Unhappy beginnings illegitimate children in the parish records

KATHERINE COBB is a member of AGRA based in Somerset REBECCA PROBERT is professor of law at the University of Exeter STEVE THOMAS is a genealogist with over 20 years’ experience PHIL TOMASELLI is a mi

This World Mental Health Day (10 October), take a moment to reflect on the experiences of our ancestors who were mentally ill. How were they looked after, and where? Before the mid-18th century, the U

Most of us have unfortunate brick walls in our family trees – those frustrating relations who seem to have appeared into the world as if from nowhere. Perhaps a person does not feature in the baptism

Crime has always been popular with family historians. We all love a rogue (up to a point, anyway), and finding out you’re related to one can lead to some interesting avenues of research. The more seri

Ruth Appleby, 61, never got over losing her daughter, but decades later she uncovered something shocking…

Just where did all the weird ghosts go is a question that has been posed in Fortean Times. One answer might be Wales. Ghost hunter John Harries declared, “In order to meet a Welsh ghost one really nee