Gidley Medals and memorabilia for sale on Wed 17th May 2023

 I have just received the following email. The handwritten Gidley Record sounds fascinating. If anyone buys it, I should be very interested to hear what it contains. If only I had unlimited funds!

Woolley & Wallis Auctioneers, have a sale of Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour on Wednesday 17 May 2023 Starts 10am Castle Street Salerooms Salisbury SP1 3SU:

Lot 187 might be of interest to you: Gidley Medals and a ‘Gidley Record’ handwritten notebook with details about the Gidley Family and family stories. see links and descriptions below

LOT 187 The Gidley Family: four historical medals together with an M/S family pedigree:
Estimate: £150 - £200+ Buyers Premium.

This link is to: Lot 187: The Gidley Family: four historical medals together with an M/S family pedigree:
https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/medals-coins-arms-armour/ma170523/view-lot/187/

The Gidley Family: four historical medals together with an M/S family pedigree:
Bartholomew Gidley memorial medal 1702, bronze, 39mm, Time seated with scythe and hourglass, rev. engraved dedication, about fine; another memorial medal, pewter, 73mm, arms with a tower, rev. Latin text, near fine; John Gidley, a uniface engraved brass oval, 74 x 60mm, incorporating a cast bust right, 'JOANNES GIDLEY. LOND. A.D. 1682 Æ. S. 50.', fine; and a brass medal, 70mm, obverse as of the second medal, rev. engraved '1704 IOHN GIDLEY OF LONDON AGED 73', fine; presented in a fitted wooden tray with beaded borders and an ink translation of the reverse of the second medal; the pedigree being a hand written book, 'GIDLEY RECORD' comprising a set of biographical notes, family trees and sketches of heraldic devices pertaining to the Gidley Family. [qty] Estimate: £150 - £200+ Buyers Premium

See Also page turning Catalogue Lot 187: Page 69: https://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/ww17may23

Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour - 17 May 2023 Sale starts at 10am
https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/medals-coins-arms-armour/ma170523/view-lot/187/

Ned Cowell: Telephone: Reception 01722 424500 Direct 01722 341469 Mobile: +44 (0)7875 035837
Unit 1b, Castle Gate Business Park, Old Sarum, Salisbury, SP4 6QX
https://bid.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/

1921 England and Wales census

 

All Gidleys found on the 1921 census have now been added to the entries on the Gidley family history website

The Gidley One Name Study (one-name.net)

It is an important census, being the last mass database for England and Wales until the release of the 1951 census. The 1931 census was destroyed in a fire and there was no census taken in 1941.

I haven't done a detailed analysis yet, but I was struck by the number of men described as unemployed or out of work, which is something that hasn't appeared in previous censuses. The slump seems to have affected all areas of work from manufacturing to forestry. It was sad to see whole families with no income, and some families who had to move back to live with relatives.

Memorandum from the Ministry of Labour,12 August 1921 

(TNA Catalogue ref: CAB 24/127)

 If we look upon the industrial events of the last nine or tenth months, with the heavy trade depression that set in last autumn and the prolonged struggle with the miners, culminating in the unprecedented unemployment figures of June, the almost complete absence of civil disorder is remarkable. During June, the Employment Exchanges were paying Benefit to over three millions of wholly or partially unemployed workers and in addition over a million miners, ineligible for Benefit, were idle. In fact, if account is taken of the short time workers who could not qualify for Benefit, it is probably true to say that in June not more than one out of every two industrial workers in the country, for a working population of over 12 millions (excluding Agriculture and Domestic Service) was engaged in whole-time employment.

I have added to the tree a few people I have discovered are now no longer with us, a few who temporarily had the Gidley surname but no longer used it in the 1939 Register, and a new family who took the surname from a stepfather. 

I discovered hundreds of errors in the transcriptions of entries, They were carried out under tight restrictions, so they are understandable, but one day I reported 48 errors to FindMyPast. Removed were those transcribed as Gidley but who were actually Gridley (understandable) and those who were transcribed as Gidley because the entry on the line above had the surname Gidley (not so understandable). Also removed were Gidney, Tidley and Quidley. The worst error I noticed in the places of birth was one for my Great Aunt Bessie Gidley who was transcribed as being born in Scotland, Ayrshire, when it was actually Swindon, Wiltshire. There is still some tidying up to do so that people can find their ancestors on FindMyPast.

1950 US Census

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=777145

Gidleys in the American census of 1950 are presumably a reflection of American society of the 1950s. A very rough, brief and unscientific analysis of the Gidley entries reveal the following initial impressions: 

A surprising number of Gidleys still worked on farms, either as owners or as helpers. From Alabama to Wyoming there are 27 Gidleys farming, and this doesn't include their families who no doubt helped in various capacities on the farm. 

The number of people employed, or associated with, the automobile industry, had grown. There were automobile salesmen, machinists, managers of service or gas stations, welders, mechanics, repairmen, and those working in the office, such as book keepers. 

There were a few professions being followed, such as two vets, five teachers, a lawyer, a banker, an accountant, a professor of pharmacy and a chemist. 

Of the women's occupations, the beauty industry makes a first appearance, with two practitioners, both of whom were divorced. 

There were only two maids/hired hands, both of whom were widows. 

The seven secretaries/typists/stenographers comprised single, married and divorced women, as did the six waitresses. 

The total number of Gidleys/Giddleys in the USA in 1950 was 852, an increase from exactly 800 in 1940.

The population of Gidleys in California had doubled from 28 in 1940 to 57 in 1950. 

The number of Gidleys who were divorced had grown from 12 in 1940 to 16 in 1950.