Kearney and Young Family History

Some of the records I have saved from records on Ancestry have been entries from the National Probate Calendar. I have been searching for a Will for Thomas Mansel for a while, he’s one of my favourite characters and I would love to have found out more about him, such as if he had any property or possessions to leave. Sadly, I think he had neither, which is why he didn’t leave a Will.

Did you know you can pay £1.50 to access more information and you will receive a copy of the grant of representation and the will, if there is one. I have ordered a couple of records so am looking forward to finding out if anything is attached to them. I have no idea how long they take to arrive too so I will be refreshing every day!

So far I have found entries for Blanche Cole, Henry Harper Young, Ebenezer Fly, George Benger, George Caswell and Alfred Young. Obviously there were a lot more Wills made by men than women, but I am excited to read the Will of Blanche Cole and see what information it holds.

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Applications to be their next genealogy star are now open. They are looking for a UK resident to take on a family history adventure of a lifetime. Someone passionate about their family tree, whether they’ve started to research it or not.

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Here is my application:

My family history mystery

I started researching my family history as a school project and got hooked. My mum has always told me stories about her side of the family but unfortunately my Dad did not know much about his. He died when I was 20 and as he was an only child there was no-one left to ask.

I researched his parents and grand-parents and soon stumbled upon his uncle, Alfred Mansel Young, who died in the First World War. He was born in May 1895 and lived in Portsmouth. For some reason at the time of the 1911 census he was living and working in Bridgend, Wales, far away from his father and younger brother who lived in Portsmouth.

Sadly he was killed in action at Ypres in 1916, his name inscribed on the Thiepval Memorial. When my Dad died I inherited a box of letters which my paternal Grandmother had received after her husband died in 1959. One of these letters was from Tom Underhill which mentioned he was the adopted brother of Tom Underhill, the family my great uncle was staying with on the night of the 1911 census.

I haven’t managed to find a connection between the Underhill family of Bridgend and my Young family even though my great uncle is listed as nephew to John and Annie Underhill on the census. This is my mystery and I would love some help to understand what caused my uncle to move to Wales and live with this family until he enlisted with the South Wales Borderers in 1914. Was there a family connection?

I have my uncles’ First World War medals, a couple of photographs of him in uniform, and I believe a photo of John and Annie Underhill, and that is all.

To mark Remembrance, Findmypast is making its website and collections completely free to the public. From Thursday 9th November to Monday 13th November, anyone will be able to uncover the wartime experiences of their ancestors, from nurses to soldiers to home front civilians.

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You can also delve into 1939 Register, military records, hospital and migration records, and many more, to build a detailed picture of your ancestors’ lives. Unfortunately the 1921 census is not included in this offer.