History and Genealogy
NEW ON FOR GENEALOGISTS
Brand new out, handbook of UK Romani Gypsy Traveller Forenames Genetic Markers. Do you have Romani forebears? This will help you find out. Consists of Types of Forenames, commonest names, Romani Gypsy equivalents of non-Gypsy names, listing of 3000 names and which families they are found in, examples of categories of names, name origins, Bibliography, useful websites. A4 size, card covers, stapled, 124pp. price £12.95. |
This pb book is about three little known chapters in Gypsy and Traditional Traveller history. At one time, there was confusion between Romany Gypsies and 'Counterfeit Egyptians' but some old documents now shed new light on this. For about 200 years, Britain's Traditional Travellers - Romanies, irish Travellers and Scottish Travellers - were rounded up and taken to Barbados where they were sold as slaves, predating and overlapping the African slavery. Faced with that prospect or being hanged only for being a Gypsy, many went into hiding and found themselves confused with fairies!
Approx 300 pictures, 309 pages, pb. Normally £19.95, now £9.95. |
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Romany Gypsy and Nawken Wayside Burials (Robert Dawson)
What did you do in the past if the clergy refused to bury your loved one, or you had no money whatsoever, or the deceased had urged you to inter them somewhere they liked, or you were frightened of officialdom imprisoning you? If you were Romany or Scottish Nawken Traveller you buried them at the roadside or a field or wood, marking the spot so you could find it and visit it. This booklet describes several in detail and provides information in total about over 50 such in England and Scotland. Quite a few remain in oral tradition and this booklet explains Romany death and funeral customs, plus the why, the where, the evidence of burial objects and human bones, the destruction of the sites and detailed criteria to identify them. Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Hampshire, Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire and Scotland all have several. A4 size, stapled, 75 pages, over 30 b&w illustrations. Price £9.95. ISBN 978-1-903418-93-2. Cover design by Anabel Galvin Reyes |
A different way to look at Gypsy Traveller history - through the works of famous and not-so-famous artists of the past. 160 pictures from 1500 to 1900
British Gypsy and Traveller History Through Art to 1900. Descriptions of over 600 pre 1900 British paintings/drawings/prints and analysis of what they prove about British GT history. A4, 160 b&w illustrations including 15 identified GTs, 170 pages, 11 tables, 8 appendices. Many surprises. Sections on carts tents and wagons, costume, law, animals, travel, occupations, travel and numbers, camps, equipment etc, indications of area of country being illustrated and much much more. Not available through bookshops. Published RTFHS. Was £18, reduced to £15. LAST COPY |
Re-issue of the 1997 book published by Jean Kington now in A4 format. Covers masses of information about the Gypsies of Yorkshire, especially in the past. Illustrations by Amaletta
Contents include dedication to 'Nelson', Introduction, Who Are the Travelling People, Families, Surnames, Family Organization, Migrations, History, Oral Tradition, Culture, Mokhadi, Marriage, Births, Deaths and Burials, Superstitions, Specific forenames. Price £5.50. |
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The Porraimos: Photos of the Gypsy Holocaust in WW2.
An event too little known and acknowledged, here illustrated with the help of about 150 photos, many new discoveries. Half the photos are by Einstastzgruppen or regular army soldiers. 'Gypsy low-life' says the caption on one of an old lady. A few show transports and camps but most are benign - it is not just what they show, but what we know will happen that leaves us with the chill (pictures suitable for KS3/4 holocaust studies). The remainder show soldiers themselves or Gypsies in occupied countries before 1939. Stapled A4, 47 pp. Price reduced to £9.95 |
Never Forget: A Supplement to the Romani Holocaust. A collection of 240 photos of Gypsies taken during WW2 in Nazi run countries. It is an astonishing accumulation. The majority show benign encounters between soldiers and Gypsies - in camps, on the road, playing music, hawking etc and some beautiful portraits of Gypsies. But included are photos of Gypsies being rounded up, loaded onto lorries and trains, lined up to be shot, one even of Gypsies lying dead, doing forced labour, of them suffering in camps and even a resistance photo. These are photos purchased by me and other than about 20 have never been in the public view before. There is also a brief account of the Gypsy Holocaust itself, dismissing some of the myths and proving that the numbers killed must have been more than the official under-estimates (not least in Auschwitz). Ground breaking. A4 stapled, 83 pages, ISBN 978-1-903418-82-6. Price £10.95.
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British Gypsy Slavery: The Americas and Caribbean. This very little known aspect of persecution has never before been published as a separate subject and very little about it appears anywhere. The booklet gives an outline history of British slavery, Acts of Parliament against Gypsies, Romani in Caribbean Creoles, Barbados, The Transportation Offences of vagrancy, criminality and political agitation, Bibliography. Size A4. £9.95 (Cover colour may vary)
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Scottish Gypsy Traveller History - Donald Whyte
By Donald Whyte. Donald has used the obvious books on Scottish Travellers but has also sought out original documents and sources which he, as an eminent historian, was aware of. This pulling-together of the outline history of Scotland’s Travellers, brings back the first proven date for Gypsies in Scotland, and adds to the known history. As with other booklets published by myself, it is ground-breaking. Five Illustrations by Amaletta, map, photo. Extensive index. 87pp. Reduced to £7.95 |
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Scottish Traditional Traveller Families: Published Sources. A reference work listing sources for information which seem to provide interesting snippets of information about the history, ideas and activities of Scotland’s Traveller families. In recent times, census returns, parish records etc, continue to be better sources for the nitty gritty names. Over 30 different sources have been identified with information about 192 families, each source being indicated as a major or minor one for family historians to prioritize. There were Travellers in Scotland long before Gypsies arrived there c 1480. They were musicians, bards and, using the word in its original sense, tinkers - workers in metal... the formation of modern Scottish Travellers had two significant inputs which made the Romani and Lowland influences much less and the Highland ones more. These events were the 45 Uprising - Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender depending upon your viewpoint (1745) - and, even more importantly, the Highland Clearances.Perhaps not surprisingly, some of the surnames of those who fought on the side of Bonnie Prince Charlie? (1745-6) or the previous Jacobite campaign (1715) are those of modern day Scottish Travellers... 29pp, size A4, card covers. Last few copies. £5.50
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The 1895 Scottish Traveller Report. In 1894, an enquiry sat in various parts of Scotland to find out about and report back on Scotland’s Traditional Travellers. Some of the committee were liberal, and some viciously prejudiced. Their report made lots of comments and recommendations. One of the terrible results, was the rounding up of the children of Travellers and their sending to Canada and Australia as domestic and ‘farm’ servants. The children were told their parents had died, or did not want them, or some such excuse; mostly, the children were never heard of again from their families. The forced shipment continued until the outbreak of WW1 and again after it until WW2. A little known horrific chapter in Scotland’s history. This book is the actual report in so far as it relates to the Travellers. A4, stapled, extensive index, 4 linocut drawings from the original report. £11.95
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First published in 1997 by The Lichfield Press, and now republished (revised) this booklet reproduces the Penny Dreadful about Tobias Smith, a Gypsy who stole a horse and paid with his life, issued by Thomas Tattershall in 1792. In the second part, a commentary explains who Tobias was, occupations, prize fighting, adjournments of the case, Tobias' deafness, why he did not escape, why he committed the crime and why he killed the horse. Size A5, 30 pages. £7.50
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"New" Old Gypsy Documents. “Our children through their wants is fallen into sickness.” Part of a desperate plea from a Gypsy imprisoned in Northern England. Extracts and explanations from newly discovered old Gypsy documents dating between 1674 and 1725. Some fascinating perceptions of who Gypsies were thought to be (including counterfeit Egyptians) and how they lived, as well as tragic documents about their imprisonment. Extensive bibliography and index. Sized A4. 45 pages. £5.50
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Scottish Travellers have been horribly neglected in literature. This book aims to help fill that gap. It covers early history including the Saracan incident and arrival in Scotland, evolution of Scottish Travellers, some events from their history, language, traditions, lifestyle, literature and our debt to them. The attempt at genocide following the 1895 report is outlined for the first time. 174 pp, over 30 pictures many never before seen. Was £16, now £7.
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