Doncaster Family History Society

Compiled by: Maureen Hambrecht

1      When did civil registration of births, deaths & marriages begin in England & Wales?

a)      1827 b) 1837 c) 1857

2      An inventory does not include the house and any outbuildings

True / False

3      In which century was the English Civil War?

a) 1500s b) 1600s c) 1700s

4      The “Ridings” of Yorkshire got their name from being an area which could be ridden across in 1 day

True / False

5      What do the initials IGI stand for?

a) International Genealogical Institute
b) International Genealogical index
c) International Genealogy Incorporated

6      How many Anglican Archbishops were there in 1750?

a) 2
b) 3
c) 4

7      What was a Wapentake?

a) A Norman Spear used for hunting
b) A heraldic device used on shields
c) An administrative area in Yorkshire

8      In the 1600s & early 1700s, it was legal to sell your wife

True / False

9      If you look up BT’s, what are you looking at ?

a) Bishops’ Tithes
b) Bishops’ Transcripts
c) Buildings Tax returns

10      In which century was the Crimean War?

a) 1700s b) 1800s c) 1900s

11      Doncaster borough had only one church in 1831

True / False

12      When were parish registers introduced in England & Wales

a) 1538 b) 1598 c) 1601

13      Where are the East Yorkshire Archives ?

a) Hull b) Scarborough c) Beverley

14      Where are the North Yorkshire Archives?

a) Middlesbrough b) Northallerton c) York

15      Under Cromwell, marriages often took place in the open market place.

True / False

16      Which was the first UK census to give names and addresses?

a) 1831 b) 1841 c) 1851

17      What was a ‘cockloft’

a) part of the barn where the poultry were kept
b) a beam across the hen-hut, where the cockerels roosted
c) the part of the house between the upper ceiling and the roof

18      What relation to me is my cousin’s son?

a) 2nd cousin b) half-cousin c) first cousin once removed

19      Protestant Methodists, Bible Christians and Methodist New Connexion were all three types of Methodist Churches in the early 19th century

True / False

20      What was a ‘pettifogger’?

a) a low class lawyer
b) someone who sold small tools, nails, etc
c) someone who emptied the ‘petties’ or earth-closets

21      What was a ‘prison hulk’?

a) the strongest man in the prison, given privileges to keep the others in order
b) the main punishment block of the prison
c) dismantled ships, used as floating prisons

22      ‘Half-baptized’ was when illegitimate children were baptized without any father being present

True / False

23      From what date did probate become a civil matter, so wills from then are in the PRO?

a) 1837 b)1851 c) 1858

24      In what year did Britain switch from the ‘old style’ Julian Calendar to the ‘new style Gregorian Calendar?

a) 1682 b) 1707 c) 1752

25      What were Recusants?

a) Benches for the poor at the back of a church
b) People who were excommunicated, and wished to repent and rejoin church
c) Catholics and other non-conformists

26      Wapentake was used in Yorkshire and other places which had had Danish occupation. What was the equivalent word in Southern England?

© Maureen Hambrecht

Answers

1      b) - in 1837.

You can be fairly sure marriages and burials will be there, but births were only made compulsory in 1875 - prior to that many missing. Remember - the indexes are not foolproof!!

2      True -

They may be included in a will, and mentioned in the inventory to pin-point the goods assessed, but the inventory is of moveable goods only - and often will include bedclothes, but no bed, if it is ‘built-in’. Inventories also include debts, both owed and due to the deceased

3      b) - 1600s. 

Began August 1642, really ended with execution of Charles I 30 January 1649, though battles against the Scots until 1652. We then had what is known as the Commonwealth. After Oliver Cromwell died in September 1656 (pneumonia) his son Richard took over his position as Lord Protector, but he wasn’t a man like his father, and when he abdicated in1659, they got Charles back and in 1660 he was crowned Charles II. (Restoration) Incidentally, his regnal years date from the death of Charles I not Charles II’s coronation

4      False -

They come from the old word ‘thirding’ meaning a third part - which is what there were only three - East, North, and West

5      b) - International Genealogical index -

Published by the Church of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons. An index of baptisms and marriages - but beware - not all parishes are there completely, and any index is only as good as the people who indexed it!! Available at the Research Centre, the library, on the Internet and at the Mormon centres

6      a) - 2

There were - and still are - two. The Archbishop of York and the Archbishop of Canterbury

7      c) - An administrative area in Yorkshire and other counties in the North . 

You need to know which wapentake your ancestor’s home town was in, as Hearth Tax returns, for example, are arranged by wapentake, as are a number of other official returns. White’s directory is also arranged this way.

8      False - 

It was sometimes done, and one can find accounts in the local papers, but it was not actually legal, and if the man remarried, he would be committing bigamy

9      b) - Bishops’ Transcripts. - 

Copies of entries in the parish register, made, officially, by the churchwardens, and submitted annually to the bishop. Very useful if registers are missing or unreadable, and sometimes differ slightly from the register. For this area, kept at the Borthwick, York, but can be seen on film at the Doncaster Archives

10      b) - 1800s

Began in 1854 with Britain France & Turkey fighting Russia, and ended with Russian defeat in 1856. Famous battles include the year-long Siege of Sebastopol (Sept 1854-Sept 1855), the Battle of Balaklava (Charge of the Light Brigade) and Battle of Inkerman. Fought with regular soldiers. All records should be in the PRO

11      True -

Until Christ Church was opened in the 1840s There were churches in Armthorpe, Hatfield etc, but these were quite separate from Doncaster. As the population of the Borough in 1831 was about 10,000, and the then parish church held one thousand, it is obvious not all went regularly. 

But where did they go when the Parish church burnt down in March 1853? They cannot all have got into Christ Church - think about that when you cannot find the entry you are searching for!! (Could they have held Christenings back until the St George’s was rebuilt??)

12      a) - 1538 -

Thomas Cromwell ordered that a record of baptisms, marriages and burials should be kept, and entered weekly after Sunday service. After 1598 they were ordered to be kept on parchment, and earlier paper entries to be copied up. In many parishes these earlier entries were either lost or unreadable and were not copied, so the registers start later

13      c) - Beverley -

Though wills and some Parish Registers are at the Borthwick, York - see Phillimore

14      b) - 

Northallerton - present North York's - including Selby, though wills and many of the Parish registers are in the Borthwick, York - see Phillimore. (York has own City archives)

15      True -

Sometimes recorded in the parish registers.From 1653 ‘Parish Registers’ or Registrars were appointed, and from then to 1657 a marriage could be solemnised by a JP providing that banns had been read on three successive weeks in church or in the market place. Such marriages were no the norm - often it was the parish priest who was the registrar, so the marriage was entered in the register as usual. in many parishes the new ruling was ignored. In 1660 (Restoration) the Act was repealed, but all marriages under it were declared to be legal

16      b) - 1841. 

Censuses were taken from1801, but only the statistical information was kept. However, some local lists were kept, and are occasionally found in with the parish records. The 1851 census also records the person’s birthplace, so is the most useful to family historians, which is why it has been so widely indexed

17      c) -

The part of the house between the upper ceiling and the roof - ( now the loft )
Often used generally for a loft or attic room. Found in inventories when goods stored there.

18      c) - 

First cousin once removed -
I and children of my aunt or uncle are first cousins. Our children are second cousins, our grandchildren - third cousins etc. Where there is a generation difference, we called it ‘removed’ So the children of my first cousin are first cousins once removed, the grandchildren of my first cousin are first cousins twice removed etc (see Enquire within p178)

19      True - 

Methodism was founded around 1740 through the preaching of John Wesley, but split later into several different groups including these three - Methodist New Connexion in 1797, Bible Christians in 1815, and Protestant Methodists in 1828. Most of the splinter groups eventually joined together again

20      a)

A low class lawyer. 
A ‘fogger’ was originally used for a pedlar, but was later used for various other occupations, including a groom, a manservant, or even a farm labourer. Why the lawyer should be a pettifogger, implying even lower than these, I don’t know!!

21      c) -

The main body of dismantled ships which were used as floating prisons -
Partly to relieve pressure on the prisons, especially in London, and partly to make escape more difficult. (see Great Expectations)

22      False - 

It was a private baptism, which could be because of the parents’ social standing, or, more likely, an emergency baptism on an ill baby, so that it could be buried in the churchyard

23      c) - 1858. 

All wills which went through probate after this date are in the PRO, though Wakefield Archives have Calendars of these wills for the West Riding (shortened versions) so probably other archives do. indexes also exist.

24      1752 -

Until then the year began on March 25th. That means that 9 months after March 25th 1700 would be Christmas 1700, followed by January 1700, February 1700, and up to March 24th 1700. the following day was march 25th 1701 ( We refer to these months Jan - Mar 24 as 1700/1.) Most of the rest of Europe changed in the 1500s and even Scotland had the new-style calendar since 1600!! Apart from the year end problem, the old calendar was, by 1751, 11 days out with the new. So Chesterfield’s Act made Jan 1st the beginning of the year, and 11 days in September 1752 were omitted, to bring us into line with the other countries - which caused an uproar!!

25      c) - 

Catholics and other non-conformists -
Also known as ‘dissenters’ who refused to conform to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England. From 1581, anyone who refused to attend church on Sundays and Holy days could be heavily fined by the Sheriff, and details of the Recusant, his lands, income, fines etc entered on Recusant Rolls, which continue for about a century, and are held in the PRO

26)      Hundred -

Is the same as Wapentake

© Maureen Hambrecht