Happy New Year!

Hi everyone.

Tomorrow is 2016. I hope you have an excellent one and have a good time as we say goodbye to 2015.

If you're interested in family history, then this is the time that many pick up the hobby and the habit. It's enjoyable and rewarding to find out more about your family's past.

A word of caution: you may find that it's not as easy as it looks!

I'll be more than pleased to hear from you if you find yourselves stuck against the proverbial 'brick wall,' or simply find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of individuals that share your ancestor's name, and the amount of records there are to traipse through.

Check out my website: www.familyhistorybycerys.co.uk for more information about my services.

Feel free to drop me a line - I've seen my fair share of interesting situations when it comes to errant relatives, black sheep, and general confusion. I will give it my best!

A Historical Christmas on TV

There are plenty of goodies for the history fan on TV this Christmas - with the BBC leading the charge.

Dickensian on BBC One is a mash-up of Dickens characters and stories in a period mystery.

Running on a theme, Sherlock is also going all period-drama over the festive period, with a Victorian special.

 

There's more mystery on the way with an adaptation of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, to keep crime-lovers happy through the holidays.

 



 

And there's the treat of War and Peace to look forward to for those who like their period drama epic.

 



 

To avoid showing prejudice towards the BBC, I should probably point out that ITV also has a lot going on over Christmas.

 

History fans can look forward to the final episode of Downton Abbey on Christmas Day.

 



 

And for the little ones, there's a family tree of a different kind with BBC's Stick Man to watch out for!

 



 

A great Christmas on TV then!

Small Business Saturday

 

Today is Small Business Saturday - the day when (hopefully!) we all shine a spotlight on and support small businesses.

These are the businesses run by neighbours, families, friends - who care about what they do and don't have the advantages of corporations. Some of these businesses are new, some are generations old - the local barbers, the window cleaners, the shopkeepers.

 

We should support smaller businesses where we can - for the sake of our history, our communities, and the neighbours, families, and friends, that we want to see succeed.

Coming Home - BBC Wales

BBC Wales has it's own answer to Who Do You Think You Are? - it has Coming Home. Coming Home is a series of half-hour programmes looking into the Welsh roots of the famous and semi-famous.

Series 10 (oh yes, this is a long-running series,) features a four-episode run, starring actress Sian Phillips, journalist Jeremy Bowen, comedian and actor Ben Miller, and sports star and One Show presenter Iwan Thomas.

The series starts tonight at 8.30pm on BBC1 Wales with Sian Phillips' episode - the episodes will be available after airing on the BBC's iPlayer for people living in other UK regions.

I usually find the series to be well worth the watch - so if you're interested in history, give it a try.

Last Chance For Christmas 2015 Orders

Hurry! My last date for Christmas orders is Friday 27th November!

So, if you want to treat someone with a very special present, you'll have to be quick!

As always, order and price information can be found on my website - www.familyhistorybycerys.co.uk

Looking forward to hearing from you very soon!

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly

 

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

 

John McCrae

 

 

 

There is an excellent webpage about John McCrae, the author of 'In Flanders Fields' and a Canadian military doctor, on the greatwar.co.uk website. John McCrae was killed in 1918, and is buried in Wimereux Communal Cemetery.

Some Things Never Change

Truly, some things are pretty unchangeable. The sky is blue, and boys will be boys and do stupid and dangerous things on bonfire night.


This article from The South Wales Echo on 15th November 1900:

REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF

NOVEMBER

-----

Some Barry Boys are not likely to readily for-

get it. They attempted to celebrate Guy Fawkes

night by letting off fireworks in the street, and

this morning were called upon to appear before

the magistrates at the Police Court. Five lads -

John Ash, Henry Williams, William Harris,

Emmanuel Williams, and Alfred Williams -

were each fined 5s including costs, while Ree[s]

Jones, a Cadoxton juvenile, who disobeyed the

summons, was ordered to appear at the next

sitting of the court.

 

 

I hope no-one is planning the same on this November 5th - keep yourselves and your pets safe!

WDYTYA? - Frances de la Tour

Well! That's Series 12 done and dusted in style, with last night's episode starring British actress Frances de la Tour, who has suitably posh ancestors (have you ever noticed how many of our actors and actresses are descended from aristocrats?)

 

But there was the whiff of scandal throughout the lives of these aristocratic ladies - and Frances followed the path of affairs, drugs, and the stifling conditions of life as a high-class woman. It never ceases to surprise me just how naïve celebrities can sometimes be in Who Do You Think You Are? episodes. Maybe it's just the hardened genealogist in me that automatically jumps to affairs and opium - not that I was wrong!

So, with intriguing stories and access to surviving historical documents that most of us can only dream of, Frances de la Tour closed off the series with a compelling and interesting episode.

Trafalgar - 21st October 1805

110 years ago today, the Battle of Trafalgar took place. If your anything like me, then you'll be wanting to refresh your memory on all things Trafalgar.

What was it?

Basically a big naval battle between ships off the cost of Spain, between the British forces led by Lord Nelson, and Napoleon's French and Spanish forces.

Which one was Lord Nelson again?

Admiral Lord Nelson sailed on HMS Victory, he was shot during the battle, and famously said 'Kiss me, Hardy,' as he lay dying on Victory's decks, aged 47. His first name was Horatio, which for some reason I find amusing.

Napoleon... was he the short guy?

We Brits are excellent at propaganda - and delighted at portraying Napoleon as titchy. Napoleon was about 5ft 6, not tall by any means, but not especially short either - particularly in the time period, when this would've been about average. It helped that many of the British commanders and officers were notably tall.

Why were they fighting?

Well, basically, Napoleon kept adding countries and territories in Europe to his Empire. Those countries usually already had some form of governance - and weren't so happy about being annexed. The British Empire wasn't so happy about having a powerful rival.

Who won?

Well, the Brits won the Battle of Trafalgar - but the Napoleonic Wars continued until 1815 and the decisive British victory of Waterloo.

WDYTYA? Series 12 Finale Rescheduled

Frances de la Tour's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was due to air last night, but was postponed in favour of The Apprentice. It's now scheduled to air next Thursday (22 Oct) at 9pm. You can check here for any further changes of schedule.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to find it a little odd that the BBC would take a break before the last episode of a series, but there you have it.

WDYTYA? - Mark Gatiss

Last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featured the brilliant Mark Gatiss - actor and writer on shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock. I'm going to be honest, if a TV show was just an hour a week of Mark Gatiss' random comments on life, I would watch it.

 

The episode itself focussed on Mark's intriguing and very historical Irish roots - with Mark from the outset wanting to be declared King of Ireland. The Irish history and the stories unravelled in the atmospheric countryside of Ireland were certainly worth the watch.

 

I found the link to Irish folk-lore especially interesting, but that may be because I have a general interest in all types of folk-lore (with a special interest in the Welsh.) But, of course, the vampire tale was just fabulous, and Mark was clearly delighted with the find.

 

Next week's episode is the last in the current series of Who Do You Think You Are? and stars British actress Frances de la Tour.

WDYTYA? - Anita Rani

Anita Rani - One Show presenter, and weekend twinkle-toes on this season of Strictly Come Dancing - explored her family's history in last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

Anita's family are of Sikh and Hindu Indian heritage - and so it was off to India to discover her grandfather's troubled history. What was revealed was easily one of the most tragic and heart-breaking stories featured in Who Do You Think You Are? It was a story of conflict, violence, the partition of India and Pakistan, and the atrocities that take place when prejudice blinds men to the rights-and-wrongs of this world.

More than anything, this was a story of violence against women - something which this part of the world (and, many would argue, the rest of the world too,) still struggles with to this day. Only one or two generations ago, the women in this region of India were killed, or forced to kill themselves, to stop them from falling into the hands of the men of the opposite faction. Ethnic and religious differences led to the horrendous deaths of innumerable women and girls, many of whom were killed at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them. Perhaps, difficult though it may be, we should bring these things, these bloody and forgotten histories, to light more often - as a lesson to all.

What's in a Name? - A Complaint From 1894

Think names like Apple are a new trend? Think again.


The Aberdare Times 9th June 1894

STRANGE NAMES.

In a recently published volume on "Church Folk-

Lore," the Rev J E Vaux shows that many stupid

parents are still allowed to make life a burden to

their offspring by afflicting on them absurd, un-

meaning names. For example, if "Christmas Caroll"

- a perfectly competent citizen - were to sign a peti-

tion on any subject, the worthies at the House of

Commons might reject it as unreliable. They would

certainly shy at "Mineral Waters," "Wild Rose,"

"Ether Spray," "Boadicea Basher," "Liberal

Heneage Brown," "Orange Lemmon," "Jubilee

Gosling," and "Only Fancy William Brown." Yet

these are all personages recently added to baptismal

registers, and quite as much entitles to figure on

petitions as anybody else.

WDYTYA? - Frank Gardner

In an exceptionally interesting episode, last night's Who Do You Think You Are? featured BBC journalist Frank Gardner's prestigious ancestors.

Of historical interest in so many ways, the episode darted around the various intrigues of Frank's family in the hopes of highlighting some of the array of family stories hiding in his tree branches. As a result, what we have is a glimpse into the life and tragedy of an eminent Victorian scientist and biologist (all very period drama,) and the ups and downs of political life for the erstwhile Michael Stanhope (all very 'Wolf Hall.')

The episode also highlights the historical position of the 'groom of the stool' - the King of England, oddly enough, used to have a man who literally... cleaned him up... after he used the privy. It was actually a highly sought-after position - not least because of the trust and access to the King that it provided.

An interesting episode, which once again proves that it pays to have posh ancestors - there'll be a lot more recorded about them if you do!

WDYTYA? - Anne Reid

Last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was the turn of Anne Reid, an actress best known for Coronation Street and Last Tango in Halifax. Anne's history was mired in the beautiful Scots landscape - which created a stunning backdrop to the episode.

The episode mainly focused on the tale of John Reid - a village teacher who was dismissed on account of various actions related to his alcoholism. Anne really seemed to feel a connection with John, despite his bad behaviour, as he seemed to have more spark than the other inhabitants of the small Scottish village in which he lived.

The episode also featured a look at the British penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in Australia. The look at the life of convicts in Australia was interesting and informative - though I can't say that I agree with Anne's apparent view that any one convict is more deserving of a more comfortable job than another.

WDYTYA? - Gareth Malone

Last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was focused on Gareth Malone (presenter of The Choir, etc.,) and his theatrical ancestors.

What I personally like was the way the episode managed to skirt around the less reputable aspects of, in particular, the music hall in Liverpool. Victorian music halls were quite scandalous, and the promise of private boxes available for 'Captains and Gentlemen' was perhaps less respectable than Gareth Malone seemed to think.

What was truly remarkable though, was that Gareth was able to track down a voice recording and a piece of film of his 2x great-grandfather, who was a comic actor. People are rarely so lucky!

The music hall in Dublin did make my brain go to some truly awful puns about Dublin and Malone - involving a certain traditional song in which a girl sells shellfish. But, the less said about that, the better!

WDYTYA? - Jerry Hall

(Apologies for posting this a day later than normal.)

Thursday's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featured ex-model and ex-Mrs Jagger, Jerry Hall. A Texan by birth, Jerry found that her roots went deeper into the United States than she expected.

There was an interesting mix of history here - from life as a mill-worker in Oldham to a railway-worker in Texas, and land owners in various states in the West and South of the US. The main story here though was the Western frontier - as the US pushed West, Jerry's family pushed with them. This is a tale of hardship and prosperity, cowboys and 'Indians.'

One thing that struck me though is the detail that is available in some US records - I suppose it's only logical that when there are less people in a particular town or state, there is less local news to report, and so more chance that anything which the inhabitants of that town did, went through, or achieved, would be recorded.

WDYTYA? - Derek Jacobi

Derek Jacobi's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was actually very, very interesting. From a working-class East End background, Derek was interested to learn of his links to French ancestors - more specifically, French Huguenots.

Huguenots were Protestant refugees fleeing persecution in Catholic France, where they risked imprisonment, torture, and death. They escaped to England in their droves - creating their own industries and communities centred in London. Derek's ancestor, Joseph De Les Plaines (apologies if I've misspelt that, because it's very possible that I have,) was of a higher class than most of the Huguenots, who were usually poor weavers rather than middle-class clerks. What comes next though is the story of a man who, in his 60s, left an imprisonment that can be fairly be described as inhumane, and travelled to Britain in the hopes of freedom and the ability to practice his religion without fear of persecution.

The time period (the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries) is a very interesting one, and one that we perhaps often neglect in favour of other periods of history - for example, the Tudors, the Victorians, etc. We know still less about the history of other countries - even neglecting learning of the vibrant pasts of some our closest neighbours in Europe.

An interesting and informative episode then, centring on topics not often explored on British TV.

WDYTYA? - Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? aired last night, looking into the English actress' Jewish roots.

This was a truly heartfelt episode as Jane traced her father's aunts through war-torn Poland and Paris. The strength shown by one of these aunts was truly incredible, but in the end the tragedy of the holocaust simply took away the life she had built for herself - a really sad moment.

So, this episode was very much a human story of people simply trying to survive in a time of war and attempted genocide. That anyone could perpetrate some of the senseless acts - such as the shooting of Mr Tesserman in Warsaw - detailed in this episode is truly difficult to comprehend; and its because of this that this dark period of history is so important to remember. There was also some good shining through the dark - Jane's relatives in Marseilles hadn't left France despite obtaining a visa to the United States because they were helping other Jewish refugees. The desperation of those Jews leaving France is all too evident - and shows the real heartbreak and difficulties that have faced refugees for centuries, even to this day.

An important episode then, as well as interesting one.

Exciting News!

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that there's some exciting news about my packages - they will now be printed as standard in A4 paperback book format!

You can still get the old loose-leaf Rapesco (or similar) binder format for an additional £20, or have the book printed in A4 hardback book format for an additional £15.

Images of the new styles of printing can be found here.

I can also offer re-prints (price on request) of previous packages and/or family trees - so feel free to get in touch if this is something you're interested in.

Updated price and order information can be found here.

I hope you're just as happy with the new printing as I am!

WDYTYA? - Paul Hollywood

Last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? kicked off series 12 with Bake-off judge Paul Hollywood - who displayed a quirky sense of humour throughout.

image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Really, last night's episode was split into two parts. The first part was very much based on the wartime experiences of Paul's grandfather - leading to more understanding on his part of what his grandfather went through. I'm not a military historian, but the WW2 section seemed well-researched, and was presented with tact as well as the spirit of discovery that WDYTYA? thrives on.

It was the second part of the episode that I found the most interesting however - following Paul's Scottish ancestors through the ups-and-downs of their lives. The details of the lives of a policeman and a postman may not sound like the most interesting of things, but it truly was. Not least the postman, whose route - which he walked and ran every week - stretched from one side of the highlands to the other.

Overall then, a really interesting start to this series - with hopefully more interesting stories to come!

Not long now!

Hi everyone - it's nearly here, the new UK series of Who Do You Think We Are? airs on BBC1 at 9pm next Thursday, beginning with British Bake-Off star Paul Hollywood.

As always, I'll be putting up a post about each episode the day after they air - watch this space!

Sherlock Victorian Special

Don't know whether you've heard, but it looks very much like Sherlock's Christmas Special will be set in the Victorian period - good news for any period drama fans amongst you.

Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the 1880s, a time when policing and detective work was new and novel to the general public, and became arguably the most famous fictional detective of all time. There have been numerous adaptations and re-adaptations of the great detective over the years - not least the recent Robert Downey Junior films, the immensely popular Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock series, and the US-set Elementary which stars Jonny Lee Miller.

We'll have to wait and see if the Christmas Special comes up to the standards of Sherlock fans (who are notoriously passionate,) - should be interesting!

Learn the Lingo - Genealogy

It suddenly occurred to me that a lot of people won't even be familiar with the term genealogy, so...

Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of lines of descent. In practice, this usually means starting with recent history and working backwards through time.

A genealogist studies lines of descent - either their own or other people's - to discover information about ancestors and relatives, and produce family trees. It's the stories that really bring it alive though - everyone's life means something, and it's so interesting to find the stories that make up your heritage.

WDYTYA? USA - Kelsey Grammar

OK, so this was the last episode of this series of WDYTYA? USA on Watch - the UK hasn't yet picked up the Minnie Driver episode because she was previously featured on the UK show.

So, Kelsey Grammar's episode rounded off the series on Watch. And it was fairly interesting, focussing on aspects of American history that we in the UK probably don't get to see that much - like the wagon trails west. We tend to think of US immigration as being from Europe etc., and not think of the continent-wide journeys taken by thousands of Americans from the East coast to the Western states.

The other enduring aspect of this video was the all-too-relatable story of alcoholism and family strife that permeated into the family of Kelsey's grandmother. It makes for an interesting story, but not one that you would ever want to have to experience yourself.

Can't wait for the UK series to return to our screens now!

WDYTYA? USA - Valerie Bertinelli

Last night's WDYTYA? USA episode featured Valerie Bertinelli - a US actress more well-known in the states than over here.

Her episode focussed on the Italian and British sides of her family. The Italian side of her family led to a case of attempted murder - it really does surprise me how often US celebrities have a link to murder in some way.

Valerie's British side led to a gateway-ancestor, which means that their family is well-documented and usually very posh/noble to boot. Mere mortals may only dream of a gateway ancestor and royal connections - but WDYTYA? USA just waltzes straight in with one, still, it makes for an interesting facet of the story.

Also featured were elements of Pennsylvania's history and its founding, as well as its Quaker connections.

Who Do You Think You Are? Series 12

The UK series of Who Do You Think You Are? is almost back with us, with a fresh crop of celebrities for season 12 (12 series - incredible!)

The line up for this series at the moment looks something like this:

• Paul Hollywood (from the Great British Bake-Off)
• Derek Jacobi
• Anne Reid (Coronation Street, Dinnerladies, Last Tango in Halifax)
• Frances de la Tour (prolific British actress)
• Mark Gatiss (known for, amongst other things, writing and starring in Sherlock)
• Jane Seymour (the actress and Bond girl, not the wife of Henry VIII)
• Gareth Malone (The Choir)
• Jerry Hall (the model and former Mrs Jagger)
• Frank Gardner (journalist and BBC security correspondent)
• Anita Rani (journalist, broadcaster and presenter who often appears on The One Show)

Should be good!

WDYTYA? USA - Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams' episode of Who Do You Think You Are? USA aired on Tuesday night in the UK. (Sorry for the delay in posting my write-up!)

Rachel travelled around in her episode with sister Kayleen - a make-up artist to the stars, including Rachel. Both are originally Canadian - and tracked their Canadian routes back to the Gray family, dispossessed of their home in America after the US War of Independence. This was an interesting feature of the episode for people who may not know as much about US and Canadian history.

The other stand-out of this episode was the sisters' English ancestors, one of whom was a footman to a sizeable home. Rachel and Kayleen were delighted by the 'very Downton Abbey' nature of it all! And to be honest, their naivety throughout was pretty endearing - this seems to be more of a facet of the American series than the British. The British celebrities seem less surprised, less uninformed, than many of their US counterparts. Make of that what you will. Still, an interesting episode.

WDYTYA? USA - Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Last night's Who Do You Think You Are? USA on Watch was Jesse Tyler Ferguson's episode - Jesse is probably most famous for his role as Mitchell on modern family.

I don't know whether it's something to do with the air, but WDYTYA? USA tends to involve more historical murder trials than the UK series. We plunged straight in at the deep-end with the story of Jesse W Uppercu(e) - Jesse's great-grandfather. Honestly, I think that there could be a TV series just about this man - he seems to have led an interesting life to say the least. I recommend you find the episode on an on-demand or streaming service if you missed it last night - it really is one of the more interesting stories they've featured. It's difficult to explain too much without giving the game away - but I, for one, really enjoyed the episode.

I also have to mention just how likeable Jesse Tyler Ferguson is himself - if acting doesn't work out, I'm sure a career in presenting wouldn't go awry. I love him (and his sassiness.)

WDYTYA? USA - Cynthia Nixon

OK, a day later than expected (sorry!) but here's my write-up of Tuesday's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? USA.

Cynthia Nixon's episode hit the ground running for this series. It was genuinely interesting - and there was axes and murder, always good for the dramatic side of things. I'm not kidding, there was actual axe-murder. I won't say more than that, you'll have to watch it yourself.

The episode was very focussed - which to be fair only served to make it concise and stop it from becoming ungainly. I'm always struck, however, when watching the American series, just how much product-placement there is. Maybe this strikes me because the UK series is made by the good old BBC where there is no product-placement or sponsorship. I will also say that's it's amazing how exact supposed 'searches' are when it comes to finding results - their searches magically turn up a single result. What are the odds?

Don't let that put you off though - Cynthia Nixon's episode is one heck of a story and I guarantee that anyone interested in history will find it an enjoyable and fascinating watch. Cynthia herself is genuine throughout, though there is the odd moment where she perhaps comes over as a little naïve.

Just a reminder...

Hey everyone, just a reminder that Who Do You Think You Are? USA series 5 starts tonight in the UK on Watch at 9pm. The first of this 5-episode-run is Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon. I'm hoping to put up a write-up on here at some point tomorrow, like I do with the UK series, so keep your eyes out for that!

Learn the Lingo - MIs

MI

An MI is, quite simply, a memorial inscription - this is the inscription found on a gravestone or other memorial. Usually, this is referred to as an MI when it has been transcribed or indexed on its own or in a database.

WDYTYA? USA series 5 on Watch

Watch has the new series of Who Do You Think You Are? USA starting Tues, June 16, at 9pm. The revealed line-up for this series is: Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City,) Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell from Modern Family,) Rachel McAdams, Valerie Bertinelli, and Kelsey Grammar (Frasier.)

It looks like an interesting series all-in-all, though they do seem to keep changing the air time so I'll try to keep you up-to-date with the details. Should be good!

The Welsh in Patagonia

Hi everyone, thought I'd share this link to an article about 150 years since the first Welsh emigrants set up home in Patagonia in Argentina. Bye for now!

Learn the Lingo - pre-1837

Pre-1837

We genealogists talk a lot about 1837. It only struck me recently how odd this must seem to people unacquainted with genealogy. On the face of it, 1837 seems to be such an odd year to pick.

In reality, there's a reason why genealogists find post-1837 research much easier than pre-1837. 1837 was the year in which civil registration for births, marriages, and deaths was introduced to England and Wales. Pre-1837 is the period before there was such a thing as a birth certificate, and the same for marriages and deaths. This means we have to rely on parish records (the church or chapel registers of what baptisms, marriages, and burials took place in the church) which are often varied in terms of what information is recorded, or even who was baptised/christened. This is also before the first national census in 1841, leaving us with little choice but to get creative with our research if we're going to get any further back. Any records that do exist start getting notoriously vague!

So, pre-1837 is the genealogist's term for the time before modern records, where research can get quite difficult, particularly if your ancestor's lived in an area with poor record-keeping.

Just a Note

Hi everyone, I've been very busy, but will hopefully find time to post again some time this week. Hope you're all fine! See you soon!

A Political Statement from 1909

'...What measure of success he had attained - he did not say this boastfully, but to encourage others - was due to consistent hard work. He entered public life because he thought it the duty of every citizen to render some service to the parish or the town where he lived, and the greater the privileges they enjoyed in this respect the greater were their responsibilities.'

 

Cardiff Times, 27 March 1909, detailing a speech made by Alderman Lewis Morgan, Lord Mayor of Cardiff

24 Hours in the Past

BBC One trailer via YouTube

A 'living history' reality show called 24 Hours in the Past starts tomorrow night (Tues, 28 Apr) at 9pm on BBC1.

So, what is it? Well, in a nutshell, a bunch of celebrities have to spend time working as Victorians, and sampling four different workplaces over four different days. They also have to live in a Victorian style.

Who are the celebrities? There are six celebrities - several of which have previously featured on Strictly Come Dancing. They include Ann Widdecombe, Alistair McGowan, Tyger Drew-Honey (Outnumbered) and Welsh athlete Colin Jackson.

So, only time will tell how good or otherwise the programme turns out to be - but anything that encourages an interest in history and social history is worth a try.

Illness of a General

Was there a chink in Caesar's armour? This article from Discovery News explores the possibility that the famous general suffered from mini strokes. Take a look!

Hidden Arthurian Gems

Hi everyone, thought I'd tell you about this article showing hidden gems discovered by UV light in the medieval manuscript known as the Black Book of Carmarthen. Enjoy!

Learn the Lingo - Alias

Alias

The term alias is used when an individual used more than one name. Most commonly, this will be found in criminal records - for example 'John Smith alias George Jones was found guilty of...' This is because people in trouble with the law often changed their names to avoid their pasts and evade detection.

The second most common use of an alias is in the case of illegitimacy. Where a child was born outside marriage, they may be known by both their father and their mother's last name, for example 'John Jones alias Evans,' this can also happen in the case of fostering, informal adoption, or remarriage of one of the child's parents. 

There are of course also many individually unique reasons why someone may be known by more than one name.

Happy Easter!

Hi everyone, just a quick note to say Happy Easter to everyone and thank you for your continued support for me and Family History By Cerys

The hat, the train, and the german tailor

I recently finished reading Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway murder by Kate Colquhoun (you may remember my post about a book by the same author detailing the case of Mrs Maybrick, and the death of her husband.) This book is about one of the most famous cases of the Victorian period.

image courtesy of Sakhorn38 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It's well-written, engaging, and very good at setting the scene. Unlike the book about Florence Maybrick, this avoids direct speech - which is a lot less grating in terms of tone and accuracy. Colquhoun discusses in the issues surrounding this infamous Victorian crime with skill and intrigue.

So, who was this Mr Briggs? Why was his hat so important? Well, Mr Briggs was an elderly middle-class banker from London who, when returning from visiting a relative, was murdered on the train. The body was later found on the railway line - the first indication that something was wrong was a blood-spattered carriage and a hat. Every middle-class man (and most working-class men) wore a hat at this period - but this hat was not Mr Briggs'. So where was Mr Briggs' hat?

What followed was a manhunt based around the fears of the Victorian class system - middle-class men were not murdered on trains. It was indecent. Hundreds of members of the lower-class may be killed in a more brutal manner, but that, in comparison, was only to be expected. What's more, clearly the murderer was decently and genteelly behaved enough to be travelling in a first-class train compartment - something which shook Victorian pre-conceptions of society and crime.

The main suspect, a German tailor named Franz Muller, did something to allay middle-class hysteria. A foreigner who was relatively impoverished was a relatively acceptable villain. Germany was also far from friendly with the British Empire at the time, so it fit in nicely with current public feeling towards German people.

A curious tale, this mystery is one which never totally wrapped up in a satisfying way. There would always remain questions - mainly regarding the fact that there was no proof that Muller was on the train, and some evidence that he was in Clerkenwell, several miles away at the time.

The question of whether the hat in the carriage belonged to Muller, as well as whether the hat he was found with when the law caught up with him half a world away did ever belong to Thomas Briggs, became the matter of very subjective debate. Other questions also arouse: what reason would Muller have to kill Thomas Briggs? Yes, he had been in possession of Briggs' watch and chain, but why would he leave the obvious diamond ring on Briggs' finger? What about the fact that a friend of Thomas Briggs had seen him that night in the railway carriage, sitting with two gentlemen, neither of which was Franz Muller? What about the threats that Thomas Briggs had received before his death from a 'decent' and 'respectable' associate?

It's likely that we'll never know the answer to these questions, but it's to Colquhoun's credit that she keeps the intrigue alive.

Other issues are also discussed here - most notably the press. The newspapers and reading public created a frenzy around the case, and it's possible that they not only prejudiced any possible trial, but also encouraged a morbid and ghoulish fascination. It's a difficult question which still has relevance today.

Learn the Lingo - Black Sheep

Black Sheep

A 'black sheep' ancestor is one with a criminal or otherwise scandalous past. Most family trees have at least one, and they tend to make for some of the most interesting stories. Tracking a black sheep can be difficult as they often have a habit of hiding or changing their names, ages, and other distinguishing features (e.g. where they were from.) With a lot of hard work, their stories can be discovered, and you may find something interesting about your own family's past.

Richard III reburied

Hi everyone, today's the day - Richard III is being reburied and today is the funeral service before re-interment at Leicester cathedral on Thursday. More dignified than a car park.

Cervantes' tomb

I found this article about the discovery of the writer Miguel de Cervantes' grave, it's pretty interesting and I recommend that you check it out!

Learn the Lingo - Census

Census

 

Censuses are government surveys taken to gain social statistics such as how many people are living in a particular town, how many children there are an area, how many homes are in a city, etc. etc. The typical timescale is once every ten years; in this country (UK) the censuses of names of UK residents start with 1841, and go right up to 2011; in the USA it is on the decade changeover (so 1900, 1910, etc.) and there are local variations in countries, states, counties, towns, cities, all over the world.

 

The upshot of all this is that censuses, intended for statistical purposes, incidentally provide a huge wealth of information for genealogists - depending on the country and the year, different details were taken, but at the very basic level there is names, ages, occupations, and addresses. They form a fundamental part of family history because they allow people to trace family units, movements, and rough birth details.

The King of Parking

Hi everyone, thought you might like to see this video and article about the moment King Richard III was found in a Leicester car park. Enjoy!

Learn the Lingo - BMDs

BMDs -

 

BMDs are the shortened way genealogists refer to births, marriages, and deaths. It's also how these details are often referred to - for example, Joe Bloggs (b. 1900, m. Jane Doe, 23 Feb 1923, d. 1964). Sometimes birth, marriage and death certificates (or certs) are also referred to as BMD certs, or BMD certificates. BMDs are used as the backbone of most family trees to establish dates, time periods, and generations, as well as adding more details to the names of ancestors and family members.

Learn the Lingo

Hi everyone! I've decided to do a new post series ('Learn the Lingo'!) to explain some of the genealogy terminology that I rarely notice is terminology anymore. This will be normal terminology as opposed to things I come up with when I'm in a strange mood (let's face it, we all do it!)

So, today's lingo word is (drumroll here)....
Certs

Certs to a genealogist doesn't mean 'for certain.' It is in fact short for certificate - referring to Birth, Marriage and Death certificates which are used to find information about individual family members.

The day the people wanted politics

The chartist uprising of 1839 was an important part of Welsh history and the history of people and politics in this country. It wasn't just suffragettes who had to fight for the right to vote. The Newport chartists wanted everyman of the age of 21 and over to be allowed to vote - not just the wealthy. Because of property restrictions on eligibility to vote, the poverty stricken did not have that right - and therefore were alienated from a system which largely ignored them and their needs.

Tonight at 9pm on BBC 2 Wales, the actor Michael Sheen presents a programme on the Newport Rising. It will be available on iPlayer for those in other regions.

178 year old family Bible is returned to its owners

Hi everyone!

I found this interesting short article about how a piece of one Welsh family's history (a 178 year old family Bible) was returned to them. Hope you enjoy it!

When you need some help with your research

Hi everyone, just to remind you that if you've decided to look into your British family history, and have got a little overwhelmed or stuck, help is at hand!

My hourly rate, Leaves, is £9.50 per hour; feel free to get in touch with me the usual way (via the e-mail address found on my website www.familyhistorybycerys.co.uk) so that I can help you out with your genealogy mysteries and "brick-walls."

Preserving the people in the pages

I'm sure many of you will have seen the media coverage yesterday of Holocaust memorial day, at the 70th anniversary. Most will agree that the Holocaust is something worth remembering, though many will disagree about how - and rightly, as we're all very different people, and some will place commemoration and memorialisation above education and the terrible lessons taught, while others will see it as the ultimate example to use to prevent future atrocities.

Regardless of your standpoint, something horrible happened in the 1930s and 1940s to the people who were Jewish, Communist, Homosexual, Disabled, and likely others who I have unintentionally left out, who were living in Nazi controlled territories. They took their lives, tried to eradicate their identities, their memories, their humanity - but in these latter points they did not succeed.

Projects like those run by the USHMM in conjunction with partners are an attempt to restore that measure of identity, memory, and humanity, that the Nazis did chip away at. The USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) holds large amounts of documentation related to the Holocaust - things such as lists of Polish Jews living in ghettos, and applications for the identity cards which all had to carry. You may think that these things are better forgotten - but I respectfully disagree. The Nazis wanted the Jewish people (and others) to be stripped of their names, instead calling them and branding them with numbers. These documents are the pieces they couldn't take - their names, where they lived, what their occupation was, their parents, their birth details, and in some cases even some small passport-style photographs stuck to the middle of the form. And every one of those people is beautiful.

So, when I'm there typing their details into an index on behalf of one of USHMM's partners (the archiving project of a well-known family history website,) people assume that I find it depressing. And yes, there are moments when you feel sad for what was and what could have been, but overall it's a very positive experience. I can help to restore just a little bit of justice to these people - I can let people know they were there, they existed, they were completely normal, they loved laughed and cried. Most importantly, I can help to give them back their names, their identities - and if that isn't positive I don't know what is.

A quick note on a remarkable man

Those of you who saw the One Show last night will know what a remarkable man Freddie Knoller is. If you want to hear his full story of surviving Auschwitz and the Holocaust (surviving the Holocaust - Freddie Knoller's war,) you can see it on BBC2 at 9.30 tonight, and on iPlayer afterwards. Viewers in Scotland can see it on BBC2 at 10pm on Sun 25 Jan, and it will be repeated in all regions except Northern Ireland and Scotland at 23.20 on Monday 26 Jan.

It really is worth a look if you want to know the human story of the Holocaust and encounter this remarkable character.

The Transfixing Tudors

Have you ever noticed that we seem utterly transfixed on the Tudor dynasty? There's no end of plays, books, TV shows, and films on the subject - and every couple of years we seem to go Tudor crazy.

At the moment, BBC has a wealth of Tudor programming on offer (not least the adaptation of Wolf Hall starting on BBC2 tonight at 9pm,) but why is it we keep returning to this family's story again and again?

Well, firstly everyone likes a scandal and a gossip - illegitimacy, mistresses, and who-is-chopping-who's-head-off abounds here, which is as compelling as modern celeb gossip (and we all know about that.)

There's also something of the mafia-style family drama to it; the transfer of power, betrayal, and political point-scoring. And there's the compelling nature of Anne Boleyn - perhaps the most talked-about of Tudor women, a lady who 'won' a king and was the mother of one of Britain's greatest queens, but lost her head in the process.

Maybe it's all these things and more; but to fans of Tudor adaptations, there's plenty around to get stuck into at the moment.

Tales of Impropriety

People have always been people - and the Victorians were less shocked by what went on in their towns than you might think. For example, I found this quite casual newspaper report from the Cardiff Times on 4 October 1879:



Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

MERTHYR

 

A CASE DISMISSED - At the police-court on

Monday - the Stipendiary on the bench - Mary

Evans, a prostitute, was brought up charged with

stealing a dress, the property of another frail

sister named Elizabeth Jones. As prosecutrix

did not appear, the prisoner was discharged.

'Frail sisters' was a common euphemism, as was 'nightwalker' or 'lady of ill repute.'

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

If your News Year's resolution is to learn more about your family's history, feel free to get in touch with me using the e-mail address on my website www.familyhistorybycerys.co.uk

You may be feeling a little overwhelmed with where to start, or got confused by the number of people who share a name with your ancestor - if so help is at hand! My range of services is detailed on my website, and do feel free to get in contact!

So, if genealogy is your New Year's project then I'm here to help!