Find out what life was like in the place your ancestors lived

One-place studies are a great way of finding out what life was like in the place your ancestors lived. Nearly 2,000 places worldwide have been registered so far. Could your special place be next?

So what is a One-Place Study?

Quite simply it’s a study of a particular place and the people who have lived there over the years. 

By ‘place’ we mean a defined geographical area. Most one-placers choose to study a village, or very small town, and the area immediately around it within its official boundaries.

By ‘people’, we generally mean everyone who lived in that place, not just those related to the one-placer’s ancestral family or people who were famous.

A one-place study brings together both the local history and family history dimensions to give a much fuller picture of what life was like in that place and why families came and went.

Have you got what it takes to become a One-Placer?

We affectionately refer to those carrying out one-place studies as ‘One-Placers’. 

They are the unsung heroes of one-place studies. They work voluntarily behind the scenes, either alone or collaboratively as a group, seeking out all kinds of historic documents and maps etc., extracting information on anyone who lived in the study place and then presenting information in a structured way for the benefit of all.

Every place is unique, every one-placer is unique and, consequently, so too is every one-place study! One-placers are free to take their studies in whichever direction they wish, working at a pace they are comfortable with. 

One-Placers on the One-Place Study Register are entitled to use the logo above.

What has been done before?

Be sure to read up on what has been written in the past on the local history of your study place. Have any books been published? Or articles in county magazines? Check out the archives for your study place as they often hold historic local books. If there is a local history group, you may be able to work collaboratively and avoid any duplication of effort. In the UK, check out the Local History Online and British Association for Local History websites.

Pacing your place

If you live within easy travelling distance of your study area, and assuming it covers a small area comprising just a village and a few surrounding hamlets, rather than a whole region, it’s great if you are able to ‘pace your place’. Essentially this means exploring each street, lane, alleyway etc. of your study place looking at the buildings etc. for clues of their age, past uses etc. Try and put yourself in the shoes of those who walked there a century or two before! Read more here.

If you can’t visit your study place in person, you may be able to take a look around courtesy of Google Streetview or equivalent.

Maps & mapping your study

Maps can prove invaluable for one-placers. Be sure to look at historic maps for your study place, not just present-day maps. Compare maps from one time period to the next to see what has changed. 

In the example above, the 1830 map shows the site of a factory - in 1926 the factory had gone and there was a cricket ground with a pavilion - just looking at present-day maps would not have revealed either feature. Some websites allow you to look at digitized historic maps side by side or to overlay them. In particular check out these historic digitised map resources for England, Wales & Scotland and the United States.  

Many one-placers find it helpful to map their study. Below is a wonderful hand-drawn map of Upton Lovell in Wiltshire prepared around 2008. 

The treasures of this one-place study are clearly marked for the benefit of all. It is annotated with lots of helpful information. It shows the old post office, the old rectory, the site of the former cloth factory and even the site of the old electricity station. It tells us Ash Walk was known as Queen Street in the 1871 census. It also reveals where the market was held and where the animal pound was.  

Local knowledge

Be sure to tap into local knowledge - talk to as many long-time residents as you are able - you'll be surprised what stories they'll come out with once prompted! 

Involving members of the local community and others researching their ancestors from your place with your study can pay dividends. One memory may jog another, a photo found by one person may prompt another to search through their old albums and so on. Latch on to little snippets of information about your study place. There's often much truth in those old rumours!

Buildings and house histories

Some one-placers build up histories for each property. For example, one-placers Winslow History Group have compiled the history of many of their buildings and for 6 High Street have got a complete history from 1664 to the present day!

In Britain, just under 500,000 buildings are on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. You can search for all such buildings in your study place on the British Listed Buildings site. The official listing entry shows further details about the construction of the building and its listing category. Alternatively search for English buildings through the Historic England site and Scottish buildings through the Historic Scotland site.

Population changes – pushes and pulls

At any point in time, a study place will have been populated by individuals - whether few or many in number. One-place studies consider all the people who have lived in the study place over the centuries. Families move into and out of the area for various reasons and there are periods when the total population increases and others when it falls.

A good starting point is to analyse the population statistics that are available for your place and to chart these. Histpop provides online access population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937 and allows you to ascertain the population of individual parishes etc. at ten year intervals from 1801 to 1931, to break this data down by gender, age etc. and to compare figures with county or national totals. Vision of Britain also holds some population data. 

The graphs pictured show the population changes for two adjacent Dorset villages, East Lulworth and West Lulworth. Although their populations were similar in the first half of the 19th century, subsequently one witnessed considerable growth and the other a steady decline. One-placers are keen to find out why individual families came and went and what were the major pushes and pulls.

Simple indexes, reconnection and reconstruction

Most one-placers, having researched their own family histories, will want to understand who is connected to who in their study place and to what extent families inter-married over successive generations.

Some one-placers find it helpful to create an index or database of all persons who lived in their place and to use this as the first step towards 'reconnecting' them to others on the list.

Some one-placers will go one-step further and 'reconstruct' trees for all families, sometimes as simple hand-drawn charts, or through providers like Ancestry or Findmypast where unrelated individuals can subsequently be linked as their relationships to one another are rediscovered.

Primary genealogical sources

Primary sources of family history information for one-placers are census returns that typically provide a ‘snapshot’ every ten years of everyone living in a defined geographical area and local registers that capture key events in their lives, in particular births/baptisms, marriages and deaths/burials. The earliest Church of England records date from 1538. 

Many one-placers use free sites such as FamilySearch or Mocavo or subscription sites such as Ancestry or Findmypast to view and save images of the original census schedules for all households in their one-place study area. This allows accurate transcripts to be prepared using local knowledge of surnames and place names and further analysis to be undertaken.

There are many secondary sources of information such as electoral rolls, gravestone inscriptions, land records, local directories, military records, newspaper obituaries, probate records, school records, wills, etc. We touch on just a few of these below.

Directories

Directories are a great source of information for one-place studies.  Most well- known among the directories are the Post Office Directories, Kelly’s Directories and Pigot Directories.

The 'street directory' sections, in particular, are a fantastic aid for one-placers as they show the householder or business at each street address in turn, as well as indicating where other roads joined, or features such as level crossings etc. existed. Check out the University of Leicester’s Historical Directories website for over 700 directories of England and Wales. And almost as many directories for Scotland can be accessed through the National Library of Scotland website.

Schools

Historic log books and admission registers for many schools are held at local record offices. The admission registers typically show birth date, admission year and name of a parent or guardian. Log books record some events in school life such as arrival of new teachers, low attendances due to illness or harvesting, and special commemorations. Findmypast currently offer access to over 4 million records from 28 counties in England and Wales covering the period 1870 to 1914, with further counties to be added in 2015.

Don't forget that class photographs were taken in many schools from around 1900 onwards, and coming across ones with names written on the reverse are a real boost! The photo shown was taken at Kingston School, Dorset in 1896.

Postcards and other images of your place

Do seek out old postcards of your study place. Some postcard views look much the same as another, but study them carefully and you may spot changes to buildings and uses, shop ownership and also fashions! Try online auction sites such as eBay and eBid and local postcard fairs. Storeslider is a handy tool for finding eBay auction items for your study place. TuckDB is a free online database of antique postcards published by Raphael Tuck & Sons.

Ancestry also offers access to postcards from Canada, France, Germany & Austria, Italy, the UK & Ireland and the United States. Also check for any Photochrom Prints of your study place on the PPLOC website.

Geograph is a freely accessible archive of much more recent photographs for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland. All photographs are licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence, so can be used for your website or blog. Great for one-placers who live a long way from their study place!

Newspapers

Never under-estimate the power of the newspapers! Historic newspapers can be a rich source of information for your study place. Before the days when celebrities and soaps dominated our daily tabloids, more everyday events often made their way into the local broadsheets. The detail included in some newspaper reports from the mid-19th century through to the early 20th century can be quite amazing. For example, some newspapers reported on the funerals of local people, and detailed everyone who attended, what hymns were sung, what messages of sympathy accompanied the floral tributes etc. Increasingly more and more newspapers are being digitized. Check out Chronicling America and Trove (Australia), or Elephind which searches both, plus the British Newspaper Archive (also available through Findmypast) and Welsh Newspapers Online. In the UK, many libraries offer free access to 19th century newspapers.

Funding

In the UK, the Heritage Lottery Fund want to support projects that help local people delve into the heritage of their community, bring people together, and increase their pride in the local area.  Grants from £3,000 upwards are available. A number of one-placers working collaboratively have been successful in securing funding, including Heaton History Group earlier this year for their "Heaton Beneath Our Feet" project.

Sharing

Sharing information about your study is a great way of encouraging others to contribute too. You can do this in a number of ways including local displays, talks to local groups, features in local magazines, through dedicated websites and blogs and via social media such as twitter and facebook.

We are happy to share the progress of individual studies too - on twitter and through the ‘Study Snippets’ section of Newsworld.

The One-Place Study Register

It's important to register your one-place study. The One-Place Study Register now has 1,995 study places registered worldwide. Not only does it allow people to easily see that you are carrying out the study and to make contact, but it also helps protect against others subsequently 'muscling in' on your 'territory'.

One-Placers give of their time freely - in return we'll give them the benefits of registering free too!

Registering a one-place study with us is FREE and EASY - click here to add your one-place study now. 

New look

We are rolling out new look pages for each country on the Register. An example from our United States Register is shown below.  

One-Place Studies EXTRA

We are committed to bringing you the latest news and information from the world of one-place studies FREE - no membership fees - no registration fees. 

Take a look at our One-Place Studies EXTRA site for links to lots of great Resources, Free Guides, our regular publication Newsworld, our special In Focus publication that shines the spotlight on individual studies, individual one-placers or aspects of one-place studies you may wish to explore further.

Sometimes we can get too focused on our own studies. By reading about other studies, we can look at our own from a different perspective, be inspired and inject new ideas.

Health warning: One study may lead to another!

One-place studies can be addictive! 17% of one-placers have two studies, 10% have three studies and 11% have four or more studies study on the go because they enjoy them so much!

Interested? Then email us now!

In this article we’ve only scratched the surface with some of the resources that are available. Be sure to visit our One-Place Studies EXTRA site for many more and check out our free One-Place Study guides such as ‘The basics’ and ‘Choosing a place‘.

I Am Alone

It wasn’t until my grandfather was aged 88 that I was able to tell him more about the father and half-brother that he never knew. And the events in the life of my great-grandfather at the turn of the century make very sad but interesting reading…

…brawls, disturbances, court appearances, deaths, disasters, inquests, desertion, solitude, death in the old workhouse…

My grandfather Maurice Miller Ward was born in 1899. The 1901 census for Langton Matravers in Dorset showed him as a ‘visitor’ aged 1, in the High Street home of James Bower, a quarryman and his wife Julia. Ten years later, he was still at Langton, but boarding with grocer Margaret Cooper and her two daughters. On both censuses, my grandfather’s birthplace was shown as Southampton.

Maurice Miller Ward pictured with his mother Jessie

Maurice’s mother Jessie Ward (neé Morris) was also living in Langton, but at Durnford House. She worked for Thomas and Ellinor Pellatt who ran the Boys’ School; in 1901 as cook and in 1911 as housekeeper. On both censuses she was shown as married. When my grandfather Maurice married in 1922, the register entry showed his father as deceased.

Maurice Miller Ward pictured in 1948

But my great-grandfather was not deceased then. Nor had my grandfather Maurice been born in Southampton. In fact, his birthplace was Aldeburgh on the Suffolk Coast, the hometown of his father, well over 150 miles away.

Family of Fishermen

My great-grandfather’s name was James Miller Ward. He was born at Aldeburgh on 20 Feb 1857 to David James Ward, a fisherman like his father before him, and his wife Louisa (neé Miller). They had eight sons and three daughters, two dying as infants.

James married Anna Maria Forster at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Aldeburgh on 6 May 1878. His occupation was recorded as mariner. James and ‘Annie’ had just one son, also named James Miller Ward, born 11 Nov 1878. When the census was taken in 1881, James senior was shown as a fisherman and his wife as a net maker. In 1891, James senior was absent, presumably on a fishing vessel.

Family Brawl

On 22 Jan 1885, James senior’s wife Annie accused Louisa Laws, James senior’s sister of assaulting her. At the Petty Sessions on 7 Feb 1885 the evidence disclosed that the assault, which was mutual, took place in the High Street after a regular “sisterly” quarrel, during which some very “choice” language was used on both sides. The Magistrates dismissed the case, characterising it as a “family brawl,” in which one was as bad as the other. Considerable amusement was caused during the hearing of the evidence, the attitude of the litigants being frequently pugilistic, causing the Chairman to remark, amidst much laughter, that “he should not like to quarrel with either of them.”

Disturbance

On Christmas Eve 1895, a party was taking place next door after a wedding. Oscar Downing, a fisherman, was charged with assaulting James senior and his wife Annie. Downing and others had been drinking healths all round, and Downing, by his singing outside the house, caused James and Annie to come out. Downing wanted some whisky, and on being refused, struck a blow over the gate at James senior. Downing then entered the garden, and was twice knocked down by James senior, while wife Annie pulled his hair! Police Constable Jackson said Downing was drunk and bleeding from the nose and escorted him home. The Bench, in consideration of the fact that James senior had knocked Downing about, fined him only five shillings plus costs. The fisherman outside the Court marked their sympathy with the youthful Downing by subscribing nearly sufficient money to pay his fine.

Wife’s death

On 28 Nov 1897, James senior’s wife Annie died of cancer aged just 41. He was present at her death.

Second marriage

Almost one year to the day after his first wife died, on 30 Nov 1898, James senior, now described as a yachtsman and aged 40, married Jessie Morris aged 30.

Mother’s death following fall

On 12 Feb 1899, James’ mother Louisa Ward, aged 70, was in her sitting-room when her husband called to her to open the front door. In crossing the room, she tripped over some cocoa-nut-matting, and fell, breaking her thigh. She lingered on for five days until 17 Feb 1899 when she died from shock to the system. An inquest was held the following day and a verdict of "Accidental Death" was returned.

Son’s wedding

On 3 Apr 1899 son James Miller Ward junior, a yachtsman aged 21, married Alice Clarke, a domestic servant, also aged 21.

Granddaughter’s birth

On 9 Aug 1899 James junior’s wife Alice gave birth to Daisy Alice Maria Ward.

Son’s birth

On 22 Oct 1899, James senior’s second wife Jessie gave birth to Maurice Miller Ward (my grandfather).

Son’s death in lifeboat disaster

Just six weeks later, James Miller Ward junior, was the youngest of seven lifeboatmen who lost their lives in the Aldeburgh Lifeboat Disaster of 7 Dec 1899. 

James Miller Ward junior

Briefly, the events surrounding the disaster were as follows:

At 11am on Thursday 7 Dec 1899, guns were fired summoning the crew of the lifeboat after signals of distress had been heard in the heavy storm. The sea was so high that after a particularly heavy wave striking the broadside of the lifeboat, it capsized, turning upside down, and came to rest on the beach. Of the 18 crew, 12 managed to make it back to the beach, but six were trapped in the overturned hull. One of them, James Miller Ward junior was washed out from under the boat and although efforts were made to revive him it was futile. Hundreds of men tried to raise the boat to get to the other men but without success. After three hours, a hole was smashed through the hull, but the other five men were dead. It was nearly six o’clock before the last body was freed. And one of those that did make it back to the beach later died from the injuries he sustained. An inquest was subsequently held at which James Miller Ward senior was present and asked questions. He also confirmed that his 21 year old son was master of a yacht in summer and filled up his time fishing in winter. At the time his widow Alice was expecting their second child. 

The overturned lifeboat after a hole had been smashed through its hull

 

Memorial Cards for James Miller Ward junior

Grandson’s birth … …and death

In Jul 1900 James junior’s widow Alice gave birth to Percy James Reuben Ward. Sadly he had a cleft palate and died just six weeks later on 31 Aug 1900.

Father’s death

On 4 Oct 1900 James’ father David also died after a fall the previous month and a further inquest resulted with the same verdict of "Accidental Death" recorded.

Desertion

Sometime before census night of 31 Mar 1901, Jessie had moved out of their Aldeburgh home and taken Maurice with her to Langton Matravers in Dorset and all contact with James senior is believed to have ceased. James senior was the living on his own in Lee Road, Aldeburgh.

James Miller Ward senior, second wife Jessie & son Maurice in pram

Life continues

At the time of the 1911 census, James senior was actually moored in Harwich Quay on board the fishing vessel ‘Wygiel’. James was the mate and his brother George Henry Ward was the master.

Last Will

On 23 Apr 1926, James senior made his last will and testament. He was then living at 71 King Street, Aldeburgh. He said:

“I give devise and bequeath all my estate both real and personal to my son Morris Miller Ward if he is living at my death and comes forward and identifies himself within five years of my death (he having been taken away by his mother many years ago) …”

Alone

James senior died on 8 May 1936 at the Red House, Bulcamp-cum-Blythburgh. The Red House was the former Union workhouse. It was not a very nice place. Some thirteen years later the poor conditions at the Red House were even brought up in a House of Commons debate when the sanitation was described as inadequate, the bathrooms were in a deplorable condition and elderly patients had to sleep in beds placed beside outside doors.

Appeal

On 17 May 1936, the following appeal was published in the News of the World:

“WARD. Will Morris Miller Ward please communicate with me the undersigned when he will hear something to his advantage. Dated this 12th day of May, 1936. J. Noel Cooper, solicitor, Saxmundham, Suffolk.”

Replica fishing boat

The announcement was pointed out to Maurice and he travelled to Suffolk to collect a large-scale replica wooden fishing boat which his father James had supposedly built with just one arm (having lost an arm in a whaling accident many years earlier). James senior’s effects were valued at £195.

The replica boat is now in my possession. It bears the inscription ‘I AM ALONE.' 

Lifeboat Disaster Memorial

The Lifeboat Disaster Memorial

A memorial to the disaster is sited in the graveyard at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. It bears the following inscription:

On December 7th 1899, in response to signals of distress, a crew of 18 brave men manned the lifeboat “Aldeburgh” which was speedily launched in the teeth of an easterly gale and a heavy rolling sea. At duties call to rescue others with their own lives in their hands, these brave men went afloat, when alas! the boat capsizing seven of them met their end and lie buried here.

By a large fund promptly raised to provide for those suddenly bereft, as well as by the monument, fellow townsmen and fellow countrymen near and far paid tribute to an example of noble self-forgetfulness.

There are seven crosses marking the individual graves of the six men who died at the time of the disaster, and the seventh who died of his injuries over 3 months later. The inscription for James junior reads:

In Loving Memory of
James Miller Ward
aged 21
The Lord hath need of him

Centenary commemoration

On 5 December 1999 I attended a special service to commemorate the Aldeburgh Lifeboat Disaster with other members of my family.

Closer to home

By coincidence, James Miller Ward junior has his name inscribed on a memorial in my home town of Poole in Dorset – the RNLI have their headquarters here and a few years ago they erected a memorial on which the names are inscribed of all lifeboatmen who have lost their lives over the centuries.

Part of the RNLI Memorial at Poole

East Anglian Daily Times - Friday 12 March 1999

News Report - 8th Dec 1899

Called out in atrocious conditions to go to the assistance of a boat in distress the 46ft 13 ton wooden lifeboat Aldeburgh was flung over and submerged by a mighty wave shortly after launching. While some of the 18 crew managed to swim clear and make it back to shore many were trapped under the capsized hull and either drowned at sea or after the boat came to rest upside down on Aldeburgh beach.

As the sad centenary of the tragic event approaches preparations are being made to honour the brave men who perished that day in the name of duty. A church service is being organised and a wreath will be laid at sea. Efforts are now being made to trace living relatives of victims and survivors of one of Aldeburgh's worst disasters as recounted below.

At 11am on Thursday telephone messages were received at Aldeburgh that minute guns were firing out at sea to the southward but caution was exercised before the gun cotton rockets used for the purpose of summoning the crew of the lifeboat at Aldeburgh were fired," reported The East Anglian Daily Times of December 8 1899.

An understated introduction to a graphic account of one of the most terrible disasters ever to hit the East Anglian coast. On that morning responding to the alarm signals with unswerving dedication to duty 18 local crewmen had swiftly mustered at the lifeboat station. The sprat boats had taken the early morning tide but those who had gone north saw that a gale was brewing and wisely beached at Sizewell," continues the report. So horrendous were the sea conditions that even after meeting at the lifeboat station it was some time before the order was given to launch the 46ft “Aldeborough".

The storm at length broke and by noon a heavy gale was raging from the south east by east blowing dead on shore. Signals of distress were soon heard. Battling against the heavy sea the crew fought against the on shore wind until they headed south at great speed with sails set. But despite making good progress disaster lay only minutes away. Just then a heavy sea struck the boat on her quarter and before her helm could recover a mighty sea struck her broadside. She was over in a moment and such a scene has never been witnessed off Aldeburgh.

The boat remained afloat but was driven by the force of the sea inshore. Some crew members struggled free or had been thrown clear of the crippled boat. But half of them were trapped in the upturned keel. Almost all the inhabitants of Aldeburgh were watching the boat as she went through the surf towards Slaughden Quay at the southern end of the town and cries of horror were raised in a thousand voices when it was seen that she had capsized.

When it finally beached no time was lost in attempting to release those held inside the 13 ton boat. A rush was then made to cut through the wreck with axes. On the tide receding there was great anxiety to dig out the boat in which by that time a large hole had been made. Work was carried on with remarkable energy although darkness set in and by 6.30pm all bodies had been recovered. People had poured on to the beach from the town as news of the tragedy spread. Many were wives and mothers of the men trapped in the boat. They were helpless to act as the muffled shouts and screams of their suffering loved ones reached them.

Interviewed at home after the ordeal by the East Anglian Daily Times reporter he said “We missed half a dozen of the crew at once and knew they must be under the boat. In a short time James Miller Ward was washed out from under the fore part of the boat. He was insensible and dead really, for Dr Wrightson and others tried for an hour or more to bring him to and could not do so. The tide was still making and with the waves breaking right over the boat some of us were working up to our necks in water all the afternoon before we got the last of the bodies out from under the boat. Some of them were dreadfully crushed."



Sharon White (neé Ward)
Aldeburgh One-Place Study