Hello everybody, Did your family in the past have a favourite pet ? Do you have a painting or photograph of your ancestors with their dog, cat or other animal? Pets can play a significant part in our family memories and histories and they can turn up in surprising places in the records. What can... Continue Reading →
Like a Member of the Family: Dogs in the Censuses
Robert Leighton, The New Book Of The Dog; A Comprehensive Natural History of British Dogs and Their Foreign Relatives, with Chapters on Law, Breeding, Kennel Management, and Veterinary Treatment, Cassell, 1907. Via Wikimedia Commons It’s pretty difficult to find out much about the pets that our ancestors might have owned in the past, but surprisingly... Continue Reading →
What your ancestors’ house name can tell you about them: From ‘Sunnyside’ to ‘Idunno’
By Ruth A Symes This article first appeared in the online periodical Discover Your Ancestors (March, 2026) http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk A cottage with perhaps the most well-known of all British house names often given by those who had come to rest after a life of work and travel, ‘Dunroamin,’ Symonds Yat, Herefordshire. Via Wikimedia Commons. In Britain,... Continue Reading →