Getting ready for Bloggiesta!

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Julie Goucher


Last year I saw the details for Bloggiesta, planned to take part, then promptly forgot all about. So this year I am planning to be organised!

Bloggiesta 2012 takes place over the weekend of 30th, 31st March and 1st April.


For more details and to sign up click HERE.

So having decided to participate, here is some details – This is an opportunity to

  • Make some new blogging friends!
  • Follow everyone’s personal progresses via Twitter and their blogs
  • Catch up on those draft posts and do some blog housekeeping!
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Sepia Saturday 116 – Hair

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Julie Goucher

This week I am featuring some of my Ellis ancestors – they had a thing about hair!

First up is Job and Lucy Ellis. They lived in the rural village of Elstead Surrey. Job was born in 1848, married Lucy in 1868 and he passed away, aged 89 years in 1937. I love the big bushy beard.

Meet John Ellis

John Ellis was an Uncle to Job. He was born in Elstead in 1817. He married Sarah Turpin in 1842. Sarah worked at Elstead Mill as a lace maker. In 1854, John and Sarah migrated to Geelong Victoria Australia where they had another 4 children. John died, aged 83 years in 1900.

Taking part in Sepia Saturday
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100 Word Challenge – Week 33

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Julie Goucher

Joining the weekly 100 words challenge for Grown ups. This week the prompt is to use the following picture with no more than 100 words.

Copyrighted to Julia & was taken at the Eden Project

It stood in the foyer, replicating its true graceful form.  There was something about the almost real like structure that simply made you reach out and stroke its mane and side. All at once, you can envisage it running and frolicking in the fields, enjoying rides and sugar lumps. Or perhaps simply wandering and grazing on grass and the odd daisy and buttercup; even enjoying the sunshine and life.
Suddenly, you are cast back into the here and now and realise that this wonderful structure has never frolicked in a field, munched on grass and flowers or enjoyed sugar lumps.

Copyright J Goucher – July 2011 Taken at Jersey Pottery

Taking part in the 100 word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week #33

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Tea Cup Tuesday – Charlton Ware

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Julie Goucher

I have had the following mug about 30 years and was given this by a friend. It hangs from the beam in our kitchen & breakfast rooms, memories of my teenage years.

This mug was part of the “walking range” which gained its popularity from the 1970s. Carlton Ware had been producing china from the 1890s. The firm continued up until the 1980s, when it went into receivership. There were a few later pieces produced in an attempt to make a come back, but this didn’t happen. In 1997 the name was purchased by another china manufacture along with some moulds and some pre production pieces.

Taking part in Tea Cup Tuesday hosted by Artful Affirmations & Martha’s Favourites

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Fearless Females 2012 – Day 5

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Julie Goucher

March 5 — How did they meet? You’ve documented marriages, now, go back a bit. Do you know the story of how your parents met? Your grandparents?


Still focusing on the marriage featured yesterday. How did my 3 x Great Grandparents meet? I have actually no idea. There have been no dairies left to indicate, so I am using a little poetic license to cast a speculative thought out into the ether.

William Elstone was born in Headley across the Hampshire border in 1800. He was married  in Bramshott, a nearby village in 1828. There is consistent movement between lots of the parishioners with these two parishes and the nearby parish of Frensham Surrey and across to Petworth and other parishes, which are just into the County of Sussex. 

His Bride, Eliza Bridger was born in Puttenham Surrey in 1809. Her mother was a native of Puttenham and her father came from Headley in Hampshire. 

The Villages would have been independent of one another, yet in some ways consistent with the image portrayed in the BBC drama, Lark Rise to Candleford, there would have been movement and connections with the surrounding villages. Bramshott, although having a paper mill, was also, like the other parishes rural. Farming and working on the land would have been a major source of income. From this point, enters the concept of market days. 

Puttenham is 4 miles or so from Guildford, which was an essential market town, and a direct route from Winchester to London. Puttenham is also about 4 miles from Farnham in the opposite direction from Guildford and also on route from Winchester to London. Headley and Bramshott are within easy walking distance of Farnham. Farnham to Puttenham is only 6 miles, and probably less walking across the fields. 

The probability was that William and Eliza met at the local market town, I have a gut feeling Farnham, but no specific reason why that would be the case. The other possibility is that they shared a relationship with a third party – a friend or cousin and met through them.

This modern postcard, which I think I have featured before is a good quick reference to establish the locations of the various parishes; I often use it for inspiration!

We often judge distances by modern values, with roads and motorways. We need to think  about walking. What we consider a pleasure; to walk 10 miles our ancestors did possibly daily, not for pleasure, but out of necessity. Our ancestors would have walked across the fields, enjoying the fresh spring and summer airs, but also enduring the wet and cold of Autumn and Winter.

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Sunday Salon – Random Reading & Things!

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Julie Goucher

Is it me, or are the weeks simply whizzing by? The last week I have caught up a bit on a few book reviews.

First up was a duo of books about Lilacs. Now, I was probably cheating, as there were only pictures in these books, but they lead me to my Royal Horticultural book on Gardening, so there is a tentative link to a book!

These are two books from a set of four showing some lovely photographs of Lilacs. You can read the review HERE. 
I also did a review on another book, again mainly photographs. The book was called Adam Clark Vroman and the review is HERE . This book contains some lovely photos of Indian life in the South Western United States. What drew me to this book, was the cover image.
The third e-book I read, was more like an essay, written by the daughter of a naval man who was present at the time Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in 1941. It was a small, yet fascinating account of a series of memories that are likely to be forgotten unless recorded. So whilst, it was a quick read in terms of pages, for me it raised some interesting points. I logged a review on Amazon and the author responded and I hope she writes more of these family stories. The book was called Australia: The Bombing of Darwin and One Family’s Story by A.A. Gallagher. The review is HERE.
The 1st of March was World Book Day, and unless I have been reading on line with my eyes shut I did not see any posts about the event. HERE are my reflections and memories of my childhood reading.
I also managed to complete two books and those reviews up next week.
  • Sew Deadly by Elizabeth Lynn Casey
  • The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love by Beth Pattillo

Apart from that I competed the Family History Writing Challenge for the second year. Usually, I post daily and I started this again this year, but decided to write each day and proof read and post later on. I am now working on a theme titled Fearless Women for the whole of March to celebrate Women’s History Month. Even if you have very little interest in your family history have a look at the prompts and see how much or little you know about your female ancestors.

For April I am planning to once again take part in the A-Z Challenge and you can read the details HERE. Last year I kept the alphabetical theme vaguely random, yet at the same time linked to me, so I chatted about our pets, deceased family members, or special places. One of my interests was covered under T is for Thyroid and I created an A-Z all Thyroid related.
This year I am undecided whether to use a bookish theme, or a places theme or more of the same as last year. I need to decide soon as I want to get the posts written prior to April and then I can spend April reading  the posts written by other participants.
Finally, It is Bloggiesta time again, although it not again for me, as being somewhat preoccupied last year I completely forgot to take part! The Bloggiesta weekend is 30th, 31st March and 1st April. To read all about it and to sign up click HERE.
Until next week…..

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Sunday Stamps – SS Goucher Victory

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Julie Goucher

A few weeks ago I was sent this lovely First Day Cover for the Goucher Victory Ship. From limited research it would appear that these ships, were named after Colleges in the US and were used in the main for returning American troops back to the United States at the end of the Second World War.

Submitted as Sunday Stamps hosted by Viridian’s Postcard Blog
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Weekend Cooking – Forgotten Recipes

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Julie Goucher

Several weeks ago I came across a website, aimed mainly at genealogy. You can visit the site HERE. One of the links on the main page is called Barry’s Forgotten Recipes. You do need to register, but having done so you receive each week a link to some forgotten recipes and then periodically a complete PDF version of an antique cookbook.

Intrigued, I registered and began to receive the weekly email with the update for that week. I also received a full PDF of The New Dr Price Cook Book.

What is quite useful, is that the weekly update provides not only the recipe, but also the date the recipe has been sourced from.

Overall, this is quite a useful site, for those who just like reading old recipes and for those interested in the social and domestic lives of our forebears.

Taking part in Weekend Cooking, hosted by BethFishReads

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Fearless Females 2012 – Day 4

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Julie Goucher

March 4 — Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.


I do have the marriage record of my Grandparents, but though that I would share this one.

This is the marriage that links together the families of my Grandparents who married each other in 1939 and were completely unaware that they were related!

My Grandfather, George Butcher, descends through his maternal line, back through the surnames of Harris, Ellis and Budd. All the families deeply rooted in the parish of Puttenham. 

The common ancestor was the marriage of Richard Budd to Sarah Collins in Puttenham in 1742. Richard and Sarah raised a family of 5 children, comprising of 4 daughters and one son. Their third daughter, Mary Budd was born in Puttenham in 1779 and married in Puttenham to Richard Bridger in 1797. Richard and Mary Bridger then proceeded to have a large family of 14 children, all born in Bramshott Hampshire.

My Grandmother, Lilian Edith Matthews descends through her maternal line, back through the surname of Elstone. In this particular case, Eliza Bridger, named in the marriage certificate above was the 8th child from the family of 14 born to Richard Bridger and Mary (nee Budd).

Eliza Bridger married William Elstone in the parish of Bramshott in 1828. The Elstone’s had been in the parish since the 1730s, and were eventual owners of Bramshott paper mill, through the marriage of William’s parents, John Elstone and Ann Pim in 1786.

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Beyond the Internet: Week 9 – Baptisms, Banns and Burials

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Julie Goucher

Continuing the weekly theme, inspired by Family History Across the Seas

Civil Registration in the UK did not begin until 1837 and even then that is not a absolute certainty that you are going to find the person you are seeking. Victorians were uncomfortable with sharing data for the Civil Registration and therefore some did not comply.

Beyond that attention must be turned to the Parish. Have records survived? and how much further you can research will vary parish to parish. Sometimes, it is necessary to look at the parish in a wider context.

My family were in the village of Puttenham Surrey from around 1724. We know this from the Church Records, with a Baptism of Martha Budd in 1724 which reads daughter of Henry and Martha “First of the Budd’s”. That indicates that the Budd’s were elsewhere prior to 1724 and this is confirmed in the church records. Certainly the marriage of Henry and Martha is not in Puttenham, it was found in the parish of Chertsey in 1723, which was the bride’s place of birth.

On seeking a birth place for Henry I used a map and gradually searched each and every parish within a 5 then 10 mile radius. Given the proximity to the border with Hampshire I concurred that he came from the parish of Binsted and was born 1699, but I can not prove that this is “my Henry” on that there was a Henry in Binsted in 1699. Sometimes, there is a gut feeling that what documentation is found is not actually correct. I added a tentative Henry born circa 1699 to my working model tree, along with a question mark and carried on researching.

A chance posting on a mailing list mentioned a Henry Budd in a nearby parish to Puttenham. In reviewing my notes with a map realised that I had overlooked the records for Shackleford, a village a few miles across the fields. Shackleford is linked to Peper Harrow and the survival of records prior to 1837 is scanty. I have since established that a Henry Budd in 1720 was in Elstead, (another local village within walking distance), witnessing a marriage. I have also established that a Henry Budd was living in Shackleford, at a house called Cobblers in 1720. My gut feeling tells me that this is my Henry, but I need further proof to confirm this.

In this instance, it is important to look beyond the immediate Parish Records for that named person, perhaps your ancestor like mine appears on a parish record as a witness to someone else’s happy day.

Hugh Wallis’s fabulous and very useful set of links relating to the various parishes within Family Search is invaluable.

The details for Puttenham Surrey are available HERE. It is also worth checking if there is a One Place Study for a particular parish via the Index site HERE and some parishes are covered by the relevant County On line Parish Clerk Scheme. These have been rather usefully linked into the One Place Study site.

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