The following announcement was written by LostCousins:
Upstairs, downstairs - where were YOUR ancestors?
"Upstairs, Downstairs" was one of the most successful TV series of the 1970s, winning awards on both sides of the Atlantic as it told the tale of the Bellamy family and their servants. But what was an enjoyable drama for us could have been grim reality for our ancestors, because in late 19th century England over a quarter of girls aged 15-19 were live-in servants and for most of them their only hope of escape from a life of drudgery was to marry.
Whether your ancestors were "upstairs" or "downstairs" you can now use the LostCousins site to look for the descendants of the people they lived with - whether employees, co-workers, or employers - who may well have known them better than their own family.
It's a chance to get behind the stark facts set out on censuses and certificates and find out more about how people really lived. For example, the household accounts may have been preserved, revealing how much each member of staff was paid - or perhaps one of the servant girls kept a scrapbook or a diary.
Wealthy families often had at least two residences - a house in town and an estate in the country - but this typically won't be obvious from censuses, since people couldn't be in two places at once. Many domestic staff would re-locate with their masters, and this frequently explains how romance could blossom between people born on the opposite sides of the country.
With luck you might solve a mystery that has lasted more than a century such as whether the father of an illegitimate child was the heir to a fortune, or a humble stable lad. (Did another servant leave the household at around the same time? Was one of the sons sent abroad, ostensibly to broaden his mind?)
Some members will have relatives who worked for famous politicians or celebrities, for members of the aristocracy, or even for royal personages. Who knows what you might discover by contacting the descendants of a fellow servant, or a member of the employer's family?
The LostCousins website has a unique system that matches people with a common interest automatically, confidentially, and with virtually 100% accuracy. But what makes the LostCousins really special is this - you'll know how you're related or otherwise connected to the other member even before you get in touch!
All this is achieved with a very simple system that utilises census data as a 'key' to open the door to new contacts, new information, and new opportunities. Once LostCousins members have entered their information from the census it takes just one click to look matches with the data entered by other members, and you can repeat the search as often as you like.
Because the LostCousins system is fully automatic the information members enter remains hidden - there's no chance that anyone else can see your entries. At a time when concern is increasing over the disclosure of confidential personal data it's reassuring to know that, from the very beginning, the LostCousins system was designed to protect members' privacy.
How much extra will members have to pay to use these new features? Nothing - basic membership of LostCousins remains FREE and, for those who want to upgrade, a 12-month subscription is still only £10 ($20).
The LostCousins website can be found at: http://www.LostCousins.com.
Yes, LostCousins.com is one of the better networking endeavors for both sides of the Atlantic. And now--even better--with the additional collateral research abilities! What next--neighboring households? Very nice, lads!
Happy Dae.
http://www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com
Posted by: Happy Dae | March 01, 2008 at 02:38 AM
"their only hope of escape from a life of drudgery" I seriously doubt that marriage for a "downstairs" girl amounted to an escape from drudgery, rather just a change of scene and what we would surely call more drudgery.
Posted by: Sally Bailey | March 01, 2008 at 08:09 AM
How interesting. I will be sure to bookmark this site. My great, great grandmother came across from Norfolk, England about 1856. Her father was a man's servant for a time until he went to a brewery where he met his death by scalding. After his death his widow took about four children to the workhouse. Finally they came over, the mother and a daughter (my ggg. grand mother and her dau. my gg grandmother) escaping that drudgery of the workhouse for the hard life of farmers' wives. But they built a good life here in USA and raised fine families. How great it would be to find the father's place of work in a great house in England, before he found harder employment and his death in a brewer's vat. Yes, we have been to England and verified this family story by the actual death record that I found in the BDM records in London. Now, I think we can find this on line here at home.
Posted by: Ann Tyson Sipes | March 02, 2008 at 12:33 PM