19th Century 1800-1899
Quarter Sessions’ Record Index
January 27, 2022
Our Bookstall Manager, Elaine Boyes, has indexed some of the Hampshire Quarter Sessions records and they are now available in the Members’ Area of the website as well as writing an article about the records As many of you know my area of research is the Swing Riots. Since the archives opened again, and HGS […] – read more…
The Name Game
November 23, 2019
As part of the preparations for a forthcoming village booklet on Burghclere I did a search through the HRO CALM Index for any relevant details. I found what appeared to be an interesting marriage license. – read more…
Protestant Dissenters Burials Grounds
August 22, 2019
There is an interesting insight into the use of separate burial grounds for dissenters written onto the first page of the burial register for the Christchurch Independent Church that is in reference RG4/399. – read more…
Young Lovers in Alton
April 4, 2019
A brief paragraph in the 15th of February 1873 issue of the Hampshire Telegraph announced the death of Ellen FOWLER in Alton, the wife of George who was a millwright’s apprentice. On the face of it this was nothing unusual except that the report gave the ages of the couple; Ellen was only 15 – read more…
Portsmouth Road Names (Then and Now)
April 3, 2019
Some of the streets of Portsmouth and Portsea mentioned in the old registers and census returns have had their names changed over the years. In the following table are a few of them which were originally shown in our Journal the Hampshire Family Historian of November 1985. Vol XII No. 3 pages 192-193. – read more…
Discord in Marriage
February 10, 2019
Interesting little snippets from some of the old newspapers include brief advertisements where husbands have declared that they will not be responsible for their wife’s debts. One item from James LINDSAY appeared in the Hampshire Chronicle printed on 4th September 1820. He said that he would not be answerable for any debts incurred by his […] – read more…
Bigamy in 1820
November 19, 2018
The Hampshire Chronicle printed on 5th June 1820 carried a brief article on page 4 referring to three prisoners who had been committed to the County Gaol. One of the prisoners had been accused of bigamy but whereas most bigamists were men this was a woman. – read more…
Tragedy off Hurst Castle
August 18, 2018
Identical reports in the Hampshire Chronicle and Hampshire Telegraph, both published on 14th February 1820, describe a tragedy that happened off Hurst Castle on Friday 5th February. – read more…
Benefits of the Wills Beneficiary Index (WBI)
July 31, 2018
Wills can be a wonderful source of information for family historians. The WBI, centred on Hampshire, contains the names of people that have been extracted by volunteers from many of the wills that are held in the HRO. – read more…
Poor Law Union Gazette – 2
July 14, 2018
Another interesting entry appeared in the Poor Law Union Gazette on 25 April 1857 naming Lewis POSNER, formerly of Southampton, who the Southampton Union would like to get their hands on. – read more…
Poor Law Union Gazette – 1
March 29, 2018
Newspapers are a very good source of information on some of our ancestors but they rarely give such detailed information on individuals as that found in the Poor Law Union Gazette. – read more…
Hampshire County Lunatic Asylum
February 19, 2018
In the 1840s there was a legal requirement for every county to have its own asylum, the result being that Hampshire purchased the land at Knowle Farm near Fareham in order to construct the Hampshire County Lunatic Asylum. – read more…
Portsmouth Independent Orange Street Register
January 2, 2018
Mixed Independent details in Portsmouth v.2 Orange Street Independent register Many interesting entries appear in the 1785 to 1837 Independent register for the Orange Street chapel. Some entries include the address where baptisms took place while others have additional details. An example was Octavius Henry JACKSON who was born on 6 February 1829 and […] – read more…
Hardship Cases in a Portsmouth Court – Correction
June 26, 2017
HGS member David Hall has kindly pointed out an error in the original post I added to the website in October 2014. I had incorrectly stated that William Jeremiah ATRILL married Elizabeth GRIFFITHS on 2 July 1808. These details are correct but the William in the court case was a labourer who married Elizabeth THOMPSON in Alverstoke […] – read more…
MEMORIAL INSCRIPTION CORRECTIONS
May 24, 2017
Two errors in the HGS Memorial Inscriptions for Longparish and Southampton Hill Lane Cemetery have recently been found. The one in Longparish is on a memorial inside the church, number 162 in our index, where it gives the dates for William Arthur DURNFORD as being 1653 – 1940. William was obviously not nearly 300 years […] – read more…
Odiham School Teacher
February 26, 2017
Teacher at a private school in Odiham around 1900 Ellen Valentine James HGS member Peter GODWIN’s Great Aunt was Ellen Valentine JAMES. She was the youngest of three sisters and was born on St. Valentine’s Day 14 February 1869 in Notting Hill. Her parents were Henry George JAMES who had married Ellen MOREY in the […] – read more…
Inquest verdict of Visitation of God
January 27, 2017
Term used in a coroner’s verdict to explain an unexplained death Hampshire inquests The Hampshire coroner’s records were all destroyed which means that no official records exist. The best remaining source is from local newspaper reports though not every inquest and verdict was reported. When reported the content varied from very brief to quite detailed. Examples of […] – read more…
Harmony Hall later Queenwood College
October 23, 2016
Two unique educational establishments in East Tytherley Harmony Hall In 1839 Sir Francis GOLDSMID leased land at East Tytherley to socialist reformer Robert OWEN. His aim was to create a pioneering project in community living. The house he built could accommodate 700 but never reached this number. Harmony Hall was one of several similar places […] – read more…
Uncle Tom of Portsmouth
October 7, 2016
Looking through old bits and pieces can prove rewarding Gordon Brine Many older HGS members will remember my husband Gordon BRINE who unfortunately died on 8 May 2007. As often happens at these times documents, photos and other memorabilia get put away. These tend to become forgotten over the years. Sorting through some of Gordon’s […] – read more…
Fordingbridge rabies death
September 30, 2016
Fordingbridge boy dies from rabies The Hampshire Telegraph published on 17 July 1826 reported the death of James HASKEL. On 18 June he was attacked by a rabid dog. The bites around the face were so severe that treatment was difficult. At that time treatment for rabies was very limited. The surgeon Mr. BUDD from Fordingbridge […] – read more…
Help from Memorial Inscriptions
August 30, 2016
Why look at memorial inscriptions?
Often overlooked are details on memorial inscriptions. These can provide information not found elsewhere. – read more…
“Lost” an Ancestor before 1837
August 30, 2016
Have you an ancestor you cannot find before 1837? Have you thought that they may be non-conformists? Ancestry have scanned the non-conformist registers handed to the authorities in 1837. – read more…
Death notices in old Hampshire newspapers
November 17, 2015
Death notices in old Hampshire newspapers can reveal useful information about the deceased. Among the deaths listed in the Hampshire Advertiser of 22 December 1855 were several interesting announcements of deaths home and abroad. Combine the details with information from HGS parish indexes and a personal story emerges. – read more…
West Meon infanticide 1830
November 10, 2015
On 28 January 1830 Frances MARCH aged 32 drowned her infant child Amelia and then herself. The drowning occured in a tub of water usually used as a foot-bath. Her husband Lancelot Foquett March and mother-in-law Mary March were absent at the time. – read more…
Greywell re-marriage in 1855
June 15, 2015
Francis FREEMAN and Sarah Ann ROGERS from Odiham, Hampshire had legally married in 1854. The Hampshire Advertiser reports how they were then induced by their local curate in Greywell to a re-marriage in 1855. – read more…
Hampshire Murder in Swanwick, 1899
March 1, 2015
The 1899 Hampshire murder of young Dorcas HOUGHTON resulted in nationwide publicity.
Eighteen year old Dorcas was killed in Swanwick by her jilted boyfriend Charles MAIDMENT aged 22. Despite a plea of insanity Charles was found guilty and hanged 3 months later. – read more…
1855 Portsea hospital bed shortage
February 22, 2015
An 1855 Portsea Hospital bed shortage raised concerns when a man who was turned away later died. – read more…
Portsmouth police gas explosion in 1855
December 13, 2014
This account of an explosion in a Portsmouth dockyard police station in 1855 should serve as a cautionary tale of the dangers of mixing gas with a naked flame. – read more…
Who was Sweet Fanny Adams?
October 20, 2014
The phrase ‘sweet Fanny Adams’ is still used today, but where did it originate? The story of the brutal murder of 8 year old Fanny from Alton is told here by a descendant of one of Fanny’s cousins. – read more…
Hardship cases in a Portsmouth court
October 19, 2014
After the Napoleonic wars many suffered hardship that often resulted in lawbreaking and people being taken to court. William ATRELL and John CHAMBERLAIN were two such cases reported in the Hampshire Telegraph in 1817. – read more…