Meet our Members: David Moss

Question

Hi everyone!

It's time to get to know another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is David Moss.

David became a Wiki Genealogist in November of 2021. He is active with our Disasters Project and contributes to the Poppitt One Name Study.

When did you get interested in family history?

I have always been interested in history in general and my late parents did some research into my family history but this just went back a few generations and I assumed anything older was lost in the mists of time. I have only really had time to do much research myself in the last couple of years when I have had more time due to covid lockdowns, semi-retirement, etc.

What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?

I am interested in archaeology and I used to do a lot of scuba diving on shipwrecks, etc, but haven't found any treasure yet. I used to travel quite a lot and visited ancient sites in Egypt, Iraq, Australia, Indonesia, Europe, etc,. I also like photography.

What is your genealogical research focus?

My main recent focus (last year) has been mining disasters in Shropshire and Staffordshire. Before I started my research I hadn't realised how many fatal accidents there had been - I had only heard about the really big disasters. There were thousands of victims, particularly in Staffordshire.

I have been trying to work out the family trees of these people and this is likely to keep me busy for years. Some of my own ancestors were local miners so there is personal interest there. My brother wrote a book on the subject too. 

I am interested in the role of the area in the industrial revolution and luckily there are some excellent local museums and on-line resources.

Are you interested in certain surnames or locations?

I have mainly been focused on my ancestral surnames - Moss, Blair, Watson, Plimmer, Rossington, Greenhough, Adam, Hutcheon, etc.

I have been working collaboratively on a 'Poppitt' one name study. The Poppitts are relatives.

My traceable ancestors are nearly all from the British Isles so this has been my main focus. Many relatives have emigrated to Australia and North America. A few have emigrated to New Zealand, Africa, Asia, etc.

Do you have a favorite ancestor?

A favourite ancestor was my 2 x great-grandfather John Greenhough, not least because it was through researching him that I came across WikiTree. I was able to trace his ancestry back many generations as the work had already been done by other researchers. He was a spring knife manufacturer in Sheffield and I have inherited many examples of these.

What is your toughest brick wall currently?

I find Welsh ancestry very difficult compared to the rest of the British isles and I believe this is a general problem. This is probably because a system of surnames only became widely used about a couple of centuries ago (previously a patronymic system). I have hundreds of relatives in Shropshire and Staffordshire and many probably had Welsh roots with surnames such as Jones, Evans, Kilford, etc.

(interview continues in comments)

Comments

How long have you been on WikiTree?

I have only been on WikiTree for a couple of years from when I started genealogical research.

I prefer the look and feel of WikiTree to other platforms. This is probably because it is free and maybe because I have a computer programming background. I have also had lots of fantastic help on orphan trails, etc.

What do you spend the most time doing on WikiTree?

As previously mentioned I spend a lot of time recently on mining disasters and one name studies. These have links to my own family history.

I have spent a lot of time looking for DNA matches after generating family trees from traditional methods (comparing birth, marriage and census records). I have just started to find some relatives through DNA matches so this is very interesting to me.

I really think the future of genealogy lies with a more scientific approach through genetics and I believe the experts can confirm this.

I think the goal of WikiTree of having one global family tree is admirable - then everybody can reap the benefits of knowing their ancestry.

This can potentially help people make life choices regarding disease prevention, etc. if they know their family history.

How can others help the Mining Disasters project?

In the case of the mining disasters, it's a case of 'the more, the merrier' or 'many hands make light work'. This is the nice thing about the collaborative nature of WikiTree. It has recently been suggested by others that mining disasters would be a good subject for a 'connect-a-thon'.

Do you consider your work here to be part of your legacy?

I try to keep my children and younger relatives posted and to be fair they probably show at least as much interest as I did when I was their age.

What is your favorite feature or function on WikiTree?

I think I use the Connection Finder more than other function. It is really useful to check if a new profile is connected and provides a really nice graphic. I also like the tree functions in their various forms.

I can see the potential of WikiTree+ functions for mapping people  to geographical locations but I have struggled a bit to get this to work for my personal family tree.

What feature would you most like to see added or improved?

These are ones for the future - a wish list really -

1. It would be nice if there were 3d simulation models of mines, etc. (I have seen these done for underwater cave systems).

2. people are being born now with 3 biological parents and WikiTree will probably need additional functionality for this, ref. 'https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65538866'.

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Do you have a story about how someone was helped through your participation on WikiTree?

I have been helping with the 'Poppitt' one name study on WikiTree with a lot of contributions. This has been mainly working with people on opposite sides of the world (UK and Australia, also USA, Canada, etc.)

Do you have a story about how you were helped through the work of others on WikiTree?

I have had lots of fantastic help, particularly when doing the England Project Orphan Trails OT-1 and OT-2 and the Scotland Project Tartan Trail. I would highly recommend these. I also get a lot of guidance from WikiTree YouTube broadcasts.

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get more involved?

I have found the g2g help forum very useful.

What could we do to inspire more people to participate?

Possibly have more involvement with 'free' on line educational resources - like in the UK we have the 'Open University', etc. I have also done a free course on 'future learn'. WikiTree could perhaps work more closely with other resources such as FamilySearch, Ancestry, FindMyPast, Findagrave, LivingDNA, GRO records, Scotlands People, freecen, freereg, freebmd, national archives, etc.

Answer 1

David, I really enjoyed the interview! You said:

I think the goal of WikiTree of having one global family tree is admirable - then everybody can reap the benefits of knowing their ancestry.

That is absolutely true and well stated!  I hope those curious about WikiTree see your interview and see the benefits!  You are 1 in a Million...literally!

Answer 2

Great to read about this member. Thank you, David. My great-grandfather, Joe Nagy, was a miner (immigrant from Hungary to Pennsylvania mines, ended up working above ground in the lime quarries in Ohio). But he worked until the day he died of black lung at the age of 79.  I have a special place in my heart for miners and their families.

Btw, Poppitt is an unsual surname!

Answer 3

Hello David, your background and this 'Meet' is so very interesting! I found your comments about mining disasters very provocative. I have done work in global health relevant to disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and human-made disasters such as war. I think about these losses when I see our WT videos on the Titanic and so forth. My several times great grandfather was a miner in Cornwall and the thought of these mining disasters just creeps me out.

Thank you so much for all of your contricutions to WikiTree and for a very interesting interview.

Answer 4

Great Interview David!

It was really good to see you get so involved with mining disasters once you finished the orphan trail! It's good to have such an enthusiastic person as a member of The England Project :)

Answer 5

Hi David

A great interview and good to see the Orphan Trail and Shropshire getting a mention. I'll see if I can find any more Shropshire Poppitts for you. Several of my Worrall in-law ancestors were mining in Shropshire.

Best wishes
Maureen

Answer 6

Hi David, from another Staffordshire family. Both my maternal and paternal families came from Staffordshire, my mother's family are all from north Staffs, Newcastle under Lyme, Wolstanton, Keele, Knutton and other places. Except for a number of immigrants from counties Galway and Roscommon in the 1850s.

My maternal 2 x GGF worked at the Birchenwood Colliery.

My father's paternal family lived in Bloxwich, Walsall, Pelsall, and other south Staffs metal working areas from the mid 1700s perhaps earlier.

My father's maternal family lived in Wednesbury from the 1600s. You may be familiar with Charles Richards and Sons, Imperial Works, the Darlaston based metal manufacturing business, Charles Richards was my 2xGGF. If you're interested there is a link on my profile to the history of the business. On this side of the family there are also many ancestors from Shropshire in the 1600s and likely from Wales further back.

Answer 7

Thank you for all your work on Wikitree, David, I, too have discovered just how many men have been killed in gold and coal mining accidents (in NZ) in addition to the large disasters. I find your explanation for why discovering Welsh ancestors helpful. My family has an abundance of William and Mary Holleys.Cheers.

Answer 8

Your interest in mining disasters in general and Staffordshire in particular caught my eye.  On my maternal side, I come from coal mining families of Staffordshire.  My great uncle, Eli Devey, was born in Staffordshire in 1880, and emigrated to western Pennsylvania with his parents.  In December of 1910, he died in a coal mining disaster in Leyden, Colorado (near Denver).  Also, my great grandmother's first husband, William Osborne, died in an accident in a coal mine (Moxley Colliery) in 1873.  She (Eliza Hawkes, 1847-1938) remarried and I am descended from her by her second husband, William Bestwick (1854-1927), who was also a miner.  While researching Eli's death, I became aware of the horrendous record of mining accidents in Colorado mines in the late 1800's.  A cousin of mine uncovered the information about William Osborne, but I'm sure the record in English mines was similar.  It's very sad that so many lost their lives working for very little in these underground traps.

Answer 9

Hey David. Great interview! When I saw that you were on Second City Alumni week, I thought that meant you came from Birmingham!