Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Oct 26, 2010
Tagged in:
Wiltshire & Swindon Archives ,
Wiltshire ,
web site ,
Upper Thames Valley ,
translated ,
transcribed ,
Swindon Railway Works ,
South Marston man ,
Song ,
singers ,
Royal Field Artillery ,
published ,
poetry ,
poet ,
music scores ,
mummer’s plays ,
manuscripts ,
languages ,
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/folk_search. ,
History Centre ,
hammerman ,
folklore ,
folk songs ,
community history ,
collectors ,
Chris Wildridge ,
books ,
Bold Sir Rylas ,
biographical information ,
Asiatic ,
Alfred Williams ,
19th century
Wiltshire was largely ignored by the 19th century collectors of folk songs and it was left to a South Marston man, Alfred Williams, the hammerman poet of Swindon Railway Works. He was self educated, fluent in several languages, translated poetry from Asiatic languages and published several books, despite remaining a poor working man all his life. Between 1914 and 1916, owing to poor health he collected 600 songs from people in the Upper Thames Valley before joining the Royal Field Artillery.
Illustration of Score (truly local carol)
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Dec 15, 2009
Tagged in:
wildcard ,
wife ,
widow ,
Where Born ,
visitors ,
village ,
transcribed ,
town ,
tips ,
search page ,
residence ,
researcher ,
Reference ,
problems ,
place of birth ,
parish registers ,
online ,
neighbour ,
names ,
married ,
knowledge ,
information ,
ideas ,
household ,
helpdesk ,
head of the household ,
folio ,
family ,
exact matches only ,
description ,
County Record Office ,
county ,
community ,
census return ,
census ,
baptism ,
Ancestry ,
ancestor
Here on the helpdesk at the History Centre we offer help to many of our visitors who are either unsure of using the census online or are having problems tracing their ancestors when using it.
The Helpdesk
During our many hours spent giving help and guidance we have spotted a few common problems encountered by our visitors. We thought it would be good to share our knowledge with those of you who may also be experiencing difficulties. Hopefully some of the tips will be useful and give you some fresh ideas, encourage you to keep looking and with luck, maybe even solve those tricky problems once and for all!
Why are only half my family on the census page?
The household will continue on the next page. Click on the ‘Next’ icon at the top of the screen and the next page will be shown.
Why can’t I find my ancestor on a particular census?
Sometimes names have been transcribed incorrectly. Try using the names of other family members or cutting down the amount of information used on the search page, for instance just putting the county down under residence or putting no residence and just using the place of birth if you know it. The description of the head of the household may be misleading; the true head may have been absent on the night the census was taken. If the wife is classed as ‘married’ rather than ‘widow’, then this is probably the case. Read on to find out more...
