New scanner, very excited

My old scanner hasn't worked for months now and I have been copying certificates by photographing them, which just isn't as good as using a scanner, scanners are so nice and smooth and give nice clear copies. So I ordered a new one and its a little portable one, so in theory I can carry around with my laptop, which I probably won't do but I could if I wanted to.

Anyway as well as the scanner arriving today the will of Thomas Brown also arrived, he died on the 7 Feb 1889 and his will was drawn up on 14 April 1884, I have attached a copy.

It is really interesting as it confirms that daughter Isabella did marry Robert Park, Martha did marry James Batty and I presume the "son in law William Hayston of Borwick" is the William Haston husband of Margaret Agnes, who I believed died the year before Thomas drew up his will. Isn't it a good feeling when you receive a document that gives you so much information. There is a line on it that isn't very clear, it does mention daughter Ann and gives her married surname but because its been added in its difficult to read. If anybody has any ideas on what it says please let me know.

Right well I will go back to my scanning.

Kendal Records Office

Well I finally got to Kendal, car park at the Records office was full to spilling over, so anybody wanting to visit there don't bother trying to get on the car park in the morning. So I had to find another car park, luckily there is a shopping centre close by so I parked on there.

So in I go, I have to say the staff there are absolutely lovely, really helpful, I always hate asking for help as staff in records offices are usually so busy, but at Kendal they are great they take the time to help everybody who comes through the door.

Unfortunately I still haven't found Ellen Wilson's father, but I am now quite sure its not Thomas Brown as I did find her marriage in the Kirby Lonsdale parish records and although it was difficult to read it does not say Thomas Brown, although it is a Thomas it looks more like Boote or Booth. I have got a copy of the marriage cert. from the GRO but it is a typed copy and the fathers name is obviously mis-transcribed.

So anyway I had taken a list of people I wanted to find including all Ellen Wilson's half siblings baptisms. Which I was successful with most of them, and also a couple of their deaths.

One of Ellen's half sisters was Elizabeth Mary Brown and I was so excited to find a letter that had been put in the parish records, so therefore somebody had kindly copied it when they copied the registers onto the microfilm. It is dated 7 Apr 1932, she would have been 77 at the time.

It's a sweet little letter asking for a copy of her baptism record, she has detailed her parents names, her full name and the approximate date of her christening and it's spot on with the information I have found for her. But the best thing about this was I didn't know who she married but on her little letter she had signed her name, obviously her married name, which was by this time Elizabeth Mary Bentham. So then I went back to the parish records and found her marriage, the reason why I hadn't found her before was on the marriage register she had put her name as Mary Brown. So I took this information home and checked the census records and fond her on the 1881, 1891 and 1901 census and interestingly she had her name as Mary in 1881 but then has reverted to Elizabeth Mary in 1891 and 1901. Aren't our ancestors a pest keeping changing their names?

I would have taken a copy of the letter but I wasn't using the microfilm that has the printer attached to it and somebody else was using it so will get a copy of it when I next go there, as there is still lots for me to look for there.

Anyway apart from putting a huge scratch down the side of my car when I was reversing out of the car parking space it was a fun day at the Records office.

Ellen Wilson

Ellen Wilson born c1833 Kirby Lonsdale, Westmorland

Well I found a link to my Wilson/Brown line only for the seeds of doubt to who Ellen Wilson's father was to be implanted in my brain.

I had realised that her mother Eleanor Wilson, c1812 Whinfell, Westmorland had married Thomas Brown, c1802 Burton in Lonsdale, Yorkshire in 1838 and they had gone on to have 8 children together, but I had led myself to believe that Ellen was just born before they got married.

But as we all know WE CANNOT PRESUME ANYTHING, so I want/need proof of who her father was. The IGI has not been helpful at all in this case as there is no trace of Ellen's christening so its off to the records office I need to go, hopefully by the end of this week.