Can house names tell us anything about our family histories? When researching one of my ancestors, Charlie Terrell, on an online newspaper site, I was thrilled to find a brief reference to him from the 1930s when he was a witness to a car accident outside his house in Pontefract. To my delight, the report... Continue Reading →
New trio of articles
Just submitted the first of three articles looking at the funny gaffes, bloopers and mix-ups that sometimes disrupted births, marriages and deaths in the nineteenth century! http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 'Marriage Mishaps' coming soon, November 2025 For Social History and Women's History Books https://www.naomisymes.com/
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 →