Randy’s task this week was to determine your Ancestral Name Score — basically, what percentage of ancestors you can positively identify for 10 generations. For 10 generations, starting with yourself, that’s 1023 people.
I did the same exercise for both my side and my husband’s side, since I research both. The percentages in the chart include the numbers for the previous generations.
My husband’s Ancestral Name Score
Joey’s Ancestor Name Score — 2015
Score: 7.9%
This particular chart has increased considerably in the past few weeks as I’ve been able research my husband’s biological paternal grandparents (thank you Ontario open access adoption laws). I’ve added 14 names to his ahnentafel list in the last few weeks alone. Had I done this exercise at Christmas, the score would have been 6.5%. You’ll notice a significant drop in known ancestors after the 3rd great-grandparents. I have two words to explain that: Irish Immigrants. Most of his Irish families (and that is the vast majority of his ancestry) were Irish immigrants that came over between the 1820s and 1850s.
One of my goals this year, along with discovering my husband’s paternal family, is to try and take all these Irish immigrants and figure out where in Ireland they came from. That is involving a lot of collateral research, and in many of these cases I’ve already researched the obvious siblings and I’m needing to find undiscovered siblings — lots of research of families of the same name in the same communities. Some are related, some are not, some are still unknown. However, those that are related are proving very useful in this goal — two weeks into the year and I’ve already discovered an additional specific point of Irish origin.
My Ancestral Name Score
My Ancestor Name Score — 2015
Score: 9.1%
This is the one that surprised me. I’ve done very little research on my side of the family, certainly compared to the amount of time I’ve spent on my husband’s side, so I was a bit surprised that my score is higher. I usually spend a bit of time here and there when I’m tired banging my head on the table over Irish immigrants. There are only so many “John Kelly”s that I can take before madness sets in.
The research I’ve done is very thorough, but there are many lines that can easily be pushed back many more generations. The records are there, I just haven’t put in the research time yet. In fact, I could easily name an additional dozen known ancestors off the top of my head, but I haven’t put in the research time to prove them so I haven’t included them, including my dear Loyalist ancestors. For some reason, it feels a bit different to include an ancestor I haven’t researched and where there are known records than it is to include a “brick wall” ancestor where I’ve run out of paper trail.
My father did quite a bit of genealogy, and whilst I’ve not seen his research and it is not included in my numbers, I have talked to him about it. I hope to be able to include his efforts in the future, assuming we are able to retrieve the data. Much of my research was focused on the lines he wasn’t able to push back. Unless I caught on to something interesting, then it was all fair game. I’m a bit of a magpie in that respect.
My biggest stumbling block is my grandfather’s (informal) adoption. It leaves an awfully large hole in the family charts.
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is a weekly challenge put out by Randy Seaver of the blog Geneamusings.
Researching siblings can further your research about your ancestors, and sometimes researching your ancestors can teach you more about their siblings. Whilst doing a simple search for Edwin Chappell, my husband’s 3rd great-grandfather, I was astonished at what I found.
1860 map of England and Wales, this section depicting the region around Bath, Somerset.1
Sarah Chappell was Edwin’s second eldest sister. She born in Bath, Somerset in 18322 to John Chappell and his wife Sarah. When Sarah married James Cole, a gilder by trade, on October 16th 18513 she likely thought she was marrying well and would be able to lead a relatively comfortable life, especially as James’ father, John Cole, left James the majority of his estate when he died in 1855.4
Sarah and James Cole had seven children, four of whom are shown residing with the family in Bath in the 1861 census,5 one born after the 1861 census, and two of whom I have been unable to positively identify, but both likely died very young as I have been unable to source baptism records for them.
The family had fallen on hard times. James Cole was not following his trade or earning a wage, and they had squandered their inheritance. The family had pawned nearly everything they owned in order to put a meagre bit of food on the table, and they were facing eviction. Added to this, most of her family had abandoned her due to her husband’s temper and intolerable disposition. On July 6th 1863, something inside Sarah (Chappell) Cole snapped. Tragedy ensued.
Claiming to be heading out to buy the children a bun or two, she left the house, taking her 3 youngest children with her. Upon reaching the canal near Bathampton, she strangled and/or drowned each of her children in the waters before she herself plunged to her watery death.
The newspaper article in the Bath Chronicle tells in depth the family situation, both from the view of the surviving husband, James Cole, and the view of Sarah’s brother, Edwin Chappell, as it was presented in court, together with the coroner and surgeon’s reports, and the final verdict of temporary insanity as a result of her desperate situation.
An easier to read transcription of this article can be found here.
“Shocking Tragedy”, article of the demise of Sarah (Chappell) Cole and her 3 youngest children, from The Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, published July 9th 1863.14
Sarah (Chappell) Cole was 31 years of age when she took her own life and the life of her three youngest children. All four were buried on July 10th 1863 at St Nicholas church, Bathampton, Somerset,15,16,17,18 leaving James Cole and his two remaining daughters to mourn their loss whilst facing eviction and destitution.
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a blogging prompt started by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small. My stories will include both sides of our family, including collateral lines.
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 11 Dec 2014), baptism entry for Sarah Chappell, 22 Jul 1832, St Thomas a Becket, Widcombe, Bath, Somerset, England; citing file number 19073. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 3 Dec 2014), register 72, marriage entry for James Cole and Sarah Chappell, 16 Oct 1851, Walcot-St Swithin, Bath, Somerset England; citing file number 14532. ↩
“England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858”, James John Cole, Somerset, Walcot, 20 Apr 1855; digital image, Ancestry, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Dec 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers”, class PROB, Piece 2210. ↩
“1861 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district (ED) 15, parish of Walcot St-Saviour, p. 14, household 88, family of James Cole; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jul 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861”, Class RG 9, Piece 1692, Folio 51, GSU roll 542852. ↩
“England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975”, index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2014), Matilda Cole, 28 Sep 1856, Bath, Somerset; citing FHL film 1526166, Item 2 p129. ↩
“Births”, entry for John James Augustus Cole, 1861, Walcot, Bath, Somsert, reference WL1/16/282; index, BathBMD, (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 3 Jan 2015); citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset. ↩
“England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975”, index, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jun 2014), John James Augustus Cole, 8 Feb 1861, St Saviour, Bath, Somerset; citing FHL film 1526166, Item 2. ↩
“Shocking Tragedy”, news article, Bath [Somerset] Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 9 Jul 1863, page 5, column 5; online index and digital image, British Newspaper Archive (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk : accessed 11 Jul 2014); image copyright the British Library Board. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 4 Dec 2014), burial entry for Sarah Cole, 10 Jul 1863, St Nicholas, Bathampton, Somerset, England; citing file number 14661. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 4 Dec 2014), burial entry for Matilda Cole, 10 Jul 1863, St Nicholas, Bathampton, Somerset, England; citing file number 14661. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 4 Dec 2014), burial entry for John James Cole, 10 Jul 1863, St Nicholas, Bathampton, Somerset, England; citing file number 14661. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 4 Dec 2014), burial entry for Alfred Cole, 10 Jul 1863, St Nicholas, Bathampton, Somerset, England; citing file number 14661. ↩
Edwin Chappell was a man who lived his entire life near the waters of the Avon River, in the city of Bath, Somerset, England. He was the second youngest of nine children born to John Chappell and Sarah Cridge1 (or possibly Crudge),2 born August 14th 1839.3
Edwin Chappell – clipping from the Chappell Family Record3
He was baptised at September 22nd of the same year at St Thomas à Becket church in the nearby town of Widcombe.4 Shortly after his birth, the family moved from their Wood St residence, to their new home at 1 Parsons Yard in Bath where he spent most of his childhood.5,6
St Thomas à Becket Church in Widcombe, Bath, Somerset. Photo by Stephen McKay.7
At the age of 19, he married Harriet Oaten8 on February 19th, 18609 at Walcot-St Swithin Church. He had a variety of jobs over the course of his younger years, recording himself as a baker,10 milkman,11 and finally as a wheelchairman,12 the later being the career he held for his remaining years13,14 until retirement.15
Edwin Chappell — according to the information inscribed on the back, the photo was taken in 1889 in Bath, Somerset, England. Edwin would have been about 50 years old.16
Edwin and Harriet had 10 children, 7 of whom lived until adulthood.17
Edwin Oaten Chappell
William John Chappell
Harriet Chappell
Martha Rosa Chappell
William Christopher Chappell
Elizabeth Ada Chappell
Albert Chappell
Alice Mary Chappell
Arthur Chappell
Minnie Chappell
In the later years they also helped to care for their grand-daughter Annie.18,19,20
In general terms, they worked and lived and raised a family as one would expect. Other than being charged with using abusive language during a quarrel — a case that was later dismissed in court21 — I couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.
Edwin Chappell’s obituary, Bath Chronicle, 15 March 1913.
CHAPPELL — March 10th, at 5, Caroline Place, Lansdown Road, Bath, Edwin Chappell, aged 73.22
Edwin passed away at his home at 5 Caroline Place, Lansdown, Bath, on March 10th, 1912, at the age of 73.23 Whilst he lived his entire life at Bath, some of his children did move further afield, including Australia, Canada, and the United States. Today his progeny live all over the world.
Edwin Chappell is my husband’s 3xgreat-grandfather. Our ancestral line:
6. Edwin Chappell (1839-1913)
5. William Christopher Chappell (1869-1941)
4. Rosemary Cecelia Chappell (1900-1985)
3. James Francis Walsh (1931-2001)
2. My husband’s mother (living)
1. My husband (living)
FOOTNOTES
“Births”, entry for Edwin Chaple, 1891, Lyncombe and Widcombe, Bath, Somersert, reference LW1/2/124; index, BathBMD, (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 31 Dec 2014); citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 15 May 2014), marriage entry for John Chappell and Sarah Crudge, 26 Jan 1824, Twerton St Michael church, Bath, Somerset, England; citing file number 13892. ↩
Chappell Family Record, undated handwritten document, original in the collection of Joan [Name withheld for privacy; address for Private Use], Simcoe county, Ontario, digital copy held by author. [From the appearance this document it seems most likely to be a copy of the family bible, copied after 1897.] ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 15 May 2014), baptism entry for Edwin Chappell, 22 Sep 1839, register 352, St Thomas a Becket, Widcombe, Bath, Somerset, England; citing file number 18911. ↩
“1841 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district 1, parish of St Michael, page 45, household of John Chappell; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archive, London, “1841 Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841”, class HO107, piece 969, book 7, folio 25, GSU roll 474609. ↩
“1851 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district (ED) 3a, parish of St Michael page 35, household schedule 105, family of John Chappell; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851”, class HO107, piece 1941, folio 278,GSU 221100. ↩
“Marriages”, entry for Edwin Chappell and Harriet Oaten, 1860, Walcot St-Switin, Bath, Somserset, reference C17/7/043; index, BathBMD, (http://www.bathbmd.org.uk : accessed 15 Dec 2014); citing Register Offices, Bath, Somerset. ↩
“FreeREG”, indexed database, FreeREG, (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 15 May 2014), entry of marriage for Edward Chappell and Harriet Oates, 19 Feb 1860, Walcot-St Swithin, Bath, Somerset, register 43. ↩
“1861 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district 10, parish of St Michael, page 22, household schedule 109, family of Edwin Chappell; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861”, class RG9, piece 1687, folio 120, GSU roll 542851. ↩
“1871 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district (ED) 8, parish of Walcot Trinity, p.22, household schedule 160, family of Edwin Chapple; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871”, class RG10, piece 2492, folio 85, GSU roll 835198. ↩
“1881 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, enumeration district (ED) 5, parish of Walcot, page 29, household schedule 180, family of Edwin Chappell; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 Dec 2014); citing The National Archive, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881”, class RG11, piece 2440, folio 95, GSU 1341587. ↩
“1891 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, Walcot, enumeration district (ED) 30, parish of Holy Trinity, page 25 and 26, schedule 169, family of Edwin Chappell; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 Dec 2014); citing The National Archive, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891”, class RG12, piece 1937, folio 49, GSU 6097047. ↩
“1901 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, Walcot, enumeration district (ED) 30, parish of Holy Trinity, page 25, household schedule 193, family of Edwin Chappel; index and digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901”, class RG13, piece 1937, folio 49, GSU roll 6097047. ↩
“1911 England Census”, Somerset, Bath, Walcot, enumeration district (ED) 7, household schedule 39, family of Edwin Chappell; index and image, Ancestry (http://ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2014); citing The National Archives, London, “Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911”, class RG14, piece 14709. ↩
Photo from the collection of family photos held by Joan [name witheld for privacy, address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada. Scanned by author September 2014. ↩
As 2014 quickly draws to a close, I am looking back on what I’ve accomplished, what remains on the to-do list, and drawing up plans for the coming year.
Printing Office at Upper Canada Villiage, Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada. Taken by author, September 2014.
I was, unfortunately, unable to finish my goals for the end of 2014, though I did come close in many respects. I have about 30 gravestones left to pull out of my media files and re-enter as sources, something I was hoping to have finished as the year closed. And I am still, two months on, waiting for my copy of Evidence Explained to arrive. I don’t believe it to be a problem with the seller, but rather that it got bogged down in the Christmas delivery chaos — media mail isn’t exactly the quickest thing to travel across an ocean, though I did expect it to arrive before now. The long and the short of it is that I was not able to clean up my source citations as I had really hoped to do.
But we must go on…
I do have some lofty goals for 2015.
I’m participating in 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks, a blogging prompt created by Amy Johnson Crow of the blog No Story too Small. I am doing this mainly as a challenge to blog on at least a weekly basis, and I’ll be telling stories of people from both my family and my husband’s family. I won’t be strictly posting about ancestors, though. There will be collateral lines in there as well since I enjoy researching families. I found group research to be highly beneficial, and I have a soft spot for end-of-line research – sometimes it is the people who never married who had the most interesting stories and are unfortunately forgotten.
I’d like to focus my research on the Canadian lines of our family as I want to try to take all the lines back to immigration, but more importantly to track down where they emigrated from, especially all of my husband’s pesky Irish folk who apparently couldn’t be bothered to write anything more precise than “Ireland” on any given form or document. Unfortunately, this eliminates a great deal of my family including all of my maternal side, and most of my paternal side. This may mean that I stray from time to time in order to fulfil goal 1… not to mention the fact that I really enjoy English research.
In tandem with goal number 2 and some new information in hand, I’m planning on researching my husband’s biological paternal lines which to this point has been a big blank expanse on our family charts. I’m also hoping they were better at writing down their Irish counties on documents.
There are also a few little tweaks I’d like to add to the blog, most notably ahnentafel pages for both our families, which is the easier option at this point. I’d love to have pedigree charts with interactive pop-ups, but we’ll cross that bridge at some later point in time.
Maybe my copy of Evidence Explained will even arrive before the end of 2015.
I wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate. I’ll be spending some quality time with my family whilst everyone is home for the holiday break. As I post this, preparations for this year’s version of our gingerbread house are well underway. The decorating of the house (or in this year’s case, barn) will begin shortly after lunch on Christmas Eve, and the eating of which begins on Boxing Day.
I wanted to share a piece of my family history today – a postcard sent from Clarence Alfred Cox to his mother, Jane Hart. These silk embroidered postcards were quite popular during WWI, and many were sent back to England from soldiers serving in the French theatre. I feel very lucky that we have several of these in our family collection.
Front of the Christmas Post card sent from France during WWI. Sent by Clarence Alfred Cox, 1916.
Back of the Christmas Post card sent from France during WWI. Sent by Clarence Alfred Cox, 1916.
The back reads:
With all love
Best Wishes
From Clare
To Mother
Xmas 1916
I hope everyone is able to enjoy time with their family over the next several days, whether it be in person, over the telephone, or via Skype.
Over on Randy Seaver’s blog he does a weekly event entitled Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, which of course I get on Sunday morning due to the time difference.
This week’s task was to create a Surname Christmas tree. As I’ve been short on time to write a proper blog post (though I have several in the works) due to the need to bake christmas cookies and spend time with young and excited children who keep poking at the wrapped gifts under the tree, I decided this would be a great little task to do.
I used a photo editing software, in my case Pixelmator, and created my tree using the text function. After I added in a few royalty-free clipart files I found online. The task was quite quick, and I managed to do a tree for both myself and my husband in under an hour.
The Fort family tree, or my side of the family.
The Walsh-O'Hara family tree, or my husband’s side of the family (biological family surnames only).
Thanks for the fun task Randy, now I’m off to bake Brunkager and eat some Pebernødder.
As I was going through Rosemary’s photo albums I came across a photo I wasn’t expecting – a photo of her father’s gravestone. I never knew Rosemary Chappell. She passed away nearly 20 years before my husband and I got married. However, I have come to know Rosemary through the things she left behind. She was a genealogist at heart. She kept diaries, she labelled photos, and apparently she photographed tombstones. Actually, she was quite a shutterbug for her time.
Photo of William C Chappell’s gravestone at Lundy’s Lane cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.1
The stone reads:
Chappell
William Christopher C.P.O.R.N [Chief Petty Officer Royal Navy]
Nov 29 1869 - Dec 28 1941
Beloved husband of
Elizabeth E. Farthing
[blank]
Requiescant in Pace
An updated version of this gravestone can be seen on the Niagara Falls Genealogy Search, which includes a burial date of 31 Dec 1941, as well as his wife’s details.
The updated version reads:
Chappell
William Christopher C.P.O.R.N [Chief Petty Officer Royal Navy]
Nov 29 1869 - Dec 28 1941
Beloved husband of
Elizabeth E. Farthing
Feb 3 1868 - Sep 3 19542
Requiescant in Pace
William had been suffering from heart troubles for several years prior to his death, and he had had several heart attacks that led to his being pensioned from Niagara Hydro. William died in his home as 2566 Lundy’s Lane, Niagara Falls, Ontario with his wife at his side.
His final words were to his wife, and he simply said, “Do you want to kiss me?” 3
William Chappell was my husband’s 2xgreat-grandfather.
Our lineage:
5. William Christopher Chappell (1869-1941)
4. Rosemary Cecelia Chappell (1900-1985)
3. James Francis Walsh (1931-2001)
2. My husband’s mother (living)
1. My husband
Photo album of Rosemary Chappell, scanned by author 9 Sep 2014, original in possesion of Joan [name withheld for private; address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario. ↩
Niagara Falls, database and images (http://www.niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/municipal-works/cemetery/genealogy : accessed 25 Jun 2014), memorial page for William Chappell (1869-1941), citing Lundy’s Lane Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. ↩
Elizabeth Chappell and Rosemary Walsh, “Chappell and Walsh Family Log”, unpublished journal, 1923-1943 [vol.1], p.154. Diary held by Deb [name withheld for privacy; address for private use], Muskoka, Ontario, digital copy transmitted to Chriss Coleman, 11 Mar 2014. ↩
Back in October I wrote down a few goals I wanted to try and complete by the end of the year. As the year is starting to wind to a close, a fact I’m reminded of every morning when my daughter tells me how many days are left until Christmas, I thought I should detail some of the progress I’ve achieved and my plans for the final weeks of the year.
My goals were to:
Rewrite my source citations
Transcribe my early sources into my logs
Start working my way though the pile of digital scans
I’ve been working diligently on the above and have made significant progress.
Old Book from the medical history and sciences area of the Steno Museum, Århus, Denmark, 2013. Copyright Chriss Coleman.
Source Citations
This has been a big one on my list. I have cited my sources for all my found documents from the start, though I will admit they aren’t overly pretty and in some cases need some flushing out. I’ve done what I can for the new sources I’ve added to my database, as well as the citations added to the blog. However, I’m currently (im)patiently waiting for my copy of Evidence Explained to arrive. It’s been over a month since I ordered it and it is due to arrive any day now. I hope.
Transcription of Records
I’ve completed this task. All records are now transcribed into my logs and I’ve happily found a few more leads to help progress a few of my more troublesome ancestors. I still have a few more folders of items that need to be transcribed, mostly gravestones and newspapers that I originally attached as media that need to be added in as sources.
The Digital Pile
It’s amazing how big digital piles can be. It was lots of fun finding and scanning all those items… okay, it was fun finding them. The scanning bit gets a bit tedious. However, I’ve now divided up the scans from my husband’s side of the family into separate folders designated for Photos, Photo Albums, Documents, Diaries, Wills, and a few separate files for special family groups. Scans from my side of the family are mostly photos, but I will be doing the same with them and keeping my fingers crossed my dad gets a chance to send me the document scans soon.
My priority for the digital pile is to try to get through as many of the documents and wills as possible. This is all good source material that needs to be transcribed, added to my genealogy software, and shared as appropriate. I’m editing photos as required for the blog at the moment, and am hoping to make some headway on this over the holidays. I’ll whittle the pile down eventually.
The Last Hurdle
I’m hoping to be able to get the first two tasks completed by the end of the year, assuming my book arrives soon. I most certainly want to get the remaining media added into my database.
I know the digital pile is more of a long-term project which is better savoured. However, if I can get the rest sorted, then I believe I’ll be able to enter the new year with a clean slate open for new research discoveries.
I’ll post my accomplishments and goals for 2015 on the 1st of the year (Gregorian calendar).
