All About That Place

As a founding member of the Society of One-Place Studies I am delighted to be supporting and taking part in All About That Place, a collective and unique challenge event. Don’t forget to join the Society of One-Place Studies, £10 for a year which represents excellent value.

 

The schedule and bios of the speakers has just been released, and is available for download HERE. There are 130 bitesize talks from 93 speakers. The event starts on 22 September until 1 October 2023.

To take part join the active Facebook group and share the sessions you have enjoyed, how you have been inspired. Don’t forget to use the tag #AllAboutThatPlace and #OnePlaceStudy.

Posted in #AllAboutThatPlace Event, One-Place Studies | Leave a comment

What’s in a Name?…..

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet said Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet

Yesterday morning there was a small segment on Sky News (UK) about those in the USA naming their children after UK place names; in this instance, Aberdeen, Cardiff and Bradford.

Surnames frequently occur as place names and it is one of those that debates, which came first, did the place, through common usage adopt the surname of a key family, or did families adopt the name of the community they lived in. It is a chicken and the egg debate and either has merit.

In a similar fashion, some children bear the name of their mother’s family, or another family surname, as either a given name, a middle name and even a hyphenated surname.

So why might people use Bradford as a given name for a baby? Perhaps the family were from that region, or maybe the place name has a sentimental link to the parents and as such they give their baby the place name.

Logo from FreeBMD

I did a quick search of FreeBMD which is a free website where volunteers transcribe the indexes of the Births, Deaths and Marriages of England and Wales. Statutory registration began in September 1837 and whilst the site does not contain material for the current year, it is a key resource for genealogists.

Below is the results for England and Wales:

Bradford is recorded as being a given name in more than 150 babies from 1837 until 1992.

Cardiff has four instances, although these seem to be the same individual – all occur in 1993.

Aberdeen has two such instances, one from 1893 and the other in 1900.

Logo from Scotlands People

Turning to records from across the Scottish Border, I did a search of Scotlands People and that revealed a bumper crop of results. Let me quantify the parameters of material on the Scotlands People website, valuation rolls and legal records. Also, is Occupation, poor relief and migration and prison records.

Bradford revealed more than 6,000 instances across the various record sets

Cardiff revealed more than 4,000 instances, but most of these related to Coat of Arms. There is just four births.

Aberdeen revealed just over 5,000 instances.

One other significant factor is that the Scottish People site also includes within the results where the name is used as a middle name.

Looking at data collection from FreeBMD features in the Practicalities of a One-Name Study course. Analysis of data is explored in the Introduction to One-Name Studies course.

Posted in One-Name Studies | 2 Comments

Spotlight on Surnames…..

Over the last 18 months the Guild have hosted a number of spotlight on…..segments about specific studies – Aitchison, Braund, Featherstone, Howes and Liddiard. 

Visit the Guild of One-Name Studies website and search for the relevant surname. From there you can visit their individual websites and their Study Profile Page. You can watch these surname webinars HERE. If you are interested in having your study under the spotlight, please leave a comment below.

This Image created by Julie Goucher

I have also shared this post on the newsfeed of the Guild of One-Name Studies.

Posted in One-Name Studies, Surnames | Leave a comment

Researching Italian Ancestors – SOG talk 15 July 2023

Looking forward to talking about researching Italian Ancestors – 15 July 2023, 2pm BST

In this session, a 1 hour talk, hosted by the Society of Genealogists, we look at the history of Italy and explore the vital resources to track down our Italian Ancestors.

To Book: ow.ly/aHPg50P7G9Y

#ItalianFamilyHistory #ItalianRoots

Posted in European Ancestors, Italy | Leave a comment

Introduction to One-Name Studies (901)

Today the latest running of the Introduction to One-Name Studies course (901) began. It is always a popular course and it is very interesting to see the surnames that everyone is interested in.

It is still possible, for another day or so, to join the July intake.

I usually get a geographical mix of students and this course is no exception, with students from the UK, Australia, Canada and United States.

There are a few spaces left for the current course which is the final one for 2023. The next intake is 2024. For more details, confirmation of the forthcoming dates and to book please visit the information page HERE.

Posted in Introduction to One-Name Studies (Pharos course 901) | Leave a comment

Press Release Pharos Tutors – Brand new branding, website and student experience

Copyright, Pharos Tutors 2023, used with permission.

I don’t usually share Press releases on this site, but for Pharos Tutors I am making an exception – READ PRESS RELEASE

Pharos Tutors has undergone a makeover – a new website, new branding and new student experience, but with the same friendly and knowledgeable tutors that are fundamental to the success and reputation of Pharos Tutors.

I remain a tutor, teaching three Surname courses (901, 903 & 902) and Researching European Ancestors (750). You can read more about me and the courses I teach on the Pharos website, and  READ PRESS RELEASE.

Posted in European Ancestors, Genealogy, Miscellaneous, One-Name Studies | Leave a comment

Desk Ramblings (30)

Created by Julie Goucher, July 2019

Hello everyone, It is good to be back.

As you maybe aware, I took a posting break from about the end of January. It hadn’t been a planned break, but a series of events and hubby being incapacitated meant that my energy levels were low. I did though tutor two of the Pharos One-Name Study courses – Introduction to One-Name Studies (901) and Practicalities of a One-Name Study (903). Both of these courses will run again in 2023, in July and September, respectively, and then again in 2024, so if you wish to take these course this year, please do sign up, they are filling nicely!

I have also delivered a whopping 15 presentations and Book of Me Workshops. I have remained journaling and course writing, with two courses in the midst of being written, one is taking me far longer than I anticipated, because it is needing a wide range of researching  – more on that in due course (no pun intended!). I have also been completing a series of presentations on Medical Genealogy – more on that later.

Hubby is back on his feet, walking without crutches and “moon boot” and is now catching up on jobs that he usually deals with – anything above 5 foot, gardening, pruning and lawn mowing. We also have trees in the garden, really large conifers that are likely to be over 15 foot. They have needed to be cut back for over a year, but we made the decision to remove them. We still have privacy in the garden and will be planting more trees to replace them. I always thought trees once planted lived for years, but apparently not. Coupled with the fact that a previous owner had over cut back and we had many brown (dead) patches.

In recent months I have completed five notebooks, filled with journaling, numerous notes, ideas and similar. I have missed writing here quite a lot actually, which surprised me and I am planning finishing a number of posts that are in draft format, sharing hints and tips for research, more posts on European research and I have some Q & A posts to do.

Tomorrow is the start of June and I am hopeful that the summer months in the northern hemisphere will be productive. We have lots to do whilst we have longer days and better weather.

I am disappointed to see that WordPress is no longer sharing posts with Twitter directly – so if you were also sharing posts via Twitter how are you managing? Until I discover a better method, I will share posts manually (if I can), alternatively, sign up to receive posts in your email, or follow by Facebook and receive posts in your newsfeed.

Until next time!

Posted in Desk Ramblings! | 2 Comments

Introduction to One-Name Studies (901) ~ Week 2

Introduction to One-Name Studies Pharos Course (901) Image Julie Goucher, 2023

The second lesson of the Pharos Introduction to One-Name Studies course has just been sent to students.

We have a lovely mix of students, from the United States, the UK, France, and Australia, we will be having our discussion on Friday; students please check the forum for details!

The current course has now closed. The next, and final one for 2023, takes place in July 2023.

For more details, confirmation of the forthcoming dates and to book please visit the information page HERE.

Posted in Introduction to One-Name Studies (Pharos course 901), One-Name Studies | Leave a comment

Introduction to One-Name Studies (901)

Introduction to One-Name Studies Pharos Course (901) Image Julie Goucher, 2023

The first lesson of the Pharos Introduction to One-Name Studies course has just been sent to students.

I usually get a geographical mix of students and this course is no exception, with students from the UK, Australia, France and United States.

There are a few spaces left for the current course, alternatively the next and final one for 2023, takes place in July 2023.

For more details, confirmation of the forthcoming dates and to book please visit the information page HERE.

Posted in Genealogy, Introduction to One-Name Studies (Pharos course 901), One-Name Studies | Leave a comment

Researching Italian Ancestors Interview on Journeys into Genealogy Podcast

Image created by Julie Goucher, 2023

Before Christmas, in this post I mentioned that I had been writing some notes in preparation for an interview. I was delighted to be approached by Emma Cox from the Journeys into Genealogy Podcast, and invited to talk about researching Italian ancestors, a topic close to my heart. Well, the interview took place before Christmas and was released last week.

To accompany the interview I released this Research Guide which I hope assists those with Italian ancestry. You can listen to the Podcast and read the associated show notes HERE.

Posted in European Ancestors, Genealogy, Italy, Presentations | Leave a comment