Scoging in the Norwich Consistory Court. Prior to 1858 people had a variety of options of which court to prove their will. As these will's are indexed and put on line it will be much easier to find them. I found a reference to Thomas's will on ancestry.com.

"first I give and devise unto my son Thomas Scoging All that piece of Ground situate in Badingham aforesaid with Cottage there upon lately built.... Also I give and devise unto James Aldous of Badingham aforesaid Labourer All that piece of Ground situate in Badingham aforesaid with a Cottge thereupon lately built.... First I give and bequeath unto my son Robert Scoging and to my Daughter Elizabeth Rye (wife of Richard Rye now or late of Swilland in the said County Yeoman the sum of five shillings each....hereof I do give and bequeath the same unto my Sons William Scoging and the said Thomas Scoging share and share alike.... appoint my said Sons William Scoging and Thomas Scoging Executors of this my last Will and Testament... I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this fourth day of May in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Five."

It appears that Thomas was what would be termed an 'owner-occupier' or freehold property owner. From the generation of Thomas to his children and grandchildren times were changing. This change brought hardships on the working class. Two of the major changes were; first, The labourers were no longer living-in with farmers, and they were hired as need be; second, enclosure or the loss of common rights denied them firewood, and the animals shared in common. This met that most relied on parish relief many months every year. To compound the problem there was inflation. The labourer force was increasing and the population as a whole. Many in the following generations were classified as labourers. No probate records can be found for William, Thomas, or Robert. An excellent book pertaining to eighteenth century England is English Society in the Eighteenth Century, Second Edition (The Penguin Social History of Britain) I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about England in 1700's.
As I read this book it appears that the same problems that plagued their society still exist in our society and will always exist, i.e., inflation, unemployment, technology advances displacing workers, corruption, political scandals, crime, etc.

William McMurray goes down with the Titanic

2010-01-17T22:57:00.007-07:00

I was surfing the web recently and discovered that one of my 1st cousins went down on the Titanic. I never could find him on the census, it was because he was a steward on steamships that crossed the ocean. He was on the steamship 'Republic' in 1909 when it was struck by the Steamship 'Florida' off the coast of New York and sunk. The nearly 2000 people on the ship were able to evacuate. William received an award on that occasion. I remember watching a documentary on the cause of the collision on PBS. William is now part of history displays and information can readily be found about him on various websites due to his fate on the Titanic. He must have been very good at his job, since he was on two of the premiere steamships of that era. What a coincidence, both sank.
familysearch.org has now indexed Cheshire parish registers and now I have his birth date as well as those of his siblings. They were all born in Birkenhead which is just across from Liverpool where there was shipyards. He married Clara Jones in 1902 in the Liverpool area. They had three children; May, Ivy, and Ernest. From a website I learned that Ernest was on the 'Laconia' in 1942 when it was torpedoed by German submarines. This is a well known incident, not only for the large loss of life but how the allied bombers responded. The submariners started rescue operations as they were unaware that 1800 Italian prisoners of war were on board. The submariners were bombed so they ceased rescue operations and changed there future policies on rescue operations. Ernest was lost. I have learned about this from web pages. I do not have any documentation nor access to it as it would be at the National Archives at KEW. The genealogy of William McMurray is on my website.

Google Earth uncovers Brown Homestead in Dry Fork Canyon

2010-01-10T11:20:00.009-07:00

David Emanuel Brown (1851-1927) was a most remarkable man. He was a carpenter, builder, and farmer and left a mark in every community that he lived in. By wagon he traveled from Georgia to Monroe, Utah then to Marysvale, then to Dry Fork Canyon in Uintah County, Utah where he homesteaded land next a Utah State Monument, 'Remember the Maine'. It is a painting on the side of a cliff. The family arrived the same year that the painting was completed, 1898. I have the homestead case file describing the land. His nine children all lived in Uintah and Duchesne counties and have written a history of their times there. I hope to get in on the website soon. Their lives are interwoven with the lives of the Philip Scogings and Mary Elizabeth Brown, his daughter. David moved his family to Marysvale and this is where Mary met Philip Scogings. Soon after David move to Uintah County, Philip and Mary followed. Were talking a lot of cousins growing up in rural Utah, over 40. After 10 years in Dry Fork Canyon he then homesteaded the land of his daughter, Martha Jane in Cedarview. Cedarview was about 35 miles west of Dry Fork. By visiting Cedarview one can get an idea of the hardships and the wear the land had on its occupants. It was in Bennett, Utah, not far from Cedarview that the family of Philip Scogings and Mary Brown homesteaded.

Dumfries Newspaper

2009-12-07T12:58:00.011-07:00

Dumfries first newspaper started in 1777. The newspaper article about Aucheninnes came from the Dumfries and Galloway Standard. I put a transcription of the newspaper article yesterday on my website dated January 7 1856. The key to using the newspaper is the paper index that is available. When I was at Ewart library in Dumfries, I couldn't image anyone trying to read the newspaper on microfiche. The print is small and somewhat blurry. The index gets you on the right page and cloumn.
The newspaper covers the Galloway region. The index on this page is Mckenzie's in the area in the 1840' and 1850's. In the parish of Urr there was only one Mckenzie family, that also included Dalbeattie. Dalbeattie was the most populated place in the parish. The Mckenzie's had a long lease on the Aucheninnes farm that apparently ended in 1856. I'm uncertain how long they were on the farm. The voters list for 1835 indicates that they were on the farm in 1835, so they were their at least 20 years or more. Lets hope that they digitize the Dumfries Newspaper soon and put it online.

Mckenzie's immigrated to Canada

2009-12-06T15:50:00.041-07:00

Some of my Mckenzie ancestors immigrated to Canada in the 1850's. John Mckenzie was a farmer near Dalbeattie Scotland. He farmed a 200 acre farm called Auchenninnes. The lease on the farm ended in 1856. The family of 11 are recorded in the 1851 census in the parish of Urr. In the 1861 census the family is no longer recorded. Robert and Grace, two of their children, are found in later census years, but the others I have wondered about for over twenty years. Many years ago someone submitted three of the missing to the pedigree resource file; William, Agnes, and Anne. They used the abbreviation for Scotland as 'SCT'. Since the search engine did not recognize 'SCT' as Scotland they remained missing until now. I made the connection on newfamilysearch that connects people by relationships. I have been looking for direct evidence that connects the three to my line. Ancestry.com has indexed the Canadian census records and many vital records, so I was able to search for them quite easily. I found William, the oldest, in the 1901 Ontario census. The 1901 census records a birth date and it is the same as that recorded in the parish registers in the Parish of Urr, Feb 9 1830. The evidence does connect them to my Mckenzie family in Urr parish, Scotland. Agnes married 14 Nov 1861 at the age of 18 to Alexander Gibson in the St. John's, Queen's Road Presbyterian Church in Newfoundland. Their are no Newfoundland records on Ancestry.com.
The remaining three children, John, James, and David Mckenzie, I image would have settled in Canada somewhere. John was born 4 Dec 1833; James was born 26 Oct 1835; and David in 1846. If they lived to 1901 I may be able to identify them in the 1901 census. I think their descendants are going to have to find my website, as their are to many to search.

Suffolk and Galloway drovers 1600's 1700's

2009-12-05T10:22:00.040-07:00

Sometime ago a Scoggins cousin told me that they had Scottish customs in their family, and it was thought that they originally came from Galloway. (Galloway refers to Wigtown, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries counties in Scotland) I have consulted some books listed below that verifies the connection between Galloway and Suffolk. It is reasonable to assume that some of the Scotch would have settled in Suffolk.

On the agriculture of Suffolk By William Raynbird, Hugh Raynbird, 1849 "Culley, in his work ' On Live Stock,' observes, that the Suffolk duns are nothing more than a variety of the Galloway breed, originating in the intercourse that has long subsisted between the Scotch drovers of Galloway cattle and the Suffolk and Norfolk graziers who feed them. This opinion is, I think, incorrect; the breeds agree in nothing else except in their small size and being polled."

Coddenham and Badingham are pointed out as dairy centers. The 20 mile by 12 mile area is where the Scoggins are found, and it provides a reason that a branch of the family settled in Badingham in the 1770's.

General view of the agriculture of the county of Suffolk: drawn up for the ..., 1797 "The country, which is more peculiarly, but not exclusively, the seat of the dairies, is marked out by the parishes of Codenham, Ashbocking, Otley, Charlsfield, Lethei ingham, Hatcheston, Parham, Framlingham, Cransford, Bruisyard, Badingham, Sibton, Heveningham, Cookly, Linstead, Metfield, Wethersdale, Fressingfield, Wingfield, Hoxne, Brome, Thrandeston, Geslingham, Tenningham, Westrop, Wyverston, Gipping, Stonham, Creting; and again to Codenham, with all the places within, being a tract of country of 20 miles by 12. The limits cannot be exact, for this breed of cows spreads over the whole county; but this space must be more peculiarly considered as their head-quarters."

This points to a place where further research can be conducted. The first Scoggins to be found in the parish registers is in Helmingham in 1694. Helmingham is next to Otley parish and near Coddenham. How many Scoggins families came from Scotland? Was the surname spelled the same? Were the Scoggins drovers?

1844 Suffok Gazetteer on my website from Google Books

2009-12-04T14:10:00.030-07:00

I have started to add a new feature to my website for the places I have in Suffolk County, England. I have 148 parishes listed in Suffolk. With a click of a mouse you can go to the 1844 History, gazetteer, and directory of Suffolk, and the towns near its borders ... by William White. It gives a short description and principal residents of each parish in Suffolk.

The text above is a hyper-linked to the gazetteer where you can read the complete listing for Badingham and every other parish in Suffolk.

Now by going to a place on the website, such as Badingham, there is a google map of the area, a link to the 1844 gazetteer, and every person who was born, died, or married there. I have a lot of people associated with Badingham parish.

Scoggin's from Coddenham

2009-11-16T22:43:00.003-07:00

I have added my latest research of the Scoggin family established in Coddenham to my website. My direct line first appears in the parish registers some five miles away in Framsden and Helmingham about 1700. I suspect this is where the Coddenham branch links into mine, but I cannot find any entries in the parish registers to establish the connection. Philip Scoggin married Mary Tyler in 1755 in Coddenham. This is when they first appear in the parish registers. Their first two sons Philip and James descendants becomes what is known as the Scoggin’s from Coddenham. They all lived to old age. Philip died in 1820 at the age of 94. He was a thatcher. He left a will in 1821 naming five children. Philip (1756-1837), James (1758-1837), Thomas (1762-1836), Mary (1764-1826), and Robert (1760-1829). Philip’s (1756-1837) will mentions a son- in law in London, Thomas Hawkes; his brother, James; and wife, Jane. The value of his estate is 5 pounds. James’s (1758-1837) will is valued at under 100 pounds. He was a gameskeeper. Thomas’s (1762-1836) will indicates that he was a thatcher, and the value of the estate was under 200 pounds. There is no indication of a marriage as he leaves it to his brother, James who dies a year later. The family started using the spelling Scoging in the 1800’s.

Flory Connections

2009-10-25T12:00:00.007-06:00

I have been studying another family in my direct line in Suffolk County, England. Elizabeth Flurry (Flory, Flurry) was born in 1710 in the parish of Burgh to Richard Flory and Mary Guildersleve. Elizabeth had nine siblings, five of which lived to old age. I have found a number of Wills relating to the family and monumental inscriptions. The most valuable clue was recorded when Richard Flory died in 1756. His will listed his living children and his daughter 'Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Scogging'. That one sentence ties this Flory family to the Scoggins family leaving no doubt. A small percentage of people left wills and had a headstone. It is worth the search to find such documents. This includes Parish Chest records.
With the scant information found in the parish registers it can be rather difficult to identify correct relationships. With this family only a few of the children remained in the settled parish and the others obtained settlement in other nearby parishes. Case in point; Isaac Flory married Ann Pooley are in his settled parish of Clopton. They had a few children and then there is no sign of them in the parish registers. 10 miles away in the parish of Boyton I find more children. Ann’s maiden name is recorded with her children's baptisms making the connection certain. What made me look at Boyton to begin with was the burial of Benjamin in 1799 in Clopton. Benjamin was born in 1718 and was the father of Issac. The burial record records his abode as Boyton.

Laxfield Farmer

2009-09-07T11:57:00.001-06:00

Isaac Scoggins (1799-1889) was a child of ten when his parents died. He became a successful and well known farmer in Laxfield. The farm is on the map even today. He married Mary Ann Stanford in 1822. After studying the Wills of Mary Ann’s grandfather and father it appears that Isaac married into a well to do farming family living in Walpole with lands in Cookley and Badingham. Mary Ann was only seventeen at the time and was with a child. They were married after Banns which is not customary when the ages of the couple are under 21. The Will of her father, Samuel, verifies the relationship. The census records verifies her age and birthplace. To complicate the matter, her grandfather was also named Samuel and lived to 1826, but he did not mention Isaac Scoggins as his son in- law in his will. Issac was the eleventh child of fourteen children born to William Scoggin and Ann Habbald. Isaac Scoggins and Mary Ann Stanford had eleven children. The wealth he acquired was passed on to his children.

Newspaper account of Coroner's Inquest

2009-06-21T00:45:00.009-06:00

I was checking the Online British Library catalogue for death entries of my most recent additions to my family tree. One might assume that an ordinary person would not be found in a county newspaper. Newspapers report coroner’s inquests. Years ago I found a short entry in the Carlisle Journal in 1845 for my ancestor, John Ridley.

“On the 9th instant, at Brampton, on the body of John Ridley of that place, nailor. He was carrying upon his back a bag of coals, and he turned to rest himself against the wall, when he fell to the ground and instantly expired; Verdict, Natural Death”

One might ask why would there be an inquest for an old man that died carrying a bag of coals. One of the grounds for an inquest was a sudden death. Accidents were the most common reason. Previous to now it was not practical to read the fine print in newspapers to locate such instances. With an every name index it becomes an easy task. I found an account of Robert the son of Clement Rogers and Sarah Scoging in the Ipswich Journal published on August 21 1875 . This account has all the details one would want to know plus more.

ASHFIELD: Sudden Death. - An inquest was held before C.C. Brooke, Esq., coroner, on Tuesday last, on the body of Robert Rogers, shoemaker, Ashfield, aged 57, who was found dead in a barley field, at Monk Soham, and was carried to his father's house at Ashfield. - Maria Pepper, wife of Thomas Pepper, of Monk Soham, said; last Friday afternoon, the 13th inst., about four o'clock, He ate a very hearty tea, and left about half past seven in the evening to walk home. The deceased has for some time been wandering in his mind, but was sufficiently well to take care of himself. He complained that his breathing was short. - James Parker, labourer employed by Mr. Edwards, of Monk Soham, said; Last Friday evening shortly after eight, I saw the deceased lying on his face across the footpath in a barley field. I raised him on one side. James Hammond was with me, and we found he was dead. Assistance was obtained, and deceased was ultimately brought here.- Mr. George Fletcher, surgeon, of Earl Soham, said he saw the deceased last Friday night, between nine and ten o'clock. He had since made an examination of the body, and found the heart slightly diseased, and one portion of the brain much diseased. - The Jury returned a verdict of "Death from natural causes"

The Ipswich Journal covers East Suffolk. The British Library’s online collection does not cover every area. For instance it does not have the Carlisle Journal where I found John Ridley in 1845. If they have a newspaper in your area of research then you are in luck. The next step in the process is to seek out the actual coroner records which may be found in Record Offices.

Wesleyan Methodist Church Records

2009-06-19T01:34:00.004-06:00

I have made progress in locating Sarah Scoging (1795-1842). She married Clement Rogers in 1817 in Earl Soham. Earl Soham is about five miles from Badingham where Sarah was born. The connection to her parents William and Ann Scoggin could appear to be in question since she died before the census of 1851 when birthplaces were recorded. I have searched through many online trees where she is recorded. There is one that connects her to Clement Rogers. Some of the trees consider her to be Rebecca Scoggins who was born in this time period. Rebecca is not in the parish registers of the area. She married a James Nichols in Bruisyard in 1823. They are definitely two distinct woman. A search of the IGI shows 34 entries for the 10 children Clement and Sarah are known to have had. A few of the entries note that the baptisms came from a Wesleyan Methodist church in Framlingham. I identified the registers in the library catalogue. I went through the baptismal register very carefully and to my surprise I found that the registers were quite detailed. In the 1820’s and 1830’s there is a preprinted form that allows for the entry of the parents of the mother of a child. Her parents were recorded as William and Ann Scoggins. This leaves little doubt that she is indeed the daughter of Willliam and Ann Scoggins of Badingham. There is a monumental inscription in the Earl Soham Church Yard that has been transcribed as follows; Sarah wife of Clem Rogers 21 Feb 1842, age 42. The burial register notes her age as 47. Clement Rogers was a cordwainer, shoemaker, and farmer of 42 acres. When he died in 1877 he left an estate valued at £300. The baptism records of the Wesleyan Methodist Church yielded much more than I would expect to find in a Church of England record and even civil registration after 1837. It may not be apparent in the IGI that you are looking at a Church record other than the Church of England.

1911 England Census

2009-06-16T22:33:00.002-06:00

I have been searching the 1911 census for over a month now. I have the luxury of having access to it at the Family History Library in Salt Lake. The stark difference between this census and other censuses is that each page only contains one household whether it is one person or ten or more. Prior censuses made it quite easy to see the neighbors since there are 25 people to a page. I have seen a number of errors in the indexing of the census. It is obvious why this is the case. With 25 people on a page it is possible to learn the handwriting of the writer. With one family on a page there is very little to compare the writing with. It does have some details that prior census did not record, such as, how long married, how many children and how many still alive. It also goes into some more detail on occupations. Searching the index is free. It may be necessary to get creative in entering search parameters. If I don’t find what I am looking for I enter a first name with the birthplace and age; leaving out the surname. It also costs about $4.50 to view the image and another $1.50 to view a transcription. That is a steep price to pay when comparing it to other online databases. I sure hope the price becomes more in line with other databases. http://www.1911census.co.uk/

Thomas Scogings a Woolwich shoemaker

2009-06-16T01:04:00.003-06:00

I have been going through the census records of Thomas Lay and Mary Scoging. I now have gone through the census records of their children. I have made a connection to another brother of Mary Scoging. I found Ambrose Lay living with Thomas and Hannah Scogings in the 1841 census of Woolwich. Ambrose would be his nephew. His age in the census puts his birth about 1776. Thomas Scoging and Elizabeth Lloyd had a child before their marriage in 1776. The Otley parish transcript mentions a child being baptized after their marriage. This it appears is the same child born to Elizabeth Lloyd before the marriage named Thomas. I think I need to buy the Otley parish registers from the Suffolk Record Office as the research is taking me in that direction.

Thomas and Hannah Scogings had a child recorded in the 1841 census named Abigail. I did not find Thomas and Hannah in the 1851 census, but I found Abigail with her husband, George Smith, living at the same address. Abigail was born about 1821 in Woolwich. The civil registration indexes do not record the death of Thomas and Hannah. It may have not been recorded. I have determine that Thomas was a shoemaker and established resident of Woolwich. The last record I have him in is an 1845 directory of Woolwich I need to search Probate records to see if I can find him prior to 1851. I have found a marriage in Bedfordshire in 1805 between Thomas Scogings and Hannah Evans in 1805. There are more questions than answers. Now I have a location to search and more records to uncover.

Suffolk Ancestors

2009-05-09T12:13:00.003-06:00

Thomas Scoggins and Elizabeth Lloyd had 11 children between 1777 and 1800. I have just discovered the marriage of Mary their daughter who was born in 1796. Mary was the last one to be discovered. I have accounted for all eleven children now. Ten of them survived to adulthood and married. William I believe was killed in the Napoleon Wars in 1815. Their average age at death was 77 years. Elizabeth and Deborah lived to near 100 years old. It must be assume that our ancestors lived to old age unless we can prove otherwise. They all remained in East Suffolk except for Richard who lived in London. The Ipswich Journal reported the death of Deborah. Some of the facts do not jive with what the records say.

Ipswich Journal; Feb 8, 1889: Whitton: Death of a Centenarian. Last week there died at Whitton an old lady who had reached the patriorenial age of 100 years, named Deborah Baker. The widow of Thomas Baker, a carpenter of Claydon. Mrs Baker who was the daughter of a small farmer, named Scogings was born at Badingham in November, 1788 and was the youngest of thirteen children. The old lady had been a widow 45 years and had eleven children of whom only three survive. Mrs. Baker retained the use of her faculties to within a few weeks of her death. and could also sew, &c, three months ago. She was a small woman active very simple in her manners and mode of living, and it is said a total abstainer for many years. Mrs. Baker was related to Mrs. Edwards, of Baylham, who has attained her hundredth year.

The most important clues in identifying them came from the census records. The fact that Scoggins is a relatively uncommon name and they lived to the census years when the parish of birth was recorded became invaluable clues. English research is a challenge in that death records do not record that parents names. Marriage records after 1837 only record the father’s name and those before 1837 only record witnesses. Mary mentioned above married in Little Blakenham in 1816. That is about 20 miles from Badingham. It is only three miles from where her two other sisters, Deborah and Elizabeth married and lived. A witness at Mary’s marriage was Robert Fenning. Robert Fenning is the husband of Elizabeth. It becomes obvious that we must search for clues in every record we can find. Relying on parish registers alone is not enough.

Church Records

2009-05-03T23:54:00.003-06:00

I am often looking at church records of England. I could not do much research without them. As the nineteenth century marched on it becomes apparent that the Church of England was not dominating the religious scene. I am finding fewer of my ancestors in the parish registers as the century moves on. I can find them in the census records and civil registration indexes but not in the parish registers. Few post 1837 nonconformist records have been filmed. Civil registration started in 1837 and becomes the source for documenting people at a price of about $11 per certificate.
After 1876 it is not possible to view Swiss records. Their closure policy is currently at 135 years. That really puts a damper on finding cousins. If they want people to find a new excitement about researching in Switzerland they may want to make that a 80 year closure policy. Those church record before 1876 can be purchased on CD.
I find it interesting that I can find filmed LDS Church records prior to 1907 for members of the church in Switzerland, but in Utah I cannot find them. 1907 appears to be the year that the church started a new record keeping system. Of course there were many fewer members to keep track of in Switzerland than Utah. My great grandfather, Gottfried Jaggi, joined the Church in Switzerland on February 25, 1889 and there is a record of him and for every member of the Solothurn branch going back to the 1850’s. For members of the LDS church anywhere in the world there is a church census that was taken at 5 and 10 year intervals between 1910 to 1960.

Pension Returns WO22

2009-04-29T23:30:00.007-06:00

When I was at the National Archives of England I made it a point to check pension returns WO22. This record is available from 1842 to 1862. This set of record records the death of a pensioner and if he moved to a new district. I had John Ridley’s death certificate which stated he died in September 8, 1845 in Brampton. I checked WO22/15 in Carlisle district and found John Ridley. This record verified that my John Ridley was indeed the same John Ridley found in the 7th Regiment of Foot. I also have another ancestor to check in these records, David Auchterlonie. He died in 1861 right after the census. In the 1861 census is says he was a Chelsea Pensioner. There is no other record that mentions anything about military service. There are some clues that he was in the military. He was over 35 when he first married and there is no record of his first marriage. When I find him in WO22 in the Edinburgh district returns for 1861 it will tell me what regiment he served in and then I will be able to recreate his military service and perhaps find the missing marriage record. He lived in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. The reference book that I am using is My Ancestor was in the British Army.

Hand Cart Pioneer William Scogings 1859

2009-04-27T21:34:00.027-06:00

The journey of my handcart pioneer, William Bye Scogings, was recorded in journals. From the time he got on the ship in Liverpool till the time he arrived in Salt Lake City there are accounts of the trip. Some of the journals have been partially transcribed and are at the Church Archives website. While on the journey he is mentioned many times by name.

June 18 McIntyre, Thomas, Journal
We have a thunder storm this morning preventing us from starting out early. We try it at 11 o’clock[.] the roads are soft and many pools of water are formed[.] On the roads we make circutious routes to avoid them which makes it very tedious travelling. We reach a place about 5 o’clock tired and weary called "Cleveland" Travelled 10 miles[.] Our little trials are finished off today by the pesty mosquitoes. Prayer by Wm Scroggins.

Smith, John Young, [Diary],
August 14. Sabbath morning. Call to a general meeting when we are addressed by captains of Gen. Br. Scroggins thinks the Sisters are too familiar with Strangers of Gentile and Apostate Trains that we meet and instructs the Saints concerning the Sin of Selfishness . . Time is given to the saints to bear testimony, and a good time is enjoyed.

When they arrived in Salt Lake City there was quite a celebration:

Deseret News; Sept 7, 1859, page 4: News from Utah: Arrival of the handcart company.-- On Friday evening, Mr. J. Harvey arrived from Bridger with the intelligence that Capt. Rowley, with the handcart company, would arrive near the city, Saturday evening, but would not come in till Monday morning. About 2 p.m., on Suuday, a messenger arrived from Elder Benson, who went out to there camp in the morning, announcing that the company were so anxious to come in that Capt. Rowley had resolved to accede to their wishes, and they would arrive at five o'clock. Immediately every house and vehicle in the city was seemingly in motion, conveying those who were anxious to witness the egress of the company from the kanyon in that direction. Within a few minutes of the designated time, the company arrived, escorted by two or three bands of music and a vast concourse of citizens of all grades and professions, and passing through the streets lined with anxious spectators, went to Union Square, accompanied by the thousands that joined the escort as they passed along. It was certainly a stirring scene, and such a one as has not been witnessed for some time past by this community, calling forth many expressions from the beholders, mostly of the joy, but some of detestation that human beings would endure so much, leave their houses in foreign lands, traverse the seas, and cross the deseret plains with handcarts, all for their religion. The liberality of the Saints was abundantly manifest on the occasion by the amount and variety of the provisions that were provided through the Bishops of the several Wards for the wayworn emmigrants composing the company, who were thus made welcome to these once, and will be again, ere long, peaceful vales; for surely "Mormonism," so called, is not dead, as some have supposed; and truth, seemingly crushed to earth, will rise again, although it has not in these days been overcome.

IGI and Research

2009-04-25T18:53:00.014-06:00

My aunt did a lot of genealogy work some 40 to 50 years ago. Now as I build onto the tree I can see some of the mistakes. She connected with cousins in England and Australia. It was through correspondence that she obtained much of her information. Back then there was no internet or computers. The latest England census to be released was 1871 and there were no indexes. Those mistakes which seem so obvious today were not so obvious 50 years ago. One particular mistake that I find is that many people who were not born in Badingham are recorded as being born there. That is where the family had lived a generation prior. One family who lived in London has all the children as being born in Badingham. I’ve even seen a few people created out of thin air.

I can now go through and correct all the mistakes except in a couple places. The IGI is set in stone. Therein lies the comments that I have heard about the IGI being unreliable. A distinction needs to be made between member submissions and the record extractions. Any member submission should be verified with a record. That should be a lesson for us today. We better have a record to substantiate a claim. Our mistakes may outlive us and perhaps many generations to come.

Those of us who research on a regular basis know the differences but the casual researcher may not catch on so easily and repeat those errors over again. If no record can be found it may not be best to publish it where it cannot be so easily changed. The IGI is a place to put your names if you want your names to be known for generations to come. The larger it gets the more value it has to the genealogist.

Prior to 1991 there are IGI submission forms that have been microfilmed. These forms tell you who submitted the information and sometimes even sources of information.

National Archives of Scotland

2009-04-23T22:49:00.014-06:00

The purpose of going to Scotland was to connect to the homeland of my Scottish Ancestors and access so many of the records that were not available in Salt Lake City. It has been over 10 years since I first visited. I went to New Register House paid a fee and was able to look at births, deaths, and marriages on microfiche and get copies. That was before the time of ScotlandsPeople website. Now for less than $2 I can search the databases and buy a certificate. It is the same for census records. Within minutes it appears on my computer screen. Probate records prior to 1900 can now be searched and bought for less than $8.
A highlight of the visit was to the National Archives of Scotland. Those records referred to in the book, Tracing your Scottish Ancestors were accessible. I’m not referring to microfilm copies. The original documents are available for inspection. I obtained many copies of records. I looked at voter rolls, various tax records, Kirk Session, and church records other than the Church of Scotland. i.e. Antiburgher, United Presbyterian, Free Church, Catholic. I might add that they still are not available online.
I found a set of records only referred to in ‘Militia Lists and Musters 1757-1876’. The author of this booklet noted that he had not examined this set of records. I was quite surprised to find an extensive collection of militia lists mainly from the 1802, 1808 time period for Kirkcudbright County. I have created a website for some of these records.

Hand Cart Pioneer from Lullington England

2009-04-21T23:05:00.010-06:00

My pioneer ancestor, Susan Page, came to Utah in 1860 with a handcart company. She was born in Lullington, which has the distinction of being the smallest parish in England. Lullington was a small community of laborers. The Cruckmere River separates Alfriston from Lullington. The Alfriston parish church sits right next to the river and is about a quarter-mile from the Lullington parish church. The picture postcard shows the Alfriston parish church. The Lullington parish church is out of view off to the right. The picture appears to be taken from the vicinity of the Litlington parish church. My ancestors can be found in these three parishes. Today Alfriston is an attraction with hotels and a feel for the past. Alfriston was the main town in the area where many tradesman worked. Life was very hard for the laborers. The book, Crime and Disorder in Late Georgian Alfriston, paints a bleak picture of the laboring class. After 1815 when the Napoleon wars had ended, the plight of the working man became quite hard all over Britain. The change in the poor law in 1834-35 forced the most destitute into work houses instead of outdoor relief. Crime was on the rise. You might even find your ancestors in the quarter sessions records. For the smallest of crime men were transported to Australia or given hard labor. Old post cards provide a look into the past. I found these and many others at a Brighton shop.

Switzerland Recherswil 1850 Census

2009-04-19T18:28:00.009-06:00

My surname, Jaggi, originates from Recherswil which is a short distance from Solothurn. One might think that Jaggi is a rare surname. The 1850 census of Recherswil reveals that 1/3rd of the town has the Jaggi surname. Solothurn is worth a visit as it is Switzerland’s finest Baroque Town. It also has a good archive for the Kanton. I found my Ancestors in the 1850 census. Yes there is an 1850 census for the Kanton. I had to take pictures of it with my camera since the books are so large. The census records the wife’s maiden name. It also records occupations. I was quite surprised that the Bern archives has no census records. I came away from the Bern Archives with copies of picture postcards of my ancestors home towns. Try making a google search for census records in Switzerland. I found nothing but vague reference to these records. Is there a reference book anywhere that tells one what census records are available for each place in Switzerland?

Ahnentafel Organizing digital files with folders

2009-04-18T14:31:00.005-06:00

I have organized my genealogy into 22 surname folders. In each surnames folder I created additional family folders that are broken down into family groups. The example shows Peter&Maria 10-11. Peter is 10 and Maria is 11. The ahnentafel system has males as even numbers and spouses are obtained by adding one number. The ahnentafel numbers for each generation back from Peter doubles so it is easy to see each generation. If you have hundreds of documents to organize it certainly helps to have a way to organize them. Not shown in the diagram are the folders within each family group. This is where all the files are stored, such as, certificates, census, probate, pictures. Once this system is established it is set in stone because it is from here that all the files are linked to a genealogy program with sources and transcriptions. If any of the folder names change then they will no longer be linked to the sources and transcriptions in the program. Every person has their own number. As a matter of simplicity I have started with my parents instead of myself, so I have two sets of ahnentafel numbers

John Ridley 7th Regiment of Foot

2009-04-15T21:34:00.007-06:00

When Ann Ridley died in 1879 in Dalbeattie, I obtained her parents names from the death certificate. Her father was John Ridley, a blacksmith and her mother was Jane Mills. From the census and IGI I was able to identify her christening entry in the Brampton parish registers. John Ridley died in 1845. I found the family in the 1841 census. John Ridley’s occupation was listed as Army ?. ? was a O, D, or a P. I figured it would be worth a look to see if I could find him in the army pension records. There is a partial index of WO120 online (WO represents War Office Records) I found him in the pension records rather quickly. He was in the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers). The pension record is insightful. The record indicates that he was born in Brampton in 1778. The pension record is the only record I have that records his place of birth. I now know that he was in the Army for 17 years. He joined in 1804 and was discharged to pension in 1821. He was 54 inches high and had blue eyes. He was wounded at Albuera and Orthes. These are battles that took place during the Peninsular War. Albuera was the bloodiest battle in the war. From a newspaper account I learned that 62 men were killed and 262 were wounded in that battle from the regiment. The regiment fought in numerous battles and even was at New Orleans in 1815. In 1824 he married Jane Mills. Jane was 17 years younger and out lived him by 40 years. An age difference is an indication that the man may have been preoccupied with the war.

Craignair Club Barre Vermont

2009-04-12T18:02:00.006-06:00

The club represented a connection between Barre and Dalbeattie. That connection was the granite works of which both communities thrived on. Craignair was the name of a quarry near Dalbeattie.

Barre Daily Times November 1, 1905
ANNUAL GATHERING OF CRAIGNAIR CLUB
Sons and Daughters of "Auld Dalbeattie"
Sing her Praises and Talk Over Times
"When We Were Boys and Girls"

Noo let is toast Da'beattie boast Her honest workingmen. May they hae health as weel as wealth, Nae sorrow may they ken. It makes me prood that auld Fate should Sa luckily decree. That I might claim the priceless fame 0' bein' bred in thee.
This was the sentiment that ruled the third annual gathering of the sons and daughters of old Dalbeattie in the old Masonic hall last evening under the name of the Craignair club. There were fully 50 in the party, and the praises of "Auld Dalbeattie" were told in song and story.
The company was welcome to this gathering by the president of the club, James Campbell, who after a few brief remarks called on various members for toasts and songs. This part of the evening's exercises was carried out as follows Song, Thomas Graham; original poem by Mrs. John Buchanan, entitled, "A Dream o' Auld Dalbeattie." Toast to Dalbeattie, Samuel Carswell.
Mr. Carswell gave some reminiscences of the days when he was a boy in Dalbeattie which were very interesting and entertaining as well as amusing. Song, John J. Mckenzie; Toast, Co'en, James Rowan; Song, John Craik; Toast, City of Barre, J.J. Mckenzie; Song, James Rowan; Recitation, Mrs. Thomas Carson; Toast, The Ladies, Thomas Graham; Song, Charles T. Campbell; Toast, Success to the Craignair Club, Thomas G. Carswell.
There was dancing to music by George Angus' orchestra, and a bountiful feast served at 10 by Mrs. Maiden. The table were handsomely decorated, there being a special potted tree in front of President Campbell which was brought from Craignair, and at each plate was a sprig of heather but recently brought over. Both tree and heather were brought over by Mrs. James Campbell.
At midnight there were hallowe'en games and tricks which added much to the fun of the occasion.
Among those present were: Mr. and Mrs. James Campbell, Mr. and Mrs James Rowan, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Carswell, Mr. and Mrs. John Stewart, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel McKnight, William Copeland of Northfield, Mr. and Mrs. John Gilbertson, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Carswell, Mr. and Mrs. Thos. G. Carswell, Jas. Monaghan, John Craik, Mr. and Mrs. Charles T Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Mckenzie, Thomas Graham, Mr. and Mrs, Joseph Graham, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Carson, Mr. and Mrs. Robt. McKnight, Wm. Neilson, Mrs. John Buchanan, Mr. and Mrs. John Rawley, Mr. and Mrs. David Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Emery, Mrs. Robt. Mckenzie, Mrs. Jas. Bainbridge, Mrs. Hannah ? Smith, Mrs. Henry Hay, Mrs. John Panton.

Familienschein Switzerland

2009-04-10T16:19:00.006-06:00

When I was in Switzerland in 2006 I made it a point to visit the Zivilstandsamt. Now many of the Gemeinde records have been deposited in a central location, so it is not necessary to travel in out of the way places to find them. A familienschein is a record of a complete family all on one page with reference to the sons familienschein and the daughters marriages. I went to the office with a family group sheet printed in German and wrote on the top of the page, “Ich Mochte familienschein”. I did not speak German. It is not a good idea to rely on someone speaking English, as I found out. I showed them my group sheet and a woman went and got these old books. I was able to get three generations starting with Hans Christen who was born in 1755; then Ulrich his son born in 1799; then Peter his son who was born in 1834. As you look at these records one can easily see the depth these records have to offer. I ask to get a copy of one of my uncle relations before 1800 and they said I could not look. It cost me $150 for those three generations, which was three pages. They charge by how many children are in a family. In total there were 26 children, you do the math. I have found misinformation about the availability and access to these records, so I was happy to gather quite a few of these records. This discussion will continue later.

Suffolk County Poor Law

2009-04-08T20:58:00.005-06:00

While at the Institute of Genealogy in Salt Lake City I learned that the inventories of parish records are online. These inventories include settlements, removals, taxes, bastardy records, etc. What is most interesting to know is that the names of people in these records are online. Unfortunately, the Record Office does not have any records for Badingham. They are adding records on a continuing basis so perhaps they will be added soon. A nearby market town, Framlingham, has an extensive collection of these records. Each person had a parish of settlement. This parish was responsible for taking care of the poor relief. Records were created that settled people in a parish or removed them from a parish they were not welcome in due to financial need. These records can offer details that you will not find anywhere else. If you find someone of interest you can order the document from the Suffolk Record Office. There is an excellent booklet on England parish poor law, 'The Handy Book of Parish Law.

Newspaper - Ipswich Journal - Poor Law

2009-04-07T23:00:00.013-06:00

I have been searching for my Scoggins ancestry in the Ipswich Journal. They lived in Badingham. Numerous newspapers in England have been indexed and digitized from 1800 to 1900, the Ipswich Journal being one of them. This index is at various institutions in Britain and the United States. It is at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. It was during the 1834 to 1835 time frame that the poor law was changing and the laboring class were not happy with it. My ancestors were laborers, so I can assume that they may have been in this crowd causing havoc.

Stradbroke. Dec 24 1835. – As might naturally be expected the tumultuous occurrences which took place last week in Ipswich, have spread their contigious influence amongst the pauper population of the adjoining districts. Some labourers of the parish of Baddingham, in the Hoxne hundred assembled together on Sunday evening, and between 11 and 12 o’clock at night showered a quantity of stones at the sleeping room window of Mr. Pooley, the Guardian of the parish. And (doubtless in the expectation that Mr. Pooley would approach the window), a huge stone weighing 1 ¾ lb. was shortly after thrown in. They then broke the keeping room windows. In the morning of Monday, a horn was blowing as early as four o’clock, and the rioters having mustered all their strength, forcibly pressed into their ranks all the labourers they could find, proceeded to Laxfield in order still more to increase in numbers, and about mid-day marched into Stradbroke, four abreast, armed with bludgeous and club sticks, and about two hundred in number, and drew up before the Queen’s head Inn, where the Board of Guardians was sitting....

The magistrate was able to disarm the leaders and break up the rebellion. This index of the British newspapers is a powerful resource. I have been able to view the actual newspaper and save those articles that interest me. I have found numerous references to the Scoggins surname pertaining to quarter sessions, sale of land, marriages, and history as it pertained to the region and the time. There is an excellent booklet on England parish poor law, 'The Handy Book of Parish Law
'

Scoggins, Scogings England Probate

2009-04-05T15:02:00.004-06:00

Due to the uncommon surname of ‘Scoggins’ I have been able to extract every person with that surname and its variants from the England national probate index which started in 1858. Prior to 1858 it is necessary to check various court records to find a probate record. The different spellings in the index are as follows: Scoggin, Scoggins, Scogging, Scoging, Scoggings, Scogings, Scroggins. Scoggins is the most common spelling. From 1858 to 1900 there were 15 probated records; of those, I can connect 7 of those people to my tree. From 1900 to 1945 there are 50 probated records. The most consistent family to hand down wealth in my tree was that of Isaac Scoggins who was a farmer in Laxfield. He had numerous children and they can be found in the probate indexes. The most useful probate record was that of Jarvis Scoggins who died in 1866. He never had children so he left his property to other relatives which are named in the will. The index entry reads as follows: “The Will of Jarvis Scoggins late Friston in the County of Suffolk Yeoman deceased who died on the 10 January 1866 at Friston aforesaid was proved at Ipswich by the oaths of Isaac Scoggins of Laxfield in the county aforesaid Farmer the Brother Jarvis Scoggins of Laxfield aforesaid Farmer the Nephew and Isaac Crisp of Friston aforesaid Fisherman the Executors, Effects under £200.” If you want to know if your Scoggins ancestor is in the index email me.

Finding Ancestors in a Scottish Parish

2009-04-03T11:40:00.011-06:00

I have visited the parish of Urr a couple of times over the years. I found the gravestones of Robert Mckenzie and William McNaught who are my ancestors in the churchyard. I also went to the National Archives of Scotland and looked at other records that relate to the parish. I found voter rolls, and militia rolls for the parish. The best reference book available is, “Tracing your Scottish Ancestors” This book was published by the Scottish Record Office which is now known as the ‘National Archives of Scotland’, it has the reference numbers and records types which makes it easy to navigate the Archives. My ancestor, Robert Mckenzie, had a long lease on land in the parish at a place called, Auchennines. Auchennienes was 220 acres of land directly east of Dalbeattie bordering on the parish of Kirkgunzeon. I did not find him in the the sasine records since he was leasing the land as many farmers did. I found Robert Mckenzie in the Kirkgunzeon horse tax of 1799. He is not in the parish registers. He died in 1838 and his estate was probated in 1841 at Castle Douglas. He died without a will, so the document is referred to as testament-dative. I have an inventory of his property, and a comment in the record which refers to the executor, John Mckenzie, as being the only son of Robert Mckenzie. John Mckenzie, my ancestor, was born in the parish in 1804. His birth is not in the parish register. A book about the parish of Urr was published in 1909 and reprinted in 1993. It is, The Parish of Urr, Civil and Ecclesiastical: A History

DNA Genealogy

2009-03-31T20:19:00.001-06:00

There are a lot of genealogy DNA companies that test the various markers. I found a website that lists all the companies and the markers that they test. I don’t know if it is current but it still gives a relatively good comparison. One of my Scogings cousins had the test done over at Family tree DNA. The 67 marker test is on the Scoggins group over on their site. It really helps to join a group where others share the same surname so as to have something to compare with from the start. Out of the 13 people who have submitted tests none of them even come close to matching my Scoggins line. My cousin in England recently had his test done over at ancestry. I find it interesting that out of the 40 or so markers tested between my two cousins that three markers do not match. Both were born in the 1930’s and their common ancestor was three generations removed. The only difference is the maternal line. They have different great grandmothers. My cousin in England had his test done at Oxford many years ago and it tested the DYS 425 marker and it was null. DYS 425 is not a standard marker tested by DNA companies. My U.S. cousin’s marker DYS 425 is Null or zero. Apparently only a small percentage of people have a null reading on this marker. Once you have submitted your DNA over at Famiy Tree DNA you can add tests for groups and individual markers like DYS425 for a small fee.

Sharing gedcoms with sources

2009-03-30T17:42:00.006-06:00

I have been over at Eastman's Newsletter reading his article about cloud computing. I am amazed at the comments that have been posted about the unreliable nature of all those gedcoms that are on the internet. There are many sites where the gedcoms are compared with each other and thereby it becomes possible to sort out the differences.
The problem arises when people copy their cousins gedcom and this is done numerous times and people assume that it is correct. They are not actively building there genealogy nor consider putting sources with the facts in there gedcom. Furthermore, they cannot be contacted. Even if they could be contacted they in all likelihood could not fathom what all the fuss is about. A smaller crowd is focused on having a reliable genealogy with source citations. Another crowd are the professionals who want all the T's crossed and the i's doted. Now with some of these sites you can link documents to people and events in your gedcom thereby documenting your research as you go. In the past I could not change someone else's gedcom; now the technology is allowing people with permission to edit a gedcom other than there own. They can add new names or edit existing data. Cloud computing for genealogy is about a collaborative effort to build a family tree using all the internet resources available. I put my gedcom on various websites without any source citation. This appears to be the norm. I think that the commercial websites need to go further to accommodate citing sources and make it less confusing to the average Joe. On my php site where I have more control I have source citations but am not happy with the capability of the php software to handle sources. I would assume that as time passes this capability will improve. The advantages of the php software far outweigh the negatives so I use it. By having my gedcom out in the cloud I can find and be found by relatives 24 hours a day.

Newspaper Research

2009-03-28T22:13:00.005-06:00

Small town newspaper hold a treasure trove of information about those in the community. Now with the indexing and digitizing of so many newspapers it is becoming easier and easier to find those hidden treasures. I found the following article in the Utah Digital Newspapers website. It is from the 'Free Lance Newspaper' out of Marysvale, Utah on Nov 20, 1903. His tombstone says he died in 1904.
"Claimed By Death; Wm Scroggings Died Last Monday; After lingering painfully between life and death and after firm hope had been entertained that he was on the high road to recovery, word was recieved Monday that Wm Scroggings a well known and respected citizen of this city had passed away in the hospital in Salt Lake. Mr. Scroggings went to Salt Lake about 3 weeks ago to undergo an operation for cancer of the stomach; the cause of his death. One operation about two weeks ago seemed successful and it was thought the cancer had entirely removed, but later another operation was deemed absolutely necesary, but owing to his weakened condition, the result was fatal and the end came about 1 o'clock Monday morning. Mrs. Scroggings and her brothers, Charles and Ab Peterson being with him in his last moments. The remains were brought to this city Tuesday evening, a large concourse of friends meeting the remains at the depot. The funeral services were held at his late residence onThursday morning at 10:30. Remarks were made by J.F. Gibb and S.L. Page, and music furnished by the choir. The pall bearers were the Messrs Harry Cuff, Harry King, Ed Longley, H Hanan, James Ber?elsen, Da?? Gibbs, Wm E White and Albert Hardy. There was an immense outpouring of freinds to pay their last respects to the late departed. Mr. Scroggings was born Feb 12, 1864 in Rockville, Washington County this state being 39 years old. He was married about 10 years ago in Junction to Miss Sadie Peterson of this city. He leaves a wife and two children to mourn his loss. The remains were interred in the Thompson grave yard being followed to their last resting place by almost the entire community and friends from miles around."

digital records

2009-03-27T22:54:00.005-06:00

I was at the library today and found some marriage records for some long lost cousins. With a database filled with cousins I don't think I will ever run out of them. I have over 600 different surnames in my TNG database. I made some digital scans of the marriage records. i am in the process of digitizing all my records. There a few digital microfilm scanners at the library. I am surprised that there are not more. It appears that many people are still attached to paper. It is hard to image that I can carry my whole genealogy, documents and all on a small thumb drive. I can easily make multiple copies for safe storage. With hundreds of records spanning a couple hundred years and cousins many generations removed it is a task to find a filing system with folders within folders to distinguish them and link them to my genealogy program. I think I may have found one.

Stanley Jaggi, footnote.com

2009-03-25T19:25:00.007-06:00

Sometime ago I had been looking through the records at footnote.com. I typed in Stanley Jaggi, being a rather uncommon name I did not get a lot of results. He was in the pacific during world war II. I was rather surprised to find a transport document with his name on it with a few other men in his unit. It places him in a place at a particular time. I have been hard pressed to find anything like that. I created a personal page for him at footnote. There really are a tremendous amount of records being added at footnote. I believe that larger repositoires have subscriptions to their service.
The picture must have been taken before he went off to war in 1941. He was on a ship headed to Hawaii when Pearl Habor was bombed on December 7, 1941. The Jaggi Stettler genealogy is on a TNG php website. I uploaded my gedcom to it and created a page from a template provided by TNG. Now I have to develope some of the pages on it. Now I am beginning to think that I can create blogs for special pages and link to them. It surely is easy to write and add picutres and links than to create a webpage.

Family History Society's

2009-03-24T22:43:00.004-06:00

Last year I joined the Suffolk Family History Society. I have belonged to a variety of society's over the years. I now belong to the Utah Historical Society. I once belonged to the Dumfries and Galloway Family History Society and the Fife Family History Society. I stay with a society for some years then move on. It is a great way to learn more about the area and what publications are of value, also if you share common names with other members. Some of these society's have excellent online websites. Fife family history society has quite a few records on there website. Suffolk family history society has search services for records in the county. I have added to my family from their search service for the time period 1837 to 1900, baptisms. They are adding more parishes to this services. As I am adding 1st to 4th cousins to my tree this is quite helpful.
The newsletters for society's provide a way to read what others are doing and post your own interests and stories. It is also possible to purchase parish registers on microfiche from the Suffolk Record Office.

Oswald

2009-03-23T19:20:00.006-06:00

I have been researching this line in Scotland for many years. The trails goes cold in Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire when the parish registers fail to have Robert Oswald recorded in about 1800. Robert married, Isabella Auchterlonie. I have quite a bite on the Auchterlonie line. Robert died in 1838 and Isabella died in 1842 leaving a small family to be raised by others. All of the children ended up in the Liverpool area. My great grandfather, James Oswald had connections to his uncle, John Auchterlonie. I would assume that he may have apprenticed with him as a stone mason. A number of this Auchterlonie family took wifes from Cumberland County as did James Oswald. He married, Ann Ridley, in 1846 at St Peters Church in Liverpool. They had eleven children born between 1847 and 1868. Every so many years they were living in a different place. The first four children were born in the Liverpool area, then two more in Yorkshire, three more in Oxfordshre, and then by 1865 they settled in Dalbeattie, Scotland. By then James was a manager at a granite works. Ann Ridley died in 1879. Soon after James Oswald moved to Cornwall and lived out his life there dieing in 1889. Out of the eleven children only one remained in Dalbeattie. Details of the family can be found on my website. My grandmother, Jane Oswald married, John Mckenzie in Barre, Vermont. They grew up together in Dalbeattie. I have yet to make contact with any descendants of the Oswald family. My grandmother did not talk of her family.

My first widget

2009-03-22T11:58:00.006-06:00

I went over to amazon and signed up to become an affiliate. I created my store title, 'books in my library, software on my computer, technology at my finger tips' I went through my personal library and then added those books to the store. Everything is editable so I looked at, changed it, changed it again. I'll refine it as time goes by. The code necessary for it to show up on my blog was generated for me at the amazon site. I pasted it right into this blog with simplicity. So now it is on right column of this page, titled, 'Favorite Books in my Library'. That is a widget. (In a month or so I may change the title to somthing else like, 'What every Genealogist must have') So now I can go over to Amazon and custom add all those things of interest to a genealogist. Amazon has such a wide variety of items, from books, software, and technology. I also put a widget on my 'Scogings Mckenzie Genealogy' site. That was a little more tricky, but if you look at the source code for the site you will see how simple that was as well. For a genealogist these ads could pay for the costs putting up a site and other expences. Now I think I will look for other sites I can get widgets from and add them. It is all free to do. It don't cost anything. If you click though my widget to buy something I get a small percentage, amazon gets a small percentage, and the seller gets his cut.

Salt Lake City

2009-03-22T06:45:00.003-06:00

The construction near the temple in Salt Lake moves on. The genealogy library is a half block from this contruction. The CrossRoads and ZCMI malls are gone. The trax train is one bright spot in all this. It is quite easy to to get out and in of the downtown area on the train.

FamilySearch Wiki

2009-03-20T21:35:00.007-06:00

The Wiki has been around for some years. I recently started to contribute some of my knowledge and writing skills. There appears to be a lack of contributors. On my user page you can click on the history button and see contributors to the page. Every page has this button. You can see the date I made a change to the page and even see how it has changed over time. It you click on 'contribs' you will get a list of every contribution I have ever made to the wiki; talk about transparency. People get the idea that once it is there that that is the ways it is. Your not suppose to get to attached to what you write since someone may come along and rewrite or change it. In my short time in contributing I do not see this happening. As writing is a developing process you will have to develop your own writings. I remember when I was developing a page for GENUKI, I would write something and then some weeks later I would read it again and then I could see how I could refine it. Look for a topic or place that you can make a contribution to and start writing. If what you want to write about has no topic or place then it is quite easy to add a new page. The whole process is user friendly. If you can create a blog you surely can write in a wiki.

Creating a Web Page

2009-03-19T16:48:00.005-06:00

I have over the years created various web pages from scratch. I finally settled on using style sheets. The typical websites have used tables for the most part and many of the browsers only supported tables or did not fully support style sheets. If you went to the page with different browsers and different versions you will get a different look and layout. Code can be put in the pages to accomdate these differences but I don't have the knowledge to add that kind of code. The pages I have created with style sheets is for a parish in Scotland named, Urr. Urr parish page is at this address. The google map on the page took some doing but I got it on there. There is number of pages related to this page that I used style sheets for. For long list of names I used tables which are well suited for name list. The lay out of the pages is using style sheets. This tells you what you can do if you have access to some small list for a community and you would like to share them. you could actually copy my code and add your own text and dialogue. I have some banners on the pages that could have created some income but now there are not active since they created no traffic the service disabled them. I need to replace them with new affiliates. Apparently some of the big companies require a certain amount of traffic or they axe you. There are plenty of affilities to replace them.

Unemployed Genealogist

2009-03-18T21:56:00.001-06:00

I would say that no genealogist is unemployed since there is always a stone to be turned over. However in this day when so many are unemployed it does bring to mind the fact that many who are unemployed have a project to work on. There are many skills a researcher acquires in the quest to find one ancestors. The first skills I learned was how to operate a computer. It expanded to writing, source citations, scanning, web pages, etc. Also, how to manage a database and create a reliable genealogy that will stand the test of time. Much of this knowlege comes from attending genelaogy conferences. I do not want to be considered a gatherer of names. I must admit that a gather has a place in the genealogy community but a true researcher is one step a head of a gatherer. A researcher knows why that name is there and where the details of the person were obtained. It may not be on the website but if you were to ask them they would point to a record that help them draw the conclusion. However, a sourceless gedcom is a starting place from which to create a reliable genealogy of a family.

Scogings Mckenzie

2009-03-17T00:13:00.004-06:00

Scogings and variants; Scoggins, Scroggins, Scoging, Scoggin: Families originated from Suffolk, England. Few have been traced to the United States and some to Australia. The research is on my website http://donjaggi.net/winnifred/index.php.
Mckenzie: My family lived in Kirkcudbrightshire and you may be surprised that there were not many in the county. No Mckenzie's from this line are a live today. My great grandfather moved to Barre, Vermont in 1890. He worked in the granite sheds as a granite cutter, as he did in Dalbeattie. He started to go by Mackenzie instead of Mckenzie. around 1900.

BYU Computerized Conference

2009-03-16T22:43:00.002-06:00

I have just attended the conference at BYU. Last year I could not get in because it was full. this year I had no problem getting into it as I paid at the door. I had no problem getting into any of the classes which is a change from other years. The talk is about New Family Search which is the online genealogy program that is being slowily releaased to members of the LDS Church. Much of utah does not have it yet. Eventually anyone in the world will be able to have an account. I would assume that that is many years off. There are many software programs that are becoming affiliates of New Family Search. If they want to survive I suppose they need to become appart of the effort since the LDS Church commands quite an audience of researchers.
One talk that caught my eye was the 'Voice Rcoginition Software' Apparently this technology has really become user friendly and accurate with faster and faster machines able to process the speech very quickly. I could write this at a fraction of the time using such software. 'Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred 10' appears to be a favorite. I look forward to trying it. The usefulnes of this software comes in handy when one want to share your thoughts as the words flow instead of typing out the words. I was impressed by the talks that talked about networking on various social networks, blogging, and tracking events that pertain to areas of interest using RSS feed. Google has various free features that are quite useful to researching and they are free. The purpose of the conference was to create ideas on how to connect with other people and new technology in order to make the research experience more enjoyable, efficient, and faster. (my opinion)

Institute of Genealogy 2009

2009-01-15T22:33:00.002-07:00

I attended the Institute of Genealogy today. I have learned some new strategies on how to research and how t0 use blogs to enhance my research. it was said that I could use this blog as a research log. I think i should give it a try to see how I can use it to my advantage. The more that I write about my research the better.
It was able to expand on some new ideas in researching my English Ancestors.

Terrorism Within

2007-07-22T00:26:00.002-06:00

In a society that has so much wealth and addiction it is no wonder that so many find themselves in a situation that nobody would envy. The prospect of entering the justice system seems over powering. By nature everyone wants to do the right thing. If given the proper environment anyone of us would prosper. The prospect of being controlled in a prison society that has its own rules has to be overwhelming. This blog will explore, what is the proper environment. Does society have a responsibility?

More than 5.1 million Americans -- almost 2.7 percent of the adult population -- 1995

1 in 142 US residents now in prison 2002

America's prison population topped 2 million inmates for the first time in history on June 30, 2002 according to a new report

A record 7 million people—or one in every 32 American adults—were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday. 2006