Your questions answered

When I first started to trace the Tonges, my mum’s dad’s side of the family, I thought they might be a tad predictable. We didn’t know very much about them, but surely if there were any interesting ta

QMargaret Woodhall (née Smithson), born c1827 Liverpool (according to the 1851 census), was the sister of my great grandfather, James Murray Smithson, born c1835 in Edinburgh. Their father was William

We all know that transcription errors can get in the way of research, but sometimes they creep in in the oddest of ways. Like most family historians, I like to have the three main dates for my direct

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

Women served in all three services from WWI onwards. They also served in support roles, such as the Women’s Land Army (in both wars), the Fire Services, Motor Drivers, Voluntary Aid Detachments and so

Christine Atkins asks: Please can you help with these family photographs? The posed lady in the studio photos might be my great-grandmother Emily Weston (née Brayban), b. 1864. She could also be the s