INDEX - updated 1 January 2006

Overview

I can be contacted at (mark at finbo dot com) and would be grateful for any additional information or corrections. I've only published information down to my grandparents' generation to protect the privacy of those still living, and I've also omitted any information from that generation where people are still alive today. There may be the odd photo in there which show people who're still alive - let me know if you object to this and I'll remove them. Similarly, if I've inadvertantly left anything in there which relates to someone still living and you object to this, please let me know so I can remove the details.

FAMILIES

Finney

My own Finney tree currently goes as far back as John Finney, my gt-gt-gt-grandfather. I am having difficulty locating John, as well as his son Arthur in his earlier years - any help would be much appreciated. There is much information on the Finney surname at Finney UK, a site run by Bren & Des Griffiths of Wolverhampton. There is a Finney Genealogical Forum which is a useful and fairly busy resource.

Walklet

The two parts of the Walklet tree which have been uncovered so far are the Stoke-on-Trent branch (descended from Harry Walklet, lamplighter) and the American branch - those descended from James Walklet (1840-1878) who emigrated to the U.S. circa 1866. There is a photograph taken sometime around 1930 which had "The Original Walklets" written on the back of it; only a handful of people are known on it, and I would be grateful for any help in identifying the remaining people. I've requested Walklet information via the Online English Names Research Directory. There is also a Walklet forum, although to date there are not many postings on there. The searchable list of immigrants who passed through Ellis Island, New York is available at the Ellis Island Records website. Many of "our" Walklets are listed on there. Information about New Jersey (which was where Tom Walklet settled), as well as some census lookups can be obtained via a forum on New Jersey. Tom lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey which also has a forum for further enquiries into the location.

Bradbeer

The Bradbeer tree goes as far back as James Bradbeer (b.1832) who was the forefather of the Stoke branch of the Bradbeers. Links prior to James Bradbeer are tenuous and there is currently some doubt as to the link all the way back to the "infamous" Sarah Bradbeare of Pitminster. The definitive answer to all Bradbeer-related questions can be sought from Tony Milward, who is conducting the Bradbeer One-Name Study. The Bradbeer Newsletter which Tony produces is packed with information relating to the name. Other Bradbeer family trees can be seen at World Connect and at the The Youngs of Eudlo site run by Joe Young which details the Australian Bradbeer descendents. I have also posted a request for Somerset Bradbeer information in the Online English Names Research Directory. The Bradbeer Genealogical Forum is another resource.

More Distant Branches

I do have some information for the Reeves, Tams, Hitchin/Hitchen, Gilbert and Bagnall branches of the family tree, although the sheer volume of information makes it hard to find the time to research these parts of the tree. All information is still very welcome though.

RESOURCES

Births, Marriages & Deaths

Free BMD is a project which aims to put entries from the Births, Marriages and Deaths index online. There is also a site called 1837 Online which has a complete set of GRO records. I used to check The UK BDM Exchange to see if any of these certificates had already been requested, although it is now a subscription site. The information can be purchased from the General Records Office.

Census Records

The 1901 Census is online, and a fair bit of information can be gleaned from it free of charge. There is a charge though to view the full array of information. Ancestors can be found via the Mormon's Family Search Internet Genealogy Service site, as this allows searching through the International Genealogical Index. It also has an online version of the 1881 census. Incidentally, if you're one of my descendents reading this years after I've left this mortal coil and are considering assimilating me posthumously into the Mormon clan, I'll come back and haunt you. Some lookups for the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1891 census can also be done via the FreeCEN project, although the data for Staffordshire is still quite sparse. 1837 Online has the complete 1861 census as a pay-per-view service. Ancestry.co.uk also have the 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891 and 1901 census entries which can be viewed on a pay-per-view basis.

Miscellaneous Resources

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission site is full of the names of soldiers who were killed in action; I've found Finney and Bradbeer relatives in there so far. GENUKI is worth going to for a good overall grounding in genealogy, as well as links to many useful records. There's an interesting site called The Black Sheep & Police Indexes which lists the names of Criminals and Policemen taken from historical UK newspaper reports. Obviously all my ancestors fall into the latter category, although as yet I've still not found anything via this avenue of research. The site also has an index of Mining Reports now, as well as a Railway Index, a Great War and a WWII Index. Some surname lookups can be done via the SurnameWeb site. There is also a promising pay-per-view Family History Online site. There is an index of surnames which have Memorial Inscriptions transcribed which is worth checking.

Stoke-on-Trent information

There is a Staffordshire Lookup Exchange for the swapping of family information. To get a good idea of what life in Stoke was like, the late Fred Leigh wrote several books which are well worth reading. Steve Birks has a comprehensive website on Stoke-on-Trent which has much on the area including a virtual walk of Hartshill Cemetery and a section for Stoke-on-Trent surname interests. The local newspaper is called The Sentinel. There is a Staffordshire BMD page with incomplete listings of the BMD index for Staffordshire. I recently found a page allowing for a search of landowners in Staffordshire in 1873.