English Family History V: other sources Quiz

Answer: will

This formula, followed by something like "I Peter Heath of the parish of Bishopstoke in the County of Southampton, wheelwright", and then a religious preamble, was typical of wills made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The testator would bequeath his soul to Almighty God, request that his remains be decently interred, and then go on to dispose of his earthly goods.

Answer: regnal year

The example is the 24th year of the reign of Charles the First.
Regnal year 1 of any monarch was the year they succeeded to the throne. In the case of Charles the First that was 1625.
1648 was a really bad year for Charles I wasn't it?

Answer: settlement examination

According to the Poor Laws, a person belonged to one parish only. This was usually where he was born, but he might gain 'settlement' in another parish by working there for over a year. If he had become destitute, through failing to find work, or becoming ill, it was the responsibility of his legal parish to support him.

But he might not know what his legal parish was. In such a case he would be examined by local justices, and asked about his birth and working history as well as giving his dependents.

The resultant examination was documented. Such documents are called Settlement Examinations, and can tell interesting stories.

Answer: street directory

The name Kelly is inevitably associated with twentieth century street directories, although in Victorian times there were many other publishers of local directories.
A Kelly's Directory of 1920 would have three main sections:
a list of streets in alphabetical order, with house numbers listed in sequence with the name of each householder.
An alphabetical list of all householders, giving their address.
A commercial section listing businesses.

Answer: incumbent

In the Anglican church there are three orders of ministry: bishops, priests and deacons. A deacon could assist the parish priest, but could not be in charge of a parish.
A curate is an ordained priest who acts as an assistant to the parish priest.
A canon is one of a group of priests serving in a particular place, such as a cathedral.

Answer: voters list

A street directory would only list one person at that address, the householder.
Similarly for a telephone directory, and in any case not many people had phones at that time.
The voters list would list all people at the address who were registered to vote, so they had to be over 21. This list could include the householder's spouse, adult children, and possibly any long term lodgers or sub-tenants too. As voters lists were arranged by district and street, you have to know the address to look people up.

Answer: paleography

From paleo (old) and graph (writing).
PALÆOGRAPHY is the way it appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, but PALEOGRAPHY is more common, and convenient for those without that Æ on their keyboard.

Answer: over 21

This is often seen in marriage certificates, disappointing the researcher who hoped to find an exact age. Until late in the 20th century a person was a minor until they reached the age of 21. A minor could not marry without the consent of the father or guardian.

Answer: transcribing

Transcribing (making a transcription) is a very valuable occupation, often done in the past by volunteer local historians. Much depends on the skill of the transcriber and their knowledge of the subject matter of the document.
Recent large scale transcriptions, for example of the 1901 census, have been done by subcontract in India and there are quite a few errors due to the transcriber's unfamiliarity with English names and places.

Answer: genealogy

No, its not an -ology. Its an -alogy, or some would say, an allergy.