The Hampshire Family Historian | Volume 51 No.4 | March 2025

Local Group Programmes

can be quite graphic. General opinions, betrayals and outcomes will be based upon the prevailing views at the time (about punishment, class, race, gender, poverty, war, employment etc) and may not reflect our current thinking. Sometimes, there was even fake news printed. The social context is so important to understand events. Finally, Denise concluded there were some frustrating drawbacks with brevity, anonymity, missing vital facts and occasional sensationalism. (December) Members’ Christmas party About 30 Andover members met in the Weyhill Fairground Hall for our annual Christmas party. The committee had supplied some warm sausage rolls and mince pies, with wine and soft drinks in addition to the usual teas and coffees. We had a good turnout of members to help in the kitchen and beyond. Christmas songs played in the background and a few seasonal clothes were on display. We were arranged around 6 tables which also formed teams for the games, the first of which was a list of seasonal anagrams, from Maggie, that we had to solve. We discussed Christmas memories in groups. It had been suggested that members bring in old toys and mementos but only one member spoke about an old Corgi toy car he had brought in. We then put our genealogy knowledge to the test with one of Rodney’s fiendish quizzes. There were 15 questions (some with multiple points on offer) but no team scored more than 10 points. The raffle prizes were drawn and awarded at the end – with several people winning multiple times - before we drew the evening to a close. At the end, there was a blur of activity On a particularly cold evening, Peter spoke from Weston Super Mare, using Zoom. The intriguing title gave little away and we heard about two generations of his direct male ancestors – both called Joseph Earl James. Peter was initially surprised to discover the far flung places in which the older Joseph (b1774) appeared, especially considering the era he lived in. Newspaper articles proved invaluable in the story. Joseph was born in Birmingham but his wife, Jemima, came from Essex. They were married in Bolton yet their first child was baptised in Westminster! Otherwise, Joseph’s name first appeared on a certificate to sell hair powder and he became a pedlar of clothes and materials. Further children were baptised in Gainsborough (Lincs) and Derby before an unlikely move to Truro in 1808. Here he placed notices in the local paper and tried to put the local shopkeepers out of business by offering his ‘superior’ goods. In a truly bizarre notice he even claimed to be the Emperor of Truro and his brother to be the King of Penzance. After more children were born here, he left – or was he pushed...? There is then a gap until he appears as a menagerie owner in Bristol in 1821. Adverts describe the many animals that could be seen including a Bonassus. He somehow took this enterprise to Scotland. In 1831 he was a juror in Middlesex but died and was buried in non conformist grounds in Birmingham – date unknown – until his remains were moved in 1936. as helpers packed away everything in about 15 minutes! (January) From Emperor to Workhouse – Peter De Dulin

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