Genealogy Chat

I noticed that many members of the same family were listed on the Victorian censuses as umbrella or parasol makers in Shoreditch, East London. I googled Umbrella manufacturer Shoreditch and came across a manufacturer in the right area who had been established over 200 years. I e-mailed them asking if by any chance they had company records going back that far. I received a very nice reply telling me that unfortunately the company had only relocated in Shoreditch 20 years ago and anyway their records were destroyed in the war. I thought that was the end of it but.... (cont/....)

...... they went on to say that the family name sounded familiar because for many years they had subcontracted to a family with the same surname and although they no longer did business they had remained in friendly terms. The person who had e-mailed me (I think he was the Boss) was due to meet one of the family socially next week. Well, a little further checking revealed I had got the right people and he has promised to hand over my details in a few days. So the moral of the story is.... don't rely only on traditional methods - try and think of what interfaces your ancestors made with the rest of the community!

Nice one Paul!! My unbrella makers lived in Reading. I have a drawing of their shop, circa 1820, with an umbrella outside looking like it's trying to be a barbers stripy pole! Here's hoping your new contact has a 200 year archive in their loft!!! Fingers crossed! Merry

How lovely Paul and how nice the 'boss' took that trouble. I wrote to the manager of the Rose and Crown in Wimbledon as my lot were licensees there in the mid 19th century. The manager was nice enough, sent a reply saying he would contact the head office - it was owned by a big chain now - and even sent me a copy of the mail he sent them to their archivist BUT Ive had no response.

Isn't it annoying when you don't get a reply, even if it's in the negative?!! Merry

I think in this game we should regard any response as a bonus and not get disheartened by the 'no responses'. I find I invest too much emotion into my family searches and forget that not everybody shares my passion.

It's really great when that happens. I had something a bit similar lately. I'm a glass engraver and one of my recent customers asked me if being arty was in the family. I explained that I knew one branch way back were decorative plasterers. She said she knew someone who had written a book on decorative plasterwork in Somerset and gave me the name of the author. I contacted the author who was able to give me a bit more information about the family and a few days later I had a phone call unexpectedly from the owner of a one of the old country houses where there was some of the work. His family had been in the same homes for many hundreds of years. Unfortunately his family hadn't saved paperwork from the period (well it was 3-4 hundred years ago!) but his family had always known who had done the fancy plaster and confirmed that they were a Flemish family brought over specially to Somerset, who then stayed in the area. So sometimes an unexpected lead can turn up. Sue