Early on in my family history conversations, a relative told me that my great-grandmother came from a very large number of siblings - about 21 (see Miss, Mrs, Mrs). No-one could tell me who they all were but over the decades, as I became more experienced and as extra sources of information became accessible, I added more of her brothers and sisters to my list.
In the 1881 census my great-grandmother age 16 was at home with an older sister age 21 and their parents William Moore age 75 and Elizabeth age 60. 10 years earlier, in the previous census, William age 65 and Elizabeth age 49 also had 3 older children at home, making a total of 4 daughters and 1 son. Back another decade and there are 2 further sons at home, age 14 and 16 at that time. So that gets us to 7 children - a long way from the rumoured 21 siblings.
When I found the 1851 census record, the older children whom I had seen before were present and between the ages of 2 and 9 years with their parents William age 46 and Elizabeth age 29. With them was a son called Charles age 17. Great - I had found an extra person to count towards my target of 21 siblings.
However, Charles was only 12 years younger than his mother, presumably his step-mother. Now the 15 year age gap between husband and wife made more sense. With the running total of 8 children in the family, I knew it was worth looking for an earlier wife and children for William.
The 1841 census showed Charles age 7 and a younger brother age 6 as well as an older sister and older brother. The addition of these 3 to the family tree brought the total up to 11 siblings from William and his wives.
At this point, I had found half of the family and been through all of the census years from William's lifetime.
Wednesday 27 February 2019
Tuesday 19 February 2019
15 Market Street, Redditch
As part of a visit to the Forge Mill Needle Museum (see Pins and needles), we strolled into the shop which "has guide books and a selection of
local history books, cards and
souvenirs for you to purchase as a reminder of your visit to the
museums." We were not interested in buying any of the extensive range
of needles or a fridge magnet or even a tea towel.
However, as we browsed along the shelves we found a booklet of "Redditch on old picture postcards" by Chris Jackson (1994) and were somewhat shocked by one of the images. There, in black-and-white, printed large across a double page (pages 12-13), was an image labelled "The Market Place, Redditch, No 949." and "H W Huckfield's Series" ...
In the foreground is a cluster of young children standing in the roadway and staring at the camera. Behind them is an indifferent horse in harness between the shafts of some out-of-view cart or waggon which we can only see as a shadow on the ground. In the background, above the doorway of a shop is a large, bold sign declaring:
However, as we browsed along the shelves we found a booklet of "Redditch on old picture postcards" by Chris Jackson (1994) and were somewhat shocked by one of the images. There, in black-and-white, printed large across a double page (pages 12-13), was an image labelled "The Market Place, Redditch, No 949." and "H W Huckfield's Series" ...
In the foreground is a cluster of young children standing in the roadway and staring at the camera. Behind them is an indifferent horse in harness between the shafts of some out-of-view cart or waggon which we can only see as a shadow on the ground. In the background, above the doorway of a shop is a large, bold sign declaring:
Underneath the picture, the accompanying caption text (page 12) says, "Market Place when it had a market. For many year the stalls backed onto the church railings. Hepworth's Corner at the top of Unicorn Hill is in the centre of this postcard in the 'Huckfield' series (no.949) and McQuay's milliners is on the left."
Temporarily distracted from the tough McQuay pin pointers, I set to work investigating the distinctive McQuay milliners. It seems that John McQuay and his wife Mary Ann, formerly Hollis, whom I have mentioned in previous posts here, had a daughter-in-law who was Mrs McQuay, Milliner in the 1888 Kelly's directory and the 1891 census, then Milliner and Dress Maker in the 1901 census.
In 1964 Redditch was designated a New Town which led to the demolition and redevelopment of many historic streets and buildings. Many addresses no longer exist, now under the Redditch Ringway or the Kingfisher Shopping Centre. However, 15 Market Place is still a valid address and if you go there you will find the Redditch Library (see Find the library on a map). In a sweet twist, people can now access resources to research their namesakes from the precise spot where a McQuay family formerly lived and worked.
Friday 15 February 2019
Cheers, Cousin!
Today I had lunch with a cousin who is also interested in the family tree. To be precise, he is my second cousin. That is one of those relationships which has the same label both ways around and is irrespective of gender, unlike aunt and niece, uncle and nephew. He is my second cousin and I am his second cousin, we are second cousins.
You may use a computer software program which labels each person on file according to their relationship to you. Alternatively you can use, for example in tea towel form, The Cousin Explainer:
One advantage of the computer program over the tea towel is the option to easily find the relationship between any two other people in your family tree. Another benefit is that the computer copes with a wider range of relationships.
The software that I use can produce a "Kinship Report" and it can be sorted so that the closest relationships are listed first. Amongst the more distant relatives that I have on file are a "wife of second cousin three times removed" and a "wife of half third great uncle".
Nearly one-quarter of the people in my family tree file are actually tagged as being unrelated to me. These include extended families with my surname but without any ancestor identified as being in common with me, yet. Also, I keep track of individuals and families who appear with different surnames in different records (see McQuay name variants).
You might interpret this as thorough record-keeping for the one-name study approach. Alternatively, you may decide this looks like a family historian who is stuck and desperately searching for clues and extra pieces of the puzzle as part of sleuthing for cousins.
You may use a computer software program which labels each person on file according to their relationship to you. Alternatively you can use, for example in tea towel form, The Cousin Explainer:
The software that I use can produce a "Kinship Report" and it can be sorted so that the closest relationships are listed first. Amongst the more distant relatives that I have on file are a "wife of second cousin three times removed" and a "wife of half third great uncle".
Nearly one-quarter of the people in my family tree file are actually tagged as being unrelated to me. These include extended families with my surname but without any ancestor identified as being in common with me, yet. Also, I keep track of individuals and families who appear with different surnames in different records (see McQuay name variants).
You might interpret this as thorough record-keeping for the one-name study approach. Alternatively, you may decide this looks like a family historian who is stuck and desperately searching for clues and extra pieces of the puzzle as part of sleuthing for cousins.
Monday 11 February 2019
Pins and needles
The story so far:
Still without any evidence of a relationship between these pin pointers, trying to understand their employment and community, a visit to Redditch, Worcestershire, England seemed sensible. In particular, we had to visit the Forge Mill Needle Museum which "tells the fascinating and sometimes gruesome story of needle making in Victorian times".
The museum's information says that in 1851 the work was 11 hours per day with breaks for meals, six days a week with 10 full days and 7 half days holiday per year. The production process was split into many stages and the workers were very specialised, each focused on doing one particular task in the sequence. This correlated with the very specific occupations listed throughout the 1851 census for Redditch.
We discovered that pointing was the most dangerous and best paid job in needle manufacture. It involved sharpening the metal points using rapidly spinning grinding stones. (See for example "History and description of needle making" Morrall, Michael T. 1862.) We came home with a copy of "Pointing Woman" by Sara Fraser (1988), a fictional novel about a character who "takes well-paid work as a 'pointer' grinding needles".
Over the years, my research has covered a range of places, people, occupations and events. I am always looking in the general information for specific details relevant to the journeys and lives of these McQuay pin pointer families. I am still looking for long-awaited answers to questions such as:
- In 1848 Joseph McQuay, a Pin Pointer, dies in Redditch.
- In 1851 Peter McQuay is one of only three Pin Pointers recorded in the census in Redditch.
- In 1853 John McQuay, a Pin Pointer, marries in Redditch.
Still without any evidence of a relationship between these pin pointers, trying to understand their employment and community, a visit to Redditch, Worcestershire, England seemed sensible. In particular, we had to visit the Forge Mill Needle Museum which "tells the fascinating and sometimes gruesome story of needle making in Victorian times".
The museum's information says that in 1851 the work was 11 hours per day with breaks for meals, six days a week with 10 full days and 7 half days holiday per year. The production process was split into many stages and the workers were very specialised, each focused on doing one particular task in the sequence. This correlated with the very specific occupations listed throughout the 1851 census for Redditch.
We discovered that pointing was the most dangerous and best paid job in needle manufacture. It involved sharpening the metal points using rapidly spinning grinding stones. (See for example "History and description of needle making" Morrall, Michael T. 1862.) We came home with a copy of "Pointing Woman" by Sara Fraser (1988), a fictional novel about a character who "takes well-paid work as a 'pointer' grinding needles".
Over the years, my research has covered a range of places, people, occupations and events. I am always looking in the general information for specific details relevant to the journeys and lives of these McQuay pin pointer families. I am still looking for long-awaited answers to questions such as:
- What brought them from Dublin in Ireland to Redditch in England? And in the case of Peter, at least, via the Stroud area in England?
- Were they pin pointers before they relocated? What records are there of pin pointing in Ireland?
Thursday 7 February 2019
Reading the Redditch 1851 census
In the early days of trying to uncover more about my ancestors I found that Peter McQuay (Maquay) was a Pin Pointer in the 1851 census in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. I was delighted to be able to buy a printed transcript and surname index for the area. Produced by the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry (BMSGH, now called Midland Ancestors), as I write there are still copies available in their online shop (Bromsgrove Part 3 - 1851 census Surname index Volume 10, BMSGH Product Code: B007, Public Record Office Reference: HO 107/2047).
As part of my research I eagerly reviewed the whole 200+ pages of the comb bound book. From reading through all the names, occupations and places of birth I was able to find the following people in the census (spelling and case as in the transcript, place Redditch unless otherwise written with the page number, context and information from other sources added in italics):
- People with the name McQuay, and those related to them, living in Redditch in 1851:
- MAQUAY, Peter age 30 Pin Pointer born IRL Dublin (see Occupation Pin Pointer (Tin Painter)), Charlotte age 31 (see The age of the census), Eugene son age 5 and Charles son age 1 month (p482, Britten Street, schedule number 28)
- HOLLIS, Mary A age 23 Lodger Unmarried, with James son age 8 months (p595, Red Lion Street) - baby James died about six months later in October 1851; two years after that, in December 1853, Mary Ann married John McQuay (vicar and witnesses listed below)
- MUNSLOW, Timothy age 72 Blacksmith and Elizabeth age 83 with grandchildren HOLLIS Joseph age 6 and Elizabeth age 2 (p498, Evesham Street) - young Joseph and Elizabeth were children of Mary Ann Hollis (see above) and actually the great-grandchildren of Timothy and Elizabeth Munslow
- People named on civil registration records as registrar, informant, vicar or witness:
- OSBORNE, John - Banker's agent and Registrar of Births & Deaths (p563) - wrote and signed civil registrations in 1848 and 1852 (McQuay), 1859 (MacQuay), 1860 (Macquay)
- WATERSON, Henry and Maria (p481, Britten Street) - informants named on one death death certificate each in 1848 (see Same surname, same job, same village)
- COX, Elizabeth (p486, Windsor Street) - informant named on McQuay death registrations in 1859 and 1860
- MacKARNESS, John Fielder - Vicar of Tardebigg (Tutnal & Cobley, p441) - marriage of John McQuay (Maquay) and Mary Ann Hollis in 1853
- WHITTINGTON, Thomas (p482, Britten Street, schedule number 030) - marriage witness
- SHRIMPTON, Emma (p524) - marriage witness
- ROBERTS, Richard, age 25, Pin pointer, born Warmington, Warwickshire (p529)
- JONES, William Henry, age 36, Pin pointer, born Birmingham, Warwickshire (p536)
- HOLYOAKE, Thomas, age 54, Needle & pin manufacturer, born Redditch Worcestershire (p544)
Sunday 3 February 2019
Occupation Pin Pointer (Tin Painter)
A person's occupation can be both interesting and useful to a family historian. A few weeks ago in Same surname, same job, same village I wrote about Peter McQuay and Joseph McQuay. Altogether I have found five McQuay men living around the same time and all recorded as Pin Pointer (or "Tin Painter" in one transcription error!): Henry, John and his father also called John, Joseph and Peter. A summary table is below:
| Date | Location | Event | Person | His occupation | His place of birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1844 Jan 13 | Warrington, St Paul (1) | Marriage | Henry's daughter Catherine [Census: born Ireland, Dublin] | Pin Pointer | |
| 1847 Apr 8 | Stroud, Peaked Elm (2) | Birth | Peter's son Charles | Pin-Pointer | |
| 1848 Dec 8 | Redditch (3) | Death | Joseph age 26 | Pin Pointer | |
| 1848 Dec 18 | Redditch (3) | Death | Peter's son Charles age 1 year and 8 months | Pin Pointer | |
| 1850 Dec 8 | Redditch (3) | Birth | Peter's son Charles | Pin-maker | |
| 1851 Mar 30 | Redditch, Britten Street (3) | Census | Peter age 30 | Pin Pointer | Ireland, Dublin |
| 1852 Jul 16 | Redditch (3) | Birth | Peter's son Joseph | Pin maker | |
| 1853 Dec 27 | Redditch, St Bartholomew (3) | Marriage | John and John's father | Pinpointer | |
| 1856 Apr 12 | Aston, Pritchet Street (4) | Birth | Peter's son Frederick | Journeyman Pinmaker | |
| 1859 Dec 21 | Redditch (3) | Death | John's daughter Alice age 16 months | Pin maker | |
| 1860 Feb 1 | Redditch (3) | Death | John's son John Bernard age 4 years | Pinpointer | |
| 1861 Apr 7 | Redditch, Windsor Street (3) | Census | John age 32 | Machinist | Ireland |
| 1861 Apr 7 | Aston, Pritchett Street (4) | Census | Peter age 38 | Pin Pointer | Ireland |
| 1864 Jul 27 | Birmingham, Ormond Street (5) | Birth | Peter's son Albert | Wire Drawer Journeyman | |
| 1871 Apr 2 | Redditch, Unicorn Hill (3) | Census | John age 39 | Pin Machinist | Ireland, Dublin |
| 1871 Apr 2 | Birmingham, Sherbourne Street (6) | Census | Peter age 51 | Fender Maker | Ireland |
| 1877 Jul 25 | Aston, Saltley Street (7) | Death | Peter age 56 | Machinist |
- County of Lancaster, District of Warrington
- County of Gloucester, District of Stroud, Sub-district of Rodborough, Kingstanley (King's Stanley)
- County of Worcester, District of Bromsgrove, Sub-district of Tardebigg (Tardebigge)
- County of Warwick, District of Aston, Sub-district of Duddeston
- County of Warwick, District of Birmingham, Sub-district of St George
- County of Warwick, District of Birmingham, Sub-district of Ladywood
- County of Warwick, District of Aston, Sub-district of Deritend