Salt Lake City

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the LDS Family History Centre in Salt Lake City while attending my wife's Hubble family reunion. To take advantage of the library, we arrived three days early so we could do some personal research.


We stayed at the Plaza Hotel (at Temple Square) which I can recommend. They have a free shuttle to and from the airport, reasonable rates, large clean rooms with a fridge, coffee maker and microwave, outdoor pool, fitness centre, free wi-fi and a very reasonable restaurant attached to the hotel. As an example, the breakfast buffet was $5.99 for seniors over 60 with their other items all priced reasonably. The hotel is a two minute walk to the LDS library.


I am only going to discuss British Isles research here but Barbara did some North American work and found the other floors of the library to operate similarly to the British Isles floor. There are five stories to the building with the welcome area, theatre, class rooms and lunch room on the main level. The upper two floors are for North American research with the microfilms and books on separate floors. International records are on the B1 level and the British Isles on B2.


The library is organized into separate areas for micro form and book research. Books are arranged by their call number and are self service. There are large tables to use for reading and every station has an electrical outlet and wired Internet jack. Wi-fi is also available anywhere in the building. At the end of each stack is a red shelf for returning books which are the only item you don't replace yourself.


There is a map area with very large scale maps of every area of the British Isles and large tables on which to view them.


The microfilms are located in a large collection of standard microfilm cabinets and are completely self-service. You are encouraged not take more than five rolls at a time which you also return yourself when finished. The carrels are spacious with an underneath shelf for personal items, a writing area big enough for a laptop, a power outlet and a light. Special high magnification readers are available for the 16mm films which were filmed at 42X and higher but most are the normal top down type readers with manual winders.


There are lots of computer work stations available everywhere in case you need to access the library catalog or any of the on-line databases such as Ancestry.com or the Godfrey Library collection.


Finally, there is a print area adjacent to the main research room with film scanners that will allow you to print to paper or copy to a flash drive. Basically, when you find an item you want to print you remove the two spools from your reader, so you don't lose your frame ,and take it to a scanner station where you load and copy it. There is no limit on the number of copies you can make but use of the reader-scanners is limited to 15 minutes at a time when they are busy. Printing costs 5 cents a page and copy cards are available from a vending machine.


To prepare myself for the trip I decided to concentrate on Uckfield and its adjacent parishes. I started by using Parish Locator (available here) to identify the parishes around Uckfield and their relative distance and direction. Although Parish Locator is used to determine the distance between two parishes there is a radius feature which I use the most.

It is at the bottom of the above image and you specify the miles in the yellow window. Once you choose the Parishes within Radius button the results look like a spreadsheet but are listed alphabetically. Since I wanted them by proximity to Uckfield I chose to save the results as a CSV which can be imported into Excel where I sorted the results by distance from Uckfield.

Next, I went to Hugh Wallis' website to identify the parishes that have been extracted into the International Genealogical Index or IGI. If you are unfamiliar with the IGI, there is a great explanation of it here.

Hugh Wallis has created a database of all IGI batch numbers by location and is available here.

As you can see from the above spreadsheet, I added a column to show the batch number associated with the parish. My objective was to concentrate on those parishes that didn't have a batch number which I could access from home.

For those parishes without a batch number, I consulted the LDS Library Catalog and printed out the film number and related information about the type of records available and periods covered so I could prioritize my research. Some records overlap civil registration which started in 1837 so there isn't much point in looking at them unless you think there might be more information available on the original. Sometimes a birth date is included whereas the IGI only records the baptism date.

The same logic applied to marriages which I could access from the Sussex Family History Group's marriage index CD. Why duplicate what I can get at home, although, I now wish I had taken the CD with me. Therefore, I concentrated on transcribing the baptisms and burials from the parishes with no batch number working our from Uckfield.

It pays to have a research strategy as you'll find your time rapidly disappearing and that 30 minute warning about closing time comes all too soon, especially when you are just starting a film. I should have mentioned earlier that the library is open from 8a-5p Monday and 8a-9p Tuesday to Saturday.

The DAWES Family of Brighton

I apologize for not updating my posts for awhile but we have been busy moving and getting our new place shipshape.

In the last Journal of the Sussex Family History Group, one of the writers mentioned a book in her footnotes that caught my attention. It was titled The Windmills and Millers of Brighton by H. T. DAWES. Since I am both interested in mills and the DAWES family this was a double whammy. Another thing was the cover of the book which displayed the Round Hill Mill that my great-grandfather tore down to build his terrace houses on Belton Road. I have written about these houses in the past which you can view here.

The Windmills and Millers of Brighton is published by the Sussex Mills Group who can be contacted at http://www.sussexmillsgroup.org.uk/ I immediately contacted them and ordered the book and I am presently waiting for it to arrive.

As I said earlier, there was another thing of interest in this bit of serendipity and that is, who was H.T. DAWES, the author of this book?

Over the last couple of days I have tried to identify this family and see if they are linked to my Uckfield DAWES'.

I believe that he is Harold T. DAWES born about 1912 and who married Stella Rogers. There are more generations available but I don't post potential living information unless given permission by the individuals.

This DAWES family seems to have stayed in the Brighton area except for a brief stint in Portsmouth. Their census occupations have listed them as grocer's and baker's which would probably be the reason behind Harold's fascination with mills and millers.

Below is a chart of the family back to Thomas DAWES b. about 1810. Like my Uckfield family there is a long string of Thomases.

As a footnote to this story, during a trip to Brighton in 1993, I was working at the Brighton Library and had made a reservation for the microfilm reader. I decided that I might need more time on it so I approached the desk and asked them to add me to a blank spot later in the same day. The reference librarian pointed out to me that I had already done so as there was already an entry for DAWES. It wasn't me so I decided to stalk out the microfilm reader at the appointed time and introduced myself to the person using it. Although he gave me his card, I have misplaced it but I believe his name was Michael DAWES. We compared families without finding any links but I remember him saying that his were all bakers! I wonder...

The Other Uckfield DAWES Family

In one of my previous posts (available here) I mention another DAWS family that was residing in Uckfield in the 1841 census. I have had a couple of contacts from people researching this line and I recently received a family tree for Thomas DAWS and Hannah PARKER which is shown below.



This explains why the parents had disappeared by the 1851 census. Hannah died is 1841 and Thomas died in 1846. I still don't have a link between this family and my Uckfield DAWES' but I am always hopeful. I have put these two researchers in touch with each other which is the purpose of this blog.

First Generation Completed

When I started this blog in 2009, there were a lot of blanks in the first generation. Thanks to the GRO raising its price for vital registration certificates in April of 2010, I got to work filling in the blanks. The original first generation blog is available here.

At left, is a new chart with the results of my latest research. I apologize for its fuzziness but I had to rotate it twice to capture it as one image and it loses something in the process. You can view it in a larger format by double clicking it.

The big news is:

(1) Solving Jane Ann's death date of 06 Apr 1872 Hellingly. Although her death was registered as Jane Ann BENNETT she never married either William Cooke or John BENNETT as her first husband, Thomas CHATFIELD, was transported to Van Dieman's Land in 1832.

(2) Finding a marriage for Susannah on 10 Sep 1836 to Leonard PAGE in Glynde.

Once I had her married name, I also found her death on 02 Jul 1885 also in Glynde.

(3) Finding a death date for Sarah on 21 Apr 1864 in Uckfield.

(4) Confirming the marriage of Frances to Henry HEMSLEY on 18 Oct 1840 in Uckfield. I also got her full death date of 22 Jan 1892 in Uckfield.

(5) Confirming the marriage of Elizabeth to Henry MITCHELL on 28 Jun 1846 in Glynde. I also got her full death date of 27 Aug 1879 in Glynde.

(6) Finding a death date for Mary on 04 Dec 1875 in Uckfield.

(7) Finding a first marriage for George to Sarah PECKHAM on 01 Dec 1844 in Uckfield. Unfortunately, Sarah died in 1845. I also got the marriage date for George's second marriage to Esther COTTINGTON on 18 Feb 1840 in Uckfield.

(8) Finding a marriage for Harriett to John TAYLOR on 17 May 1856 in Glynde. I also got her death date of 31 Dec 1892 in Beddingham. This one was a real find because Harriett's marriage proved her father as Thomas DAWES - Labourer and she and John had 6 children carrying on into the twentieth century so some new cousins may turn up.

If anyone researching this DAWES family is interested in copies of any of these certificates, send me an email.

The Saga of Jane Ann DAWES Continued

When I updated the information on Jane Ann DAWES, which can be viewed here , I pointed out that the death certificate I received for Jane BENNETT was dated 16 January 1851. Since that was before the 1851 census was taken it couldn't be for Jane Ann as she was recorded on the census in March of 1851. I also mentioned that several of her children by different husbands were with her in 1851 so I assumed that she was ill and died shortly afterwards because I couldn't find her in the 1861 census. Well, I was WRONG because I just used an old genealogy trick and jumped to the next census in 1871 where I found her and John Bennett still living in Hellingly. I don't know why several of her children were visiting (maybe she had finally married John) or why she and John are missing in 1861 but she is still living in 1871.

As you can see in the above image from 1871 Jane is alive and well and her birth location is recorded as Hadlow, Kent further adding to her continued existence. I then decided to look in later years for a death and found a likely entry in FreeBMD for 1872. Unlike the census, her full name is shown and the age at death matches with her birth year of 1805 so I suspect that this is her. I also found a death for John in 1878. I have ordered the certificate for this Jane Ann and will update this posting when it arrives. I hope that it doesn't take more than a month like the ones for her sisters Susannah and Mary did. They arrived last week having been ordered on April 5th just before the GRO price increase but I am still waiting for Harriett's and will update all of their death dates after I have all the facts.

I still can't find a marriage for Jane Ann and John Bennett. Maybe she was "once burned and twice shy" since she appears to have started living with him before her second husband, William COOKE, died and we now know that her first husband, Thomas CHATFIELD, didn't die in 1832 but was transported to VanDiemen's land in 1831 for 14 years. And, I am not sure that she ever actually married William COOKE although her first child with him is listed as illegitimate while the second child isn't but there is no record of a marriage between them and given this new information about Thomas CHATFIELD I suspect that she didn't marry either William COOKE or John BENNETT.

This blog is starting to pay off because I was contacted by a CHATFIELD descendant with the information on Thomas and his legal problems.

TAYLOR Family Update

How did I spend my Good Friday?

Sorting out the missing members of the TAYLOR Family, Eliza b. 1860, Mary A b. 1862 and Harriett b. 1864.

Eliza married Thomas Edwin PAYNE in 1881 after the census but died in 1887 so she never showed up with her married name. Between 1881 and 1887 she had 4 sons the last born just before her death at age 27. Her sister Harriett, shows up in 1891 and again in 1901 living with Thomas PAYNE and his sons as their housekeeper but is missing in 1911 and I couldn't find a marriage or death to explain her absence. She was difficult to trace because her name was spelled "Harriot" and her birth location shown as Lewes rather than Glynde.

Mary A married Henry GEARING also in 1881 and had two sons.

Here is a chart of their family details.

I haven't been able to find any conclusive marriages for the PAYNE boys after 1901. A couple have death dates that match their full names and age at death.

More research on this group will have to wait however, all the children of Harriett DAWES and John TAYLOR are now accounted for.

Unknown DAWES Women Resolved

Back in the early days of this blog, I mentioned three daughters of Thomas DAWS (1769-1843) and Elizabeth WHITEBREAD (1785-1849) whom I was not able to trace. You can view that post here.


Since I have been rushing to fill in the gaps in my research before the price of GRO certificates goes up on April 6th I have made a breakthrough on all three of the daughters.


My thanks goes to Mary DAWES for visiting each of her sisters on different census nights, Susannah in 1861 and Harriett in 1871 otherwise I never would have made the connection.


One of the great features of Ancestry.com is the ability to search on a females given name with a birth year and location. This generally turns up a bunch of potential marriages which can then be investigated further. I was looking for Harriett's born in Uckfield about 1829 when in the 1871 census I find Harriett and John TAYLOR living in Glynde, Sussex with five children and Harriett's sister, Mary DAWES, born in Peckham, Kent about 1819.


What a find! What a preponderance of evidence!


Harriett's age is within a year of her christening date which is all we have and Mary's is bang on. Plus, Harriet is born in Uckfield, Sussex and Mary in Peckham, Kent. For those of you who look it up I have made an adjustment here since on the1871 return Harriet is shown as born in Glynde and her husband is born in Uckfield but in the 1861, 1881 and 1891 returns it is the other way around.


Harriett and John had quite a large family which I am continuing to follow into current generations so we may turn up some more living cousins.


There are three middle daughters that I haven't been able to find after 1881 yet. Eliza TAYLOR b. 1860, Mary A TAYLOR b. 1862 and Harriett TAYLOR b. 1864. Imagine, another Mary and Harriett go missing.


The good news is that we can put Harriett to bed with her vital statistic dates of (1829-1893). Husband John shows up in 1901 living with their youngest daughter, Ellen SHERLOCK, as a widower. The only death registration that makes any sense is one from the March Quarter of 1893 for Lewes but shows Harriett's age as 58 which would have her born in 1835 as opposed to 1829. BUT, since she never got her age right on any of the censuses this must be her.


Following my given name search theory, I also had a look for Susannah born 1807 Hadlow, Kent. Only one turns up who is married to Leonard PAGE also of Glynde but her birth location is shown as Uckfield in 1851, Great Peckham, Kent in 1861, 1871 and finally in 1881 it is East Peckham, Kent. Susannah and Leonard also appear in the 1841 census so they must have been married before then, however, there are no registrations.


I fired up the Sussex FHG marriage index CD and EUREKA. There is a marriage between Leonard PAGE and Susannah DAVIES in Glynde dated 10 Sept 1836. Since this CD is a transcript therefore, DAWES and DAVIES are interchangeable as common mistake.


The icing on the cake is the 1861 census when Susannah and Leonard PAGE have Mary Dawes, her sister, born in Great Peckham, Kent staying with them.


Unfortunately, Leonard and Susannah never have any children recorded with them until 1871 when they have Mary Martin PAGE as an adopted daughter age 15 and born in Lewes.


Susannah DAWES' vital statistic dates are (1807-1885). She turns up in 1871 as a widow so Leonard died before then as you can see in the chart.

Finally, we can close the book with Mary who died in Uckfield 1875 so her vital statistics are (1819-1975) and if it wasn't for her staying in touch with her sisters I would never have cracked this puzzle. Now we have vitals for all the children of Thomas and Elizabeth plus some new branches to explore.