FRIDAY FOTO 27 - FAMILY HEIRLOOM - GERMAN BEER STEINS

Focussing on examples of some of the family heirlooms this week. 

In the photo are two German beer steins given to me by my Dad before he passed away. 

He was left them by his uncle, William Laite, whom he became close to after his mother died. Bill was in the Army and the rumour was that he brought them home after a posting over there. 

They are lovingly kept as heirlooms pride of place in our french dresser now. 

#BeerSteins #SeamanFamilyHistory #FamilyHeirlooms

FRIDAY FOTO 19 - ROBERT LAYTE BURIAL PLACE - 1785

Combining a business trip with family history research, a few years back I made a visit to St. Mary's church in Haughley, Suffolk as I'd discovered that my great-grandfather (x6) had been buried here on 11 December 1785. 

Robert Layte was born in 1708 in Suffolk, England.  

He married his wife of German descent, Sarah Kurtz, in 1732 and seems to have lived in the small village for the majority of his life as most of their children were born in the area.

In total, the couple had at least 11 children-- with our immediate family being descended from their sixth-born child Timothy, who was born in 1742.

Over the years, the surname of the family was altered slightly-- either by choice or by it being transcribed incorrectly. Early iterations of the family name used by the branches who lived within the Suffolk and Norfolk areas, were spelt either Layte or Laight. 

By the time our branch of the family left the East Anglia area to move north to Lincolnshire, and to subsequently end up living in Liverpool-- the spelling of the name had changed once again to become Laite or Lait. 

There is a family legend, so far unsubstantiated, that the name is derived from France, and that the family came into England as part of the Huguenot community of immigrants who fled religious persecution in the late 1600's.

Research into this branch of the family continues, but I won't be taking any bets at the moment that the legend will actually be proved true... even if the word 'lait' stands for 'milk' in French!    

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Margaret Eleanor Graham LAIT - HAVING A BREAK!

One for Wordless Wednesday.... my grandmother M.E.G. LAIT (left), having a break at the sweet factory with a friend while wearing her shiny shoes! 

How I wish I could see through them to read the full name on that cart!

Plus an early example of photo-bombing, which at that time, hadn't even been thought of!

FAMILY HISTORY - THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

Thanks to the power of the Internet, and also the kindness of a stranger, I have received this photograph of the headstone on the grave of my 5x great-grandparents, Timothy Lait and Elizabeth Downing.

I had placed a request on the 'Find A Grave' website to ask if someone who lived locally in the small market town of Diss, in Norfolk, could check out the cemetary of St Mary's Church and see if there was an existing headstone in place. My request was answered, and tonight I received this treasure.

Headstone - St Mary's Church, Diss (N.Battley)

The inscription, now rather faded and worn in places, reads:

In memory of Timothy Lait, 
who died July 24th 1809, 
aged 66 years, 
also Elizabeth his wife, 
who died October 28th 1787, 
aged 46 years, 
also of William their son, 
who died February 19th 1797, 
aged 29 years. 

I have visited the town previously, but I did not have sufficient time available to explore the site on that occasion. Thankfully, a kind soul called Nigel Battley has now answered my request, and posted the above photograph on the website.

St Mary's Church, Diss, Norfolk (Diocese)

Researching your family history can at times be difficult, particularly if there is the small obstacle of distance between yourself and your area of interest. But I think this goes to show that thanks to the kindness of strangers and the power of the Internet, there is always hope that you will eventually find what you're looking for.   

MAPPING MONDAY - USING GOOGLE MY MAPS FOR GENEALOGY

One of the more useful features of Google is the ability to use its Mapping facility to keep track of your genealogical data. For the 'Mapping Monday' article, I thought I’d cover a few of the features available which I use.



Above is the shared version of my Seaman Family Burial Site data. This is the default view which I have chosen to share with the general public, but the view - like the levels of security which you can build into the page - can be tailored exactly as you wish. For example, the base image can reflect Earth data as it is here, or configured to show a more simple map graphic. A selection of different colours can be chosen for this as you prefer.
As you can see, each of the cemetaries listed has been given its own layer on the image. These can be turned on and off using the checkboxes to the left of the menu. Selecting either the name of the relative on the left hand menu or on the icon itself on the map, displays an image and other details of the grave site which have been recorded (see below).
 

Editing the maps is great fun and can be achieved using the ‘Edit’ option, (which is only accessible to the map owner and any defined collaborators), to access the Google ‘My Maps’ view (below).


The styles and format of each of the layers is configurable separately… allowing features such as the icons, icon colour, text, grouping of labels, level naming conventions etc. to be changed as required. All changes made are saved to Drive, so unwanted changes can be undone if required. Additional items such as new icons, line drawing on the map, and also distance measurement are also available. New layers can also be easily added as required.


As can be seen above, there is also a direction facility which allows you to include this information on a separate layer on the map if required. This information will feed through to the shared map view (so you could include directions to the grave location from the nearest railway station for example), but this data is not configurable to view only users.


Finally, as can be seen in the example above, if images are captured using a smartphone or digital camera with built in GPS, then the exact location of the graves are recorded against the images. When these are placed into the software, the grave locations can be recorded almost exactly, allowing subsequent researchers to the site the best chance of finding the graves for themselves. 


One final example of how these maps can be most useful is to track the migration of families around the country at various times. The example above shows graphically how my LAIT family relations originated in Norfolk with my 5x great-grandfather, Timothy Lait, and finally ended up in Liverpool with my grandmother Margaret Eleanor Graham LAIT, who I am named after. They made a total journey of 409 kms, which took in excess of 159 years, and crossed six generations (eight if you include myself and my father).

So next time you get a little disheartened trying to break down those brick walls in your core data, open up Google, grab yourself an account, and start mapping those ancestors! 
I guarantee that you’ll enjoy it!

FAMILY HISTORY - CHARLES JOHN LAIT - COACHBUILDER

And another thing....!

Sitting at the desk in my hotel room, checking over various bits of research material I've gathered together, I had almost reached the point of deciding to head off to bed. But before I did I decided to make one final random search to finish off the night…

As the name of my Lait family was fresh in my mind I went for that one, typing just two words into the Yahoo search field of a new browser window - ‘Lait coachbuilder’. The search returned a few interesting references which I took a note of in my ‘things to do list’, but nothing I specifically recognised. In the browser there was the facility to search for images as well as text, and this I did next - amending the search string to read ‘Diss coachbuilder’. I watched in amusement for a few moments as the search returned a great many photographs of car bodies, carts, coaches and buses; all in various stages of disrepair - the majority looking as if they had all seen better days. I scrolled down the page and yawned, almost reaching the point where I needed to pack up the laptop for the night and get off to bed, when my eye spotted something on the page - a small image of an old postcard which had been for sale on eBay in 2012, a street scene… and one which I recognised well.

Mere Street, Diss postcard - 1880 approx.

The location was Mere Street, situated in the small Norfolk town of Diss. It was a photograph of a place I was familiar with, for I had walked ‘virtually’ down the street many times before while conducting my internet research, using Google street view. I had also physically walked there myself on one memorable occasion, taking a small diversion when on my way home from visiting a customer site in nearby Suffolk in my day-job role as an I.T. Consultant.

Cross - Diss, Norfolk.

I’d learned about the location only that same afternoon following a visit I’d made to the small museum in the town. The museum was open but deserted at the time, save for a solitary gentleman who was acting as custodian… sitting quietly by the door, greeting any visitors, and thanking them if they offered any voluntary donations. Diss is a town primarily involved in agricultural pursuits, and so I spent around ten minutes soaking myself in the atmosphere of the place, finding a varied collection of artifacts and memorabilia of a country township which had long since gone. A great many photographs adorned the walls. Old possessions and ephemera formerly belonging to the townsfolk lay beneath dusty glass cases on the tabletops, potentially untouched by humankind for many years. I wandered slowly around the single long room, hardly daring to hope that I would find anything recognisable which would actually connect me to the town, until I spotted two old town directories in the far corner of the room. 

Diss - town directory entries

I opened the books in turn, seeking out any references to any of my forbears, and then I found it - ‘Lait Charles, coach builder, Mere Street’. To say I was overjoyed and excited at finding this information would be an understatement, and my pleasure was further multiplied after the custodian told me that Mere Street was where the town museum was located, and I was actually standing in it!

I followed his directions and left him to explore the location he indicated at the far end of the road. There I found the Mere, a small lake which the street had been named after, and I was amazed to find that the original workshop buildings were still there even to this day. They had now been converted for use as a bookshop, but the former coach-building premises could clearly be seen. I photographed it from many angles, making sure that I took in as much of the surroundings as possible in order to locate it easily in the future. It is therefore not surprising perhaps that I recognised the site from the postcard, as it had become etched in my memory from just that one visit.

Mere Street, Diss - August 2010

Before I left to make my way home I called into the bookshop to see if they had anything on the local history of the town which would help me in my research into my Lait family. There was a book available which gave the history of the town, and I did indeed find another couple of references to my family within it.

Present day bookshop - site of coachbuilding premises (right)

If this example does nothing else, I think it proves the value of going with your instincts when running searches of this kind on the Web, and if the mood takes you then certainly don’t be afraid to make one more attempt before your head hits the the pillow - but don’t get carried away or you just might be still be there in the morning! 

FAMILY HISTORY - MAURICE LAIT (Killed in Action - WW1)

MAURICE LAIT – Killed in Action (WW1)

Toward the middle of last year, when the 100 year commemorations into the start of World War 1 took place, I started running searches on the internet to see how many of my relatives I could find who had served during the conflict. I ran individual surname searches, beginning with the UK Medal card index which was available on Ancestry.co.uk. Following my search of the surname ‘LAIT’ (my paternal grandmother's side of the family), the name Maurice Lait was returned, and I realised that he could be a match with my own family connections.

Maurice Lait – medal card - (source: National Archives)

I had only scant information about Maurice at the time – an approximate date of birth and his death given as 1916. However the more I began to search and dig into the archives, all the more information was revealed to me.

Maurice Lait was my second cousin, 3 times removed. He was born in Blaby in Leicestershire, a small village to the south of the city of Leicester, in approx. 1888 to his parents, Alfred and Emily Ann (nee Morris) Lait. Maurice was the middle child of at least three in the family - he had two sisters, Ann (born in 1885) and Ivy (born in 1891).  

I found the family on the 1891 census, and Maurice’s age was given as 2 years old. The family were living at number 12 Portland Road, Knighton in Leicestershire. Like Blaby had been previously, Knighton was a suburb of Leicester at the time. I searched for Portland Road on Google maps and found that is still in existence today, but the property mentioned above has now been replaced by offices / flats.

Site of 12 Portland Road – (source: Google Maps)

On the date when the 1891 census was taken, Maurice’s father Alfred was aged 36 and was stated to be a commercial traveller. Alfred’s birthplace was said to be Diss in Norfolk, the small market town where my Lait family had their original coach-building businesses.

Maurice’s mother Emily Ann was given as 40 years old, and her birthplace was given as Wellington Street, West London. Both of his sisters, Ann (written as ‘Ana’ in the census), and Ivy respectively were 6 years and 1 month old. Also in the property were Annie Isabel Chapman, a 13 year old domestic servant, and Harriet Shaw, a 58 year old widow who was a nurse.

1891 census – (source: National Archives)

Ten years later, when the 1901 census was taken the family were living at Scarbow Villa's, Fairfield Road, Buxton. Alfred was still employed as a commercial traveller aged 46... Maurice's mother was now aged 50. In 1901 his sister Ann was now 16 years old, and was training as a pupil school teacher. Maurice himself was 12 years old (his given name had been written ‘Morris’ by the enumerator), and his younger sister Ivy was 10 years old. There was also a new domestic general servant in the property, a lady called Judith Broomhead, and she was 60 years old.

1901 census – (source: National Archives)

Maurice Lait – Military Service

In 1914 it was recorded that Maurice joined the York and Lancaster Regiment (12th Battalion), and his short service attestation papers were located on Ancestry.co.uk. His regiment number was 12/430.

Maurice was 25 when he first joined the regiment. He joined in Sheffield as a Private on 15th September 1914. In his service record Maurice was described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall, and weighed 140lbs. His complexion was fair, his eyes grey and his hair brown. The examining medical officer stated that he had no distinguishing marks (tattoos, birthmarks etc). His religious persuasion was stated to be Church of England.

Between 15 Sept 1914 and 19 December 1915 it was not clear in his service record where he was originally located. However, I subsequently found an excellent resource ‘The Long, Long Trail – the British Army in the Great War of 1914 / 1918’ (see link at http://www.1914-1918.net/yorkslancs.htm ) which gave me further information.

The 12^th Battalion (often known as the Sheffield City Battalion) was formed in Sheffield on 5^th September 1914. In May 1915 the men were based firstly at Penkridge Camp in the midlands, and then went to Ripon in July and finally Salisbury Plain in October that same year. During this period the men would have undergone intensive battle training of various kinds in order to prepare them for what they would face on the battlefield. Finally, on 20th December 1915, the battalion was moved to Egypt to serve as part of an expeditionary force until 9th March 1916, before it was finally relocated to Flanders in France from the 10^th March of 1916.

Maurice was only in France for a little over 3 months before he was unfortunately killed in action in Flanders on the 1st July 1916. He had been just 26 years old. Following his death, his service papers gave his home address as 64 Starcourt Road, but as yet I have been unable to find out where this might have been. The records also confirmed his father Alfred Lait as his next-of-kin who was living at ‘Oakfield’, Sylvan Cliff, Buxton. This road still exists at the time of researching this data (2015), but the actual property itself has not been identified.

There is evidence in his service papers that Maurice's personal effects were sent back to his father to the address in Buxton on 15th August 1917. Furthermore, in 1920 the UK WW1 Medal rolls recorded that Maurice was eligible for the Victory Medal and also the British War Medal for his services to his country. 

Medal roll records – (source: National Archives)

Maurice’s death and burial was recorded in the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). His name features on the Thiepval Cemetary memorial in the Somme. A commemorative plaque in PDF format was found to be available on the website (see below).

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/799004/LAIT,%20MAURICE

Memorial record – (source: CWGC)

Thiepval Memorial, Somme – (source: CWGC)

Graham Seaman (15/1/2015)

FAMILY HISTORY - JOHN W. LAIT - DEATH BY FIRE

When I undertake research into my family history I learned a long time ago that it works best for me to keep looking slightly off-centre, even when looking for the most specific information on an individual. You never know what unexpected snippet of information is going to turn up, so I find its always worth looking a few pages forward, a few pages back, to see if there are any other bits of information which might correspond to another one of your family members.

And so it was with finding John William Lait.

The grave of my great(x2) grandfather - Charles Augustine LAITE
Image (c) 2014 - Graham Seaman 

I was carrying out research on the grave of my great(x2) grandfather, Charles Augustine (or as he latterly became known, Austin) Laite who is buried in Allerton Cemetary, Liverpool. Charles had been married twice, the first time to Mary Ann Graham, the second to Mary Ann Corkindale. The majority of the people in the grave are descended from his second marriage and so I was concentrating my research in looking at this family line.

I began to run through a few internet searches of the other names on the grave - Catherine, George E., Mary A. Laite etc., and it was while I was doing this that the following link showed up:

Coroner's report - Liverpool Mercury - 4 January 1894
Image (c) 2014 - OldMerseyTimes.co.uk

It was a report from the Liverpool Mercury from 4 January 1894 regarding the accidental death of a young lad, John W. Laite aged 12 years old, in Liverpool. The report states that ‘…on Christmas Day the deceased with his little brother in the absence of his parents, while playing near the fire with a paraffin lamp, spilled some oil on his trousers which caught fire. He was severely burned and died on Tuesday at Mill Road Infirmary.’

The verdict of the coroner was ‘accidental death’.

I had already found that this was a relatively common occurrence during the period as I had looked into other instances of accidental burning after finding another relative, my g(x2) grandmother, had suffered the same fate. I had previously thought that maybe this type of accidental death would be far more common for girls rather than boys. I felt that this might be the case as the deaths appeared to be linked to the type of clothing which the girls would have been wearing (flowing skirts and nightshirts etc.), and the fact that most coal fires in those days would have been open and not had a guard in front of it. However, the fact that the boy had spilled oil on his trousers meant that John’s death could possibly be blamed more on the type of flammable materials his clothes were made from, rather than the type of clothing itself.

The name John W. Lait seemed to be familiar to me, but after checking my database I found that he was not related to Charle’s marriage to his second wife at all.

I had only a small amount of information on my own John W. previously, but there could be little doubt in my mind that here was the son of Charles Augustine and his first wife, Mary Ann Graham, my great(x2) grandmother, whose cause of death aged 50 on 10 January 1904 was said to be ‘…shock and exhaustion due to burns received by her clothes accidentally catching fire on the 9th instant…’

Mary Ann LAITE - death certificate 10 January 1904
Image (c) 2014 - Graham Seaman 

I am waiting on the death certificate for John to be absolutely sure, but it would seem that here we have the most tragic of coincidences… Mary Ann’s son is horrifically burned on Christmas Day in 1894, and then my great grandmother suffer’s the same fate herself almost exactly 10 years afterwards.

For further information regarding some of the more common (and also uncommon) causes of death in the Victorian era, you can find further information on the excellent blog at Victorian Domestic Dangers.com

All Content (c) 2014 - Graham Seaman

SEAMAN / LAIT - MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE - 1 SEP 1928

St.Catherine's church, Edge Hill...
pictured in 2006 before it was demolished
to make way for new housing.

Below is the marriage certificate for my grandmother and grandfather's wedding. This took place at St.Catherine's church, Edge Hill, Liverpool in 1928.

At the time Margaret LAIT was aged 27 and Joseph SEAMAN was 26. My grandfather's occupation was said to be a carter at the time they were married.

Joseph's address was given as 4 Lily Grove, Edge Hill... and Margaret's was 23 Moorgate Street.

Joseph's father's occupation was listed as a labourer, while Charles Graham LAIT was listed as an engineer.

Marriage Certificate - SEAMAN / LAIT - 1928

MARGARET ELEANOR GRAHAM SEAMAN - DEATH CERTIFICATE - 29 OCT 1947

Margaret Eleanor Graham SEAMAN (nee LAIT)

Seen below is the death certificate of my grandmother, Margaret Eleanor Graham SEAMAN (nee LAIT).

M.E.G. (as my cousin Anne and I affectionately christened her during our research conversations) unfortunately died very young, at only 46 years of age, and died following a massive heart attack. At the time she died she had been living with the family at 33 Moorgate Street, Edge Hill, Liverpool.

She died in hospital in Smithdown Road, Liverpool.

Notification of her death was made by my grandfather, Joseph SEAMAN, who was said to be employed as a general labourer at the time his wife died.

Margaret Eleanor Graham SEAMAN - Death Certificate 1947

CHARLES GRAHAM LAIT - BIRTH CERTIFICATE - 24 JAN 1874

This is a copy of my great-grandfather's birth certificate.

Charles Graham LAIT was born in East Saint Mary's Gate, Grimsby, in 1874. His father Charles Augustine LAIT was employed as a grocer's assistant.

His mother, Mary Ann, had the maiden name of GRAHAM. This name was consequently passed down firstly through their son; then to his daughter Margaret Eleanor (who was my grandmother), and then to me as my given name.

Charles Graham LAIT - born 24 January 1874