searchmyancestry – Ruth A. Symes
Innovative approaches to understanding more about your family history
Delighted to announce the publication of my article on Marriage Mishaps in November 2025’s Discover Your Ancestors online periodical (by subscription). http://www.discoveryourancestors.com No-shows at the altar, mixups with the marriage vows and umpteen weddings that were stalled at the eleventh hour !
Women of all classes fabricated their age on the nineteenth century censuses. The government report into the census of 1881 stated that many women ‘desirous of being thought younger than they really are, return themselves as under 25 or under 30 when their true age is considerably beyond these limits.’ Interestingly, there was also a... Continue Reading →
Couples sometimes gave incorrect ages on their marriage certificates and on censuses to make the age difference between them appear more acceptable. We like to think of our ancestors as fine upstanding members of the community and it can sometimes come as a shock to discover that they told an untruth when registering important events... Continue Reading →
searchmyancestry - Ruth A. Symes 