Investigating our ancestors' wills

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

“One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb,” goes the old proverb. The meaning is simple: if you are going to be punished for a small crime, you may as well commit the bigger one. In the early

Britain is one of the last constitutional monarchies in the world, and the king or queen still plays a ceremonial role in the governance of the state. When Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, she was bur

You have been thinking about researching your ancestry, your relatives are emptying out the cupboards to find old family documents to help, and the family stories are beginning to flow. But how should

I enjoyed reading the interesting article by Caitlin Ellis on the rivals for the throne in 1066 (October). In particular, it was fascinating to read about Edgar Ætheling’s claim, which was surely the

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