One of the suggestions making the rounds in this time of Covid-19 is for everyone to keep a journal of what daily life is like. This could provide a much-needed context for future generations. But this is nothing new. People have been keeping daily journals as far back as there has been writing.
In 1937, a project was started in England to recruit observers and writers. They named the project Mass Observation and the project continued into the ’50s. The purpose of the project, started by an anthropologist, was to study the everyday lives of ordinary Brits. The project restarted in 1981 and continues today.
M.O archives are kept at the University of Sussex and include reports, diaries, questionnaires, and other items. Most materials are only available by visiting the archives (or if you are part of an affiliated academic institution) but there are catalogs for the collection. https://www.thekeep.info/collections/mass-observation-archive/the-mass-observation-collection/
It requires some digging to see what kind of diaries they have available.
At https://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/special-collections/massobssearch/diaries you can search the 1939-1965 diaries by occupation or place of residence among other fields. Unfortunately, there are no names included so you can’t search to see if your family member participated but you might be able to locate a similar person.
There have also been a number of books written based on M.O materials. There’s a long list of them at http://www.massobs.org.uk/mass-observation-1937-1950s. Many of these are available in libraries or to order. (I have 4 or 5 on order.) If you are interested in families that lived in England during World War II, some of these books may give you some good details.
Currently, the project sends out three questionnaires or directives a year to participants. These questionnaires ask a variety of questions depending on current events or other topics. For example, in the Summer of 1981, they asked observers to provide details of how they spent Wednesday 29 July – from getting out of bed until going to sleep. The title of this directive was “Royal Wedding – Celebration or bore?.” While you can’t easily access the responses online you can see what type of questions were asked on each directive. http://www.massobs.org.uk/mass-observation-project-directives. Looking through these questions gives you a really good idea of what was on the minds of ordinary Brits at various times.
Hopefully, at some point, all this great material will be made easily available to the “ordinary” researcher. It looks like it could be a genealogical gold mine.
Thanks to Erik Larson in his book The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz for his mention of the M.O. and sending me digging for more information.
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Monday, March 18, 2013
Oh My Darling!
I've been tracking a DARLING family (and not the one from Peter Pan.) For some reason I thought it would be an uncommon name but it isn't as uncommon as I thought.
My search starts with SUSAN DARLING who was married to Joseph Parsons in 1830 in Hurley, Berkshire, England. In 1841 they were living in Moulsford, Berkshire and have three children. Joseph's brother Charles is also living with them and another of Joseph's brothers is living nearby.
In 1851 they were also in Moulsford. Joseph is an Ag Lab. Susan is listed as being born in Earley Bottom and they've added two more children. Charles Parsons is living next door to them. In 1861 they are still in Moulsford. Joseph is listed as shepherd and Susan is listed as a laundress, born in Earley Bottom. There is a daughter Sophie listed who was listed before but I believe it is probably Elizabeth. The 1871 census finds them still in Moulsford. Joseph appears to have been "retired" by now as he is listed as "formerly shepherd." Susan is still working as a laundress and states she was born in Earley Bottom.
Susan Darling Parsons is mentioned in an article in the Reading Mercury 27 February 1875 where she is called to testify at an inquest for her neighbor William Cox who died suddenly. His death was listed as "died by the visitation of God."
The 1881 census is interesting. Susan Darling Parsons appears to be enumerated twice. She is listed in Moulsford with her husband Joseph. He is listed as "formerly Shephard" and Susan is still listed as a laundress born in Earley Bottom. In Cholsey, Susan is also enumerated with her son William and his wife Mary and family. She is listed as aged 70, born in Earley Bottom. William and Mary have a one month old daughter so it is possible that Susan was there to assist with the new baby?
Susan died in July 1884 at the age of 74.
The confusing part of all of the above is trying to understand where Susan was actually born. She listed Earley Bottom on the census. However she was married in Hurley. The transcript of the parish record does not list any parents. I have found a christening record for Susan Darling in Hurley, Berkshire for 1810. This fits in with the time frame.
I know that there is both a Hurley and an Earley in Berkshire County. There doesn't appear to be a specific town called Hurley Bottom or Earley Bottom. Information about Earley talks about Lower Earley. There are no easily accessible parish records for Earley. The Hurley records do have the christening record for Susan. There is also a possible marriage record for her parents - James Darling and Elizabeth Keep. There are two other children of James and Elizabeth listed in that area - Harriet and William. Harriet appears to have married Henry Street in Wargrave (which is not too far from Hurley) and then Robert Jacobs. William is a mystery.
This Darling family remains a mystery and I'll probably have to get lucky to find the right record to confirm identity.
My search starts with SUSAN DARLING who was married to Joseph Parsons in 1830 in Hurley, Berkshire, England. In 1841 they were living in Moulsford, Berkshire and have three children. Joseph's brother Charles is also living with them and another of Joseph's brothers is living nearby.
In 1851 they were also in Moulsford. Joseph is an Ag Lab. Susan is listed as being born in Earley Bottom and they've added two more children. Charles Parsons is living next door to them. In 1861 they are still in Moulsford. Joseph is listed as shepherd and Susan is listed as a laundress, born in Earley Bottom. There is a daughter Sophie listed who was listed before but I believe it is probably Elizabeth. The 1871 census finds them still in Moulsford. Joseph appears to have been "retired" by now as he is listed as "formerly shepherd." Susan is still working as a laundress and states she was born in Earley Bottom.
Susan Darling Parsons is mentioned in an article in the Reading Mercury 27 February 1875 where she is called to testify at an inquest for her neighbor William Cox who died suddenly. His death was listed as "died by the visitation of God."
The 1881 census is interesting. Susan Darling Parsons appears to be enumerated twice. She is listed in Moulsford with her husband Joseph. He is listed as "formerly Shephard" and Susan is still listed as a laundress born in Earley Bottom. In Cholsey, Susan is also enumerated with her son William and his wife Mary and family. She is listed as aged 70, born in Earley Bottom. William and Mary have a one month old daughter so it is possible that Susan was there to assist with the new baby?
Susan died in July 1884 at the age of 74.
The confusing part of all of the above is trying to understand where Susan was actually born. She listed Earley Bottom on the census. However she was married in Hurley. The transcript of the parish record does not list any parents. I have found a christening record for Susan Darling in Hurley, Berkshire for 1810. This fits in with the time frame.
I know that there is both a Hurley and an Earley in Berkshire County. There doesn't appear to be a specific town called Hurley Bottom or Earley Bottom. Information about Earley talks about Lower Earley. There are no easily accessible parish records for Earley. The Hurley records do have the christening record for Susan. There is also a possible marriage record for her parents - James Darling and Elizabeth Keep. There are two other children of James and Elizabeth listed in that area - Harriet and William. Harriet appears to have married Henry Street in Wargrave (which is not too far from Hurley) and then Robert Jacobs. William is a mystery.
This Darling family remains a mystery and I'll probably have to get lucky to find the right record to confirm identity.
The Shermans
Last week I was on the trail of the Sherman family from Berkshire County, England. The name is spelled differently on different records - Sherman/Shurman/Shirman. There is also a Shearman family in the same area although so far there doesn't appear to be a connection.
My tracking starts out with MARY ANN SHERMAN who was born in June 1848 in Berkshire County, England. She was christened August 6, 1848 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England and her parents were CHARLES SHERMAN and HANNAH HERRIDGE. A hint as to her mother's maiden name came from the birth register which lists her as MARY ANN HERRIDGE SHERMAN.
Mary Ann stayed in Aldworth through the 1851 and 1861 census. In 1871 she was living in Hackney London and working as a Domestic Servant, along with her 13 year old sister Fanny. She married WILLIAM GEORGE PARSONS in April 1875 in Cholsey, Berkshire. Mary Ann and William had 5 children over the next 10 years. They moved from Cholsey to North Stoke to Goring to Mongewell. William was a shepherd and in 1911 they were listed as living at Sheepcote, Mongewell, Wallingford, Berkshire. My assumption is they were't actually living in a sheepcote but were living near the sheepcote. Mary Ann died in Wallingford in December 1918 at the age of 70.
CHARLES SHERMAN was born in 1822 in Aldworth, Berkshire England and was christened on 26 May 1822. His parents were RICHARD SHERMAN AND SARAH. I believe that Sarah is SARAH FISHER but more confirmation is needed for that. In 1841 Charles appears to be living in Blewbury, Berkshire county. The Blewbury Berkshire county census for that year are in very poor shape and are so faint that they are unreadable in many cases. It looks as though he is living in the house of Stephen someone and his wife along with a number of others. Enumerated next to Charles Sherman is JOSEPH HERRIDGE. I believe he is listed as 19 in this census.
Charles married HANNAH HERRIDGE in July 1841 in Aldworth Berkshire. Hannah has had a son previously - apparently out of wedlock as he is listed as John Herrage, wife's son, in the 1851 census. I think it is interesting that he is not listed as a step-son. Charles and Hannah had 5 children in their first 10 years of married life. By 1861 they had 10 children so when Charles died in 1861, Hannah was left with 10 children.
Charles died in 1861 from an wagon accident while riding without reins. (See blog of March 9, 2013 for more on this accident.) He was just 39 years old at the time of his death and appears to have spent most of this life in or around Aldworth.
RICHARD SHERMAN was born in 1791 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England. He was christened 24 April 1791. His parents were listed as THOMAS SHERMAN and MARY. Presumbly he spent his life in Aldworth. He married SARAH FISHER 18 December 1814 in Compton, Berkshire England.
In 1841, Richard and Sarah were living in Aldworth. Richard was listed as an agriculture laborer. Within this household is his son George, daughters Dinah and Martha. There appears to be a child listed as N.K. Shurman, 10 days old. I believe this means the child has not yet been named (I think it stands for Not Known). It is unclear as to whose child it is as Sarah would have been close to 50. Again, the quality of the census is poor and hard to read. Richard died in Feburary 1850 and was buried on 8 Feburary 1850 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England. He was 80 years old.
THOMAS SHERMAN is a bit of a puzzlement. He was born in 1753 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England and married Mary. I haven't been able to get a handle on who Mary was. I have some Aldworth parish records coming which I hope might provide some answers to the mystery.
I've also made some attempts at tracking Thomas and Mary's other children in order to learn more about Thomas and Mary. It is possible that his daughter Mary married a WILLIAM BLACKALL on 29 November 1803 in Aldworth. His daughter Rachel may have married Joseph Lay 21 May 1809 in Aldworth. Rachel Lay died 24 October 1829 in Hampstead Norreys/Norris. Hannah Sherman may have married James Hamblin 12 October 1825 in Aldworth. Hannah Hamblin is mentioned in the Berkshire Chronicle in an article regarding a house sale. It is possible that John Sherman married Elizabeth Huntley in October 1817 in Hungerford, Berkshire. This is one I'm not sure of since it is not in Aldworth. None of these are absolutely certain and will require more information to provide confirmation.
The last in the line I was able to track is RICHARD SHERMAN. Richard married SARAH SMITH 6 November 1748 in West Hendred, Berkshire, England. Richard was from Aldworth and Sarah was from the West Hendred parish.
The Sherman family will need to be revisited periodically in order to see if there is any new information that helps uncover their secrets.
My tracking starts out with MARY ANN SHERMAN who was born in June 1848 in Berkshire County, England. She was christened August 6, 1848 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England and her parents were CHARLES SHERMAN and HANNAH HERRIDGE. A hint as to her mother's maiden name came from the birth register which lists her as MARY ANN HERRIDGE SHERMAN.
Mary Ann stayed in Aldworth through the 1851 and 1861 census. In 1871 she was living in Hackney London and working as a Domestic Servant, along with her 13 year old sister Fanny. She married WILLIAM GEORGE PARSONS in April 1875 in Cholsey, Berkshire. Mary Ann and William had 5 children over the next 10 years. They moved from Cholsey to North Stoke to Goring to Mongewell. William was a shepherd and in 1911 they were listed as living at Sheepcote, Mongewell, Wallingford, Berkshire. My assumption is they were't actually living in a sheepcote but were living near the sheepcote. Mary Ann died in Wallingford in December 1918 at the age of 70.
CHARLES SHERMAN was born in 1822 in Aldworth, Berkshire England and was christened on 26 May 1822. His parents were RICHARD SHERMAN AND SARAH. I believe that Sarah is SARAH FISHER but more confirmation is needed for that. In 1841 Charles appears to be living in Blewbury, Berkshire county. The Blewbury Berkshire county census for that year are in very poor shape and are so faint that they are unreadable in many cases. It looks as though he is living in the house of Stephen someone and his wife along with a number of others. Enumerated next to Charles Sherman is JOSEPH HERRIDGE. I believe he is listed as 19 in this census.
Charles married HANNAH HERRIDGE in July 1841 in Aldworth Berkshire. Hannah has had a son previously - apparently out of wedlock as he is listed as John Herrage, wife's son, in the 1851 census. I think it is interesting that he is not listed as a step-son. Charles and Hannah had 5 children in their first 10 years of married life. By 1861 they had 10 children so when Charles died in 1861, Hannah was left with 10 children.
Charles died in 1861 from an wagon accident while riding without reins. (See blog of March 9, 2013 for more on this accident.) He was just 39 years old at the time of his death and appears to have spent most of this life in or around Aldworth.
RICHARD SHERMAN was born in 1791 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England. He was christened 24 April 1791. His parents were listed as THOMAS SHERMAN and MARY. Presumbly he spent his life in Aldworth. He married SARAH FISHER 18 December 1814 in Compton, Berkshire England.
In 1841, Richard and Sarah were living in Aldworth. Richard was listed as an agriculture laborer. Within this household is his son George, daughters Dinah and Martha. There appears to be a child listed as N.K. Shurman, 10 days old. I believe this means the child has not yet been named (I think it stands for Not Known). It is unclear as to whose child it is as Sarah would have been close to 50. Again, the quality of the census is poor and hard to read. Richard died in Feburary 1850 and was buried on 8 Feburary 1850 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England. He was 80 years old.
THOMAS SHERMAN is a bit of a puzzlement. He was born in 1753 in Aldworth, Berkshire, England and married Mary. I haven't been able to get a handle on who Mary was. I have some Aldworth parish records coming which I hope might provide some answers to the mystery.
I've also made some attempts at tracking Thomas and Mary's other children in order to learn more about Thomas and Mary. It is possible that his daughter Mary married a WILLIAM BLACKALL on 29 November 1803 in Aldworth. His daughter Rachel may have married Joseph Lay 21 May 1809 in Aldworth. Rachel Lay died 24 October 1829 in Hampstead Norreys/Norris. Hannah Sherman may have married James Hamblin 12 October 1825 in Aldworth. Hannah Hamblin is mentioned in the Berkshire Chronicle in an article regarding a house sale. It is possible that John Sherman married Elizabeth Huntley in October 1817 in Hungerford, Berkshire. This is one I'm not sure of since it is not in Aldworth. None of these are absolutely certain and will require more information to provide confirmation.
The last in the line I was able to track is RICHARD SHERMAN. Richard married SARAH SMITH 6 November 1748 in West Hendred, Berkshire, England. Richard was from Aldworth and Sarah was from the West Hendred parish.
The Sherman family will need to be revisited periodically in order to see if there is any new information that helps uncover their secrets.
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