Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions (General)

by bonnie1man @, Thursday, August 09, 2012, 18:21 (4287 days ago)

Hi, We'll be traveling to the Coleford area in early/mid Sept and my husband's ancestors (Thomas Voyce 1845-1923 married to Sarah Burton (1853-1933) lived here along with his grandfather George Voyce until George moved to Seymour Iowa, USA. Is there anyway to look at land records to figure out whether Thomas Voyce's house is still standing that he lived in during 1891-1911 time range - census list him as living in/on Broadwell, Lane End.

I have information that says he was buried in Coleford Cemetery - and the memoranda on the transcript list (1) Broadwell Lane End (2) not stated (3) M 7 (4) Unconsecrated (5). Is any of this information helpful to finding a tombstone and if not, is there someway to easily search for the tombstone - i have no idea of how big the cemetery is? The record ID is 170905; 1923, Feb 11; Register Reference is DA25/204/30.

In addition my husband's other ancestor - George Thomas (1823-1888) lived on Hoarthorne Sump in West Dean. Again trying to find out where and if the house is still standing.

Also are there certain stops we should plan on making for doing some further ancestry research? For example through help on this forum, it became evident that Thomas Voyce was the illegitimate child of Marianne Voice and Henry Cooper with Marianne then marrying Benjamin Roberts who raised Thomas along with his natural born children. I'd like to figure out how Marianne knew Henry Cooper - ie did she work for him, was he a classmate etc to attempt to figure out the relationship that lead to the birth of Thomas Voyce in 1845.

Thanks for any advice you can provide is greatly appreciated. Bonnie

Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions

by May @, Friday, August 10, 2012, 00:59 (4287 days ago) @ bonnie1man

First let me say that I will be able to give you a fuller answer in a few days.

There are nearly 6000 records of burials in Coleford Cemetery Thomas is buried in M7 Unconsecrated ground which could mean that he was "Chapel". My immediate concern is that there seem to be graves numbered M7 in both of the unconsecrated Sections of the Cemetery. I will check a few things and pop up to the cemetery over the weekend and look at both locations - we may even get lucky and find a headstone.

May

Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions

by bonnie1man @, Friday, August 10, 2012, 02:41 (4287 days ago) @ May

May - that would be terrific - certainly would appreciate anything you can find as our time will be limited when in the Coleford area. A Derrick Kear of Edge End near Coleford (Dean 832594) visited Iowa, USA in 2003 and met some of the descendants of the Voyce, Thomas and Jones families from Forest of Dean who immigrated to Iowa. It would be great to contact Derrick when we're there - is Dean 832594 a phone number?? as this was information listed in a newspaper clipping in the Review. Thanks for letting me know what you find about the tombstones. Bonnie

Edge End Voyces & Thomas's

by Jefff @, West London, Middlesex, Friday, August 10, 2012, 18:09 (4286 days ago) @ bonnie1man

Hi Bonnie,
Yes the number you have posted is a Dean phone number, and I have just phoned it.
I enjoyed a VERY pleasant hour or so chatting with a very helpful complete stranger named Derek Kear who is now retired and still lives in Edge End. He tells me this was previously called Hawthorns End after Hawthorn Farm, and that the address you mention btw should be Hawthorns Tump not Sump, Tump being the Dean name for a small hill often mine spoil, I suggest a sump is more likely to be found in East Anglia say as a land drainage ditch.
Anyhow, Derek very fondly recalls his trip to Seymour, Iowa, a town in the farming Mid West barely bigger than Edge End itself (so small !). He says he's recently stopped receiving replies to his Christmas cards to his main contact there (Bob?), he believes most of the Voyces have died out now. He was clearly delighted to chat to me about this "trip of a lifetime" and his old days in the Forest, such as playing football for the then very good Lydbrook Athletic (my dad's area), plus he once played rugby for "Wales" despite tecnically being English; he also knows some of my relatives it seems, such as the Astons who are another large family in the Broadwell/Lane End area with good footballers too !.

Derek says yes Thomas Voyce's house is still there, just opposite what used to be the "Bird In Hand" pub, but is unsure about George Thomas' house altho I suspect he will now start searching for it !. He would be delighted to speak to you about all this and is very happy to show you the Voyce House if you visit him In September, I got the impression I made his day by chatting about all this history, especially as he feels the younger generations of Voyces etc in the USA aren't interested in it.
Unfortunately Derek doesn't own a computer so has no email etc, altho he mentioned his sons living locally so I suspect they can help out in this respect if need be. However he has assured me that as a retired man he has plenty of time and would be very pleased to chat to you directly by phone, or in writing if you prefer (I'm sure he will give me your postal address if you are shy, although please be assured like most Foresters he will be very welcoming to you & your phonecall assuming its a good time of day of course). I suggested I suspect you may well call him soon, he has no immediate plans such as holidays altho will be out next Wednesday; clearly a genuinely nice friendly chap !.

I am sure you will find a chat both informative and enjoyable, I suspect as I type he's now eagerly looking forward to it and probably looking-out his reference files !

I hope this reply makes you as happy as it made me "researching" & writing it !

PS I dont know the international UK phone code, but the UK area code for Dean is 01594.

PPS I haved looked upo the Review website and altho they do have the last few years copies accessible online, it doesnt go back as far as 2003. I guess you have it as a clipping ?. If so I wonder if it's possible you can please scan it and post it on this site, I'm sure it would make interesting reading for us all especially those researching the Voyce, Thomas & Kears. Thankyou.

Edge End Voyces & Thomas's

by bonnie1man @, Friday, August 10, 2012, 19:13 (4286 days ago) @ Jefff

Jeff, thanks so much - it was wonderful to get your message about Derrick Kear. We will be arriving into the Bristol Airport afternoon of Sunday Sept 9th, will be in the Coleford area Sunday late afternoon and on Monday the 10th then will get up to the Gloucestershire archives on Tuesday - not sure yet about Wed but we fly out of Heathrow on Thursday the 13th. So best bet would be to talk/meet him on Monday (or Sunday late afternoon/early evening). IF you could supply his address that would be great. I'll have to see if my skype account can contact landlines versus other Skype accounts.

Yes, the person Derrick met in Iowa, Bob Voyce is my husband's uncle, also Hazel Voyce, wife of Bert Voyce and Bob supplied the newspaper clipping so I can post it as I have a digital scanned version. I also have a photo of Thomas Voyce and his family that Bob supplied as well. He has been very helpful in providing some information about the Voyce as he is the oldest living Voyce of this family line ie son of George Voyce who left for Iowa (George is son of Thomas Voyce and sarah BUrton). I'll try posting both in an appropriate place on this site (if I didn't already post the photo of Thomas Voyce's family).

I've also been in contact awhile back with an Ivon Voice who lives in New Zealand and has worked quite a bit on the Voyce/Voice lineage. He had lived awhile in England so think he may have gotten to the Coleford area to visit at some point.

Thanks also for the information about where the Thomas Voyce house is located!! Truely appreciate your ringing up Derrick and we'll be sure to give it a try when we get to the Coleford area if we don't make plans by post ahead of time.

Bonnie +1-973-219-8496 (my cell phone number)

Dean miners to Seymour Iowa

by Jefff @, West London, Middlesex, Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 22:00 (4282 days ago) @ bonnie1man

Hi Bonnie,
please see the direct email I've sent you containing Derrick Kear's home postal address etc. Luckily his own holiday just avoids clashing with your visit dates and he's looking forward to hopefully meeting you in September. You mentioned you were surprised to find a mining town in what you thought was the stereotypical flat corn lands of the mid-West; Derrick told me he was too, and thought the Seymour area very alike to his Forest home, which I hope you'll enjoy visiting. Derrick also reminded me that altho many Foresters did migrate to Seymour in it's heydays, some of them eventually returned to the Forest when the Seymour mines went into decline.
This excellent site shows the population peaked in 1910 at abt 3 times the current 800ish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour,_Iowa

Another usefull site which includes links to the local Wayne County family history forum is
http://www.americantowns.com/ia/seymour-information#History

Re the Seymour area this forum has had several prior threads which may help other researchers, including yours Bonnie thankyou, such as:

http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=17874
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=31298
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=16343
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=22638
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/coleford/pages/page_2.html

Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions

by rookancestrybest @, United Kingdom, Sunday, August 19, 2012, 15:44 (4278 days ago) @ May

ALL non-conformists had to be buried in un-consecrated ground, this included all those associated with chapels such as Methodists, Unitarians but the whole range of any faith which was not Church of England. So people could be R.C. or of any other faith and not buried in consecrated ground. (It is highly possible that the particular priests or religious ministers blessed the ground where the people were buried and were thus consecrated in their eyes but not officially recognised as such).


You need to be aware too that not everyone had a stone over their grave and you might find that some or even all of the graves you seek to find are unmarked.

Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions

by Roger Griffiths @, Friday, August 10, 2012, 17:17 (4286 days ago) @ bonnie1man

Yes, for your first paragraph. Gloucestershire County Records hold the 'Duties on Land Values per Part I of the Finance Act 1910'. There are schedules naming owners and occupiers and copies of the large scale OS maps of 1901 marked with numbers for all properties and parcels of land to tie up with the schedules. These are, or were, in a separate building in Gloucester from the main County records. I'm afraid I finished with the Gloucestershire phase of my family history 12 years ago or more. No doubt someone here or at County Records can supply you with address and telephone number.

Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions

by Registrar @, Gloucester, Friday, August 10, 2012, 20:13 (4286 days ago) @ Roger Griffiths

Gloucestershire Records Office is now known as Gloucestershire Archives and has pulled together previous Glos record office records and the local history records that were once in the library

Gloucestershire Archives
Clarence Row
Alvin Street
Gloucester
GL1 3DW
telephone 01452 425295

Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions

by bonnie1man @, Friday, August 10, 2012, 22:31 (4286 days ago) @ Registrar

thanks for the information - we do plan to go to the archives when visiting

Land Records and Coleford area Visit Questions

by May @, Friday, August 10, 2012, 23:06 (4286 days ago) @ Registrar

Regarding the Cemetery. Today I have had a good look round both sections where the M7 graves are located, but there were no obvious Voyce headstones in either area. I have also checked the original burial registers and the transcription details you have from this site are complete.

I could show you with absolute certainty the house in Broadwell where a Derrick Voyce lived, certainly up to the 1970's with his wife Hazel and their children, as they were our next door neighbours but I am uncertain as yet exactly if/where they fit in this family tree. Sadly, Derrick and now Hazel have died in recent years.

I believe you can contact landlines with Skype and the charge is equivalent to the cost of the call from the local exchange of/to the number you are dialling. It is called a Skypeout call, and originally cost me about 1p per minute to Australia. Calls to mobile (cell) phones will probably be much more expensive.

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