Why Did My Ancestor Lie? (Quick tip: 2)

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 →

Why did my ancestor lie? (Quick tip: 1)

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 →

Sewing Bees and Family Trees

by Ruth A. Symes [After a family visit this summer to Gawthorpe Hall, home of Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth featured here, I was reminded of my article published in Who Do You Think you Are? Magazine (2013)] Link to buy my books Amazon.co.uk: Ruth A Symes: books, biography, latest update Woman Sewing By Window (1871), by Vincent Van... Continue Reading →

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