A trip to the Lincolnshire Archives, Lincoln, UK – part 1: The story begins

Not everyone gets to travel for genealogy, and even fewer get to go to places as genealogically rich as England. I have so much to share with you. In this four-part series, I have stories about researching genealogy in Lincolnshire by exploring my husband’s paternal lineage, the Maws of Wainfleet St Mary and Gainsborough (ca. 18th-19th cent). I’ll tell you how the research started, why researching Quakers changes the game, and what it is like to research at the Lincolnshire Archives. I will end the series by sharing some of our finds.

I am incredibly grateful for all that we accomplished because this was not a planned trip, which is why I showed up at the archives without so much as a pencil.

Here is a taste of some of the photos you will see in this series.

The story began with a question

I’d planned a holiday away from genealogy. Husband was going to a conference in Leicestershire. I was going as his plus one. We’d packed only carry-on luggage – a sharp contrast to my June Salt Lake City trip,¹ where I’d brought my archives kit,² a three-inch binder, two laptops, two notebooks, and textbooks. The biggest items in my bag this trip were hiking boots. l even left my laptop at home. In short, I was not equipped for genealogy.

On our first night away, husband said, “How far is Lincolnshire from where we will be staying?” He thought we might go exploring to see where his family originated.

This is one way to do it.

Map showing Loughborough University and Gainsborough, West Lindsey

The problem with the let’s go see what we can see approach to genealogy travel is that the world doesn’t stop moving in the interim. I could see the two of us standing in a Gainsborough car park, breathing exhaust and dodging cars while trying to imagine a farm. Or spending a day of travel to get to a place that was only open by appointment. If we were going to travel to a place, I wanted a place in that place: an address, building, grave, or plaque. I put my genealogy hat back on.

How much did I know about the Lincolnshire Maws?

Over a decade ago, I built a tree for my husband’s paternal line: the Maws of Ontario and Lincolnshire. I knew that: i) the lineage went back to his sixth-great-grandfather, Thomas of Wainfleet [Maw]; ii) second-great-grandfather John Maw immigrated to Ontario in about 1863; and iii) they were enumerated as Anglican.

This last fact would later prove contentious.

Where in Lincolnshire were the Maws?

Location of Gainsborough Old Hall, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

Our first clue about a possible destination came from my father-in-law, who had received a response to his inquiry about Gainsborough Old Hall.³ He’d thought the family might have lived at the hall, but the archivist said for the time period (1748-1819), the hall had been used for commercial purposes only. In brief, the Maws, mustard manufacturers, had rented a room to store their mustard. That didn’t seem a solid reason to visit.

We needed research if we were going to find something to see in Lincolnshire.

Genealogy by smartphone

I don’t recommend using a smartphone for genealogy but if it’s all you have, a small screen is better than no screen. While husband slept, I got to work using the Ancestry app^.4 I built a draft research tree and located – but did not accept – several records. It was hard to do without my big multiple screens, my research log, even my pens and notebook. Regardless, I read enough that morning to create a working theory:

1. The Maws had a multigenerational tie to Gainsborough; and
2. They were Quakers.

I didn’t know enough then to understand what a colossal change it was for a family to adopt Anglicanism if they were Quaker. All I knew was that I knew nothing about Quakers. Before accepting a single document, hint, pedigree, or record, I was going to have to learn about Quakerism.

Next week: Why researching a Quaker family changes everything

Afterword

A genealogist never goes on holiday. Despite my solemn promise to do no genealogy while away, I ended up not only doing genealogy, but digging into my husband’s Quaker roots in Lincolnshire. Along the way I learned about non-Conformist records, the Quaker movement, and how one dedicated researcher left his work for the benefit of all who came after.

Thank yous

To my husband, for asking me to be his plus one, and for having such good questions.

References

¹Linda Yip, “Canada Day reflections: on accrediting, Western Canadian genealogy, and diverse ideas for celebrating,” 30 Jun 2024, blog, Past-Presence.com, accessed 22 Jul 2024.

²Linda Yip, “My trip to the archives: how I prepare and what I found,” 9 Oct 2022, blog, Past-Presence.com, accessed 22 Jul 2024.

³Correspondence to Lincolnshire County Council, 2005, loose pages, 4 pages, letter and notes from [name] to Lincolnshire County Council re inquiry John Maw (1748-1819) residence at Gainsborough Old Hall, 27 Oct 2005 and response dated 17 Nov 2005, [name] personal collection, received 23 Dec 2022, Saskatoon, SK; council noted will of John Maw as a mustard manufacturer (reference: Stow wills 1819-21/106).

⁴Find the app for Ancestry for google here and for iPhone here.