Innovative approaches to understanding more about your family history
On the 1911 census, couples were asked for the first time how long they had been married. Many gave a falsely extended number of years – just enough to render all their children legitimate! Mr and Mrs M Young and their seven children, Waterloo House, Waterford, 1913. Via Wikimedia Commons. For Social History and Women's... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
searchmyancestry - Ruth A. Symes 