Editorial Valentine's Day card 1860-1880 digital image copyright Museum of London The dark days of January are now past and with Valentines's Day fast approaching, the shops are filled with red hearts, flowers, cards and chocolates. It's the season of love or as The Illustrated London News on 11 February 1871 put it, the "silly…
Tracing a Family with a Skilled Occupation in 18th Century London
Tracing ancestors in London in the 18th century can be hugely daunting. The parish registers are large and it can be difficult to identify your ancestor amongst all the other candidates in the vicinity who share the same name. In addition, many of our ancestors would have arrived in London from elsewhere, attracted by the…
Why are Occupations Important to Genealogists?
A few months ago I was invited to talk with some fellow genealogists and historians on the subject of occupations, and their importance to family history on the new "Really Useful Podcast" produced by the Federation of Family History Societies. We had a really interesting discussion, which you can listen to here: https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com/podcast (Series 1,…