searchmyancestry – Ruth A. Symes
Innovative approaches to understanding more about your family history
Garrould Oldren (1799-1883) baptism in Wissett, Suffolk on 23 December 1799.jpg Via Wikimedia Commons In the years before Civil Registration of births (England and Wales, 1837; Scotland, 1855; Ireland, 1864), and sometimes afterwards, some unwed mothers were willing to confess the name of their baby’s father to the vicar of the parish at the time... Continue Reading →
The Fallen Woman, c 1880, anon. Via Wikimedia Commons. We have probably all experienced that sense of frustration when the birth certificate of an ancestor arrives from the GRO and no father’s name is recorded upon it. The only thing that we can be reasonably sure about in these cases is that the parents of... Continue Reading →
A Victorian home. Via Wikimedia Commons. In a series of visits to Britain between 1862 and 1870, outspoken Frenchman Hippolyte Taine wrote lengthily about his impressions, and his comments-at-a-distance give us a clear and fascinating view of our ancestors in a way that no other source quite achieves. Taine considered the most important feature of... Continue Reading →
