Tim Silver & family genealogy

Main family names being researched:

Silver; Meads; Andrews; Hyman

Just some of the many 'extended family' surnames:

Baldwin; Bushnell; Chalke; Church; Clifford; Emms; Fricker; Frith; Gray; Groves; Harmes; Hazell; Hooker; Johnson; Knight; Randall; Tagg; Winch; Wooderson

I had never been particularly interested in knowing about my heritage - I knew I was British - enough said! However, while sorting through my late mothers papers early summer 2008 (a moment of nostalgia with my sister), I paused and properly read some of the old documents that, previously, I had only quickly 'scanned'. The first that caught my eye was a lovely letter. It was a 'character reference', written for my paternal grandfather (Wilfred Silver), by his CO, on Wilfred's discharge from the 6th Armoured Car Company, Bareilly, India, October 1922. Along with this letter and other documents & photos, was an original copy of my great-grandparents' (Albert Edward Hyman & Phoebe Knight) marriage certificate (1895 and very 'dog-eared'). And after that, I found a telegram from the directors of the Linoleum Company, Staines (Albert's former employer) to Albert, congratulating him on his 90th birthday - 25 years after he'd retired! Well, that did it! I caught the bug, the bug bit & the search was on - and is very much 'on-going'.

Oh, to put a wise head on young shoulders! I knew Albert - I was fifteen when he died and the number of times I'd sat at his feet - but I never once asked him about his time with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1891 (but I didn't know, then, that he was in the DCLI in 1891).

Also fascinating are the 'links' that can be discovered (when the brain-cells are working). The 1901 census gives Albert's occupation as a 'colour mixer' at the Linoleum Factory, Staines; as was one Herbert Andrews. Herbert's son, Richard, married Albert's daughter, Mary - my maternal grandparents. I wonder how they met?

Obtaining copies of BMDs (birth, marriage & death certificates) is a slow process (well it is for me at £7 a go) but is progressing. So far there have been no surprises; no links to fame or fortune - a few illegitimate children, several visits to the 'workhouse' and a hint of 'in-breeding' (actually a couple of 1st cousin marriages - which I had always believed to be illegal, but apparently, it isn't). By and large, my ancestors were Ag. Labs. (agricultural labourers); a few other trades/occupations have come to light - thatcher, gamekeeper, ganger, lengthman, general dealer (??) - but it is my believe that, by and large, they were the 'salt of the earth'. On the female side, they were mainly domestic servants until they married, although there were a couple of lace-makers.

This site is more than a repository of the information that I have gathered (actually, that has been gathered by quite a few). Oh no - this is a collaborative site where, having registered, you will be able to enter/edit your own relations and help build our family tree. The database is very much a 'work-in-progress' - I only started June '08!

And before you start getting excited and click to enter/register, no, I'm not the Australian photographer/artist, nor the American medical practitioner from Virginia, or, for that matter, the IT specialist at Royal Holloway, University London. I'm Timothy James Silver - an ordinary 'Brit' (who also happens to work in IT) with an interest in his heritage!

Tim Silver

Please use these links to either browse as a guest or request a new user account.

Anyone may view the data at "public level" - however, for reasons of privacy & security, details of living persons are hidden from unregistered visitors. Registered users have greater access - though ONLY family and relatives (no matter how distant) will be granted registration. NO details of LIVING people are shown to anyone, other than registered users. Note to new users - the welcome page does not automatically recognise you, so treats you like a guest until you login.

Many thanks to AncestryHost (http://www.ancestryhost.com) for the free hosting of this site and to the developers of PHPGedView