Good day happy campers, and happy belated new year from all at parishregister Would you believe it, that's a twelfth of the year gone already, but don't despair, hopefully I'll bring you something old, something new, and something blue in this first newsletter of 2011.....something blue??? Why yes, the links of course! What's new this month? You ask; well we have yet another CD for you, Vol 78. St Dunstan, Stepney  1629-1641 (another 10000 entries!) and we've uploaded yet another 10000 entries for St Dunnies for the years 1688-1679.  

Searchable Databases

 Last month:

St Anthony, Globe Road, Stepney 1879 to 1903 2886 entries

St James the Great, Bethnal Green 1844-1869 4736 entries 

This month:

St Dunstan 1668-1679 10035 entries

To search these databases, or any other then click here: search 

I don't normally do the salesman thingy, but I thought I'd point out why buying a CD when you're looking for a relative in any particular parish, especially if you are sure they should be there, but haven't found them, is a good idea. Take a look at these two entries recently transcribed by Jim; obviously the same family, but the surname is so very different! Need I say more! If you did a search on one of the names, which ever it should be, you wouldn't get the other, but purchase the CD and voila! 

New CD 

This month:

Volume 78 St Dunstan Stepney 1629-1641 10006 entries

To buy this CD please click here: Volume 78 

Last month: 

Volume 77 St Matthew Bethnal Green 1799-1819 12605 entries expertly and often painstakingly transcribed by Beryl

To buy this very popular CD please click here: Vol 77

To browse our other single CDs please click here: single CDs

Family historians might like to know that there's a petition currently running to save the Cleveland Street Workhouse (near the Telecom Tower) built in 1775, and still serving sick Londoners until 2006 when it was the Outpatients' Dept of the Middlesex Hospital. Over 500 people slept there every night, so loads of us must have had relatives there... plus it was a maternity hospital and children's hospital at various times in its long history. Developers with no regard to history want to smash the place down, and erect a huge block of posh housing, but locals say its a good sturdy building, it belongs where it is, and with a bit of imagination could be turned to other uses. Researching  the street, I have just discovered that Dickens lived there, so the workhouse is likely to be the inspiration for Oliver Twist!!  Please sign up, and/or email the planners! For details go to www.workhouse.org and follow the links! Thank you! 

Merchanttaylors.net

If you think you may have a relative who was a merchant Taylor then don't forget to search our 36000 entry database, just click here: M.T 

Now In Transcription

St George in the East 1877-1893

Christchurch Spitalfields 1843-1875  

St George in the East 1893-1904

St Dunstan Stepney 1679-onwards!

Other selected products

Everything Watermen and Lightermen 

You can browse all of the Watermen and Lightermen products which are your essential resources for tracing your watermen or lightermen ancestors by clicking here: W&L but here's my selected CDs of interest in this department:

My Ancestor Worked On The RiverThames by Rob Cottrell.A guide
to help you find where they worked.

The CD covers both sides of the Thames and gives details of nearly every
wharf, creek, river buoys, waterman's stairs, riverside taverns etc., plus
history and interesting facts.

To buy this CD please click here: Ancestor

Company of Watermen Compilation CD 1

It's an invaluable resource for all things watermen and lightermen, click here to buy: CD1

Company of Watermen & Lightermen; Pensioners Admitted for Relief 1794-1837.

This is a transcription produced by Rob Cottrell from the archives of the Company of Watermen & Lightermen.
With over 1,100 entries in Adobe Acrobat format on CD-ROM, this index shows the surname and forenames of the individual; or in the case of a wife or widow who the husband was, the date of admission and finally where the individual was living at the time admission was recorded. A typical entry reads as follows;

589. LEGON JOHN ADMITTED 1829 JUN 30 FROM BERMONDSEY

To buy this CD please click here: Pensioners

The Company of Watermen & Lightermen : Reassignment Index 1688-1908.

This CD lists some 12,000 apprentices that were reassigned from their original master to another. In some cases to more than one other master.

The entries were extracted from the Apprenticeship Bindings Indexes that cover the same time period.A typical entry reads as follows:
6687. LEGON GEORGE GAMBLES BOUND 1851 DEC 11 REASSIGNED 1858 JAN 14 TO JUDITH LEGON

To buy this CD please click here: Reassignment

Apprenticeships Bindings Index 1692-1908 (Vols 1-9)

To buy this CD please click here: Bindings
All of the bindings can be found by clicking here: More bindings

1648 Petition for the King

To find out more about this CD and/or buy it please click here: Petition

1628 Admiralty Muster of Watermen

 To buy this please click here: Muster

My Ancestors rowed for Doggett's Coats & 1715-2009 NEW 2nd Edition

 To buy this product please click here: Dog

Waterman & Parish Register Special Offer Price: £129.93

East of London Family History Society

Tower Hamlets Marriages & Banns (Vol 1)-Disc 3 

To buy this product please click here: THM&B

Tower Hamlets Burials & MI's (Vol 1) Disc 5

To find out more about this CD or buy it please click here: THB

St Andrews 

Burials & M.I. St. Andrews Church, Hornchurch. 1576-2000
Monumental Inscriptions and Burials, of 17,195 names for the years of 1576 - 2000.
This month there's £2 off this product. To buy it please click here: St Andrew

Cockney Ancestors

Cockney Ancestor. The first 100.
Now £10, to buy this click here: Cockney

Frogleys

The Frogley Index and Manuscript (History of Barking)

Please click here if you'd like to buy it: Frog

Other products in this series include:

Crow Lane Burial index 1871-1953 listing 20,000 entries.  Census 1851 West Ham.HO107/1768.

Census 1891 Hackney Part 1.RG12/0179 - 0194.  Census 1891 West Ham Part 1 RG12/1310 - 1325

Census 1891 West Ham Part 2 RG12/1326 - 1342 

SS. Mary and Joseph, Poplar Roman Catholic Chapel.

Marriages and Baptisms 1818 - 1856

To buy this CD please click here: SSMary

Misc Catholic London District Baptism, Marriages and Burials Vol 1

27 indexed transcriptions of Catholic Parish Registers from churches, chapels and missions in the county of Middlesex

To buy this CD please click here: Catholic 2

The Registers of the Sardinian Embassy Chapel, London, 1772 - 1841(Church of SS Anselm and Cecilia in Holborn). This comprises indexed transcriptions of over 22000 baptisms hitherto unpublished, a work which has taken them about 10 years to produce!!In total there are 60000 odd entries on this CD, a bargain at £7.95!

To buy this CD please click here: Catholic 3

Misc Catholic London District Transcriptions, Baptisms, Marriages,Confirmations Vol 2

If you would like more details about this CD or you would like to buy it please click here: Catholic 4

Merchant Taylors

The Merchant Taylors 1520-1929 (36000 entries-Exclusive to Docklands Ancestors!) The index gives the name, date of freedom, method of admission (apprenticeship, patrimony, or redemption), name of master if by apprenticeship, date of election to livery, and 'Remarks'. 

To purchase this CD please click here:  Merchant Taylors

SPECIAL OFFER Compendium CDs 1-5

Docklands Ancestors Parish Register CD Department 

East of London FHS Publications Department 

'Thames & River Medway Series - Compilation CDs'

'Thames & River Medway Series - Single Parish CDs' Rob's now transcribed 85 of these!

Rob's CDs include records of marriages, baptisms, burials and cemetery records, and include parishes such as Greenwich, Gravesend, Dartford, Northfleet, Tilbury, Lambeth, Charlton, East Ham, Deptford, and there are some burial records for St Dunstan Stepney and man, many more....have a look!

Research Srevices: If you've come to a dead end in your research then you might want to give Esme an email  at research@parishregister.com. She will discuss your requirements and advise on options. If you want her to undertake research on your behalf, she will agree a proposal and a price. Typically, you will receive a written report, setting out the objectives, itemising in detail the sources and documents searched and discussing the results (both positive and negative). Photocopies of relevant entries will be included.

Map Department

Ecclesiastical Map-County of London 1903

A Map of the Ecclesiastical Divisions within the County of London 1903.

To buy this really useful map (if you're not sure which parish is next to which and wish to search for neighbouring parishes) then click here: Parishmap (a bargain at £5)

Map of Middlesex 1611 by by John Norden and John Speed

Black and white print measures 46cms x 58cms. 

£4.95 plus p&p please click here: Middlesex

A Balloon View of London 1851

To buy one for £6.95 (that's £1.55 off!) click here: Balloon

Devastated London - The Bombed City As Seen From A Barrage Balloon

To buy this (folded) map for the bargain price of £4.50 click here: Devastated London

Price: £3.95! To buy this map and for more information please London

Rocque's 1745 Survey of London

Price: £7.95 To buy this map and for more information please rocque

To view our comprehensive Alan Godfrey maps collection please Alangodfrey  (still only £2.25)

Book Shop

This year I received an unexpected Christmas present from Alan Adams, his own book called Divided by the Bounty. Firstly I must say it was a cracking read! I started reading it on the train, on my way to do a spot of winter gardening, and by jove, I went past my stop! He started off with a blank sheet; he knew nothing about his family beyond his immediate relatives, but through research in the Hackney archives, Thames River Police, the National Maritime Museum, The National Archives, The Guildhall library, the London Metropolitan Archives, Tower Hamlets Local History Library...and others, including my brother James, he managed to construct his family tree going back some 250 years. During his research he discovered that one of his descendants, able seaman John Adams was on the Bounty and was involved in the famous mutiny. As well as telling the story surrounding him, and his brother, the book touches on the history of many places in the East End which I have many connections with (Hackney, Stratford, the river, Stamford Hill etc). There's also a really interesting chapter on watermen and lightermen.

I really recommend this book and if you are interested in buying it, it can be purchased by Paypal or by cheque [£8+ £1.50 p+p.] to:-
          7,Garden Court,
            Garden Close,
             Shoreham-by Sea,
             West Sussex,   BN43 6BS

or for further details contact Alan @ alanadams@supanet.com

Under Oars: Reminiscences of a Thames Lighterman, 1894-1909, by Harry Harris.

An incredibly rare book, one of the only ones written by a Thames lighterman, about the arduous job of working on the river.

My Ancestors were Thames Watermen: A Guide to Tracing your Thames Waterman and Lighterman Ancestors,by James Legon. Foreword by Rob Cottrell.

Now in it’s 2nd edition, this book is the starting point for researching your waterman and lighterman ancestors.

Dockland Apprentice by David Carpenter.

With 192 pages and 45 illustrations, Dockland Apprentice provides a fascinating insight into what life was like for an apprentice marine engineer within the London Docks during the 1950's. It was an area considered by most Londoners as mysterious and inaccessible, some parts enclosed and hidden from view by enormous walls and others bordered by marshland. The nearest that most people came was the sight of the ship's funnels and cranes that dominated the skyline as they travelled to work on the train.

The Docks were full of colourful and eccentric characters. Working conditions at the time were very different to today and the author describes both from an intimate knowledge.

He was an indentured apprentice and learned the skills necessary for a long and exciting career that involved repair work in one of the foremost shipyards and on many of the magnificent ships that docked in one of the world's busiest ports.

If you'd like this book, just click on the title!

London from the Thames by Angelo Hornak

Without the Thames, London in its present form would not exist. Its tidal ebb and flow were of such great importance to early navigation that for centuries London was essentially a maritime city. The Thames was also London's main thoroughfare and consequently many famous landmarks line its banks. The Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament, Somerset House and Chelsea Hospital all present their most imposing aspect to the river. LONDON FROM THE THAMES takes the reader on a fascinating boat trip from the Thames Barrier in the east to Hampton Court in the west, exploring this historic river and the buildings and monuments on its banks. Angelo Hornak's stunning photographs, taken from his small boat, offer a unique perspective. The book is organised by chapters corresponding to the districts of London and, in addition to the modern pictures, fascinating engravings that put the Thames in historical perspective. These include views of the Tower of London in the sixteenth century and a Ponte Vecchio-style Old London Bridge with its houses and shops.

 Once again, if this book tickles your fancy click on the title!

London's Thames, by Gavin Weightman.

Without the Thames there would be no London. From earliest times, the city’s needs – whether for stone, gold, coal, for hay to feed livestock or food, wine and spices for human beings – were supplied from the river, as the fierce tides brought ships upstream or carried them down again. Only with the age of trunk road and rail did London’s global importance as a port diminish. Even after that the tides continued to drive the great power stations.

Gavin Weightman’s fascinating book, a compendium of often surprising information, is the best possible introduction to the water and its ways, the buildings that line the banks, and the people who lived by the river, their customs and ancient knowledge. Everything is to be found here: trade and tide, lightermen, watermen and dockers, bridges, funnels and ferries, fairs, and regattas, clear water, fish and wildlife, pollution and waste, fortification and defence. Above all one feels the presence of the great waterway itself, a force of nature in our urban midst.

You've got the hang of it now! Click on the title if you're interested in this publication!

Looking Back: A Docker's Life by Joe Bloomberg

 

Joe Blomberg started work as a casual labourer in the London Docks in the 1930s. This autobiography follows the course of his life as a docker through over thirty years of vigorous change and often strife, in the industry - the ending of Casual Labour; the setting up of the National Dock Labour Board; the advent of containerization, and the eventual closure of the Royal London Docks.

You know what to do!

If you'd like to browse the rest of the book shop we stock books in the following areas:

London History

Watermen and Lightermen including my brother's excellent book:

My Ancestors were Thames Watermen: A Guide to Tracing your Thames Waterman and Lighterman Ancestors, by James Legon. Foreword by Rob Cottrell.

East End - History/Archive Photograph Books

Rare Books  


One-Off Books (used, all good condition)

If you are interested in buying a rare copy of Men of the Tideway then please email me or Yvonne 

Step By-Step Guide to Tracing Your Ancestors by D.M.Field (£3.50 plus p & p)

The chapels in the Tower of London (The chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula and the Chapel of St.John The Evangelist by The Reverend John F.M.Llewellyn (£3 plus p & p)

These second-hand titles are not on the site so if you would like to buy one please e-mail Yvonne at jameslegon@gmail.com (first come first served!) and payment is by cheque only.

Interesting Sites