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Tuesday 31 January 2012

Kent Hearth Tax 1664, free to download PDF file. Hearth Tax online-Monthly random Hearth Tax transcriptions. Kent Hearth Tax Assement Lady Day 1664. Production and Comsumption in English Households 1600-1750.British History online: City of London 1662 Hearth Tax Free Index of names and locations.

Kent Hearth Tax 1664.

The Hearth Tax was in force between 1662 and 1689. Evey householder was required to pay a tax  according to the number of hearths in their dwelling. List were compiled of householders with the number of their hearths according to county.

These list have become an important resource not only for historians but also for Family Historians. Not only those required to pay the tax were listed, but those who were exempted because they were poor. Women, normally widows, were also included. It is the nearest to a census that exists, though only the name of the householder  was recorded.

At Kent Hearth Tax 1664 you can download a pdf transcription of the returns compiled by Duncan Harrington in 1999.

Hearth Tax online.

Hearth Tax online  is run and maintained by the Centre for Hearth Tax Research, based at Roehampton University London, supported by The British Academy. Is also worth looking at. Monthly random Hearth Tax  transcriptions are placed on the site. They can be anywhere in the country, Kent, Essex and so forth.

Kent Hearth Tax Assement Lady Day 1664.

If you are interested in what the Hearth Tax returns can tell us about our ancestors, their neighbours, the area they lived in  then you can download and read the Kent Hearth Tax Assement Lady Day 1664 produced by the Roehampton Hearth Tax Centre and the British Record Society Ltd. It is a detailed assement and breakdown of the information that can be gathered from the records. It can be found at Kent Hearth Tax Assement

Production and Comsumption in English Households 1600-1750.

This book, Published by Routledge can be read on line via Google Books. It will give you a lot of information about what the Hearth Tax and many other records can tell you about life during this period. I has a lot of information about Kent. Production and Comsumption 1600-1750


The following, though not Kent, Hearth Tax Indexes/Transcripts might be of interestest (seeing that some of our ancestors in Kent originated in other counties.

Shalfleet Local and Family History Sources has an index of householders of the 1664 Hearth Tax for Shalfleet, Isle of Wight.

1662 Hearth Tax Returns for Ploughley, Oxfordshire

British History online: 1662 City of London Hearth Tax Free Index of names and locations.

I have found some of my 'Kent' ancestors and families in the Hearth Tax records of the city of London, so it is alway worth a look. The indexes at  London Hearth Tax: City of London, 1662 are free to view and search.

Friday 27 January 2012

The National Archives is warning about a Scam e-mail entitled 'Population Census: a message to everyone - act now' Canterbury Cathederal Records to be available on the Web from February 2012.

The National Archives, in a statement date 27 January 2012, is warning about a Scam e-mail entitled 'Population Census: a message to everyone - act now'

The National Archives is warning that the e-mail is being circulated, allegedly in the name of National Statistician, Jil Matheson. It demands individuals give further personal information, supposedly for the Census and threatens fines for non-compliance. This email is a scam and a hoax. It has no connection whatsoever with the National Statistician, the 2011 Census or the Office for National Statistics.

Further details at Statement from Director of the 2011 Census

Canterbury Cathederal Records to be available on the Web from February 2012.

Following on from the announcement that Canterbury Cathederal Archives will be closed from 31st January 2012 for approximately 7 months for repairs, findmypast.co.uk has announced that there will be increased access to over a million baptism, marriage and burial records from 1538. Images of the original parish records from East Kent churches will appear online in an deal with findmypast

Initialy it will only be the images but findmypast.co.uk will begin transcibing the images to create an index that can be fully seached.

Monday 23 January 2012

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516: Kent. Who could our ancestors marry? Plaxtol Local History Group Meetings and Talks for 2012. North West Kent Family History Society-Sevenoaks Branch Meetings and Talks for 2012.

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516: Kent

Markets were an important part of our ancestors life. You can be sure that at some stage they either sold, purchased and visited a Market. They were also great social occasions where people could meet and potential husbands and wives could be found.

Gazetteer of Markets is a comprehensive list of markets, when they started and where they were located. The link given takes you to the Kent section but you can easily navigate to other sections including a explanation of the entries.

Who could our ancestors marry?

A list of Forbidden marriages was drawn up by the Church of England in 1560. This regulated what degree of relationship between a man and a woman could prevent marriage. This remained part of law until the 20th Century when it was amended, but the core remained.

Though some of our ancestors broke them, probably out of necessity. For instance a man could not marry his deceased wife's sister. However, there are many cases where this did happen.

Forbidden Marriage Laws of the United Kingdom F.M. Lancaster, a retired  Senior Lecturer at Harper Adams University College, Newport, Shropshire (whose specialist subject was Animal Breeding and Genetics) has put together a straight forward guide from 1560 to the changes in the 20th Century. It is worth a look to see how this could impinge on our ancestors lives and prevent marriage or make a marriage illegal.

Many Historical and Family History Societies in Kent have published their programme of Talks for 2012. Many are open to members and to visitors. These talks are by experts and knowledgeable researchers and you can learn a lot about your ancestors by attending such talks.

Plaxtol Local History Group Meetings and Talks for 2012.

Members and visitors are welcome to attend the talks. An example of what is on offer:

Tuesday 14th February 2012, 8pm - IGHTHAM PAST AND PRESENT, a talk by Jean Stirk and David Williams.

Tuesday 13th March 2012, 8pm - THE CRAFT OF THE COOPER, a talk by Richard Filmer.

Full details, plus other information including how to join the Group can be found at Plaxtol LHG  

North West Kent Family History Society-Sevenoaks Branch Meetings and Talks for 2012.

9 Feb 2012 Monty Parkin Kemsing - "A Village Remembered "
8 Mar 2012 Ian Currie - "Frost Fairs"
12 Apr 2012 Jean Stirk & David Williams - "Ightham at the Cross Roads"


Members and visitors are welcome. A donation is always welcome.

Full details can be found at NWKFHS meetings

Please note before travelling to any meeting you should always check the website and or contact any Society to ensure that meetings and talks have not been cancelled or changed.

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Do you have family stories, photographs or memorabilia associated with past international, national county or local sporting activities and connected to the NW Kent area? If so the NWKFHS would like to consider them for publication. Winning Endeavours- images relating to the 1908 and 1948 London and South East of England's Olympic past. Gladys Eveline Hodges born 1892, Tunbridge, Kent.

Your help is needed with the North West Kent Family History Society’s Journal!
To reflect this Olympic year,  I would like to include articles about your sporting ancestors in the June and September issues of the Journal. As a Charity we are unable to offer payment for articles but if you wish to share your story I would be happy to consider it.

During your own researches you might have found some stories, photographs or memorabilia associated with past international, national county or local sporting activities and connected to the NW  Kent area. Whilst I would love to hear about local past Olympians, I am equally happy to celebrate any achievements that fit under the broad banner of sports.

Articles from 100-1000 words welcome. If you need guidance about how we can reproduce old photographs, medals, certificates, etc in the Journal do make contact.  Digital images should be high quality jpegs. Please do not send original material to me at Editor NWKFHS.
I look forward to hearing from you. 
Pauline Heathcote
EDITOR
NORTH WEST KENT FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY

Winning Endeavours- images relating to the 1908 and 1948 London and South East of England's Olympic past.

The Olympic Games of 1908 and 1948 in London were major events for not just London. Our area of North West Kent and other areas of the UK were involved with both Olympics. 25 archive repositories from London and the South East of England have contributed digitised images to this site from their collections. The images show photographs, newspaper articles, minutes, reports and other archival material

Winning Endeavours  is a project carried out in collaboration with the Archives for London, London Metropolitan Archives and the British Library, as a contribution towards the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The project is funded by the partners and by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.


 
Continuing with The Royal Academy Pictures-a supplement to The Magazine of Art (founded in 1838) 1894 Edition (Part 5). Gladys Eveline Hodges born 1892, Tunbridge, Kent.
Gladys Eveline Hodges born in 1892, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was the daughter of Henry Charles Hodges and Alice May Ede. Photograph sent in by her mother Alice May Hodges.

The 1891 census shows the family (before Gladys was born) at 44 Calverley Road, Tunbridge Wells:

Henry C Hodges Head, Grocer Manager, 30 abt 1861 Sherborne Dorset
Alice M Hodges Wife, 27 abt 1864 Shalford Surrey

By 1901 Henry Hodges was a 'Grocery Traveller' living at 33 Strafford Road, Southampton:

Henry C Hodges Head 40 abt 1861 Sherborne Dorset
Alice M Hodges Wife 37 abt 1864 Shalford Surrey
Gladys E Hodges Daughter 8 abt 1893 Tunbridge Wells Kent
Gwendoline A Hodges Daughter 1 abt 1900  Southampton
Rose Phillips Boarder 27 abt 1874  Gloucestershire

Thursday 12 January 2012

Temporary closure of Lambeth Archives 23 January - 6 February 2012. The 100th anniversary of the start of WWI-In Memoriam 2014. War Memorials Trust and the SmartWater Foundation. Continuing with The Royal Academy Pictures-a supplement to The Magazine of Art (founded in 1838) 1892 Edition (Part 2). Lilian Annie Read born 1891 Dorchester.

Temporary closure of Lambeth Archives.

The Archives will be closed to the public for stocktaking from Monday 23 January and re-opening on Monday 6 February 2012. For details see Lambeth Archives

The 100th aniversary of the start of WWI-In Memoriam 2014. War Memorials Trust and the SmartWater Foundation.

The 100th anniversary of the start of WWI take place in 2014 and the War Memorials Trust and the SmartWater Foundation are working together to log and protect thousands of war memorials across the United Kingdom using forensic technology. In Memoriam 2014 is also supported by the Royal British Legion and the Cadet Forces.

The website points out that there are about 100,000 war memorials in the British Isles dating from the 7th century to the present day. They range from crosses, to bridges, to buildings, and located inside churches  The concept of In Memoriam 2014 is to encourage local communities and youth groups to identify and get involved with war memorials. The information obtained from those that apply will be used by War Memorials Trust to help its work protecting and conserving war memorials.

The charity aims to promote the importance of best conservation practice through its advisory and grant-making activities. In Memoriam 2014 will help protect memorials at risk of theft or damage by marking them with SmartWater. A crime prevention fluid, which is being made available at no charge.  For full details go to In Memoriam 2014

Continuing with The Royal Academy Pictures-a supplement to The Magazine of Art (founded in 1838) 1892 Edition (Part 2). Lilian Annie Read born 1891 Dorchester.



Lilian Annie Read was born in 1891 at Dorchester, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth, nee Stillman, Read.
The 1891 census shows the family living at  Long Street, Cerne Abbas, Dorset:

Joseph Read Head, Drapper and Outfitter, 29 abt 1862 Broadwinsor Dorset 
Elizabeth Read Wife, 29 abt 1862 Walworth London
Lilian A Read Daughter, 2 months, abt 1891 Cerne Abbas London
Caroline Stellman Mother-in-law, 70 abt 1821 Southwark London 

 By 1901 the family had grown and they were living at Middle Tything, Piddletranthide, Dorset:

Joseph Read Head 39 abt 1862, Grocer and Drapper, Bradwinsor, Dorset
Elizabeth Read Wife 39 abt 1862  Walworth, Surrey
Lilian Read Daughter 10 abt 1891  Cerne Abbas, Dorset
Henry Read Son 8 abt 1893  Piddletrenthide, Dorset
Helen Read Daughter 7 abt 1894  Piddletrenthide, Dorset
Basil Read Son 4 abt 1897  Piddletrenthide, Dorset
Edith Read Daughter 9 Months abt 1900 Piddletrenthide, Dorset
Sarah Read Sister 43 abt 1858, Grocer and Drapper, Brodwinsor, Dorset

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Final, missing column of data from the 1911 census has now been released. Mapping the London Blitz, including some of the former Kent Parishes that became part of the LCC. Continuing with The Royal Academy Pictures-a supplement to The Magazine of Art (founded in 1838) 1893 Edition (Part 1). Lucy Birch Blick born Dec1890-Rugby, Warwickshire.

Missing Column Data for 1911 Census is Now Released.

The final, missing column of data from the 1911 census, which details individuals’ infirmities has now been released. This information has been closed until now due to data protection regulations.

Mapping the London Blitz.

The London Metropolitan Archives has extended it exhibition until March 2012. The exhibition is based on a series of bomb damage maps, created by the London County Council (LCC) that documented the destruction caused by  enemy fire.  Plotted, building by building, these maps use a colour code to show the extent of the damage. They cover the 117 square miles for which they were responsible. This includes some of the former Kent locations that became part of the LCC. Details can be found at Mapping the Blitz


Continuing with The Royal Academy Pictures-a supplement to The Magazine of Art (founded in 1838) 1893 Edition (Part 1). Lucy Birch Blick born Dec 1890-Rugby, Warwickshire. 



Lucy Birch Blick was the daughter of Alfred Tom F Blick and Harriet Birch. Her parents were married in 1890 in the Coventry Registration district and she was born in 1891 in Rugby, Warwickshire.

In 1891 she (Harriet) an Lucy were living with her mother Emma Birch at Dunchurch Road, Bilton, Rugby:

Emma Birch Head  55 abt 1836, Laundress, Trefonen Shropshire
Ann J Birch Daughter 28 abt 1863 Halton Cheshire
Arthur R Birch Son  26 abt 1865, School Master, Cucklington Cheshire 
Lucy Birch Daughter  24 abt 1867, Dress Maker, Stafford Staffordshire
Harriet Birch Daughter  22 abt 1869 , Laundress, Stafford Staffordshire
Lucy B Blick Granddaughter 3 months abt 1891 Bilton Warwickshire
Sarah J Evans Niece 17 abt 1874, Laundress, Goboven Shropshire
Mary E Evans Niece  14 abt 1877 Goboven Shropshire

Lucy's father was not with them at the time.

By 1901 the family had grown and they were living at Myrtle Cottage, Bilton: 

Alfred T F Blick. Electrical Machinist Driller, Head 35 abt 1866  Dunchurch, Warwickshire
Harriet Blick Wife 32 abt 1869  Stafford, Staffordshire
Lucy B Blick Daughter 10 abt 1891  Dunchurch, Warwickshire
Alfred T Blick Son 8 abt 1893  Bilton, Warwickshire
William Blick Son 4 abt 1897 Rugby, Warwickshire
Robert B Blick Son 2 abt 1899  Rugby, Warwickshire

Wednesday 4 January 2012

What Victorian Infants were fed. The Mellins Food Method of Percentage Feeding published in 1908 available to download Free. Food Timeline-19th and 20th Century Infants Food. Cook It-Victorian (and earlier and later) Cooking. Picture Galleries and more. NWKFHS meetings and talks.

What Victorian Babies and Children were fed.

If you are interested in more details about your ancestors, how they lived, what they did and where then you might be interested  in the following that will help you round out more about their life:

Mellin's Food for Infants and Invalids. We have been running a series about the photographs sent to Mellin's Marlboro' Works, Peckham, London in the 1890's by parents endorsing the food. They were placed in many publications and besides providing photographs of the infants gave the name and address of parents. They give a good idea of what was available for infants, for those who could afford it.

Victorian Baby Food gives some more example of the Adverts with photographs and will take you to other pages detailing Medicines and Cures that were used by Doctors and sold over the counter at Chemists.

The Mellins Food Method of Percentage Feeding published in 1908 available to download Free.

In 1902 Mellin's loyalties for the use of the products or services of the business were purchased and marketed in America. At The Mellins Food Method of Percentage Feeding you can download (various formats, PDF, Kindle, Text) or read on the web courtesy of Google and the Columbia University Libraries the Book published in America in 1908 which gives full details of the food and how it was used.

Food Timeline-19th and 20th Century Infants Food.

Food Timeline is another good site for information about infants food in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Cook It-Victorian (and earlier and later) Cooking. Picture Galleries and more.

Cook It is a site worthwhile looking at. It covers all aspects of Victorian Cooking and contains many picture galleries you can look through, covering such subjects as Food and Drink, Health and Welfare, Family, Home and Leisure and many more. The site also covers other eras.

NWKFHS meetings and talks.

The Dartford Branch of the Society has the following talks:

3 Mar 2012 Norman Hopkins The Huguenots in Kent (with a brief reference to links with London)
7 Apr 2012 Meryl Catty & Audrey Gillett An Enumerator's Tale & Annual Meeting.
5 May 2012 Pauline Watson Greenwich Heritage Centre and its resources

Meetings are free to members, Visitors are asked for a donation to the Society. Further details can be found at NWKFHS Meetings Visitors are asked to check the site before travelling to the meeting in case of any changes due to weather etc.