Q & a

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 –

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

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

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

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 –

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