The life of a 19th century soldier

It all started with an email. Regular reader Lee Passmore was having difficulties finding out what had happened to one of his three times great-uncles, a man called Bryan (or Brian) Dean, and he wante

When I was aged 10, the farmers used to come round the schools to pick volunteers to work on the farms during the summer holidays, mainly to help bring in the harvest. The country was still building u

Q Is it possible to have a death in a workhouse with no subsequent death certificate in 1885? I have the record from Ancestry of the death. Mary Ann Arnold born 1854, death May 1885 (maybe Mar 1885),

Q My 4x great grandfather, James White (1790-1878), was part owner of a barge named the George. In 1848, four of his crew – Giles Sim, John Browning, William Cooke and Isaac Knowles – were returning f

Dear Simon, The history of Pitman shorthand told by Angeline Wilcox in the July edition of Best of British (Write on Time) evoked so many memories. I was amazed to learn that Isaac Pitman actually cre

I am writing in connection with Sarah Williams’ article “What’s in a Name” in the July issue of the magazine. My great great grandmother, Ann Rogers Wardleworth née Bell, was widowed in 1860 at the ag