Don't rely on the surname!

All family historians hit brick walls, and this is the story of the techniques (and luck) that enabled me to overcome a tough challenge. My 3x great grandfather Thomas Hoskin lived on the beautiful Go

Q I can’t find any information about my great grandfather, William Smith (1871–1907), before 1893. In the 1901 census, he declares himself to be William Thompson, a “Traveller CT”, born in Scotland. H

Reins in hands, three young sisters ride the coils of an enormous blue snake. Waving a rattle and smiling happily, the fourth, a baby, is held around her plump middle by its tail. Passers-by dive out

Exploring the tangled roots of a family tree is rarely straightforward. What begins as a search for dates and names often unravels into something far more. A bit like rummaging through an old attic –

Further to Dr Mike Esbester’s article “The Reign of the Railway” in the October issue, may I add another angle to the fascinating story of our railways and what they can tell us about family history –

Thanks to the old Sherlock Holmes films that we used to watch on TV every week after the children’s programme Crackerjack had finished, I have known about my family’s “Hollywood relative” since my chi