Originally Posted by
Cyclops
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’."[/SIZE]
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