Tag Archives: County Durham

Follow Friday – What Caught my Eye (& Ear) June 8, 2012

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBmTpSD0f2E&feature=relmfu

* I really enjoyed Sir Paul McCartney singing the old songs he listened to growing up. Good background music for research. I especially like this one, although it is a song I had not heard before.

* Elliot Malkin has a unique vision of preserving his family stories. Check out his Everything I Know About Hyman Victor, Mother’s History of Birds, and Home Movie Reconstructions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DPnHndbQUA&feature=plcp

* This week I  was looking for information about life in the County of Durham, England during the 1800s. I had hoped to write a comprehensive post about my great-grandfather in honor of the 145th anniversary of his birth. Instead, I spent waaaay too much time watching these videos. There are lots of them to view – here’s  a list of the 129 videos from DurhamTelly. Not all are vintage footage, but many are.

* And I learned a lot about the history of coal mining in Britain from this series of vintage footage!

* My STRANGE family lived in Lincoln County Kansas for many years, so I enjoyed this article about the special Memorial Day activities which included erecting a marker to a Civil War soldier where none had been before. I’ve never met Tracee Hamilton, who discovered the tragic story of Edwin Simmons and his family while compiling obituaries, but know her through the gifts she gives in time and research through the Lincoln County Genweb. This effort is another of her gifts.

 

Notes to Self

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Could a blog post function as a lazy person’s research log/research notes?

There wouldn’t be any papers or notebooks to lose.
If I tag well, I could find notes about individuals or places or sources easily.
Somebody reading my notes might have some information I need.

Think I’ll give it a try. I’ve been working on a few things.

* Uncle Don sent me a brief biography Aunt Wilma wrote about Joseph and Mary Harris Coates. One bit of new information I need to research – she said that Mary’s uncle, Matthew Harris, traveled with them from England to the U.S., but he left and went to Australia. Thanks, Uncle Don!  🙂

* Cousin Wilda sent a link to an article about the Hatfield family. We have Hatfields way back on my Webber side. The TV show about the Hatfield and McCoy feud prompted the article here.  Thanks, Wilda!

* Heard from a new cousin – grandson of Joseph Robert Coates. Prompted me to get in touch with the other grandchildren of Eveline’s siblings that I have had contact with in the past. Want to collect death records for all Eveline’s siblings.

* The anniversary of Joseph Coates’ birth is coming soon and I want to do some blog posts about him. Need to email family for any stories they might have.

* Found images online of St. Stephen’s Willington Church in Durham, UK – where Joseph’s parents John Coates and Ellenor Richardson were married.

* Received letter from USCIS stating that my records index search request for Joseph Coates came up with 0 results.  🙁 I was hoping to get info that would lead to date of immigration, ship, etc. Dead end.

* Checked ancestry.com for more records for John Coates. Found 1911 census I had not seen before. Actual image! and it looks like he even signed it – so I have an image of his signature, address, etc. The next image shows that he is living with daughter Nellie (Mary Ellen), her husband and their children. There are separate entries. John has a page to himself and lives in one room. The family is the next image 5 people in 3 rooms (4 crossed out).

* The census find led me to check google maps on a whim and see if I coud get something from their address.  Sure enough, from the street view it looks like the house is still standing. Couldn’t read the house numbers and not sure exactly which was theirs but picked one that looks most like a photo I have. I had assumed that this house was where John Coates lived in Durham, UK, but it isn’t identified. Now I’m pretty sure.

* Looked up a bit more about jobs in mining.  Joiner. Cartwright.  = Carpenter. Cart Maker

* Tried to find John Coates in 1861 England Census. Found a boarder the right age in Gilesgate, St. Giles, Durham, born in Willington, working as a Journeyman Cartwright (at least I think that’s what it says.) Another John Coates the right age living as a boarder in Hartepool, Durham. The one in Gilesgate seems more likely?

* Ellenor Richardson. Where and when was she born?  Who are her parents? From marriage record, her birth would be 1845. Census records confirm that. But location varies with each census. 1881: Fitches, Durham. 1871: Willington, Durham. I also have an IGI record from FamilySearch that has an Ellen Richardson b. 21 Feb. 1845 in Brampton, Cumberland, England, parents William and Jane. Looked up Cumberland and it is adjacent to Durham, so possible. ???

* Google search for Fitches doesn’t come up with much. Finally concluded that it might be Fitches Grange – located near Witton Castle in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Not that far from Willington, I guess. I’m a little confused by the place names in England. Maybe a census that says Fitches and one that says Willington could mean the same general location?

* Christina says I should probably rescan all the old photos I’m wanting to preserve/archive as tif files.