When tracing our ancestors back through the years, all can be going well until we hit the 1700s. Suddenly, sources seem to dry up and it's easy to lose heart. Maybe you have found your ancestors' names in a parish register, but know little about them as people: they remain faceless and anonymous. Perhaps you…
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…
By Pieter Claesz, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4892401 It is a mysterious thing but sometimes, even recent ancestors seem to disappear from the face of the earth in a puff of smoke. After constructing a thorough timeline of their life, suddenly, the trail goes cold. In this article, I will be looking at some of the reasons…
Although many of our ancestors had the same job for the whole of their lives, others pursued a variety of occupations. Through looking at census returns, we can often plot their changing roles, as well as their travel to different places. Often, I think these individuals must have been go-getters, driven to try new things…
Bexhill-on-Sea Observer Saturday 18th June 1921 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ Introduction The 1921 census has undoubtedly caused great excitement in the genealogical community. Over a hundred years after the forms were completed, we have the opportunity of finding out more about our family members, some of whom we may have personally known and loved. There is the…
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,…
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…
Introduction Leopards may not change their spots but chameleons can change their colour and markings to suit the situation they find themselves in. I reckon that some of our ancestors are a bit like chameleons, changing their name, both officially and unofficially if it suited them, or as a result of their personal circumstances. It…
When I was a child, I pestered my beloved Grandma, "Tell me some stories about your family!" She didn't have a lot to pass on but mentioned one extraordinary snippet of information: a relative had lost his arm. Unsurprisingly, this fact has been lodged in my head ever since. All my life I have wanted…
One of the joys of being a family historian is that when you delve into an ancestor's life, with any luck, (and some good research), you get to know them a bit. You find out about the significant events in their life, share a little of their sorrow, (perhaps when yet another child dies in…
The Parable of the Good Samaritan by Balthasar van Cortbemde (1612-1633), (Image courtesy of Wikipedia) Whilst searching through the British Newspaper Archive recently, I came across a tragic story about a child in need far from home, and how different characters responded to his plight. It reminded me of the parable of the Good Samaritan.…
Genealogy Jude 