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Ancestry Daily News
12/17/2002 - Archive
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Two English Resources: The Practical and the Picturesque |
Two English Resources: The Practical and the Picturesque
For quite some time I have been aware that the Topographical Dictionary
of England (Samuel Lewis, 1831) is among the resources online at Ancestry.com
but I paid no attention to the arrival of Picturesque Views of Countuy Seats
(F.O. Morris, 6 vol., 1866-80) — there seemed no current need for pictures
of big houses. When I decided to write about the online version of Lewis' justifiably
renowned publication, I looked about the site for similar resources and investigated
Picturesque Views; it is more useful than I thought and fits nicely with Lewis'
work.
Genealogists researching their English ancestors soon hear about Lewis' Topographical
Dictionary. It is regularly cited as a source of valuable facts, which may
include: location, the jurisdictions within which it sits (civil and ecclesiastical),
topographical features, fairs, church information, names of nonconformist denominations
present, and schools. Lewis' first published the Topographical Dictionary in
1831 in four volumes; today it continues to be reprinted in book format, on
CD-ROM and among the Ancestry.com databases. The date is significant for 1831
is on the eve of many changes in the boundaries of the Church of England. The
books therefore contain important details for those researching prior to civil
registration (from 1837).
Here is the description of a small parish in Essex. All places in England are
in a single alphabetical sequence, although there is some inconsistency in the
placement of names containing two words; e.g., you find Chipping Norton under
Norton and Saffron Walden under Walden, but Wendons Ambo is not under Ambo nor
is Wicken Bonhunt within the Bs; in a computer keyword search this does not
matter much unless the place name contains common elements. A search for South
Weald turned up the words separately within text as well as the place name.
"WENDONS AMBO, a parish in the hundred of UTTLESFORD, county of ESSEX,
2 1/2 miles (SW by W) from Saffron Walden, containing 336 inhabitants. The living
is a discharged vicarage, with the rectory of Little Wendon united, in the jurisdiction
of the Commissary of Essex and Herts, concurrently with the Consistorial Court
of the Bishop of London, rated jointly in the king's books at £17, and
in the patronage of the Marquis of Bristol. The church is dedicated to St. Mary."
The counties are here as well; in fact I strongly recommend you read the county
essays because the historical sketch is informative. For anyone researching
in the 1600s, the summary of the impact of the Civil War offers clues to guide
your choice of records and to facilitate your understanding of why records are
missing and what your ancestors endured. If you are researching in the 1800s
many places are described before they were transformed by the industrial revolution.
Compare Lewis' description to that of the Imperial Gazetteer, found on microfiche
in the Family History Library (you can order it into any Family History Center).
Let's return to the entry quoted above; when you locate this entry in the book
the places before and after are from all over because of the alphabetical sort,
but repeating the search online turns up nearby parishes. Saffron Walden is
the point of reference in this entry and searching for it as a keyword produced
24 places roundabout because, like Wendons Ambo, they all are described as so
many miles from Saffron Walden. This is a handy way to acquire a list of adjacent
parishes, learn more of the area, note which parishes to check for records,
and to get reference points for maps.
The Saffron Walden entry discusses Audley End, the nearby stately home. I went
over to Picturesque Views and sure enough found an illustration and two pages
about the house and the families that lived in it. Checking other entries in
Picturesque Views, I see they are also three pages long, an engraving and two
pages of text. The text varies in emphasis. In some, it is the families who
owned the house, in others the house and its contents and I read one that went
on at length about the magnificent views. At the end of volume 6 of the set
is an index to houses and owners, another way, besides the Ancestry search tool,
to look for familiar names. You could also start your search here and then refer
to the Topographical Dictionary. If your ancestors held copyhold land (i.e.,
entitlement was entered in the manor rolls and they had a copy) the entries
in Picturesque Views give people and place names that can be used in searches
for private papers and manorial records.
Within these two sources can be found interesting local history as well as geographical
and other details essential to successful research.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Subscribers to the UK & Ireland Records Collection can access
these databases at:
[Samuel Lewis's] England Topographical Dictionary
http://www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=4717&key=D3098
Great Britain and Ireland: Picturesque Views of County Seats, Volume I-VI
www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=4717&key=D6479
Sherry Irvine, CGRS, FSA (Scot) has been researching her British ancestry
for thirty years. She is an instructor and study tour leader for Samford University's
IGHR, and teaches for the online family history program of Vermont College.
Sherry is President of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She is
the author of:
Your Scottish Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans
www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=831&key=P1046
Your English Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans
www.ancestry.com/rd/prodredir.asp?sourceid=831&key=P1045
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