After getting over the shock of discovering that his family had emigrated to America in 1849, leaving him behind, [see Left Behind], my quest to discover the identity of George Thomas Powell continued. I had solved the mystery concerning the apparent disappearance of his parents, (William) Benjamin and Mary Powell, but that still didn't change…
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…
Introduction It is rather sobering to think that my grandparents, (all four being born between 1888 and 1897), were part of the first generation to receive free and universal education. Prior to the passing of the 1870 Education Act, schooling had mainly been provided by church schools, the Church of England's National Society and the…
Introduction A person's name is very much bound up with their identity and as a result, they can challenging to trace if it changes. In Part 1 of Chameleon Ancestors, I looked at some of the reasons why an ancestor might appear in the records under a different name. Many people, then as now, hated…
St Mary's Amport, Hampshire cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Anonymous 4452 - geograph.org.uk/p/144743 For most of us, the ancestral homes of our forebears are dotted around in many places. Sometimes they may even be located on a different side of the globe from where we live today. Even if you consider that you have a good grasp of geography, a place…
54 Squadron's A Flight.(pre-27th May 27th 1940 as F/Lt. Pearson was reported missing on that day)L to R: F/ Lt Max Pearson, Sgt Jack Davis, P/O George Couzens, F/Lt James Leathart, F/O George Gribble, P/O Johnny Allen and P/O Alan Deere.http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/DavisJ.htm This year sees the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the decisive campaign by Fighter…
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…
Attorney and Client - Copy of Illustration from Bleak House by Charles Dickens It was a time of celebration for genealogists when just a year ago, in the summer of 2019, the price of wills proved from January 1st 1858 in England and Wales, came tumbling down. I had already collected a number of key…
Family history can stir strong emotions, and the life of my Uncle Gordon is close to my heart. Gordon was a pilot in the RAF during World War II in 54 Squadron. He was shot down over France in July 1941, and died as a prisoner of war, aged 23, in Hamburg in April 1942.…
Genealogy Jude 