A is for...
- Asylums. If someone in your family tree 'vanished', look in mental asylum records. Causes of depression and other forms of mental illness included childbirth, epilepsy, head injury, alcohol, syphilis, congenital defect, jealousy, bereavement and 'domestic troubles'. Many patients (and their relatives) had been in asylums in other States and/or other countries. My Web site lists thousands of names from my indexes to mental asylum records. Start by reading the article about asylum case books.
- Arndell Index. Originally on 48,000 cards, this index was compiled mainly from early parish registers for the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales, Australia. It is thought to contain complete indexes (1811-1971) for St. Matthew's, Windsor; St. John's, Wilberforce; St. James's, Pitt Town; St. Peter's, Richmond; and the Presbyterian Church, Ebenezer. The index is held by the Society of Australian Genealogists. (This information is from the book Specialist Indexes in Australia: a Genealogist's Guide, which is described on my Web site.)
- ASHTON. Catherine ('Kitty') ASHTON of Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, England, married Peter MATTHEW or MATHEW of Crambe, North Yorkshire, in 1803. Census records imply that Kitty was born about 1777 at Swinton, Yorkshire. Was she related to James ASHTON and Thomas ASHTON who witnessed marriages at Kirby Misperton 1804-1807? If you are researching ASHTON of Swinton or Kirby Misperton, please contact me.
You may find some useful tips in my other articles in this series.
