Benefits and Problems!

Posted on by

Moving the website to a new host has had its benefits such as being able to upload the database in one go whereas before I had to split the file into 30 smaller files and then I had to join the bits back together on the website. There doesn’t appear to be a limit to the size of file I can upload to the new site.

However, there is a clash somewhere as I am not getting any indication that the database is being updated. I have to put the website into maintenance mode, update the database and hope for the best. Previously I had a progress bar to show me what was going on. Now the progress bar only appears after the update has completed. With the latest update the progress bar didn’t appear at all and I had to manually finish the process.

Hopefully, all the data is up to date as I left the update going overnight but I would appreciate any feedback regarding missing or corrupt information.

Cheers,

Phil.

Posted in Family Tree, Information | Leave a comment

New Toolbar

Posted on by

Greetings,

I have, at long last, got around to re-vamping The Williams Family Tree Toolbar. There have been a number of issues with the old toolbar and I didn’t like the way the provider made it take over. I am unable to alter/update the old toolbar and despite numerous emails to the provider I have heard nothing from them!

The Williams Family Tree Toolbar

The Williams Family Tree Toolbar

So, to cut a long story short, I have created my very own version. The new toolbar is currently only available for Firefox. Basically, it is a bunch of links grouped into various categories. Currently these are:

  • Tree Pages – Quick links to some of The Williams Family Tree pages.
  • Links – Links to genealogical research websites.
  • Wiki – Visit The Williams Family Tree Wiki.
  • Maps – Some useful map sites.
  • Census – Links to various Census sites.
  • Newspapers – Online Newspapers.
  • OPC – Online Parish Clerks.
  • BMD – Births, Marriages, and Deaths – worldwide.
  • Ancestry – Useful Ancestry pages.
  • Blog – Latest News from The Williams Family Tree Blog.
  • Search – Search the Website, the Wiki, or the Web.
  • Help – Installation instructions.

The neat thing about the new toolbar is that it is mostly driven by Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). The important thing here being the Asynchronous. With Ajax, Web applications can send data to, and retrieve data from, a server asynchronously (in the background) without interfering with the display and behaviour of the existing page.

Initially, the toolbar is just a collection of buttons. However, when one of the buttons is pressed (clicked on) the relevant menu is populated dynamically from the website and magically appears before your eyes. Using this method I am able to update the information and links on the website and the updated information will be immediately available on the toolbar – the user does not have to do anything – thereby keeping re-installations to a minimum.

Sample BMD menu

Sample BMD menu

I hope you like the new toolbar and that it helps you in your research.

Thanks to Pete from linuxbox.co.uk for his article on creating the Consumer Action Group Toolbar and Scott Root for his XML Developer’s Toolbar.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Getting back to normal?

Posted on by

Hi all,

Briefly, the Williams Family Tree website is back at http://williamsfamilytree.co.uk.

As problems with QiQ were never resolved, I have changed provider and am now with UK2. The sister site at http://williamsfamilytree.org.uk will remain as a backup.

Finally, the new address of http://williamsfamilytree.uk will soon be active.

It will take a little time to get everything back up and running as it should be but most of the website is working. You should be able to log in with your usual details. If you do have any problems please let me know (phil@w-f-t.co.uk).

Phil.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Bray and Dawson

Posted on by

Many thanks to Stephen Dawson and Kim Crowe for the information about the Bray and Dawson families.

Seth Lewin Bray

Seth Lewin Bray

Jane Moore

Jane Moore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seth Lewin Bray was born 1832 in Frome, Somerset. He was the son of John Bray and Mary Ann Price. Jane Moore was born 1831 in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. She was the daughter of John and Sarah Moore. Seth and Jane married 17 May 1853 and the marriage was registered in Plymouth, Devonshire.

On 21 Jan 1855 they boarded the ‘Sultana’ and headed for New South Wales, Australia. They arrived there on 29 May 1955. The first of their 15 children, William Henry Bray, was born 23 May 1855 in quarantine aboard the vessel.

It was their great grand-daughter (via David Thomas Bray and Francis George Bray) who married into the Dawson family. Her name was Kathleen Ethel Bray and she married Kenneth Keith Dawson in 1942. They went on to have 10 children.

The earliest Dawson we have at the moment is James Dawson (1787-1867) who married Sarah Boxall 27 Sep 1810 in Lambeth, Surrey.

If anyone has any further information about the respective families please get in touch.

Enjoy,

Phil.

 

Posted in Family Tree, News | Leave a comment

Persistent Bookmarks

Posted on by

Traditionally, bookmarks have used ‘cookies’ and so have only been available on one computer using one browser. I have now added a ‘mod’ that makes use of the site database thus enabling permanent storage of bookmarks. They can now be viewed on any computer and any browser. This is, however, only available for registered users that are logged in.

 

Bookmarks example

 

Posted in Information, News | Leave a comment