Genealogy and finding out more about your family history can be very exciting and below we have included some of our client stories where we have helped unlock the past.
The hidden clues in World War One Medal Index cards
Military records provide an incredible treasure trove of information for the genealogist as they often contain quite unique facts such as physical descriptions. The First World War saw large numbers of our ancestors volunteer and given the interest in the First World War since the centenary many of us want to know was our ancestor involved?
Their military service records should provide us with a wealth of information and answer that question “what did they do in the war?”. Alas, for those of us whose ancestors were from the United Kingdom many of those records are lost in 1940, as the result of a fire caused by an incendiary bomb at the War Office Record Store in London, where approximately two thirds of 6.5 million soldiers' documents for the First World War were destroyed.
So how do you try and discover more about your ancestors war service if there are no service records?
Our client wanted to find know about his Great Grandfather Patrick’s War service in the Great War – did he join up or did his occupation in the steel works exclude him? As part of our research we had created a fairly accurate family tree that included the birth, death, marriage and census records for his Great Grandfather who was born in 1880 in Glasgow.
We stablished that his Grandfather didn’t serve in the Navy or Air Force (those records primarily survived) so if he did serve, it must have been in the Army.
A search for the Service Records produced no match, so we assumed any records if they existed must have been one of the 60% that were destroyed.
However there are other records that are available to the Military genealogist that could provide us with some leads. These include the British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, Pension Records and Milita records. To find out much about an ancestors service in the Military you need to find his regimental number, which will lead you to which regiment and battalion he served in, and then find out where he served.
Unfortunately there were 142 people in the Medal Index cards that matched Patrick’s name. The level of detail on a Medal Index Card is usually pretty minimal, so no clues in our initial search.
We did discover Patrick in the Militia in Glasgow in the late 1890’s. We knew the address matched a census return and the names of his parents on the attestation form were correct. Patrick joined the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) which was a Regiment that recruited heavily in Glasgow. Would this help us? Based on the assumption that if he did enlist in the First World War, then it was probable that he served in his old regiment. However there were nine people with the same name who served in the Cameronians on the Medal Index Cards. So although we had narrowed our search it couldn’t prove which Patrick if any matched. This is where sometimes the Medal Index card can provide a hidden clue on the back of the card. Of the thousands of Medal Index cards I have seen over the years, they are invariably blank. However we did find one of those nine that had an address on the back as this Patrick had requested a replacement set of medals. We traced the address through some other records including an application for Poor Relief in 1921. The same address also appeared on Patrick’s death certificate which provide the evidence that this was the same Patrick. This provided his Regimental number which led us to his Battalion and we were able to construct a story of Patrick’s war service.
We managed to trace Patrick’s service through Palestine, to France in June 1918 where he won the Military Medal and was wounded in the final few months of the war. In addition how research uncovered two books written by Officers of the Regiment that provided a history of the Regiment in the First World War. One of those books even had a picture of his Great Grandfather and the most wonderful anecdote.
So sometimes we discover hidden gems that prove a connection in records we wouldn’t expect. If our client had believed the family story that he didn’t serve in the war, he would not have discovered his war hero Great Grandfather.
What are some of our key genealogical learnings?
- Sometimes with records you literally need to “turn the page” as you never know what details is contained on the reverse.
- Understanding what other records exist and how they relate to each, such as Militia records and War Diaries for example.
The Power of DNA and Genetic Genealogy
Tracing one's family tree and history can be a challenging task, particularly if one is adopted. Adopted individuals may face several obstacles, such as limited or no access to birth records, a lack of knowledge about their biological family members, and the possibility of closed adoption records.
Creating a family tree is dependent on accessing primary source records such as birth, death, marriage and census records. Without those source documents, where do we start?
One of our clients was adopted and although he knew and had met his birth mother many years ago when he was young, contact had been lost and he was pretty much starting from a blank page. He had a story from his birth mother that he had 3 full sisters who were also adopted and all with the same birth father. His research brief was to firstly identify who his biological father was and secondly to see if he could trace his other siblings.
This is where DNA testing has helped transform genealogical and family research. We had our client complete a DNA test, in this case through Ancestry DNA (talk to us about the DNA testing options as there are a number of providers) and waited for the results. In the interim we ordered a pre adoptive birth certificate for our client which confirmed his birth mothers name but the fathers name was blank (which was expected and is extremely common).
Often with DNA testing for genealogy, we would say we are fortunate if we manage to find a 1st cousin and typically the displayed matches are with someone who we share a common ancestor 3 or 4 generations back. Results can often be difficult to comprehend which is where Professional Genealogists come in.
In this case (and I would have to say this is extremely rare) our client matched both to a biological father and biological mother. Both his birth parents had also completed an Ancestry DNA test, completely independently of each other. In fact they had no knowledge of each other or contact for over 50 years.
This information gave us the evidence we needed to be able to build a family tree back to his 4th times Great Grandfather in 1787 in Westward, Cumberland.
Interestingly for him, the story that he had a number of sisters to the same biological parents has been proved to be incorrect, but he does have a number of half brothers and sisters. Sometimes family stories can be wrong and even lead us down the wrong path. A strong focus on validating the evidence and the incredible power of DNA has made all the difference.
Our client was able to make contact with his birth father, established an ancestor pathway back to 18th Century Cumberland, and has already met a number of his half siblings, nephews and Uncles and Aunts.
Some of the key genealogical learnings are;
- DNA can be powerful for people who are adopted and is sometimes the only pathway
- Never take family stories at face value, always follow the evidence.