Jilted

Jilted

Recently, while researching newspapers for information about a client’s ancestor I came across a series of fascinating articles about a “Breach of Promise” story relating to the sister of the man I was looking for.  Of course, I started to read it. Several column inches later, published over a number of days, I knew the whole, sorry story. I had read an almost word-by-word account […]

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A hero – or a villain?

A hero – or a villain?

When James Young (my 2 x great-grandfather) died in Blairgowrie at the age of 84, on 14 January 1879, local newspapers reported that he was buried 4 days later “with military honours”.  It was said that over 5000 people watched the procession, which consisted of the Firing Party, a band playing the “Dead March”, Freemasons, the coffin (which was covered in the Union Jack), relatives […]

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Martha’s Story

Martha’s Story

Martha (not her real name) was a woman I came across while researching another part of her family tree. Her story was one that intrigued, and also saddened, me. Martha moved around a lot in her life. I don’t think it was an easy life, but see what you think. The first time Martha appeared in the records was in the 1851 census in Scotland. […]

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Who’s the Daddy?

Who’s the Daddy?

Anyone who has watched TV programmes like Who Do You Think You Are? will know that they can often feature stories about illegitimate children – and sometimes it seems that finding such children is strange or unusual.  I’ve been researching family trees for a long time, and in my experience it is quite rare to find a tree that has no illegitimate children, or at […]

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Who lived here?

Who lived here?

The success of the recent BBC2 programme “A House Through Time” has sparked an interest in people to find out who owned and/or lived in their house in the past.   For me, as a genealogist, the interest is not in the builder or the architecture, but the people who lived there. I’ve just finished researching a building in Glasgow, which consists (and always has) of […]

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Favourite Photo

Favourite Photo

I have a fairly large collection of old family photographs.  I’m lucky that many of them have names and/or dates written on the back so I know or can work out who they are of.  Choosing a favourite is difficult.  Do I choose the one of my Mum and Dad taken in the 1960s that, for as long as I can remember, sat on the […]

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Start

Start

I’m often asked what got me started in genealogy and researching family trees.  Most people start with their own history and move on from there, but I started with my husband.  There were lots of ideas in his family about where their surname – Keter – came from (it’s pronounced the same as Peter). Some said it was “the Hebrew word for crown” Other suggestions […]

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Grandpa’s War

Grandpa’s War

At this time of year we remember those who were killed or wounded in war and conflicts.  I’m lucky, both my grandfathers served in the First World War and survived. I know little about what my paternal grandfather did.  All I have are his medals, which tell me that he was an Acting Warrant Officer, Class II with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.  He died […]

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Beware the Babbet Bapper!

Beware the Babbet Bapper!

The what, I hear you say?  Read on, and you will find out – all will be revealed by the end. Anyone who has researched their family tree, or indeed carried out research using old documents of any sort, will have come across the problem of difficult (or impossible) to read handwriting.  Often the age of the document and the fact that not only is […]

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What’s in a Name?

What’s in a Name?

We all have a name.  Most (though not all) are given that name by our parents when we are born.  What that name is and how it was chosen can be very interesting – are we named after a family member, a special friend, the midwife or doctor who delivered us, a celebrity?  In the past, in Britain, it can be very obvious to a […]

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