CONTENTS Vol 25, No 2 Summer 2000 Editorial ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 34 A Midwife Accused .................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Letters to the Editor .................................................................................................................................................................... 35 News ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 Brown Burials .............................................................................................................................................................................. 37 Searching for my 42nd Cousins ............................................................................................................ by Christine Hawkins 38 The Dufours ................................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Timothy Hackworth: 150 Years On ................................................................................................................ by Lilick Loring 40 Burke's Ear .................................................................................................................................................................................. 41 Tracing Your Family History in Northumberland and County Durham .......................................... by Geoff Nicholson 42 The Egyptian Connection .............................................................................................................................. by James Blenkin 44 An almost unknown Genealogical Resource .............................................................................................. by William Neil 45 The Auckland .......................................................................................................................... by James Blackwood Weatherill 46 Cholera and the Andersons .......................................................................................................................... by David Morris 47 The Librarian looks at some New and Old Items at Bolbec Hall ........................................................................................ 50 Twenty Years Ago ...................................................................................................................................................................... 51 The Hutton Connections ................................................................................................................................ by Gerald Pearce 5.2 Burials at Smithesdale, Victoria ................................................................................................................................................ 53 Newcastle Stobarts ........................................................................................................................................ by Walter Stobart 55 NDFHS Audiotape Library .............................................................................................................................. by Edith Styan 57 Members' Interests and Queries .............................................................................................................................................. 58 More Burials at Smithesdale, Victoria ...................................................................................................................................... 65 Advertisements ............................................................................................................................................................................ 66 Diary .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 68 Please note any advertisements have been accepted by the Northumberland and Durham FHS, as a service to members, and in good faith. The Society is in no way responsible for any services performed and cannot become involved in any way, or in any disputes which may arise. The Society reserves the right to refuse any advertisements, without giving reasons. ALL ITEMS IN THIS JOURNAL © 2000 NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY AND ITS CONTRIBUTORS. Durham Wills 1858 WANTED PLEASE! CORRECTION BOLBEC HALL needs more VOLUNTEERS to staff the Centre and help new members. We have been informed by Durham University Monday mornings and Tuesdays especially, but Library Archives and Special Collections that no offers for any weekday will be much original wills survive for 1858 (see last journal, Spring 2000, p22). The only available documents appreciated. Shifts last 3 hours, I Oam-1 pm and are the Register Copy Wills which are bound into 1 pm-4pm. Please contact Sheila Senior or large volumes, making it impossible for Gerry Langley. photocopies to be provided. INDEXERS for various ongoing projects, e.g. Researchers might like to note that the Durham Wills (but not Administrations) are available on merging two large card indexes bequeathed microfilm at Morpeth Record Centre. by Don Mason and Bill Rounce; transcribing parish registers in Record Offices; inputting We apologise for any disappointment the article data (very easy!). Please contact Gerry Langley may have caused. at Bolbec Hall if interested. EDITORIAL IAW Geoff Nicholson's article on Monumental Inscriptions The Society has welcomed a very large number of new reminds us of the value of gravestones (or MI's as they members these past few months, hence the unusually are generally called by family historians), as a source for lengthy Members' Interests pages. You should in this family history. A few churchyards in the North-east journal be able to find a form to complete for the latest had their MI's recorded by local antiquarians before the NDFHS Directory of Members' Interests. This First World War, but from that time to the early 1970's, undertaking would not have been possible, were it not very little was done to carry on the work. Then a tiny for the generous offer by Raymond McSorley to group, mainly founder members of the Society, started compile the Directory on our behalf - an enormous on what was essentially a rescue operation. The aim amount of work for which the Society will be more was to record as many as possible of the pre-1851 than grateful. The Directory should make its gravestones as a first step, in the assumption that appearance some time in 2001. census returns from 1851 onwards would help towards revealing the family groups that MI's so helpfully record. I have more than once heard critics say that it was 'wrong' to record only the pre-1851 stones; but, in With so many new members, and considering the large the face of the rapid deterioration of our burial grounds, number of overseas readers who may not be familiar the need was urgent and the workers few. The critics with British archives, I have taken it upon myself to try were not around to help in 1970. out a new idea in this journal. Whether ordering books or fiche from the Society, or simply organising a day's Since the 1970's, however, a very large amount of MI research at one of our Record Offices, it is important to recording has been done, but much remains, and in the have a clear idea of just what research areas to plan for. fine weather which this summer will hopefully bring, It is becoming increasingly difficult to book a place in more volunteers will sally forth with notebooks and any Record Office, and in the bustling atmosphere of recorders to carry on the good work. Whether your the search rooms, where time is at a premium and favoured spot is an ancient or Victorian churchyard, a concentration is sometimes difficult, a written research cemetery, or a yard where the post-1851 stones have as plan in the form of a check-list can help to keep one on yet to be recorded: if you are interested in recording the the straight-and-narrow. MI's, don't forget to check with Gordon Corbett, our MI's co-ordinator, before you start. The work may Accordingly, I thought I would try an experiment: a already have been done, even though it may not yet be photocopiable checklist of the 54 indexes of the 1851 available to researchers. Given the all clear by Gordon, census for Northumberland, to test the water among liaise with the local church/cemetery authorities, and the readership. Whether you feel that such a list is take a few friends to help with the copying; it can be useful or not, do drop me a line. I have in mind to lonely and time-consuming work if you tackle it by appeal for other ideas for checklists but need to know whether this is an idea worth pursuing before I do so. yourself. As always, unless you are able to send an e-mail, please note that I shall only be able to answer those of you Finally may I back up Geoff's warning on the reliability who send the traditional stamped addressed envelope of MI's as a source for research, recalling Samuel or two International Reply Coupons. Should your Johnson's dictum on gravestones: 'In lapidary response be favourable, I hope to produce a