Ancestors who got into trouble with the law will feature in most family trees. Undoubtedly, some were hardened criminals whilst perhaps others committed crimes out of desperation, or were just foolish. Some of those convicted may even have been innocent. Whatever the circumstances, to be arrested, imprisoned, separated from your family and accused publicly of…
Editorial 1907 Map of Australia and New Zealand from The Catholic Encyclopedia When researching your family tree, you soon discover that not all the information you come across, even that found in official records, is necessarily correct or accurate. For example, an age on a marriage certificate may be a few years off, or a…
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…
I was first introduced to Bertie, (also known as Bert), when as a child, I saw his name recorded on a local war memorial in the churchyard of St Helen's, Cliffe at Hoo, Kent. Since Bertie and I shared the same surname, I immediately asked my Dad whether we were related. He confirmed that we…
It is an interesting question when you ask a couple how they met. Did they get together through mutual friends, or perhaps through a shared hobby? Maybe they met at university, or bumped into one another in the pub. For younger couples, a dating website may have provided the introduction. I like asking this question…
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…
HMS Vanguard (1909) with Sister Ship of St Vincent ClassWatercolour "Dirty Weather by A.C.B. Cull 1912 In a corner of the churchyard of St Helen’s, Cliffe, Kent, at the base of a stone cross, are the names of villagers who gave their lives for their country in the two World Wars. One of those commemorated is…
Genealogy Jude 