Originally Posted by
Cyclops
The article has gone to the printers and will be in the July issue of Family Tree - in all good newsagents around the middle of June.
The following is an abridged version of what was sent to the editor and it was illustrated by photos. I'm posting it as many have messaged me with an unhealthy (even morbid) interest in the origins of one of our more out-there posters.
"The Benefits of Using a Professional Researcher for Your Family Research.
Two days before Christmas, 2016, a client (we will call her ‘Z’) wrote this comment about episodes of WDYTYA: ‘None of them compare to what was sitting on my doorstep this morning, which was my own family history... it's the most amazing gift I've ever had, it's not often I'm lost for words but I am right now, I really can't thank him enough. I need to go and cry now.’ After sending a report of someone’s ancestry, the standard feedback is, “Thanks”. What prompted this exceptional reaction?
Z’s extraordinary family tree is festooned with notable and notorious characters. We will spotlight some and draw some conclusions about the benefits of using a professional researcher for the journey of discovery.
Case Study One: Z’s grtx5 grandfather, William Tallemach (1783 – 1816). This forefather appeared unremarkable at first sight - until I eventually discovered him listed in a dictionary of sculptors. William designed and sculpted a memorial which adorns St Mary’s and All Saints Church, Beaconsfield.
Then, in 1816, he won a prestigious commission for a monument in St Pauls Cathedral to commemorate the deaths of Generals Gore and Skerett while storming a Dutch fort. William died after designing this piece and the work was executed by Sir Francis Chantrey.
So how were these facts unearthed? Google-searching “William Tallemach” generated no relevant hits. But then, going the extra mile, I found his children’s baptism records. They, and only they, disclosed that William’s occupation was a sculptor. Linking this to his name in the Google search box resulted in the dramatic discovery of his work.
Case Study Two: Z’s grtx7 grandfather, Henry Pyefinch (1737-1779). There is an impressive mountain of archived documents about Henry. He designed and manufactured optical instruments. George Washington used a spyglass made by “the well-known London optical instrument maker” which “constituted part of my equipage during the late War”.
Surviving examples of Henry’s instruments are auctioned today for four-figure sums. Remarkably, his work remains in the public eye in 2017.
My report for Z featured several pages of information about Henry. How was this amassed? Whenever I research individuals, I use an extensive checklist of potential sources to be sure every avenue is explored. As a result Henry was found in Old Bailey proceedings; The Gentleman’s Magazine (a plan of his London Cornhill shop); wills at The National Archives and several references in Google Books (which is a valuable source of biographical data).
Case Study Three: Z’s grtx2 grandfather, Peter Clearey (1850 – 1935), was involved in a particularly unsavoury crime (Z: ‘grim’) at Edinburgh in September 1885. It was widely reported and reads like a historical novel by Ian Rankin. For years, Cleary was in a gang that preyed on courting couples canoodling on the Crags. The man was led away to be blackmailed while the woman was ‘ill-used’.
But this time, the woman escaped, only to plunge headlong over a cliff to her death. In court, Cleary turned ‘Queen’s Evidence’. The Lord-Advocate called it ‘the most horrible (crime) he had ever heard of’.
This episode was discovered because I routinely check the names of clients’ ancestors in three on-line newspaper archives. This particular example also illustrates the need to painstakingly trawl alternative spellings of surnames – Z’s ancestor was noted as Peter Clarey.
Case Study Four: Z’s grtx3 grandmother, Eliza Styles. There was a brick wall around Eliza which baffled seven researchers on an internet forum. She was recorded as married to Henry Styles with children, also named ‘Styles’ (1861); and as the unmarried Eliza Lindsay with boarders including ‘Styles’ young men (1881).Their baptism records disclosed that their father was Henry Weatherley although they were named ‘Styles’ on their birth certificates. Why was such a smokescreen created? Theories abounded, with no resolution.
While investigating Eliza Styles, I found a story in the Marylebone Mercury (19/3/1864), ‘The Amours of a Confectioner’. Eliza had been employed in a shop woman by the married, Henry Weatherley. He had broken ‘open her bedroom door and seduced her’. Eliza was chasing Henry for financial support of three children. This answered all the questions about the couple.
This cutting generated another line of Z’s ancestry - via Henry Weatherley. Now the surprises came thick and fast. The report mentioned that he was a confectioner - but neglected to tell the full story of his achievements.
Henry didn’t just sell sweets. He invented machinery to accelerate the production of confection which was displayed at the Great Exhibition (1851). He also wrote a 130-page book, ‘On the Art of Boiling Sugar’. This featured more than 70 recipes (including barley sugar and Everton toffee) and is still sold today. Henry’s textbook has recently been described as ‘seminal and hitherto overlooked’ and as providing “the most revealing insights into this period of transition”. Henry still makes ripples today. This news helped Z (a confirmed sweet-fancier) to accept her ancestor, despite his philandering.
This example illustrates how brick walls may be demolished by the delving of a professional researcher and how clues, once found, can provide significant information about an ancestor.
Z’s family story was related in 123 pages of two comb-bound books. A well-written report is a further reason for using the services of an experienced researcher. Z wrote, ‘...thank you so much, to say I'm thrilled is an understatement, it has made my Christmas, can't wait to show my Dad on Christmas Day’."
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