Patrick’s army record contains dates of his service and his postings. The regimental war diaries provide some details of actions and places. For example, we know that, on 25th August 1914, the 2nd Battalion of the Manchester Regiment made a stand at Le Cateau. Here they lost 350 men, representing more than one third of…
All posts in Direct line
DNA: the magic bullet?
Posted on Author Keith StanleyPosted in Brighton, Direct line, Geography, Ireland, North America, Unresolved questions
I was given a DNA testing kit as a Christmas present (2018). The results were pretty much as expected. I received a list of people with whom I share some DNA in descending order of overlap. The closest matches suggest that we might be fourth cousins. This means that we share a great, great, great…
The death of Bridget, and more on Thomas
Having located a record for the death of Thomas (b 1873, d 1908), I looked for the record for Bridget. It was not hard to find. https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1909/05468/4530647.pdf Bridget, from Rockfield, the widow of a labourer, died in the workhouse in March 1909. She was 70, making her date of birth around 1839. She died of…
Thomas Stanley (b 1873)
Posted on Author Keith StanleyPosted in Direct line, Geography, Ireland, North America, Possible relations
Thomas seemed to disappear after his birth. He is not recorded on the 1901 Irish census. There is no good match for him in England either. This made me suspect that he had emigrated. I spent a lot of time scanning passenger lists. Hours were spent on the census returns in the USA. In June…
Irish Petty Sessions
In order to access all possible records, it would be necessary to take out a lot of subscriptions to a great number of websites. The cost will exceed £500 per annum. I have switched providers more than once. All of the major providers are adding to their collections. If you have not looked at a…
Death of John Stanley (b 1825)
There are some surprising records online these days. You can look at dog licenses. A dog license had to be renewed every year. This provides some way of tracking people. The normal caveat applies: absence of information does not imply information about absence, merely that information may have disappeared. Some court records have been published.…
They are all called John
Another researcher suggested that publishing a family tree would be helpful. This is a very sensible idea. But do I publish one tree or many? The picture shows what appears to be multiple trees. However, there is an interconnected root system. In practice it is a single organism., covering over 100 acres. The challenge for…
Private John Stanley
Private John Stanley (born 1898) was killed two months from the end of the Great War. The location of the memorial and the date indicate that he was killed in the attack of the Drocourt-Queant line, and the follow up actions. The Drocourt-Queant (or DQ) line was part of the Hindenburg line. The Germans had…
More about Mary’s brother John
The first born child of the Stanley/Ormsby marriage was John (born 1866 in Roscommon). The 1891 census has him born in 1867. At that time, he was single and lodging with his married (half) sister Catherine (or Kate) Senior. So what happened to him subsequently? In 1901 he is still working as a Mason’s Labourer.…
Yorkshire born Stanley
Having discovered a locally born Stanley family with a strong geographical connection (New St) to my Irish ancestors, it was an obvious line of enquiry to follow. The same family appears in 1891. John’s date of birth is now shown as 1855. Their address is Carlisle St. This is another address that does not seem…