Latest News
31 January 2012 - 142,002 Individuals in the database, 91, 522 in my tree
28 December 2011 - 139,429 Individuals in the database, 90,309 in my tree
Cornish Hall End Marriages and Baptisms are nearing completion, and a fairly massive amount of family interaction is exposed hence over 90% of the Village are now in my personal tree!
30 October 2011 - 133,262 Individuals in the database, 86,732 in my tree
The Quaker tree keeps growing and the Cornish Hall End Village study is progressing well
31 August 2011 - 127,172 Individuals in the database, 81,245 in my tree
The Quaker mysteries are "nearly" solved, an excellent book on British Quakers has been purchased and the database grows apace, loads of Victorian "celebrities" appearing such as the Wedgwood family and Charles Darwin, not to mention some more modern ones such as "Tiff" Needell the TV celeb ex Formula One driver!
30 July 2011 - 122,627 Individuals in the database, 76,919 in my tree
A successful trip to the Suffolk County Archive this month.
29 June 2011 - 120,762 Individuals in the database, 74,362 in my tree
17 May 2011 - 117,542 Individuals in the database, 72,786 in my tree
My summer excursion with visits to the Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Essex Archives went well
Lincolnshire Archives are now on line www.lincstothepast.com
23 April 2011 - 114,826 Individuals in the database, 68,206 in my tree
My thanks to the donor who has enabled me to renew my Subscription to Ancestry, Much Appreciated John
20 March 2011 - 110,812 Individuals in the database, 65,876 in my tree
A rewarding trip to the Barnstaple (North Devon) record office only slightly spoilt by the announcement it is listed to be closed by President Micawber!
17 February 2011 - 107,726 Individuals in the database, 62,637 in my tree
An interesting trip to the West Sussex Record office in the hope of identifying the Quaker Smee families was inconclusive ~ never mind ~ Chelmsford next week!
16 January 2011 - 105,000 Individuals in the database, 59,934 in my tree
This months rant is aimed directly at the LDS and the FamilySearch entry system.
You may or may not be aware that public access is now permitted to the "new family search" database, and that has also opened up the forums previously only available to LDS members.
I was horrified to discover an entry where a member had been tasked with indexing an Essex Banns Register into the system as Marriages! She had rightly asked what she should do where it was clear from the register that someone had objected after the reading of the Banns and the marriage had not taken place? She was instructed to enter the Marriage anyway using the last date shown! Click here The reasoning was that it had to be entered as a marriage so the system could be audited for the correct number of entries!
Personally I find this whole principle idiotic and entry of such invalid data casts doubts on the validity of any of the data, if it was a commercial enterprise charging for access they could be prosecuted for misrepresentation.
So, if you find a marriage happening at more than one location you know why!
Also be very careful using the Irish entries the Index display is confusing as a child's death date is shown against both Parents? I found one poor chap who apparently died 14 times over a 120 year period!
24 December 2010 - 103,373 Individuals in the data base, 58,001 in my tree.
Happy Christmas to all our readers
The recent publication by Ancestry of the London Metropolitan Archives is causing CHAOS, first rule of genealogical transcription should be to use semi intelligent folk who know the area? So despite the best efforts of our friends at Ancestry...
Finsbury is not in Hounslow
Kennington is not in Notting Hill
Greenwich is not in Middlesex
Islington is not in Lambeth
and to the person telling me a marriage took place in the church of St Leonard's Foster Lane in the City of London in 1813 - It did not.
The problem is caused by Ancestry (and others) not realising there are differences between a Church Register, a Parish Register, and a Diocesan Bishop's transcript (BTS).
The church of St Leonard's burnt down in 1666 and was not rebuilt, so the chances of a marriage taking place in that church in 1813 without the assistance of Doctor Who are fairly minimal, the marriage may well have been recorded in the parish register of St Leonard's but it would have been celebrated in the church of the merged parishes - Christ Church Greyfriars, Newgate Street, which was rebuilt after the 1666 Fire but was destroyed, along with 5 other Wren Churches, the night of 29 December 1940.
On a similar subject, in Anglican churches a person can only be Baptised ONCE unless it is an adult reversion from another religion. Therefore if you see a child apparently being baptised in 2 different churches, ask yourself why?
Usually one of 3 reasons -
a) The Church is a chapel of ease, meaning a second (or more) church existed within a Parish boundary.
There is not a one to one relationship between Anglican Churches and Parishes they serve, both the church and the parish records have sometimes been transcribed.
b) The child was not well and a private Baptism was carried out in the home by an available minister, if the child recovered it was later taken to the local Church/Chapel and "received into the congregation" but this is often transcribed as a second baptism.
c) The Parish church is being serviced by a minister from a parish in another diocese, in this case the parish register (and it's BTS) will show the baptism, but the minister's bishop will want to see the baptism recorded in his BTS
does it effect his annual bonus :-)
so the baptism will also be recorded in the minister's home parish, "usually" with a small note about where the baptism actually took place, but the transcribers have to realise the significance and often assume the parents have travelled rather than the minister.
7 December 2010 - 101,840 Individuals in the data base, 57,172 in my tree.
Son in Laws! Yet another example of a son in law giving incorrect information on a Death Certificate has surfaced
About 1849 a Charles SMEE landed in Australia and by 1852 had married and settled in New South Wales, he died in 1916 having had at least 7 children and his Son in Law (James JEANS) stated on the death certificate that Charles was born in 1831 in London to a Labourer Charles SMEE.
I believe he was mistaken and that Charles' parents were William and Susan Elizabeth SMEE, which would means he was probably related to William Randolph SMEE the Sydney Schoolmaster who had arrived in 1836.
5 November 2010 - 99,701 Individuals in the data base, 54,466 in my tree
Regret to say I have been informed of the death in Australia of the Reverend Gordon Harvey SMEE, the last surviving Great Grandson of William Randolph Smee, one of the early Australian Settlers. RIP
3 days in the ERO last week, but (as usual) I got sidetracked and the Rankin search will be continued in December 8-)
25 October 2010 - 99,042 Individuals in the data base, 53,391 in my tree
Another session in ERO and we get closer to sorting out the Mystery of Hannah RANKIN/RAMKIN of Bocking, who married Charles SMEE in 1839
12 September 2010 - 95,314 Individuals in the data base, 50,266 in my tree
A 3 day sojourn at the Essex Record Office has answered some queries, but opened up others!
20 August 2010 - 93,500 Individuals in the data base, 48,588 in my tree
14 July 2010 - 90,948 Individuals in the data base, 46,327 in my tree
Another visit to the Essex Record Office to sort out some queries lead to the discovery of yet another "unknown" Smee family - if anyone can place i-90801 William Smee who had 4 daughters in Witham 1770-90 please let me know? I suspect he may be i-1269 and that Elizabeth Hunwick died early, but why would his children have been baptised Anglican? or was the Quaker connection purely from the Hunwicks?
24 June 2010 - 89,888 Individuals in the data base, 45,878 in my tree
The release by Ancestry of the Boer War casualty lists reminded me of a problem that I originally found some 10 years ago - who was the M WINKS who was killed in 1901 at Harrismith? I retraced my earlier steps and found he was actually Morris WINKS in the Yeomanry Records, and was also known as Morris BROWN, suddenly it became clear why Harold Morris BROWN, the son of Charlotte Ann BROWN nee WINKS does not appear in the 1901 Census!
Well, the last time that England won the World Cup, I was a Boy Scout on a 2 week Summer Camp in the Malvern Hills and the local Scout Commissioner was kind enough to invite the 25 rather smelly Teenagers around to his House to watch the Match! Unfortunately my Scout Troop was decidedly "Old School" and we turned up in our Uniform of 4 pointed hat, shorts, Garters and Staves
His wife spent the whole 90 minutes telling the Commissioner how good she thought we looked compared to the Slacks and Berets that he had to support for his local Troops. Heady days!
13 May 2010 - 87,035 Individuals in the data base, 43,679 in my tree
ALWAYS expect the unexpected!
One of my "Side" projects is the WATERER and JACKMAN families of Woking, big time Victorian Nurserymen (check any book on Clematis!) and last night I received some info on one of the WATERERs marrying into the HONER family (well known to MARTYR researchers)
I thought I would check the Woking Parish records and recreate the Bride's family to see if it would link to the HONER Groom who married a MARTYR when like a slap in the face with a wet fish I find myself looking at a previously unknown SMEE Wedding in Woking in 1690! Hey, I've only owned the CD for 6 years and bought it specifically for the MARTYR research, why would I look for a SMEE?
Yet another "positional" question! Knaphill in Surrey was "officially" carved out of Horsell Parish in the 1920's when it was expanding to meet the Requirements of the Looney bin at Brookwood. Logically therefore it should be in the Horsell sub district of the Chertsey registration district, but it is not, and appears in the Woking Sub district of the Guildford District. oh well!
17 March 2010 - 83,490 Individuals in the data base, 40,494 in my tree
Firstly a Suggestion - If you have been putting off buying a England/Wales BMD Certificate, do it NOW - the GRO price increases next month from 7 Pounds to 9.25 - The BBC's success in selling the "Who do you think you are" TV format worldwide is causing a vast increase in the number of overseas applications, so we all have to pay more?
Go Figure!
14 Jan 2010 - 80,129 Individuals in the data base, 37,518 in my tree
One collaborator asked me the other day what my logic was in deciding if an "outer" suburb of London would be listed as London or the County before absorption into "Greater London"?
Logic? In my addled brain?
Sorry but I tend to use them as I know them! I went to School in Bromley and we were still using exercise books marked as "Kent County Council" despite the London Borough of Bromley having been the Teacher's Lords and masters for some 20 years, therefore Bromley is Kent until I pop my clogs. Equally in my Brain Kingston upon Thames is Surrey as the County Council, who I pay property tax to, is based there even if it is a London Borough.
But of course, once one ventures North of the boundary of Civilisation (The River Thames) everything is London because that is what they deserve. The South East of England (Sussex, Kent and Surrey) deserves devolved Government just as much as Taffyland or Jockland!
31 Dec 2009 - 79,322 Individuals in the data base, 36,419 in my tree
Happy New Year
Following the donation of some Australian BMD certificates and the purchase of some more I have decided the Wife of Charles John WINKS (1822-1875) was not the Elizabeth KELLY born 1834 in Brisbane in New South Wales, she is repeatedly shown as having been born 1833 in Glasgow.
12 November 2009 - 75,304 Individuals in the data base, 33,310 in my tree
A brief research into the PLAYLE family of Stambourne and Ridgewell returned dividends as they linked into the RUGGLES of Toppesfield and hence into my own tree. The Bole project has started returning results, hopefully those accessing the site for their families will return the Courtesy by providing information on how they connect.
That's a HINT!
31 October 2009 - 74,093 Individuals in the data base, 32,444 in my tree
A busy month! Between the release of the 1911 Census to Subscription Accounts, the release of the LMA data on Ancestry.com, and some "new" Parish and state Records being released by the LDS Folk (please treat their transcriptions as indicative only and check a primary source if possible!) the database has been creaking at the seams with the addition of 2,176 folk in the Month of October - 58% of which are actually related (by Marriage) to me.
1 October 2009 - 71,917 Individuals in the data base, 31,170 in my tree
The release of the LMA (London Metropolitan Archive) on the Ancesty.com sites is a mixed blessing! Suddenly I have a filing system full of BMD certificates which cost me Thousand of Pounds, and are now available online!
Hey Ho, anyway some startling discoveries are coming out already ( the data is being fed to us like a drip feed) amongst which is that it now appears that the sailing of the Camden to Australia in 1836 carrying the Bishop of Sydney and William Randolph SMEE was delayed because a passenger died! The Passenger in question was William's young Son - William Harvey SMEE, he was buried in Rotherhithe on the 19th February 1836, this explains why he appears on the Captain's list of Passengers but not on the Arrival lists.
the big question is - was poor William Harvey SMEE the cause of the scandal that exiled William Randolph SMEE?
18 September 2009 - 71,501 Individuals in the data base, 30,780 in my tree
The BOLE project is progressing nicely, another project has opened up with a claim from one Smee family to be related to the Family of Ellen TERRY the famed Victorian Actress. Suddenly the data base looks like a Celebrity fan club with such iconic names as Isadora DUNCAN and Sir John GIELGUD appearing, and even WHISTLER'S MOTHER casting a disapproving eye, all we need is a SMEE in Ellen's tree. And yes, her son has set a new record for the number of Wives and child bearing mistresses in the database
10 August 2009 - 69,382 Individuals in the data base, 28,379 in my tree
The BOLE Project is launched
Bole a small farming community near the banks of the River Trent was the ancestral home for my Winks Family in the 18th and early 19th Centuries, and it appears the family played a major role in the growth (and shrinkage) of the Village Population. I am launching a new project (which may move to another Web site) to trace all the residents of Bole from 1666-1901! It's going to take a while ...
29 July 2009 - 68,272 Individuals in the data base, 27,283 in my tree
Progress?
The 40th Anniversary of the moon Landings has been and gone, I cannot help thinking of the words of Charlie Duke, voice of Mission Control for Apollo 11 and subsequently the 10th man to walk on the moon.
"One day I'll tell my grand kids Yes, we used to go to the Moon, and it only took 3 and a half hours to fly from New York to London" but will they believe him on either topic?
14 May 2009 - 64,547 Individuals, 24,449 in my tree
This month's project has been a reconciliation of the various theories surrounding the Stock family of Finchingfield and their connections into and between the various Smee families. Needless to say over 1,000 people researched and the Martha Stocks - (Great Grandmother and child?) who married Thomas Smees are still as big a mystery as ever! ho-hum
29 April 2009 - 63,098 Individuals, 23244 in my tree
An extensive research into the Gilby / Gilbey families of Essex to try to understand better the relationship to the Smee families has brought up some unexpected linkages, biggest problem with those families is the spelling! The parish records nearly always use Gilbey, but the GRO uses Gilby I have shown the name registered with the GRO at birth, and tried to indicate from the BMD records when the spelling changed my sincere thanks to those who have assisted me in this, especially Mick Smee and Mike Hassey, and a loud raspberry to those who have published incorrect data
8 April 2009 - 61,829 Individuals
Thanks to an unexpected link through the 1858 Marriage of Eleanor Ffitch to John Killingbeck, the percentage of individuals in this database that are related to yours truly (by blood OR Marriage) just leapt from 12,321 to 22,083 - at long last my branch of the Smee family from Kirby Cross is linked to one of the earlier Smee families of Great Bardfield, just not by name unfortunately
16 March 2009 - 60,496 Individuals
For a long time I have been worried over the birth of Susannah Ray, the Wife of William Smee (1777-1858) the Chief Accountant of the Bank of England, the Baptism that was ascribed to her, and hence her parents felt wrong, as she claimed to be 50 in the 1841 census, which made the 1792 Christening dubious. Also if she was christened in Sudbury, why did she marry in Tannington?
Thanks to some first class research by Ron Goose, I now believe she was the Susan Ray christened in Tannington 19 December 1790. I am ordering her Death Certificate in the hope of a more conclusive Age.
20 February 2009 - 59,485 Individuals
At long last the Timeline Capability is installed
20 January 2009 - 58,818 Individuals
I was rechecking the letter that Adam MOSSMAN (William Randolph SMEE's Brother-in-law) wrote to his sister in 1843, when I noticed he referred to his Aunt Margaret living in 1826 on a Emerick Farm, so I googled it and sure enough it is near Berwick upon Tweed which is the area I believe the Mossman's came from, but the name still "rang a bell", and eventually I found that William Randolph SMEE died at his Son Frederick's house Emerick Cottage in Sydney! It was also the birth place of the Reverend Reginald SMEE. It was a small world when the empire covered 60% of it!
2 January 2009 - 57,921 Individuals
Happy New Year
A busy month, firstly the Beta release of the 1911 England/Wales Census appeared and is already helping Bridging the gap between the 1901 Census and the 1911 inclusion of the Mother's Maiden name in the GRO Birth Index. Personally it has lead to the discovery of 2 unknown Great Grand Uncles who died in infancy.
Secondly the Irish 1911 Census is now also online and although a limited number of counties are available, there are some connections already appearing.
30 November 2008 - 57,673 Individuals
So, the William Randolph SMEE mystery deepens!
This famed "Black sheep" of the Bank of England family has now been discovered as the father of a William Harvey Smee who was baptised in Nottinghamshire in 1835, a year before the family were sent packing to Oz on the Camden in 1836!
This certainly explains the deceased son on WRS's Death Certificate, but the father's occupation is shown in the Parish Register as ... Royal Navy ??
I have now tracked down his step daughter Jane Holmes in Australia, she married in 1845 and produced 8 children.
Still the question remains as to what was the "Youthful Indiscretion" his Sister referred to in 1856 as the reason for his move to Australia?
I think the answer may lie in his marriage in January 1834 to Eleanor Holmes nee Mossman. Why did they go to Kingston upon Hull to get married?
Perhaps the clue is that Thomas Holmes, Eleanor's first Husband, did not die until 1844! Divorce? Bigamous? Either was probably good cause for WRS's fall from grace.
Perhaps the choice of Harvey as their first son's middle name indicates a level of support they received from his Brother-in-law Harvey Dickinson?
I suspect that William Harvey Smee may have died on the Voyage, or shortly after as he is not mentioned in Adam Mossman's letter of 1843.
20 November 2008 - 57,408 Individuals
The first "Viral" Urban Myth?
On 2 August 1835 an Obituary appeared in "The Examiner" of one Thomas Smee a "respectable Farmer" of Tipperary, Ireland who had died near the Horse and Jockey Pub. He claimed to be aged 115 years old and to have only ever lost one tooth!
He had obviously forgotten losing all his milk teeth due to the passing of time ....
This Obit then appeared in a lot of regional Newspapers over the next 2 months.
Forgive my cynicism!
6 October 2008 - 56,667 Individuals
A few changes as BMD Certificates trickle in, but there are nearly 300 new Winks Births from Scotland, so if anyone can link them to their Parents it would be great
20 August 2008 - 56,043 Individuals
As usual, it was staring me in the face!
2 John Winks born in Gainsborough within a year of each other, with Parents of the same names? So an extra 10 People added to my direct tree, which takes me over the 10,000 mark, which means only another 46,000 in the database to link up!
Anyone with a Camera near Norwich? There is a listed building at Great Plumstead called Smee Farm on Smee Road, which is located at the end of Smee Lane, there also references in some 18C newspapers to Hare coursing taking place in Suffolk at the Smee .....
20 August 2008 - 55,875 Individuals
The long planned summer 2008 expedition has been and gone! 5 days of exploring strange towns (and some are VERY strange), trudging through cemeteries, getting backache trying to photograph headstones, and trying to persuade National Trust volunteers to allow me to use a camera inside their property rather than having to copy a family tree longhand have ended.
Successes and memorable visits-
Barton in the beans - glorious village and more headstones than expected.
http://thesmeefamily.com/barton.htm
Bole - Winks Stones still in good condition, but John Senior's is eroding badly, relief at finding the new Cottages on Church Farm are actually nicely built using material reclaimed from the old Barn (and a friendly resident)
http://thesmeefamily.com/bole.htm
Welford Road Cemetery - Beautiful setting, and Joseph Foulkes Winks grave is still in fair condition
Failures
Ashby-de-la-Zouche - No Winks graves in Cemetery
Welford Road - Visitor centre was not open due to a staff meeting.
South Leverton - whoever heard of a Pub that does not open Saturday Lunchtime?
Churches - out of 10 churches visited only 2 were open!
Gainsborough - Yeeeuch! grotty town, All Saints Church is a Georgian monstrosity, which actually makes Victorian Churches look good, who on earth (or heaven) would paint the interior of a church pink? Churchyard has been cleared and turned into a featureless Green space.
7 August 2008 - 55,439 Individuals
Recent discoveries - The sad case of William Ray Smee who thought he was a Royal Prince.
A major addition is further research into the Smee / Nugent / Ayrton Families and the slow process of adding the British Army First World War records and about another 1,000 Individuals to various Family trees
9 July 2008 - 54,450 Individuals
At last some sense appears in sorting out the Smee / Hayes Family of Bocking, Essex
Sarah Smee married John Hayes on Xmas Day 1852, they had at least 3 children before Sarah died, John then remarried, but I could not identify who. Naturally it was staring me in the face, he married in Spitalfields on March 29th to his Wife's elder sister Mary Smee ....
23 June 2008 - 54,000 Individuals
Has it really been 2 months since I updated this? Anyway, lots of new Information and extensions to Family groups. Not many major changes, a lot of work around the recently improved information on the Abney Park Burials (I am planning a field trip to gather some Headstone photo's this Summer) which are mainly Bullwinkles although a few Smee folk have sneaked in.
Please let me know if you encounter problems using the Guestbook to leave a note? I think it may be Internet Browser related, but need some people to test it? (yes that is a hint!)
6 April 2008 - 52,728 Individuals
Another change, but on the WINKS side this time, I have been informed by someone who has the Marriage Certificate that Ann DISNEY who married Joseph Goadby WINKS was the Daughter of Ambrose DISNEY, not Thomas DISNEY.
8 March 2008 - 51,238 Individuals
"Happy Birthday to me ...."
Having spent January and February concentratiing on clarifying the various MARTYR lines, I am now revisiting the WINKS Info as it is many years since I reconciled against the IGI and many more Parish records have been added. ( a lot of user submitted GIGO as well which I will only add when backed up by secondary sources )
25 Feb 2008 - 50,932 Individuals
Yet another William SMEE causng me problems! So who was William SMEE the Quaker in 1840-1842?
An Auction House is offering 2 lettrs from another Quaker living in Colchester. Suggestions are welcome if you know of any Quakers in the families?
25 Feb 2008 - 50,828 Individuals
Another major change I am afraid
Looking at Edward SMEE below , I realised that I had 2 of them assigned to each others parents!
Edward SMEE 1754-1835 Husband of Susanna LEWIS and Martha ?
Edward Smee 1759-1819 Husband of Sarah PERRY
22 Feb 2008 - 50,820 Individuals
Let me start by saying "Sorry"
I have been worrying about some of the entries that I have 'inherited' from previous researchers, and am about to bite the bullet.
This will result in some Famiy trees on this site being different to those published on other Sites.
First Major Change forthcoming -
William SMEE the husband of Elizabeth COOTE is no longer shown as the William b1788 Son of Edward SMEE and Sarah PERRY, that birth date does not fit either the 1841 census, or his Death Certificate.
If these changes have resulted in you losing a chunk of your family tree I can only apologise and point a finger at certain earlier Smee researchers who are no longer with us
6 Feb 2008- 49,857 Individuals
Some one has pointed out that I use the Term Royal Australian Army for Military Service during WW1 for our antipodean heroes, whereas the correct term should be Australian Imperial Force ... True, sorry I have used a generic term to cover the Australian Forces from 1899 to the present day, my apologies if anyone finds this offensive. Equally I have put the Royal Marines as a division of the Royal Navy, again strictly speaking this is incorrect as is the inclusion of the Naval Forces who fought in the trenches in the British Army in my database.
AND PLEASE no more discussions about which county Kingston upon Thames is in and if Westminster is apart of Middlesex :-)
17 Jan 2008- 48,427 Individuals
Isn't it strange how confused History can be! The vast expansion of human knowledge created by the Internet can of course spread as many falsehoods as truths, and just because something is seen in more than one place is not an indication of accuracy.
The latest bone of contention is the address of the Fleet Prison in London!
Farringdon Road or Farringdon Street?
My belief is that it was Farringdon Street, the confusion is caused by the existence of the Middlesex House of corrections in Farringdon Road on the bank of the Fleet River, however the correct name for that Prison (for Convicted Criminals rather than Debtors although the distinction was blurred by the different forms of Debt) was Coldbath Fields Prison.
If you wonder why so many prisons were in the area, the answer is the use of the Fleet River for sewage disposal!
7 Jan 2008- 48,124 Individuals
It has been a week of confusion! Fun and games sorting out the LISCOMBE Family of Gloucestershire and their fairly tenuous link to the Smee clan, has now been followed by the arrival of Sarah Ann RAVEN's Marriage certificate. AND we have a GAP Houston... in 1862 she had the first of many children by George Henry SMEE, the man of Mystery, but in 1856 she married Henry HUNWICK! Are they the same persons?
The intermeshing of the SMEE/HUNWICK lines goes back to a Quaker Marriage in 1760, so it's back to the early censuses for me
31 December 2007 - 47,964 Individuals
Happy New Year
One of the ongoing mysteries that has bugged me for some time is the use of the name RAVEN in the forenames of Francis Thomas Raven (Frank) SMEE 1848-1919
We know he was born in Billericay to William SMEE and Maria ELKIN, and ended his days in Australia having travelled there as a Cabin boy in 1862 and then created a dynasty there whilst his brother Captain George SMEE created another Dynasty in Bayou la Battre in Alabama USA.
But why "Raven" ?
Interestingly I have found a RAVEN family marrying into a SMEE Family, they hailed from Feering near Braintree but George Henry SMEE who married Sarah Ann RAVEN about 1862 is a mystery man (see entry below for December 7th) ... he kept changing his mind as to where he was born (Feering or Bradwell), I think I have found their Marriage registration, and wait the Certificate with bated breath to see who George's father was ....
Curiously 2 of their children Alice Elizabeth (BLEAZBY) and William Henry SMEE migrated to Australia c1905 .....
Coincidences?
Big stumbling block is the 1901 Census as there is a 68 year old Widower George JONES described as Father living with them?
Is this a bad transcription?
opinions welcomed
23 December 2007 - 47,566 Individuals
A VERY Merry Christmas to all, may the peace of your God be upon you
The review of Smee marriages post 1870 is continuing, Currently up to 1887, a few minor changes have been entered but most of the work has been in expanding the "in-law" families, so please check.
9 December 2007 - 47,292 Individuals
Thanks to some Sterling efforts by Tony MARTER the mystery over the 2 Gentleman revelling in the name "Charles Washington Shirley DEAKIN" has been solved. The younger (Nephew) was born in Tasmania which I had not thought of looking for, his Father was a Land Surveyor which presumably explains the situation. Research by Tony and myself into the later generations continues .....
7 December 2007 - 47,266 Individuals
Correction
George Henry SMEE of Feering, Braintree c1834-1917 I had thought he was George, the son of Jonathan SMEE and Sarah STRUTT, but in fact that George died aged 21. If anyone can find George Henry prior to January 1862 please let me know?
Note he also gave his Place of Birth as Bradwell.
4 December 2007 - 47,250 Individuals
Number 13 - The unluckiest Family?
Consider the case of Theophilus Harris WINKS, born in Battersea c1833, the third son, we find him working as a Footman in the 1851 Census, at some point he became a Carpenter and met Elizabeth Anne MATTHEWS. By 1855 a Daughter, Ellen was born followed by a son Theophilus Harris WINKS born in December 1857, Theophilus the son died May 1858 of Whooping Cough and Theophilus married Elizabeth in October 1858.
------
Shortly after Theophilus became a Police Constable and in February 1859 another Daughter Caroline Elizabeth was born, but then catastrophe struck - Some one built a new House and their house at number 11 Fredericks Place, Lambeth became number 13
March 1861 - a Daughter Lucy is born
22 March 1861 - Caroline dies aged 2 of Phthisis
9 April 1861 - Theophilus (Father) dies aged 28 of Cholera
16 April 1861 - Ellen Dies aged 5 of Scarlatine Fever
10 February 1862 - Lucy Dies of Lung Congestion
I haven't worked out where the Mother went but she was certainly NOT living at #13 by the 1871 Census
1 December 2007 - 47,193 Individuals
New Page on the base site showing Smee emigrant arrivals in New Zealand ( this does not include emigrants from Australia or those who "Yo-Yoed"
27 November 2007 - 47,130 Individuals
Slight delay in updates due to yet more Site hosting issues, most of the new entries are associated with
1) Robert Ashley EWER
Entered in the 1871 Census as a Nephew of Sarah SMEE and a cousin to William Hardy SMEE, I have still not established the Connection.
2) William John ROBERTS
Entered as a Nephew on Ann (ROOT) SMEE's death certificate, this one seems closer but Until I establish his Mother's Maiden name he is still a bit of a mystery
Ideas are welcome.
18 November 2007 - 46,824 Individuals
I have started another sweep through the Smee UK Marriages between 1870 and 1900, several "in-Law" families have been extended and a couple of links established, in particular I am looking into the DIGBY Families.
6 November 2007 - 46,525 Individuals
My Brother recently visited Mr STRAW's house in Worksop, a 1920's Time capsule now owned and maintained by the National Trust Click here
Mr STRAW's wife was Florence Ann WINKS.
23 October 2007- 46,247 Individuals
I have obtained a copy of "The Edge of Time" a facinating transcription of Diaries from 1890-1910 describing the life of Victorian Australians. written by Maude RICHARDSON the wife of the Reverend Reginald SMEE before and after her Marriage, the hardships that the Pastors were supposed to cheerfully endure are quite alien to us in these days of Air Conditioning and motorised transport.
8 October 2007
Mary Maas WINKS 1924-89 of Idaho has been identified, she married Charlie WINKS 1897-1988 late in his life.
6 October 2007
The Non Conformist BMD Registers 1537-1865 have been published on the web so several new Dates have been added to the non conformist members of the SMEE / WINKS / GOADBY Families.
Thanks for the contribution of CHILDREN OF JAMES WILLIE CUMMINGS AND EMILY HISCOCK.
Another query has arisen where you will sometimes find a persons occupation listed after their death, if you find this as a census listing please let me know, if however it is just a dated "Occupation" entry it is from either a Widow's death certificate or a Child's Marriage.
9 September 2007
A new Mystery, I have received the following email, suggestions are welcome!
I have an old brass telescope in my possession that has pencilled faintly in the lid of its mahogany box " W.Smee, Royal Observatory, Greenwich. 1851". I wonder if you can shed any light on who this W.Smee was?
http://smee.me.uk/telescope.asp
2 September 2007
George SMEE - a Pilot in Australia?
If you can identify this chap http://www.adastra.adastron.com/album1/hjc-george-smee.htm Please get in touch?
15 August 2007
And the breakthroughs keep coming! I found a Smee Will I had stored on my computer many moons ago for when I had time to investigate further John SMEE a former employee of the Exchequer.
OK, I was scared of it, do you know how many John Smees there have been?
So I dived in and after the usual 5 minutes tuning the eyeballs to the writing I spotted it, a list of his kids! BINGO. 5 Kids that I had not realised were the same family, including George Frederick SMEE, the patriarch of the FULLER-SMEE Clan, what a find!
But then by extrapolation, and a process of elimination, I realise that George's father is William SMEE's Uncle (The William Smee of the Bank of England, talk about the power behind the throne?
One family running the Bank of England and an Uncle working for the Exchequer.
1st August 2007
Two Major Breakthroughs in July -
1) After a 30 year hunt the Family legend about Robert Nicholas BULLWINKLE having a Mistress and a second Family has been confirmed. Still a little doubt as if she was a blood relation to his Wife or only related by marriage ....
2) And on the MARTYR side of the family the Photo of "Mrs CHITTY" has at last been resolved, she was James Waterer's widow having remarried
The Ancestry.com Transcriptions just keep getting weirder and Weirder, Check out Jacob Bear aged 28 in the 1901 Census, place of Birth "Russian Sub" Needless to say it is not the Jacob I was looking for.
Following the discovery of a Gravestone in my local Churchyard for Maria DEAKIN (nee MARTYR) I have been tracking her down, you might have thought that her Husband's name "Charles Washington Shirley DEAKIN" might have been unique? It appears not and I fell right into the trap. One Gentleman glorying in that name registered a Silversmith's mark in Birmingham c1850, whilst Maria's Husband was a Surgeon in the Indian Army, and I cannot at this time establish the link between the 2 gentlemen!
http://thesmeefamily.com/St Johns.htm
Perhaps we should have a contest for the strangest name? I always find our dear Porter Smee (1829-1909) amusing, and wondered if the Jeans Family in Australia would have a child they called Levi? However research has thrown up a real tongue Twister
- Welcome Keren-happuch Harris Jayes born 1852!
Thanks to a contributor we have eventually placed the Victorian Politician and Privy Councillor Acton Smee Ayrton into one of the Smee Trees.
Yes, the origin of "Privy Councillor" does mean what you might be thinking! - A Member of the select band who advised the King on policy whilst he was "preparing himself" for the day's business.
Certified Copy - What does that mean?
Not a lot as it turns out. Take a look at http://www.smee.me.uk/certified.asp
Does anyone know of a Freddie SMEE who lost a leg in 1944?
There is an account of his injury and his recuperation on the BBC WW2 Memories web Site.
Good Hunting
Pete
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