Genealogy Chat

I would like to find out how to identify the use of a building at any particular time. I have a relative who moved around a lot and I need to pin down a few of her addresses, for example, were they hotels, boarding houses, rented accommodation by her or "lived in" quarters for her employers if she was a domestic servant. Thanks Abigail

Hello Abigail If you find her at the address on a census that should tell you if its a hotel or boarding house or if she's a servant working for the family there. Even if she wasn't there in the census year it might be worth looking for the address to see what sort of household it was then. I know you can do address look up on 1901 census, not sure about any others online. Good hunting Judith

I will try that I think, though it wasn't until the thirties that I have her. It will still be interesting to see whether those buildings were there in 1901, as I don't know that much about the area itself. I wonder whether at the beginning of the last century people were more mobile than now? I would not have thought that many properties changed hands as do these days. Where will I find all these answers? It just is not as easy as tracing BMDs - although I wouldn't say that that was a picnic! Regards Abigail

Hi Abigail It seems you may not have taken account of the fact that most people lived in rented accommodation until well into the twentieth century. My great grandfather lived at many different addresses in Otley, judging from the census addresses and those on the marriage certificates of his children and his death certificate. He was a reasonably prosperous businessman, not a poor man. On the other side of my family I have relatives from Northumberland. There there was a tradition of the families in agricultural employment 'flitting' on one of the quarter days in the year. Some of them, those wanting to better themselves, or at the other end of the scale those who were inefficient or injured or just getting old or tired, could end up moving once a year. Every farm in north Northumberland has a hamlet of tied farm cottages round it. Stan

Hello again Abigail, If your relative lived in an urban area its worth checking whether the local records office has Kelly's Directories for that period. These listed buildings street by street, giving name of householder, as well as having listings of businesses etc. I can remember being listed in one in the early 70s at the address I rented at the time. Judith

Thank you Judith and Stan, these are exactly the kind of history lessons I was looking for. If only they taught them at school like this - hanging techniques and info on things that children could apply to themselves. I have tried to find the relevant addresses and I have now realised that they didn't exist in 1901 and that the expansion of the town didn't occur till later - which also means that there must have been a bit of a boom, in what I don't know yet, in the area! Completely fascinating, even though I am no further forward in confirming relatives. Regards Abigail