‘my relatives include royalty, soldiers and clan chieftains’

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

I have just read Diane Lindsay’s piece (FT June) about decluttering. That did ring a large bell. I have been doing family history for something like 65 years. I have managed to file a lot of the infor

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

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

Of all of the houses I’ve lived in, it is my childhood home that I think about the most. A three-storey, double-fronted Victorian end terrace called Iona Cottage (despite looking nothing like one), it

DNA is a wonderful resource and I am so glad I decided to take a test way back in 2017 – but little did I know where it would lead me and the things I would discover. Some of the outcomes have been wo