Expr
It
has only been during the past 8 years that I have turned my attention towards
collating information on U.S. born Covingtons. All my early work concentrated on
those born, married or died in the United Kingdom.
My
living in England and restrictions of funds were the main reason for
concentrating on the U.K. but since the expansion of the internet and access to
genealogical sites
on the Worldwide Web my horizons have expanded.
That
said apart from kind contributions from numerous U.S. based Covingtons, most of
the information from the U.S. has not been confirmed by my own direct research.
For the U.K., I have personally logged details on every Covington in the General
Register Office.
There
is no simple road in genealogy, no idiot's guide unless you are happy enough to
just follow the General Register Office records. You will need to use all the
resources available, if you wish to finish your tree (personally I believe it is
impossible to completely finish a tree). My project has just aimed at recording
the lives of anybody named Covington. It is not true genealogy, in that I have
not tried to follow all the branches of a tree, just the one's named Covington.
To
most budding Covingtonists, I would recommend either
a lengthy download of data from this site or applying to me for the whole lot on CD,
to start you on your way. Your skills will then be tested to provide the
branches away from the Covington line, or in some cases back to other parts of
our line.
Once
my database contacts have been exhausted, I suggest that you consider making
contact with some of the following:
·
Any
major library has many genealogy books worth a read, particularly those which
give the meanings of names.
·
The
Family Records Centre, 1 Myddelton Street, Islington, ECIR 1UW. is a major
source of material. By referring to their many Indexes you can order one of a
variety of certificates to help your study along. But beware it can prove to be
expensive, particularly if you order the wrong John Smith birth certificate.
The building also houses the Census records.
A birth certificate will give you: place & date of birth, sex, full
names, parent's names, including mother's
maiden name and father's occupation.
A
marriage certificate shows: place & date of marriage, names, ages, marital
status, occupations and addresses of bride and groom, names and addresses of
both fathers and names of witnesses.
A
death certificate gives: place, date, cause of death, full name, sex, age at
death, occupation of deceased and name of informant.
The
GRO also keep Service Records, births, marriages and deaths for Army, Navy and
Air Force as well as Consular, Overseas and Adoption Records.
The
Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London, EC1 is well worth
checking out, particularly the Great Card Index and Boyd's Marriage Index. A
full day searching costs £10 (1997 price) for non-members, but you will need to
be well prepared, having already got a good knowledge of your family tree.
The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can be found at 64-68 Exhibition
Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2PA. Their Family History Centre, amongst
other fascinating documents provides access to the International Genealogical
Index. Well worth a visit and no need to become
a Mormon !
JUST A
LITTLE DEEPER INTO FAMILY HISTORY
After
you have compiled your family tree, you may look at the sheets of paper in front
of you and ask the following question about each individual on your chart;
"Who was he, or she? What were they really like? How did they
live?" "What sort of an environment did they live in?"
Where
known, I have included a brief pen-picture about some individuals but this only
tells you a very small amount about the person. It tells you little about his
lifestyle, his surroundings, or the state of the country at the time of his
life. Nowadays we take so much for granted that our ancestors couldn't possibly
enjoy. Take out electricity, motor cars, running hot & cold water,
television, overseas holidays, city centre stores and supermarkets from our
current lifestyle and our existence would seem a little bland. However, if one
believes the saying "You don't miss what you've never had", we can be
happy that our ancestors were not too disillusioned with their lot.
A
particularly sad element of their lifestyle was the enormity of the number of
child deaths which occurred. It seems quite commonplace, for a couple to lose 3,
4 or 5 children before they were 1 year old. It is difficult, nowadays, to
relate to this situation, as very few birth or early childhood mortalities
occur. Today, when they do happen, they are usually classified as still-births
or blamed on cot death, very occasionally some serious physical ailment, such as
heart, lung or kidney malfunction is responsible. However in years gone by many,
now insignificant illnesses such as Measles and Whooping Cough resulted in
infant death. Many simply didn't make it through the trauma of actual
childbirth, where few, but the offspring of the very rich, would have been
delivered by a qualified physician.
According
to the 1851 census, out of 1000 live births, 154 died before reaching 1. In 1986
it was 9.6 deaths per 1000. Those that did survive circa 1841, lived to an
average age of 41. Today the average age at death is nearer 75.
An
example of how we often forget how things used to be struck me when I was
researching my Great Grandfather's life. I had found that he had been a driver
in the Royal Artillery. Not a bad job, I thought, chauffeuring the Colonel
around, perhaps, or maybe even driving the ammunitions truck. But no, because in
1880 there were very few limousines or Bedford trucks, so Driver Covington was
actually in charge of a team of horses pulling a gun carriage. Many of his
family were agricultural labourers or straw plait workers, both of which were
working in a very labour intensified industry, no tractors or combine harvesters
in those days. No wonder they died so young!
Often
a good place to start when trying to get a wider picture of your Covington is
the place where he or she lived. Whilst the majority of buildings over 200 years
old have long since disappeared, you will usually be able to visit the church
where your ancestor was baptized, married or buried. A visit to the nearest
library can help with useful background information, sometimes old street maps
and photographs add to your view of what life was like.
Don't
be only satisfied with the local environment, it is interesting to find out What
taxes were payable?, Who was King or Queen? (Would your ancestor have actually
even seen a picture of the Queen?). Who was Prime Minister? Were we at war? What
schooling was available? (many children started work at 9 years of age right up
to the end of the 19th century). If nothing else, it makes History a much more
interesting subject than I can remember it being during my schooling years
An interesting approach is to list your own lifestyle, showing
your job description, salary, pastimes, food, holidays, means of transport,
communication, entertainments and clothing, and then trying to compare them with
your chosen ancestor. It is only when you begin to see how your ancestors lived
that you perhaps feel a little less dissatisfied with your own lot!
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