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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Yorkshire (East Riding & York) => England => Yorkshire (East Riding & York) Lookup Requests => Topic started by: KAOS on Friday 12 May 06 17:45 BST (UK)
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Hello!
My ancestor, Henry OHMAN was apparently an organ builder in York for the period 1828-1831(and perhaps other years). He apparently worked at Aberford(1828) and Tickhill(1831).
I have been told that he is mentioned in
Portrait of an English Parish Church. St. Mary the Virgin, Tickhill, Yorkshire: Bearstall, T.W. (c1990), p.21.
I would like to learn more about this man and wonder what my options might be. Is organ building an apprenticed trade? Might an official list of apprenticeships for York be available?
A family story went along the lines of this man going to France to build an organ and upon his return was robbed and thrown overboard - never to be seen again. He can't be found in the 1841 England Census so this story is conceivable.
Has anyone access to the above-mentioned book and be willing to provide me with the details found on page 21?
Any thoughts or comments are most welcome. Thank you!
Mary
Canada
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A couple of suggestions here KAOS - one is that they have a copy of the book available on www.Abebooks.com however, $15.52 plus shipping in the UK of $6.31 is probably not worthwhile for what may be only a one line entry in the book.
We have a scheme here in England through the library services called Inter Library Loan, but as other readers of Rootschat know, I haven't had much luck with this, unfortunately Sheffield is a little far for me to go to check out this one for you. But I wonder whether we have a Rootschatter who might be visiting Sheffield Library who can take a note of the details for you as they have a copy there. The ISBN number is 0906976456 - also note that the name of the author is Tom W. Beastall.
There is a very good site about Sheffield Library http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/libraries and if you scroll down then there are also links where you can talk direct to librarians 24 hours a day and other facilities available. I wonder if it would be possible to ask one of the librarians if they would take a note of the entry from the book for you, if it's only a one liner it won't take much of their time.
Mary
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Dear Mary,
Thank you so much for your suggestions!
I have just accessed the Sheffield Library and sent a question to the talk to the librarian address. I now wait to be connected to a librarian. Will let you know the outcome.
Mary
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Hmmmmmmmm I tried that link myself but it didn't seem to be working, I wonder if maybe a direct email contact with the library itself might produce any result.
Let me know whether you get anything from them.
Mary
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Dearest Mary,
I never got through to chat with the librarian - wasn't sure if there was a connection made or not. So I wrote up another query and put in the main body of it that I wished an e-mail response. To that end, I received a password in one e-mail and a copy of my query in another. But, when I tried to log in to determine whether a response had been posted to my account, it told me that my password was incorrect(and that had been cut and pasted from their e-mail so I am doubtful about that).
I will wait until next week for a proper response from the library and if no response in my in-box will send a direct e-mail as you suggest.
Thanks again!
Canadian Mary
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Hello Mary
Another suggestion would be to contact the church. I am sure they would have received either a complimentary copy or purchased a copy.
I wonder if we have an Ohman connection. My Waite York ancestor married an Ohman and eventually settled in Ontario.
Cheers,
Linda
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Hello!
Now that is a thought about the church having a copy of the book. Thanks for suggesting it!
I am still waiting to hear back from the library but imagine that they get oodles of requests and will try to be patient.
Where in Ontario did your OHMAN settle? My Jane, daughter of Henry, married Richard DOUGHTY and they moved to Toronto by 1851. They left England in 1850.
Mary
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Hello Mary
My Waite wasn't born until 1881 and left England for Boston in 1909, settled a couple years there, then moved to Sherbooke before 1914 and then Toronto. Seeing your Ohman request made me wonder. I never thought to link my Lina Elvira Ohman who migrated also to Boston in 1909 to England. Looks like they may have emigrated together and possibly from England, seeing that there are other Omans in the York area.
Your post has given me some new direction.
I don't know much about my Lina nor her parents, other than she was born in Sweden abt 1885. Maybe she is on the 1901 England census.
Linda
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This entry is dualfold -
Firstly, I heard back from the Sheffield Library, ask a librarian post. Actually the query was sent to the York Reference Library for their action and although they did not hold the book that I mentioned, they found mention of another OHMAN who made violins and built organs in a scrapbook about York musicians. They directed me to links for Doncaster libraries as this is where Tickhill is near and they may have a copy. I have sent an e-mail to them.
Thank you Linda for your input - I had wondered whether the surname OHMAN might have been of Swedish origin. Hard to say whether there may be a connection between our families. Toronto, being a large city, is a magnet for immigrants as there are many opportunities there. You might want to make a posting asking if someone will consult ship passenger lists(I believe that Ancestry.com offers a search of some records) to see whether perhaps your two OHMANs left for Boston on the same ship.
Mary
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Hello all!
Doncaster library was kind enough to provide me with a transcription of the page in the book that was relevant. This was done in a timely matter and much appreciated.
Mary
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Good result Mary!
I hope at some future date you and Linda might be able to prove a connection.
Mary!
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Thanks again for your help Mary. Hope that you are having continued success with searching your lot.
Mary
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Hi Mary,
I am currently researching the organ-builders of York. How much do you know about Andrew E Ohman? He is proving a tricky one to research!
Best Wishes,
Max
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Good day!
Oh boy it has been many years...over ten since my original post. I read through all the postings here to try to refresh my memory on this chap. I have to tell you...that at this point in time all that I remember is that my great-grandfather William DOUGHTY's middle name was Ohman which was apparently his mother's maiden name. That helped to explain why my uncle's middle name was Homan...the proper spelling was not known so this was an attempt.
As to what the records showed that I was provided with, I do not know. It would have been received via the internet and my computer took a nosedive and all that information was gone. Anything that I saved to a floppy was lost as well as it turned out that all the files were corrupted. I cried. Many years of research all gone. I had a skeleton printed out...but that was it.
As a result...I decided that my time in the world of genealogy had ended. And I don't do any family research at all anymore....leaving it for the next generation to do the sleuthing.
Sorry that I could be of no help.
Mary
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Good day Sir
I bought a violin on eBay from someone in Yorkshire and it labelled Andreas Ebahard Ohman 1803 York. I've been researching the maker and this brought me here.
I could send pictures if it will be of help to your research.
With best regards
Michael Ajayi
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Good day!
Oh boy it has been many years...over ten since my original post. I read through all the postings here to try to refresh my memory on this chap. I have to tell you...that at this point in time all that I remember is that my great-grandfather William DOUGHTY's middle name was Ohman which was apparently his mother's maiden name. That helped to explain why my uncle's middle name was Homan...the proper spelling was not known so this was an attempt.
...
Mary
Hi Mary! I seem to be related to you through the Doughtys. I saw your original post a few years ago when researching Anders Eberhard Ohman, but it was from 2006 so I didn't know if you'd still be checking this website. Weirdly, that exact same story has been passed down through my line of the family as well! Our ancestor, whom my grandmother presumed was French, was supposed to have been sailing back from France where'd he built an organ in a church, when he was robbed for his money and tossed overboard (and presumably killed).
I've been doing a lot of research on this most mysterious ancestor: the short summary of the results is that he was born on May 11, 1793 in Björksta, Sweden. His parents were Michael Öhman and Catharina Ulrica Rosén. Catharina Ulrica Rosén was the daughter of Gabriel Rosén and Margareta Rath. Gabriel Rosén was the son of Eric Rosenius and Anna Wekander. They were all evidently of the upper class or nobility of Sweden, mostly priests/pastors (not sure what the term would be in English - I've only seen it written in Swedish and I've had to teach myself a bit of Swedish to do some of this research). Eric Rosenius and Anna Wekander had a number of relatively well-known children, including Nils Rosén von Rosenstein, first physician to the King of Sweden (whom Carl Linnaeus, the famous botanist, at one point tried to stab with a sword), Sven Rosén, who was banished from Sweden for being a leader of Radical Pietism, and Eberhard Rosénblad, who was a professor of medicine. I think Anders Eberhard Öhman's middle name came from his uncle Eberhard.
Anders seems to have became a journeyman musical instrument maker, and apparently part of that training required going to another country and working there before you could become a master craftsman, which is probably how he ended up in England. Andrew Ohman, organ builder, married Dorothy White in 1820 in York, England. They had four kids: Elizabeth Ohman (born 1822), Charles William Ohman (born 1823), Alfred Ohman (born 1825), and Jane Ohman (born 1828). Only Jane survived - Charles William died the same year as he was born (1823), Alfred died in 1826, and Elizabeth died in 1838 (at 16 years old).
From York directories and other sources, you can see Anders/Andrew continued working in York as an organ builder and musical instrument maker. He apparently built an organ in Tickhill, Yorkshire, in 1831 (I would LOVE to see that Portrait of an English Parish Church book in which he is mentioned, but I haven't been able to get a copy yet. He seems to have built the organ under the name "Henry" Ohman, but I believe this is the same person as "Andrew" Ohman, for various reasons). He appears to have disappeared in 1832, but he does not appear to have died: I found a London Christie's Auction House record of a sale of a viola labelled "Andrew E. Ohman/maker/Stockholm Sweden/1836" (which sold on March 18, 1992 - if anyone knows who bought it, I'd love to buy it from them). I believe he is the "Andrew Ohman," 45 (age range 45-49) on the 1841 Census of England, living in the household of George Marshall and family in St. Margaret's Parish, Leicester. On the 1851 Census of England, he was "Ohman Andrew," a 58-year-old organ builder from Sweden, visiting the household of Henry Taylor, an apprentice plumber at 29 Satchwell Street, Leamington Priors (now called Leamington Spa), Warwickshire, England. Interestingly, he was recorded as "Unmarried."
The death certificate for Andrew Ohman says he died Aug. 13, 1860 at Warneford Hospital, Leamington, Warwickshire, a "Musician," 68 years old, died of uncertain cause, but possibly cirrhosis of the liver. However, his family appeared to think he had died in 1832, as I ordered the probate for "Andrew Eberhard Ohman" of Stonegate, York, organbuilder, which was not passed until Jun. 24, 1839, but which says he died in 1832. This suggests he had gone missing and they'd had to wait 7 years before he could be declared legally dead. It was signed by his widow, Dorothy Ohman. I also have the probate of Catharina Ulrica Ohman (in Sweden, she would be known by the surname "Rosén") of Västerås, Sweden, who left a small amount of money to her grandchild, Jane Ohman of York, England, said to be the surviving child of "Andrew Eberhardt Ohman deceased."
So what really happened to him? I've got a lot of theories, but not many facts. I'm also very intrigued by the reply of Michael Ajayi - if 1803 was really the date the violin was built, it can't be made by our Ohman, because he would only have been 10 years old at the time. And yet, another Andreas Eberhard Ohman, musical instrument maker, living in York? Who else could it be? I don't suppose it's a typo for 1830?
Anyhow, glad to see there are other people interested in this mystery!
Jarra (pseudonym)
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I have been contacted by someone who possesses a violin made by Ohman in 1827. Will ask Michael Ajayi for photographs and compare the two instruments.
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https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/27212/