Family photograph of Bertie Batchelor, June 1917, in his uniform of the Royal West Kent Regiment Perviously, in Bertie, Tracing a First World War Solider, I pieced together the story of Bertie's enlistment and his time with the 2/8th Manchesters in 1917. By looking at the Regiment's war diaries, I discovered the circumstances that had…
Previously, in Ancestors who were Blind, I looked at how our blind ancestors might have lived with their disability, specifically looking at the life of my husband's ancestor, Hannah Lilian Woodcock. In this article, I will be looking at ancestors who were deaf, illustrated by the life of my deaf relative, Maria Batchelor (1827-1903). At…
Some members of your family tree may be fairly anonymous to you because you haven't really researched their lives, even though you know something significant about them. For example, in my family tree I have two female relatives, Hannah and Maria, who had disabilities. Hannah was blind and Maria was deaf, probably both from early…
The early childhood of George Thomas Powell, my two times great grandfather, is a mystery. I first encounter him in the 1851 census, when he is 12 years old and living with his uncle and aunt, Henry and Sarah Glaysher at the cement mill in West Medina, Northwood. He spent the next forty two years…
Whatever your skills or experience as a family historian, there will always be at least one ancestral line that gives you trouble. For me, it is my Powell line and specifically, my two times great grandfather, George Thomas Powell and the mystery surrounding his birth and early years. It is easy to view a problematic…
In my previous blog, The Footman, I discovered that Fanny Basing, the wife of William Basing, was living with her children in Poplar, in the East End of London, in 1881. Fanny was recorded as the head of the household and married, but where was her husband? William Basing, now a butler and valet, may…
In my previous blog, "Margaret", I told the story of Margaret England, the mother of twin boys, Lewis and William Basing England, who were born illegitimately in Clerkenwell on March 14th 1866. Margaret informed the registrar that the father of her children was a man named William Basing, a footman. This is the story of…
Prologue It was already dark and Harriet lit another candle at 39a Southampton Street, Clerkenwell. Margaret was in full labour and the time to deliver was close. Her friend had come to her when her labour pains had started earlier in the day and Harriet was praying that all would go well. It was a…
This is the story of Hannah Redman, the half sister of my great grandfather, Josiah Simeon Thomas Bullock. Until recently, her identity was unknown. She is recorded only once with her siblings, enumerated with them in the 1871 census as a 9 year old visitor. She was unknown because her illegitimate birth concealed her existence…
We last left William Ford in Part 2, back in England with his wife, Elizabeth, after a long voyage from New Zealand. Preparations were being made for the family to emigrate to the colony and join William's elder brother, John, who had already emigrated with his family in 1859. They would also be reunited with…
Genealogy Jude 