Garrould Oldren (1799-1883) baptism in Wissett, Suffolk on 23 December 1799.jpg Via Wikimedia Commons Modern DNA techniques can now definitively solve questions of paternity, and can even resolve cases from several generations back in the past. But traditionally, there have been many other ways in which family historians could potentially discover who the daddy was... Continue Reading →
Welcome to my first newsletter! (March 2026)
This is where I bring you up-to-date with what has been keeping me excited family-history-wise over the past few weeks! My best bit of recent news is that I’ve found the answer to a family history mystery that has been bothering me for some time. A few years ago, I came across five (blank) postcards... Continue Reading →
‘A good, clear fire’: A Frenchman’s View of Victorian Britain (Snippets: 5)
A Victorian home. Via Wikimedia Commons. In a series of visits to Britain between 1862 and 1870, outspoken Frenchman Hippolyte Taine wrote lengthily about his impressions, and his comments-at-a-distance give us a clear and fascinating view of our ancestors in a way that no other source quite achieves. Taine considered the most important feature of... Continue Reading →