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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: RowanR on Tuesday 13 May 25 11:50 BST (UK)
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I was wondering if anybody might be able to help with some clue where to look for my 6xs great grandfather Thomas Fisher. He marries Nancy Hoyle on 4 November 1764 at Guiseley where he is described as being an officer of the excise and his his age on the marriage license is 21, making his birth about 1743. They have a daughter Mary baptised in Guiseley on 13 March 1772, I've not found any other children. Nancy is described as a widow when she claims the administration for her father, Nathan Hoyle's estate in 1809 (18 years after his death!) and that is all I know about Thomas.
Mary goes on to marry Matthew Blenkarn at Wheldrake in 1791 and they live on Walmgate in York, Nancy is living with them when she dies in 1832.
If anybody has any suggestions at all I'd be grateful as I'm completely stuck.
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https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/excise-and-inland-revenue-officers/
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Thank you, I downloaded the name indexes for 1764 and did find a Thomas Fisher mentioned a couple of times, and also mentions of a John Fisher and a Jonathan Fisher, unfortunately I don't have a way to visit the National Archives at the moment. I guess if I keep going I'll find out when Thomas stops being mentioned which will possibly be around his death so might be of help but with several indexes per year and limit of 100 downloads over 30 days it could take a while, still there's no hurry, I doubt he's going anywhere, lol.
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You don't need to download the indexes to the Minutes - they can be inspected online, using the 'preview image' function for each volume. It doesn't take that long.
In the end, though, to access the Minutes themselves, you will need to have research done at TNA, as the volumes are not online. You are unlikely to get his place of birth out of them, but with luck you might be able to trace him back to his first appointment.
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I'm a twit, when you use the left and right arrow keys to look through previews it jumps from page 8 to page 13 so I thought the preview didn't cover all the pages, I didn't realise that it was doing a 'next group' jump.
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Ah, glad you've got the hang of it now :)
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I have chronic pain, sometimes my brain isn't quite as good as on other days.
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One of my ancestors' was a Northampton man, who became an Excise Officer in Northampton, but then suddenly I suspected they were having children at a Parish or place near Abingdon just after 1816 and I needed to confirm it was him and the returns confirmed it was and he had moved.
William Westley's government salary, next show him as an Excise Officer at Abingdon in 1816.
Returns to an order of the Honourable House of Commons, dated the 6th of April 1821;--for an account of all clerks, and others, admitted to any civil office ...
The above was a return for 1816, with lists of persons names, locations and amounts who were paid a government salary.
If you can get the year when they appear and the exact full name of the government document and date, some were once on their website, if you write a nice email to the Parliamentary Archives, they have helped with all manner of bits and pieces of officialdom and they will let you know if they have the document, if there is a fee and how to pay
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/parliamentary-archives
https://archives.parliament.uk/
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Some were bound into Volumes and show up in Google Books
Open Library website
Internet Archive website
Wayback Machine website
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Some American Universities are very interested in the history of our Political System ...
PennState University Libraries (some links are for account holders or you require a University pass)
https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/c.php?g=404407&p=2752894
You can find people on the ...
Last Chance To Read website
UK Parliamentary Papers (a commercial website)
https://about.proquest.com/en/products-services/uk-parliamentary-papers/
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UK The Gazette website is an interesting one, goes back several centuries too
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/
One page on The Gazette website has a Notice of Closing a Burial Ground for all burials, with the exception of (she is named) who happens to be a 19th Century relative of mine, at that place.
It is worth trying some of these websites.
Be careful with some links from internet search engine searches, stick to recognised websites.
Mark
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Thank you
I'll add these to the list of places to look.
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Well, going through the name indexes didn't help, there must be two Thomas Fishers in them because the name keeps appearing through to at least 1810 and Nancy is definitely described as a widow in 1809. I'll have to leave it until I can ask somebody to go through the minute books.
Back to sorting out Quaker families in Settle Monthly Meeting area.
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If 1810 is the last reference to him in the Minutes, it's possible that it refers to the appointment of his successor to his vacant post. So I wouldn't rule it out.
If you or anyone else is going to look up the Minutes at TNA, they will need a full list of the volume and page references from the indexes, in order to do it properly.
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It's not the last mention, they carry on. I've noted down all the references and page numbers in a table, for every Fisher, not just Thomas. My late mother was a local studies librarian, she trained me well ;D