Random Findings

I'm still sitting on my Welsh research, but then it does keep on growing here and there, so bear with me.

However, I went to the National Library of Wales with my friend Gillian, who may just be a bigger bookworm than me (it's a close run thing) and when I'd done what I could with my tree, I found her still waiting for books she'd ordered.

So, naturally, I had to order some, too.

I ordered a book on the history of Customs and Excise, as I was curious as to how useful it might be for adding details to the life of my ancestor William Childs Forster (for his misadventures, see an earlier post).

It was useful and a book I'll have to get through Inter Library Loans, but for the meantime, I learnt one important piece of information - at the time when William joined the Excise service it was heading for its peak, with several Customs duties having been swapped over to Excise. There was a waiting list of around 300 people wanting to become Excise officers, so they only let in people who were relatives of current officers.

Interesting, eh? For one thing, it strengthens the likelihood of Henry Forster being William's brother (or other relative) and for another, it means that someone, presumably of a previous generation, got William his post. But who, that's the question? I don't know whether I can find out or not, but it may be the only way I'll get backwards on this difficult line. I shall be keeping my eyes peeled when I finally get the chance to go back to TNA.

Oh, and then I ordered up the 'wrong' Book of Barnstaple and flicked through it, only to find a picture of my Grandad, Albert Jewitt, with his colleagues in the print room of the North Devon Journal-Herald. I squeaked. Quietly, of course...

And that was only the accidental research.