Local historian launches ancestry database to uncover Melksham’s past

A Local historian has created an ancestry database, allowing residents to trace their family connections in Melksham from the late 1700s to

 the 1930s.

Lisa Ellis has created the database, which contains records of around 51,000 people who lived in, or had a historical connection with, Melksham. It is part of The Well House Collection—a compilation of documents, ephemera, books, photographs, and audio/visual files that chronicle the history of Melksham and surrounding villages.

With a passion for relational databases and collecting local historical items, Lisa has spent around 20 years creating the database with the help of her husband, Graham.

“Anything I have discovered, I will note in the database,” said Lisa. “This allows me to link families, places of employment, residences, photographs, newspaper articles, maps, etc. Although the information is black and white, fascinating stories emerge, especially when they are supported by newspaper articles.

“When you are only aware of family names, for example, you don’t immediately notice that three-year-old George Ovens was buried two days before his five-year-old brother Samuel, and eight days later their four-year-old brother Charles was also buried. Or why there were two siblings named ‘William’ in the Deverall family.”

Lisa explained that her research is always evolving. “The beauty of this research is that it’s done on the computer. I can always go back and correct something, and I quite often do.”

Lisa and Graham moved to Melksham in 2000. Fascinated to learn more about their home, Lisa delved into Melksham’s rich history, uncovering details about influential figures in the town, such as Rachel Flower.

“Then I noticed people were inter-related,” said Lisa. “Well-known families married into other well-known families. Having done extensive research on my family tree in my teens, I knew the best way to find out more was to look into Melksham’s genealogy. I love the sleuthing skills that family trees involve, and I jumped into Melksham’s past with great enthusiasm. This meant searching for books, documents, photographs, deeds, records, newspapers, maps—anything that verified the information.

“Anyone who has done a family search soon realises you cannot rely on just one account and be assured it’s correct. You need at least three verifications. Everything is subject to error, and while I try to stick to that rule, I’m just as human as the originators of those accounts.”

Lisa and Graham, who is also a town councillor, are known locally for having run a museum in their home, exhibiting Melksham-related artefacts that Lisa had collected.

Visitors from all over the world would come to view the items and enquire about their local ancestors.

“One woman wanted to solve a mystery: why was she born in Melksham when her family had always and solely lived in the London area? The answer was that Melksham had a maternity hospital for mothers living in London during and after the war,” explained Lisa.

“I’m very proud of Melksham and its history, and many are unaware of the importance Melksham has had to the nation, or of the infamous people who lived here.

“There is still an enormous amount of work that needs to be done—more documents to transcribe, corrections to make, existing holes to fill, and new ways to manipulate and output the data. I plan to upload these changes and additions on the first of each month, so interested viewers can check back periodically for updates. I encourage anyone to email me with changes, additions, or corrections.”

As for the museum, it is now closed to visitors, but Lisa hopes that isn’t the end of displaying the items. “I still have these items, as well as ephemera loaned and donated, being stored in the hope that Melksham will someday have a proper museum in the town,” she said.

For more information, visit The Well House Collection database here: https://twhc.org.uk/person.html

Cover Picture: a Melksham wedding from Lisa’s archives – do you recognise your family?

Below: Local historial Lisa Ellis