Genealogy Chat

Oh Lisa, Toronto! Not much of a chance for butchers to star there!

Good luck.

Ozi.

I believe I posted a bit of this on a previous thread, but since we've been talking about this family, I thought I would share it again. I just found this information about three weeks ago:
July 17 1865
Disastrous Fire: Great Loss of Property
"We have to record this morning the particulars of a great conflagration which, in the amount, value and variety of property destroyed, and especially in the large space covered by the devouring flames...outrivals anything of the kind which Toronto has witnessed for some years. The principal portion of the property of various kinds covering an area of about one hundred and fifty square yards, has been entirely consumed...

...The original of the fire, so far as can be ____, is this: A few children were observed in the possession of matches in a shed in the read of Mr. James Mumford's butcher shop...from which the flames were first observed...Upon observing the flames, Mrs. Mumford ran to the stable, and catching the occupant, a pony, by the ears, led him quietly enough out into the yard...Mrs. Mumford...found some difficulty in threading her way through the blinding smoke to the store in order to give the alarm..."

The article is quite lengthy. Imagine my surprised to stumble across this information - from just doing my usual goolging. :)

Ozi
:)

Well, that's exciting.

I know how you feel. When an ancestor married in 1845 her father was deceased. She & her brother were living in 1841 in Bethnal Green which, thank you enumerator, had an address.

Imagine my suprise when googling father's name & came across a record of an insurance policy in his name for same address!

Ozi.

Ozi, isn't it amazing what we can find on the internet?

Have you tried googling Old Bailey (http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/) to see if your family members are mentioned? As it turns out, my James' father had a coat stolen while at a market; I never would have thought of looking there. Also, maybe this is how you found him, but have you tried googling Bethnal Green and your ancestor's name? If not, there might be more to be found.

The www is a wonder, isn't it?

I did find another ancestor at the Old Bailey. He was a witness. He helped catch a thief who was robbing his neighbour.

Ozi.

I didnt find much on mine for ages til the last lot of released cases. And I was totally gobsmacked - my Great Grandads, both sides (one as a victim of a fraud against his company - gave me an insight into his suicide a few years later as a bankrupt), the other guy was a hero, saving a woman from 3 lustful spanish sailors and getting badly stabbed in his attempt. Lots of others from direct ancestry but the biggest shock of all was myGGFx2 being indicted for murder having had a fight with a man in 1844 Stepney and the guy died the next day.

Ozi, isn't it amazing to see our ancestor's names in print! And, sometimes being able to read what they actually said about the crime!

Heather, Wow. Quite a collection of stories and especially sad about the one who was the victim of fraud. :(

A friend who I've done some research for has Mumfords in her tree. They came from Dittisham, Devon. When my husband & I were in the UK last we went to Dittisham. It's a very pretty village & we had a really lovely walk around it. I took a zillion photos.

Ozi.

Ozi, my Mumfords were from Essex. Mumford isn't a very common name now, but it seems like half of England was named Mumford in the early 1800's. I'm sure we've all found that to be true about our ancestors, which makes it a bit difficult to search, doesn't it?

I've just been looking at online photographs of Dittisham; it is a very pretty area!