Publications
A whole heap of luck, by Kathleen McGurl, published September 2009 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 7, article, pp.344-347) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508974] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Preview:My name is Kathleen McGurl, and I am the 31*great-granddaughter of William the Conqueror, the 38*great-granddaughter of Alfred the Great, and the 51*great-granddaughter of Cerdic, King of Wessex from AD519-534. I hope I have counted up correctly.
I began researching my family tree in February, when I heard the 1911 census was available online. Idly, I wondered if I'd be able to find my maternal grandfather's family. With an unusual name like METHOLD (piece of luck number one) and knowing he came from Worthing, I thought I'd be in with a good chance.
I found him in about five minutes flat, Cyril Jack METHOLD, born 1902 in Worthing. It was then easy to follow his father and grandfather back on FindMyPast using the METHOLD name, and within an evening I'd got to 1841, and my greatgreat-great-grandfather, Henry METHOLD.
And then it began to get interesting.
I began researching my family tree in February, when I heard the 1911 census was available online. Idly, I wondered if I'd be able to find my maternal grandfather's family. With an unusual name like METHOLD (piece of luck number one) and knowing he came from Worthing, I thought I'd be in with a good chance.
I found him in about five minutes flat, Cyril Jack METHOLD, born 1902 in Worthing. It was then easy to follow his father and grandfather back on FindMyPast using the METHOLD name, and within an evening I'd got to 1841, and my greatgreat-great-grandfather, Henry METHOLD.
And then it began to get interesting.
An unpaid baker's bill, by Kath McGurl, published December 2009 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 8, article, pp.410-411) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508993] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Preview:A new website, which allows you to search online a selection of British newspapers from the 19th century, provided me with proof that my conjectures about an ancestor were correct. The website is http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs and it is well worth investigating.
I'd been researching Henry METHOLD of Worthing. He's my great-great-greatgrandfather. I knew quite a lot about him from the census reports and other records, and from reading his will. He was born around 1794 in Beamish, County Durham, and he was well-off. I'm not sure when he moved to Sussex, but in 1829 he married a woman named Caroline CLARK in Chichester. Later he lived on Marine Parade, Worthing - see my article 'A whole heap of luck' in September's SFH.
I'd been researching Henry METHOLD of Worthing. He's my great-great-greatgrandfather. I knew quite a lot about him from the census reports and other records, and from reading his will. He was born around 1794 in Beamish, County Durham, and he was well-off. I'm not sure when he moved to Sussex, but in 1829 he married a woman named Caroline CLARK in Chichester. Later he lived on Marine Parade, Worthing - see my article 'A whole heap of luck' in September's SFH.
Filling in the blanks, by Kathleen McGurl, published December 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 4, article, pp.178-180) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508845] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Preview:What do you do when you've exhausted all lines of enquiry and still can't find all the answers you are looking for? You make them up. I expect half the readers of this article have now thrown the magazine in disgust across the room and are already penning angry letters to the editor, but for the remaining half, let me explain.
I've been researching the METHOLD family of Worthing and I've written about them in earlier issues. Briefly my great-great-great-grandfather Henry METHOLD married Caroline CLARK in 1829, left her within a few years of the wedding, and set up home on Marine Parade with a servant, Jemima TWINE, with whom he had 13 children. I've found out a lot about the family since my previous articles - and have had substantial help from my new-found second-cousin-twice-removed Rosemary Pearson who is also descended from Henry and Jemima. I've also found out a lot about Henry's roots.
I've been researching the METHOLD family of Worthing and I've written about them in earlier issues. Briefly my great-great-great-grandfather Henry METHOLD married Caroline CLARK in 1829, left her within a few years of the wedding, and set up home on Marine Parade with a servant, Jemima TWINE, with whom he had 13 children. I've found out a lot about the family since my previous articles - and have had substantial help from my new-found second-cousin-twice-removed Rosemary Pearson who is also descended from Henry and Jemima. I've also found out a lot about Henry's roots.