SMALLWOOD FAMILY HISTORY

Overview of the Smallwood trees constructed by David Smallwood (with some collaboration from Ian Hall)

David Smallwood has been researching the Smallwood name since the 1980's, and in the process has collated a significant number of Smallwood family trees. A number of these trees (specifically those relating to the north of England) have been significantly augmented in the course of ongoing collaboration with Ian Hall. The summary below is intended to provide an overview of the scope and regional coverage of these trees. An overall numerical index to the trees is also provided.

Scope

David currently has a total of just under 820 trees on record, but these vary significantly in their size and regional and historical extent. There are 16 large trees (with over 200 names, the largest running to over 2000), just under 100 medium-sized trees (with between 20 and 200 names), and around 700 small trees (of under 20 names), many of which may ultimately connect but currently represent fragmentary family groups or individuals. Between them, the trees include around 43% of Smallwood births and deaths in England and Wales between 1837 and 2005 and around 41% of marriages. David has also allocated all the Smallwoods in the 1881 census to a tree, although about 85% of these trees represent small family groups with under 10 names. Overall, it is probably fair to say that around 30-35% of Smallwood births, marriages and deaths have been linked to significant (large or medium) trees, with around 50% of the Smallwoods in the 1881 census linked to trees with over 10 names represented by that date. Of the significant trees, there are 26 which stretch back to 1700 or earlier, and a separate analysis of these early trees is also attached.

Regional coverage

A combination of the natural regional distribution of the name and the historic focus of David's research has meant that just over 50% of the individuals incorporated into trees connect to lines originating in the West Midlands (Cheshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire). The focus of Ian's research has meant that just under 30% connect to trees originating in Yorkshire, with the residual 20% relating to trees originating in 29 other locations (English and Welsh counties and abroad). For comparison, it can be noted that 52% of the Smallwoods in the 1881 census had West Midlands origins (very similar to the tree coverage), but only 11% had Yorkshire origins, displaying a marked skew in the recorded trees towards Yorkshire and away from (principally) the south-east of England. This bias has not been fully analysed in the GRO indices, but is probably similar. An analysis of the trees by locality is attached.

Publication

David has been gradually documenting and publishing summaries of the significant trees, and lodging copies in the Society of Genealogists Library. To date, 16 trees have been published, with a further three (trees 17-19) scheduled for publication in the near future.

Any inquiries relating to this page should be addressed to Ian Hall.