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WELCOME TO THE EIGHTH EDITION OF THE “WORLD WIDE W*GG*”

Editor - Vivian Egan

Over the past couple of months, several new researchers have come out of the woodwork. I hope to have an up-to-date list of Researchers out early in the New Year. I am currently still slogging along cross-referencing each record in the main database against my family history programme files.

PHILLIMORE'S MARRIAGE INDEX.......................................................... contributed by Gerry Langford

This useful reference work, published on CDs by "Family Tree Magazine" covers some 1700 parishes in 29 counties, but the coverage varies considerably from county to county, 165 being recorded for Cornwall but only 3 for the whole of Yorkshire. In the case of Norfolk only 141 parishes are listed out of more than 650 on the Parish Boundary map.

"Family Tree Magazine" also publish a booklet "Index to Parishes in Phillimore's Marriages" which lists the parishes on each CD so only those of interest need be purchased which is just as well as they are priced at £19.99 each.

VITAL RECORDS UPDATE

Sheila Gompertz has been very industrious and the WIGGS death entries from the GRO Index have now been extracted from 1837 to 1949, and uploaded to Alan STANIER's website at http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~alan/Wigg/index.html. Thanks to Sheila for all her hard work.

LONG-LIVED NORFOLK FAMILY............................................................ contributed by Gerry Langford

In 1936 my great uncle Frederick George Wigg wrote to the local paper (The Eastern Daily Press, published in Norwich, Norfolk, England) drawing attention to the longevity of his family. His four grandparents were aged 77, 81, 96, & 91 when they died, his father was 86 and his mother 70. At the time of writing his elder brother had died aged 73, Uncle Fred was 81 and seven brothers and sisters were all living and over 70. My grandmother was the youngest but I can remember them all except two who had emigrated and knew they had lived for several more years. Moreover my father and his two brothers were all over 80 at the time this came to my notice which prompted me check the age at which my grandmother's generation had died. Apart from Robert, who had died aged 73, they all lived to be over 80. The combined age of the nine brothers and sisters was 759 ; what Uncle Fred failed to mention was that there were two others who did not reach their first birthday.

INTRODUCING A NEW SPOT - "LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"

Dear Editor,

I would like to add my thanks to yours to all the people who make data available "on line" or to add to your database. Perhaps we should look to extend this to other sources of information such as the lists of wills earlier than 1858. Most County Record Offices have lists of probate granted by the various Eccleastical Authorities in the county which often extend into adjoining counties. Copies of these wills are still comparatively cheap to purchase when compared with recent increase in the cost of those after 1858. Another useful source are the ad hoc census returns made at different times, while by no means complete coverage they are still useful as are the "Posse Comitatus" lists of men between the ages of 16 and 60 available for military service. ......................................................... Gerry Langford.

[Editor: Excellent suggestions, Gerry......any one like to volunteer their services ?? ]

FEATURE FAMILY - WIGG ANCESTORS of June HAYES

My mother was Violet May Wigg, born in 1899 to Abraham and Edith (Stevens) Wigg in Faversham, Kent, England. When my mother was 5 years old, Abraham moved the family to Teynham, Kent, where he worked in the brickfields. Many of the Wiggs were employed in the brickfields or gunpowder works.

In 1911 Abraham left the family and emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He found work there in coal yards and saved enough money to bring his family over the following year. Besides my mother there were three younger sisters, Alice, Lucy, and Lena. Three other daughters had died in infancy. His brother Walter and sister Annie emigrated with them. Annie did not like Canada and was returning to England when the ship was sunk in the St Lawrence River and she and her young son , Arthur , were drowned.

My grandmother died in 1915 at the age of 36 leaving my mother to care for her younger sisters. Some time later my grandfather hired a housekeeper, a widow with three daughters, and later they were married. Seven girls were too much for my mother so she left home and went out to work. When she was 17 she met a young soldier, Robert Johnson, who had come from Lewisham, Kent. A year later they were married and that is where I came in. After the war my parents lived in Saskatchewan, Canada until their deaths in 1979 and 1995; my father living to the grand age of 102!

At present I am trying to find out more about Walter Wigg (my grandfather's brother) who died in Toronto in 1936.

PROFILE SPOTLIGHT - Andrew WEGG

My name is Andrew Wegg, I'm English and was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire in 1961.

When I was young, I absolutely hated my name as I thought it sounded stupid, but over the years I became used to it and then intrigued as it was so distinctive and unusual. Since I started researching the name, I have realised just how unusual - I'm now grateful I don't have to research a name like Smith or Jones!

Although my grandfather had several brothers and sisters, my father was an only child and when growing up, I knew no other Weggs beyond the immediate family, but occasionally saw the name mentioned. It was surprising when I started researching the name how many Weggs there were and how concentrated in Norfolk many are. With much help from Vivian and others, I can now trace my WEGG roots back to George WEGG who was born around 1758 and married Susannah WILKINS in the tiny Norfolk village of Baconsthorpe on 12 Jan 1778. The family slowly migrated westwards across Norfolk until the end of the 19th Century when my grandfather came to Wisbech which is just over the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border and where my parents still live, although I now live in Kent.

Our branch of the WEGG family has just moved forwards a generation with the birth of my parents' first grand child, Nicholas Sean WEGG who was born earlier this year in the far off reaches of Wiltshire!

Now calling for items to appear in the next edition !

Until next time, happy hunting.......................................................

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