Every life story is extraordinary.
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William Hobbs Bradfield the younger
Even the dullest-looking document is a record of someone’s life (or death), and can set you on a path to discovering surprising stories from the past.
William and Frederick: Case 2
In 1888 Amelia Carter and her young daughters Rose and Alice were admitted to Greenwich Workhouse after Amelia’s husband Frederick Cross had deserted them. But Alice’s father was WILLIAM Cross, and Rose was later baptised to Frederick CARTER. Can you help me solve this family history paternity mystery?
William and Frederick: Case 1
My 2x great grandfather William Taylor was a bricklayer, and a brick wall! Follow along with my research as I use traditional and DNA evidence to piece together a genealogical puzzle and uncover an alternative identity.
A Herculaneum Potter
230 years ago dozens of families from the Staffordshire potteries migrated to Liverpool to become the workforce at a huge new pottery factory, Herculaneum. The family of enameller John Edwards was one of them.
The lost boys … and girls — tips on searching for missing children in your family tree
In this blog post I’ll be investigating a story about a man who was reported to have had his 30th child in 1866, and sharing some methods for finding children who were born in England in the 1800s.
Hannah and Percy: a WW1 Story
Percy Kirk joined the Hulls Pals in 1914 and saw action in Egypt and France. Back home, his new wife Hannah endured zeppelin air raids while preparing for the birth of their first child.
Lady Criminals on the Thames
Meet three women charged with crimes in London’s east end in the 1870s — brothel keeper Ann Gilligan, smuggler Mary Jones and illicit tobacco-seller Margarethe Schmidt.
Letter From a ‘Lunatic’
A fiery letter within the correspondence of Poplar’s Poor Law Union, 1882, describes the horrific treatment of a woman in the workhouse ‘lunatic’ ward. Who was the letter writer and supposed lunatic, Catherine Bouchier Phillimore?
Eliza Saword — a short life remembered
Eliza Saword was paralysed and had epilepsy. She only lived to the age of 17. In this blog I investigate medical treatments and social attitudes towards these conditions in the 1860s, and consider how her disabilities would have affected her short life.
After the Great War — A plea for ‘lighter work’
Experienced soldier William Walter Talmer returned from the trenches in 1916 with a disabling disease. Now, he had a new fight — to persuade the Appeal Tribunal for an exemption from active service.
Back to England: the search for my English ancestors who emigrated to Canada
I’m trying to trace my English ancestors who emigrated to Ontario in the 1840s-50s. Can you help me break down this brick wall?
Becky Flood’s Gypsy Caravan
A mysterious figure in my family history — “Aunt Becky” — lived in a traditional Romani caravan. While searching for her true identity I also investigated why in 1901, numerous children from London were living in a small village in the Chilterns.
Deserted, Defaulted, Discharged
Three young men in my family tree left the British army suddenly in the 1700s-1800s. Through a variety of records I’ve investigated the causes, and outcomes, of their choices.
A Tale of Five Camillas
Tracing the lives of the first five Camillas whose births were registered in England highlights class differences and women’s experiences in Victorian Britain.
William Gunton Saword: Part 2 — Butler of Greenwich Hospital
William Saword was the Butler of Greenwich Hospital for naval pensioners from 1772 to 1812. He faced two government enquiries into corruption, a devastating fire and the loss of two wives, and he experienced royal visits and the lying-in-state of Lord Nelson.
Field Punishment Number 1
At the outbreak of WW1, English seaman Richard Maultby was nearly 43 when he volunteered with the CEF. His service record reveals that he was disciplined twice with Field Punishment Number 1.
The Artist and the Pacifist — Two brothers’ WW1 stories
Brothers Sidney and Algy Saword were newly settled in Canada in 1914 when war was declared. One volunteered to fight, while the other refused to be a combatant. Both served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
William Gunton Saword: Part 1 — Clerk of the Royal Yacht Augusta
From 1764-1772, William Saword was the Clerk of the Royal Yacht Augusta, which conveyed the royal family of George III around Britain and to and from Europe.
Who Was Harriet Horlock? Part 3: Harriet’s Secret Is Revealed!
According to family lore a mysterious relation called Harriet had a royal lovechild, Violet, who became a silent movie star. In 2021, I received a startling message from someone who could finally reveal the true identity of Violet’s father …
A Sense of Duty: 1907 triple drowning in San Francisco Bay
This is a true California story of heroism, murder, and tragedy — with a Hollywood ending.
More blog posts to explore …
- From Suffolk to Scotland Yard
- Five reasons ancestors used surnames as middle names
- The brother who never came home
- ‘Peculiar’ and ‘Unnatural’ Crimes: Infanticide
- ‘Peculiar’ and ‘Unnatural’ Crimes: a ‘venereal affair’
- Deodatus Eaton: a life of scandal
- Alfred Munday: ‘an expert orchid grower’
- James Benwell: a humble man of science
- Blazing Dresses (Part 1)
- Blazing Dresses (Part 2)
- Mabel Maultby: a WW2 nurse and civilian casualty
- Polly Smith and ‘the Gosling’ (Servants and Employers Part 1)
- Millicent Gifford and D’Arcy de Ferrars (Servants and Employers Part 2)
- My Bucks Posse
- A double murder attempt in Drayton
- The lightning rod of Esculapius Wood
- One wedding, one fake marriage and no funeral
- I’m a British Library reader, and you can be one too!
- Queen Alexandra and a progressive police orphanage
- Christmas cheer in the workhouse
- Wot no German DNA?
- Crowdfunding, Georgian style
- Geagle Badcock sniffs out a criminal
- Raised by an aunt and uncle; part 1: The mysterious locket
- Raised by an aunt and uncle; part 2: A transatlantic record
- A person unknown drowned in the Thames
- Who Was Harriet Horlock? Part 1: A Genealogical Puzzle
- Who Was Harriet Horlock? Part 2: The Skeleton in the Cupboard
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