Discover Your Ancestors - September 2020

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Issue No. 89 | September 2020
THIS MONTH!
Stormy times The Family History
The Great Gale of 1824’ Show Online
26 September
Paying for their position See pages
9 & 26
The fines for supporting Charles I
Is there anybody there?

Interfoto/Alamy
The table-turning times of spiritualism

SOCIAL HISTORY » RESEARCH ADVICE » REVIEWS » PLACES IN FOCUS
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material published in Discover Your
Ancestors Periodical is copyright and unau-
thorised reproduction is forbidden. Please 4 The near death of a community: Wayne Shepheard looks
refer to full Terms and Conditions at at the effect of major storms on communities in the past
www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk. The through the example of the Great Gale of 1824
editors and publishers of this publication
10 Was your ancestor a Royalist delinquent? Stuart A.
give no warranties, guarantees or
assurances and make no representations Raymond explains the purpose of Royalist composition
regarding any goods or services advertised papers and how they can help researchers
in this edition. 14 The soldier, the priest and the count: Nick Thorne looks at
one family with three remarkable leaders of men
19 The tale of a transported felon: Nell Darby investigates the
brief crime and long punishment of a London hawker
22 Is there anybody there? Caroline Roope explores the
heyday of spiritualism
27 History in the details: Shop workers’ dress
26 News 28 Place: Leicestershire 30 Books 31 Classifieds
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This month subscribers download the Navy List for July 1866 for free, thanks to www.thegenealogist.co.uk.
can| www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk
DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL 3
Periodical + Data package subscribers at TheGenealogist can also access parish marriage record transcriptions for Leicestershire
and civil birth, marriage and death indexes.
SOCIAL HISTORY
The near death}

of a community
Wayne Shepheard looks at the effect of major storms
on communities in the past through the example of the
Great Gale of 1824
SACRED
To the Memory of
WILLIAM HANSFORD Aged 61 Years

who was killd on the 23 of November 1824
by the Sea overflowing the Village of Chissel
his Leg was broken in attempting to make
his escape afterwards the House fell on him.
FAREWELL MY WIFE AND CHILDREN DEAR

MY DEATH WAS SUDDEN AND SEVERE,
THE WIND AND SEA ITS FURY BROKE
THE WONDROUS WORKS OF GOD BESPOKE
MAN’S DWELLING’S LEVELL’D WITH THE
GROUND
WHEN SOME WERE KILL’D AND SOME
WERE DROWN’D
THEREFORE O GOD THEIR SOULS PRAY
TAKE.
IN JOYS ABOVE FOR JESUS SAKE.
 Headstone for William Hansford,

St.George’s cemetery, Portland parish,
Dorset Courtesy of D. Megow
hose are the words on the
T tombstone of William
Hansford of Chiswell, Dorset,
England. The information was sent to
me by his 3x-great-granddaughter
who had heard I was writing about
natural phenomena and their effects
on the lives of our ancestors. I made
note of the words on his headstone in
my 2018 book, Surviving Mother died during the tempest that blew memorialised succinctly on his
Nature’s Tests. across Southern England in late headstone.
Hansford was one of dozens who November 1824. His death was Another story was passed along to
4 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

SOCIAL HISTORY
}
me by a descendant of a local family
that fared much worse: the Holman
family, also primarily residents of
Dorset. This family lost four members
to the storm, all mariners, resulting in
the end of this ancestral Holman line.
Richard and two of his sons drowned
at sea near Swanage, Dorset. Another
son died when his ship was wrecked
at Crookhaven, Ireland. One other
son had previously died in 1795, at
the age of three.
Only one child of Richard and
Elizabeth (Burgess) Holman appears
to have grown to adulthood. Eliza
Jane Holman married Charles Corney
in 1832. They had five children after
their move to Surrey. Sadly, Charles
also died at sea in 1843, at the age of  Category 4 and 5 hurricane tracks from 1851–2016 in the northern Atlantic
40. In her later years, Elizabeth lived Downloaded and modified from National Ocean Service website https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/historical-hurricanes/
with Eliza, her widowed daughter,

until her death in 1852. storms that made a U-turn, possibly The 1824 tempest
in mid-ocean, and headed back Newspapers of the day carried dire
Destructive storms toward the British Isles. reports of damage and devastation of
As a maritime nation, Britain has had The ‘hurricane season’ in recent towns, villages, farms and forests from
it share of such disasters. Living by the times has generally run from late Cornwall to Kent along the southern
sea always has risks, particularly for summer to late autumn. During the coast of England in late November
those who made their living from its Little Ice Age (~1300–1850), the 1824. Boats of all sizes, including over
bounty. History is replete with stories thermal and pressure gradients of the 80 large ships, were wrecked in the
of shipwrecks and deaths, most from North Atlantic were different (Lamb, offshore areas along the English
major storms that arose quickly and 1991). The northern ocean was colder Channel and inside the harbours of
caught voyagers by surprise. This is which enhanced the thermal gradient every port.
true for many communities on the with the warm waters of the mid- One eyewitness account related the
coasts of all continents. Such disasters Atlantic creating many more extreme scope of the storm: “Twern’t a sea —
have occurred frequently during past weather events. The storm season was not a bit of it — twer the great sea
centuries. longer, and the intensity of storms was hisself rose up level like and come on
Many family historians may only greater. It was not unusual to have right over the ridge and all, like
have basic knowledge of the deaths of major storms in late fall and early nothing in this world.”
ancestors at sea. A search for the winter seasons, as was the case with (https://web.archive.org/web/2015081
causes and whether others suffered the Great Gale of 1824. 3022806/http://chiswellcommunity.or
the same fate as those during the 1824 We might expect that with the g/ccommunity/page.aspx)
storm may not have been carried out greater number of major storms, more Between 22 and 23 November,
but could be very important in of them may have turned east to hit settlements in southern England,
constructing family stories. northern Europe than have been along the coastline and inland, were
Major hurricanes originate in the witnessed during the past century. ravaged, first with several inches of
mid-Atlantic, initially crossing to the Many of them would have caused rain and then from wind-produced
west, usually to make landfall in harm at least equal to that of the 1824 storm surges. Homes, farms, forests
North America. event. and orchards, businesses and ships at
Occasionally some may veer back It should be noted that the North anchor or tied to wharves – including
across the northern Atlantic region, Sea region also suffered from many the wharves and promenades
impacting parts of northern Europe. intense and destructive storms during themselves – were severely damaged
The Great Gale of 1824 was the period of the Little Ice Age, but or lost entirely by wind and water.
undoubtedly one of those types of those are stories for another time. Floods were widespread. Animals –
DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 5

SOCIAL HISTORY
} located on the island of Portland, at

the southern end of Chesil Bank. The
shingle barrier beach extends 18 miles
along Dorset’s western coast. Histori-
cally it has generally protected the
town site from waves and flooding
although it has also been the site of
many shipwrecks.
The village was almost obliterated
by the 1824 storm surge that topped
the beach complex on its west side in
the evening of 22 November. A
contributing factor in the significant
 Map of south coast of England showing areas and numbers of major shipwrecks flooding was its coincidence with the
during the Great Storm of 1824 Diagram from Shepheard, 2018 highest spring tide of the year. A total
of 36 houses were destroyed and 100
sheep, cattle, horses, fowl – were lost individuals who risked their lives to others were made uninhabitable.
by the thousands. save others trapped on stricken vessels Damaged was estimated at £15,000
The 29 November 1824 issue of the and in damaged buildings. These (£2.8 million in today’s currency).
Hampshire Advertiser (page 2) had periodicals published shortly after the A 90-ton sloop, the Ebenezer, was
this to say in retrospect: event are a major source of carried completely over Chesil Beach
information about families and and left lying in a street. It was
It was a picture of nature in her most communities. Detail can also be actually relaunched to the east side of
terrific form. It seemed as if the demon found in many publications produced the barrier, into Portland Harbour.
of destruction was riding on the waves years later such as a detailed summary Twenty-two residents, 10 of them
ready to pounce upon all over which by Gordon Le Pard (1999). children, were killed, one family losing
the watery element had control; it four members. The burial register of St
might indeed have taught morality The experiences at Chiswell, Dorset George’s Church, Portland, notes that
itself a lesson, and shown the weakness Chiswell (known in the past also as all individuals were buried under a
of all human reasoning, when Chisel, Chissel and Cheswell) is coroner’s warrant.
unprotected by Him who rules the
waves.
An issue of the Western Antiquary

(Volume XI, Number 7, February
1892, pages 116–120) contains an
extensive description of the many
ships wrecked in a report originally
printed in the Devonshire Freeholder
on 27 November 1824 that begins:
It becomes our painful duty this week

to detail the melancholy and sad effects
of a calamitous and awful storm,
which visited our coast on Tuesday
morning last, the effect of which are
unparalleled in the history of
Plymouth, and which has also spread
desolation and distress throughout
every part of the adjoining coast. . .
Newspaper and other reports also  Location of Chesil Bank and the village of Chiswell along the western coast of
recount the heroic efforts of many Dorset A Vision of Britain through Time, http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/44

SOCIAL HISTORY
}
The loss of children always seems  THE DEATH TOLL IN PORTLAND
most tragic. Five Chiswell families
Burials of those killed during the Great Gale in Portland parish,
were devastated by the deaths of
Dorset (from Portland parish burial register)
children:
Abel Attwooll lost his entire family Surname Forename Age Date Buried Relationships
save one son. A daughter had Attwooll Ann 35 28 Nov 1824 Wife of Abel Attwooll
previously died in 1817, aged nine Attwooll Henry 1 28 Nov 1824 Son of Abel & Ann Attwooll
Attwooll Robert 5 28 Nov 1824 Son of Abel & Ann Attwooll
months. Abel remarried in 1826, to
Attwooll Mary Lano 12 28 Nov 1824 Daughter of Abel & Ann Attwooll
another widow, Mary Cooper. Byatt Mary 54 30 Nov 1824 Wife of John Byatt
Together they had two children: Dryer Stephen 64 15 Dec 1824
Richard Henry Cooper and Ann. Dunning Jane 60 26 Nov 1824 Wife of William Dunning
Dunning John 60 26 Nov 1824 Husband of Jane Dunning
Both were baptised the same day – 28 Fuzzard Mary 13 27 Nov 1824 Daughter of Samuel & Ann Fuzzard
January 1827 – and may have been Hansford William 64 29 Nov 1824 Husband of Mary Hansford
twins. Abel continued to fish for a Holland Margery 56 26 Nov 1824 Wife of Philip Holland
Mitchell Grace 6 Dec 1824 Widow
living until his death in 1863. Pearce Ann 65 28 Nov 1824 Wife of Henry Pearce
Mary Fuzzard, aged 13, was the Russell Edith Coombs 10 30 Nov 1824 Daughter of John & Edith Russell
middle of three children of Samuel Russell Elizabeth 12 30 Nov 1824 Daughter of John & Edith Russell
Stone Grace Attwooll 5 27 Nov 1824 Daughter of John & Edith Stone
and Ann Fuzzard. The oldest, Robert,
Stone Shadrach 49 29 Nov 1824
went on to marry (Mary Meares) and Wallis Grace Mary 6 28 Nov 1824 Daughter of John & Jane Wallis
have five children, all in Portland. The White Grace 7m 30 Nov 1824 Daughter of William & Mary White
youngest, Elizabeth Mitchell also White William 5 30 Nov 1824 Son of William & Mary White
White Robert 56 28 Nov 1824
marred (John Stone), however, this Winter Thomas 80 26 Nov 1824
couple did not have children.
John and Edith Russell lost their
only two children: Edith, aged 10, and
Elizabeth, aged 12. It appears they had her death, was one of three children of more children between 1826 and
no other offspring in subsequent John and Jane Wallis. They subse- 1841.
years. quently had four other children Also interred at St George’s were 18
John and Edith Stone lost their between 1824 and 1831. individuals believed to be passengers
daughter, Grace Attwooll, only five William and Mary White lost both and members of the crew of the
years old and the youngest of their of their young children: William Jr, Colville, a 400-ton West Indiaman
seven children. aged five and infant Grace, only seven wrecked on Chesil Beach to the north
Grace Mary Wallis, at the time of months. They did go on to have six of the village. The ship Colville been
on its way homeward from the West
Indies to London with a cargo of
cotton and rum when it was caught
up in the raging tempest and driven
onshore.
Only three of the deceased were
identified: John Wilson, the captain;
Thomas Dixon Gosling, of London, a
passenger; and Hugh Baron Fraser,
Esq., late of the Civil Commissary of
Demerary, in the Dutch East Indies, a
passenger. Fraser was one of 16
individuals buried as unknown but
was later uninterred and reburied in
the church. Over the next month, 11
other bodies were found on Chesil
Beach, presumed victims of the
storm, and were buried in the St
 Image of an oil on canvas painting by Joseph Walter (1783–1856) of the West
Indiaman ‘Britannia’, shown in three positions. On the left the ship is shown in George’s graveyard. Their identities
stern view and on the far right in bow view and whether they were part of the

SOCIAL HISTORY
} At Dorchester, Dorset, 71-year old

Henry John Richman, Rector of the
Holy Trinity, and his wife, Elizabeth,
were killed when the chimney of their
house fell through the roof, crushing
them as they lay in their bed. Rev.
Richman had provided guidance and
support to the community through
his office in the church for over 30
years.
Summary
The Great Gale of 1824 is not unique
among the many major storms that
have attached coastal communities. It
is memorable from the standpoint of
damage wrought, though. Towns were
rebuilt and families moved. Many of
those that were lost were remembered
with memorials and written accounts.
Such events as major storms often
have impacts beyond the destruction
 Illustration of the village of Chiswell, c.1900
of homes and businesses. On occasion
they may force people to relocate long
complement of the Colville were not was in prior to the Great Gale. So too distances from where they were born
known. were the families of those areas. and expected to make their lives, due
The island of Portland, on which to loss of familial support or the
Chiswell is located, was entirely cut Other areas negative changes in commercial
off from the mainland by the storm. While Chiswell village was signifi- activity and employment. It may be
Fishermen, who comprised most of cantly impacted and almost destroyed beneficial for family historians to
the population, lost their boats, tools by the storm, there were many other investigate such events brought on by
and, for many, their homes and other areas and families who felt the loss. Mother Nature to determine if any of
possessions. Several families were left Two stories that made the news their ancestors were affected. 
destitute. Relief from Weymouth, on included the following:
the mainland, was delayed due to the Thomas Major, of Bridport, Dorset, References
connecting road and bridge having was minding an unoccupied property • Lamb, Hubert (1991). Historic
been severely damaged. in West Bay, 20 miles up the coast Storms of the North Sea, British Isles
It was some time before the village, from Chiswell, when the storm broke. and Northwest Europe. Cambridge
like many others along the southern Two of his daughters: Lucretia, aged University Press. 204 pp.
coast, fully recovered to the state it nine, and Caroline, aged 4, were with • Le Pard, Gordon (1999). ‘The Great
him. Afraid the tenement in the Storm of 1824’, Dorset Proceedings,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR harbour in which they were staying 121, pp. 23–36.
would be inundated, Thomas • Shepheard, Wayne (2018). Surviving
WAYNE SHEPHEARD
graduated in geology and attempted to carry the two little girls Mother Nature’s Tests: The effects
following retirement from the oil to safety. A wave caught them before climate change and other natural
and gas industry, he has spent they could reach high ground and all phenomena have had on the lives of
much of his time doing family
history research. He has a three perished. Thomas left a 32-year- our ancestors (with examples from
particular interest in natural old widow, Sussanah, with three young the British Isles). St. Agnes, South
phenomena and their impact on children, aged 2, 6 and 13. The couple Australia: Unlock the Past. Available
people and communities. His book, Surviving
Mother Nature’s Tests: The effects climate change
had already lost a daughter earlier in through Mother Nature’s Tests blog
and other natural phenomena have had on the the same month. Before a year was site: https://mothernaturestests.
lives of our ancestors, is available through his out, the youngest child also died, blogspot.com/p/surviving-mother-
website, https://mothernaturestests.blogspot.com/
compounding the family tragedy. natures-tests.html

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RESEARCH ADVICE
 The Eve of the Battle of Edge Hill, 1642_by Charles Landseer
Was your ancestor a

Royalist delinquent?
Stuart A. Raymond explains the purpose of Royalist
composition papers and how they can help researchers
ar costs money. The Parliament established a Sequestra- lost the war, and consequently
W defeated usually have to

pay at least a portion of
that cost. When Charles I raised his
tion Committee to confiscate the
estates of Royalist ‘delinquents’, that is,
those who had taken up arms for the
destroyed almost all of their records
to avoid incriminating evidence.
In 1645, the Committee for the
standard at Nottingham in 1642, King. It also established the Advance of Money began to
effectively declaring war on Committee for Compounding with investigate concealed Royalist estates.
Parliament, Parliament retaliated by Delinquents, which allowed seques- By 1650 it was meeting with the other
raising an army. At first it depended trated Royalists to compound (pay a two committees, and in 1656 they
on voluntary contributions from fine) and recover their estates. They finally merged. In order to compound,
wealthy supporters, but in November were required to pledge not to take up the supposedly penitent Royalist
1642 a Committee for the Advance of arms against Parliament again. The petitioned the Committee for
Money was established, and idea of sequestration and Compounding, giving details of his
demanded a loan ‘on the public faith’ compounding was not unique to delinquency, and particulars of his
from everyone whose wealth Parliament. The Royalists had the estate. He also had to take various
exceeded £100. In the following year, same idea; the difference is that they oaths affirming his allegiance to

RESEARCH ADVICE
}
Parliament. A report based on his One wonders if that was why he
petition and particulars was then persuaded the electors of Stafford to
prepared for the committee, which elect him as their member of
decided on the fine to be set. parliament in both Short and Long
The papers of these committees are Parliaments. Members of parliament
in The National Archives, classes SP could not be arrested for debt. We
19 (advance of money), SP 20 have no evidence of Sneyd’s participa-
(sequestration), and SP 23 tion in parliamentary activities,
(compounding). The SP 23 except that he was disabled from
documents are known as the Royalist sitting in 1643, and told the
Composition Papers. They may be committee that he had not sat in the
searched on TNA’s Discovery Royalists’ Oxford Parliament.
catalogue, https://discovery.nation- When the King, in September 1642,
alarchives.gov.uk. There are also invited the gentry of Staffordshire to
published calendars (see box). meet him in Uttoxeter, Ralph was one
These papers provide much of the few who agreed to join his
 Colonel Ralph Sneyd
information on particular individuals army. He accompanied Charles to
and their families, on their estates, Stafford, where his younger brother
and on their involvement in the war. been ‘within the power of the enemy’, Richard entertained the royal guest at
Parliament intended delinquents’ and could not avoid complying with the High House (which is still
families to have some support, and their demands. standing). That was where Ralph
consequently many of their wives received his commission as a royalist
petitioned to be allowed their fifth Colonel Ralph Sneyd colonel, while Richard was commis-
part of their husbands’ estates, The career of Colonel Ralph Sneyd of sioned captain. Did the opportunity
sometimes naming their children. Keele Hall in Staffordshire exemplifies to serve the King look like a good way
Delinquents’ own petitions and what can be learnt from these papers to escape his debts?
particulars sometimes named other and associated sources. He was a Ralph probably fought at Edgehill,
members of their families – brothers, substantial landowner, but was heavily but in May 1643 he was in Stafford
sisters, fathers and mothers. It might in debt on the eve of the Civil War. when it fell to Parliamentary forces.
help if a relative who had fought for
Parliament could be named.
Composition fines were imposed on
the value of estates. Therefore the
committee needed ‘particulars’ of
those estates. Sometimes they were
described in great detail, with the
names of tenants, and of anyone with
claims on the estate, such as debtors
and annuitants.
Conviction for ‘delinquency’
depended on the extent of the
accused’s participation in the war. The
papers name many Royalists who
fought in particular battles. Some
were captured, some were exchanged
for other Parliamentary prisoners.
Others who were not involved in
fighting, but who had resided in
Royalist garrisons, were also named.
So were those who had contributed to
Royalist finances, or provided horses
or armour. That was the point where
the accused could plead that they had  Sneyd’s home of Keele Hall in Staffordshire

RESEARCH ADVICE
}
 FINDING ROYALIST COMPOSITION PAPERS He was captured and imprisoned, but
was exchanged for John Birch of
The Royalist Composition Papers are included in The National Archives’
Cannock. On release, he attempted to
State Papers Domestic series. For an introductory guide, see:
fortify Keele Hall, but was captured
State Papers Domestic: Commonwealth 1642–1660
again. In November 1645 he
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-
petitioned to compound, but in the
guides/state-papers-domestic-1642-1660/
following February was said to be ‘in
arms against Parliament’. A fine of
The papers have been both microfilmed and digitised. See:
£2,026 was ordered in October 1646,
• Unpublished state papers of the English Civil War and Interregnum. 114
to be abated to £1,000 if Sneyd agreed
reels. Harvester Press, 1975–8. State Papers Online
to settle annuities of £50 per annum
www.gale.com/intl/primary-sources/state-papers-online
on two local chapels. After this order
• State Papers Online [Only available in major research libraries]
was made, he again committed
www.gale.com/intl/primary-sources/state-papers-online
‘delinquency’. In October 1647, the
Published calendars estate, valued at £1,000, was ordered
• Green, Mary Anne Everett, ed. Calendar of the proceedings of the to be sequestered ‘till he has paid his
Committee for Advance of Money, 1642-1656. 3 vols. HMSO, 1888. assessment’. The valuation was
• Green, Mary Anne Everett, ed. Calendar of the Committee for increased to £2,500 in December
Compounding with Delinquents, &c., 1643-1660. 5 vols. HMSO, 1889-1893. 1647. He paid half his fine in February
These calendars have been digitised at British History Online 1648. His wife, Jane, who had
www.history.ac.uk/research/digital-history/british-history-online, apparently stayed at Keele throughout
and (mostly) at https://archive.org the conflict, petitioned to be allowed
the usual fifth of his estate in July
A number of local record societies have provided more detailed calendars: 1650.
• Records of the Committee for Compounding, etc., with Delinquent Ralph twice took an oath
Royalists in Durham and Northumberland during the Civil War, 1643-1660. recognising the authority of
Surtees Society, 111. 1905. Parliament, in order to recover his
• Stanning, J.H., et al., eds. The Royalist Composition Papers, being the sequestered estate. But after Charles
proceedings of the Committee for Compounding, A.D.1643-1660, so far as I’s execution, he continued to plot. Sir
they relate to the County of Lancaster … . 7 vols. Lancashire & Cheshire Robert Shirley, a fellow Royalist, was
Record Society, 24, 26, 29, 36, 72, 95 & 96.1891-1942. accused of attending meetings with
• Clay, John William, ed. Yorkshire Royalist Composition Papers…, Yorkshire Sneyd at Keele and Darlaston in
Archaeological & Topographical Society Record Series 15, 18 & 20. 1893–6. December 1649, where letters from
the exiled ‘Charles Stuart’ were
discussed. Eight months later, Ralph
Sneyd fled to join the Earl of Derby in
the Isle of Man. He was accidentally
shot, and died of his wounds in
January 1651.
Ralph and Jane had no surviving
son, so Ralph’s brother William
inherited the estate, and had to deal
with the committee’s demands on the
estate. Ralph had paid a fine of £1,500
before he died, but the committee
claimed that £500 was still
outstanding. William petitioned to be
discharged, as the fine was ‘not
properly due from him, the estate
being heavily charged for the payment
of portions and his brother’s debts,
and by reason of jointures and
 Prince Rupert at the Battle of Edgehill annuities, and sale during his

RESEARCH ADVICE
}
 Goldsmiths’ Hall (here in the early 19th century before it was rebuilt) was where the Committee for Compounding for the Estates of
Royalists and Delinquents first met in 1643
brother’s life of part of it worth £500 a £1,000. All found that the property
year it is not worth more than £300 a from which they sought to obtain
year’. His petition does not appear to payment was sequestrated by the
have succeeded; we subsequently read committee, and therefore petitioned
that Jane, Ralph’s widow, paid the for redress.
remaining fine in 1652. It is evident that Colonel Sneyd was
The demands of the committee also an impetuous, reckless and indebted
impacted on other claimants on the Royalist. He was also a prominent
estate. The papers record Ralph’s landowner. Not everyone accused of
debts, and how his creditors tried to delinquency had such a strong
obtain payment. As early as 1642, commitment to the Royalist cause;
Henry Beech of London obtained a nor were they all substantial
judgement for payment of a debt of landowners. There were also many
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
£907. Probably at the same time, John men and women of lesser standing
Heath claimed a debt of £800. who had found themselves dragged STUART A. RAYMOND IS a
William Clifton, vintner, obtained into a war in which they wanted no former librarian who has written
judgement against Ralph in the Court part – at least, that is what they told many guides and handbooks for
family historians. His books
of Common Pleas for £300. Samuel the committee! A browse through the include Tracing Your Ancestors
Smith, executor of William Roberts, calendars of these committees in County Records, Tracing Your
sought payment of debts amounting provides many interesting insights Church of England Ancestors
and Tracing Your Roman Catholic Ancestors (Pen
to £300. Nathaniel Hallowes had a into the way in which war impacted & Sword).
1646 judgement against Sneyd for on mid-17th century society. 

RESEARCH STORY
}
Nick Thorne
looks at one
family with three
leaders of men –
a brave soldier, a
Catholic priest
who risked
capture by the
enemy and a
one-time prime
minister of a
European state
 Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
The soldier, the

priest and the count
S
ir Adrian Carton de Wiart was
born 5 May, 1880, in Brussels.
He was the eldest son of Leon
Carton de Wiart, a lawyer (of Brussels
and Cairo) who had qualified as a
doctor of law in Brussels in 1877, and
his mother was Ernestine Zephirine-
Emilie Wenzig. Sir Adrian’s paternal
family were Belgian aristocrats with
his father being a Knight of the
Belgian Order and also of the Grand
Cross of the Egyptian Orders of  TheGenealogist’s Immigration, Emigration & Travel records for Adrian Carton de
Osmandiah and Medjidieh. Adrian’s Wiart, 1907

RESEARCH STORY
}
General Sir Adrian Paul Ghislain
Carton de Wiart VC KBE CB CMG
DSO had been ‘shot in the face, head,
stomach, ankle, leg, hip, and ear; was
blinded in his left eye; survived two
plane crashes; tunnelled out of a
prisoner-of-war camp; and tore off his
own fingers when a doctor refused to
amputate them’. For many, this
catalogue of injuries would put them
off the military for life; but not so this
warrior who when describing his
experiences in the First World War,
wrote in his book Happy Odyssey,
‘Frankly I had enjoyed the war.’
Sir Adrian’s parents divorced when
he was six, and his father remarried to
Mary James in 1888. The young
Adrian Carton de Wiart was sent to
England to be educated at the Oratory
School, Edgbaston, and afterwards at
Balliol College, Oxford, where he
studied law. The education records on
TheGenealogist reveal his entry in the
Balliol College Register, which gives a
sketch of his remarkable life including
his military service.
Ditched the law to run away to war

At the outbreak of the South Africa
War in 1899 he gave up studying and
enlisted as a private soldier by lying
about his age and using a shortened
version of his name to become simply
Trooper Carton. He was wounded in
the stomach and groin in South
Africa early on in the Second Boer
 The Illustrated War News from TheGenealogist’s Newspaper & Magazine collection
War and was invalided home
receiving the Queen’s Medal with
mother and father had married in gist’s Immigration, Emigration & three clasps, His injuries, however,
Brussels on 15 October 1879 and Travel records for naturalisation didn’t put him off as we are able to see
when Adrian was three, the family records. By this time he had already from looking at the Hart’s Army List
moved to Alexandria, Egypt where his been an officer in the British Army for
father was a leading counsel in the a number of years and so this had
courts there. In later years he would seen him lose his Belgian nationality.
also be called to the English bar as a This soldier, the details published in
barrister at law and became a various reports tell us, was an extraor-
naturalised British subject on 9 dinary man who served in the Boer
October 1900. Sir Adrian himself War, the First World War, and also the
would also take on British nationality Second World War. Lieutenant
in 1907 while he was serving with the
British Army in South Africa, as we  Balliol College Register in the
can find by searching TheGenealo- Education records on TheGenealogist

RESEARCH STORY
}
9 September 1916], for his behaviour
at La Boiselle, France 2-3 July 1916.
TheGenealogist’s military record
results also reflects his numerous
entries in the Mention in Dispatches
records.
Searching the Peerage, Gentry &
Royalty records on TheGenealogist, as
another line of research, finds Sir
Ardian in Burke’s peerage 1921 under
the Order of Knighthood where he is
in the list for the Order of St Michael
and St George.
 Hart’s Army List 1908 found in TheGenealogist’s Military Records
 Regimental Histories for the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry in The soldier’s cousin
TheGenealogist’s Military Records Sir Adrian had several half-siblings.
His mother, having remarried, had
another son and daughter with her
new husband and his father’s second
marriage produced another half-
brother and three half-sisters for
Adrian. Sadly two of his three half-
sisters died very young.
While searching for Sir Adrian in
1908 that is found in TheGenealogist’s July 1914 to March

Military records. Adrian Carton de 1915 that he lost an
Wiart was, by then, serving as a junior eye and a part of an
officer in the 4th Dragoon Guards. ear. His war service
Having received his commission he saw him then fighting
was appointed as the aide de camp to in Flanders, where he
Lieutenant-General Commanding the was severely
Forces in South Africa from 29 July wounded several
1905. more times, and he
Promoted to be a captain on 6 then lost his left hand
February 1910, he can be followed in at Zonnebeke. A
the Regimental Histories that can be search of the
found in TheGenealogist’s military Casualty Lists on
records. In these we are able to pick TheGenealogist
him up becoming the Adjutant of the returns a number of
Royal Gloucestershire Hussars records for this
Yeomanry on 1 January 1912. extraordinary officer.
Another entry in these histories Sir Adrian Carton
records him giving up this de Wiart is recorded
appointment on 23 July 1914 before in the online
sailing for Somaliland. database of Medal Index Cards, 1914-
 One of a number of Casualty List
It was while he was deployed with 1920 on TheGenealogist as a recipient records for Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart,
the Somaliland Camel Force between of the Victoria Cross [London Gazette, 1917

RESEARCH STORY
}
the military records, an entry in the
section for WW1 Campaign Medals
identifying a Right Reverend M E
Carton de Wiart, who had been
awarded this medal set, came to light.
Further research reveals that this had
been his first cousin, a Roman
Catholic priest called Maurice
Emanuel Carton de Wiart who was
‘commanding’ the St Andrews
Hospital in London NW2. This had
been an institution in Dollis Hill that
had been set up in 1913 by the
Catholic Church and in the First  One of the several card records for Adrian Carton de Wiart in records for Mention
World War it became a military in Despatches
hospital. The Right Reverend Father  Rt Rev M.E. Carton de Wiart in WW1 Campaign Medals
was not just a stay-at-home adminis-
trator: this brave churchman led a
nursing party that was one of the first
to go into a theatre of war. Visiting a
Belgian village of Hastière he and his
party escaped just before it was
overrun by the German enemy.
The Right Reverend Monsignor
Canon Carton de Wiart also held
from 1908 the post of assistant
diocesan treasurer for the Roman
Catholic diocese of Westminster and
so a search of the Residential, Trades
and Telephone directories finds
several entries for him at Archbishop’s
House, Westminster over the next
three decades.
So we have seen that Sir Adrian’s
cousin was not just a humble parish
priest, but a man who was honoured OBE and he was also recognised by position – this time at the top of
by his Church with the titles of the French and Belgian governments. Belgian’s government.
Monsignor and Canon. The secular But Sir Adrian had another first
authorities in Britain awarded him an cousin who also held an eminent The aristocratic left-wing politician
This first cousin of our notable soldier
was, at the time of the First World
War, the Belgian minister of justice,
Monsieur (later Count) Henri Carton
de Wiart. We can find him captured
in a photograph published in an
edition of The Great War for 9
January 1915 from searching TheGe-
nealogist’s Newspapers & Magazines
collections. Wikipedia tells us that
Henri was born in Brussels, that he
studied law and, unlike his soldier
cousin, actually did become a lawyer.
 Right Rev Mgr Canon Carton de Wiart in the 1930 Post Office Directory In 1894 he co-founded the cultural

RESEARCH STORY
}
(Christian Democrats, Liberals and
Socialists), he was the minister of
justice from 1911 to 1918. From 1928
to 1935 he was the Belgian delegate to
the League of Nations and was their
minister of social welfare from 1932
to 1934.
After the German invasion of
Belgium in May 1940, Carton de
Wiart accompanied the Belgian
government into exile in London.
Having been given the honorific
title of minister of state, Carton de
Wiart again served as minister of
justice for a short time in 1950.
Researching this British-Belgian
family has revealed three leaders of
men in their own spheres. From a
soldier, who would seem to have
taken being wounded as an occupa-
tional hazard, to a Roman Catholic
priest who not only was an adminis-
trator, but had led from the front by
taking a nursing party into a war
zone. The third member of this
illustrious group was a politician who
was a Belgian member of parliament
for 55 years who had once held the
highest office of Prime Minister.
Using TheGenealogist we have been
able to add records to the family
stories of these men who, amazingly,
all came from the same generation of
 Count Henri Carton de Wiart
the same family. 
review Durendal. He was elected to  Henri de Wiart in the paper The Great War, 9 January 1915 in TheGenealogist’s
the Belgian House of Representatives Newspapers & Magazines collections
as a left-wing Catholic Party member

in 1896 and remained a member of
parliament in Belgium until his death
in 1951.
Besides serving as Belgium’s prime
minister from 1920 to 1921 in a
government of national union
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NICK THORNE is a
regular writer for Discover
Your Ancestors. You can
find his English and Welsh
family history course at
www.FamilyHistory
Researcher.com

LAW & ORDER
}
 Whitechapel, depicted later in the 19th century. This was an area familiar to both draper Jabez Ranwell - and to those who
choose to steal from him
The tale of a
transported felon
Nell Darby investigates the brief crime and long
punishment of a London hawker sent to Australia
s most historians will be an individual. in London, and was a hawker. He
A only too aware, even in this

day of digital archives, we
often need to consult several different
However, with the ever-increasing
number of archival documents being
placed online, it has never been easier
appears in the records of the Old
Bailey (www.oldbaileyonline.org) in
1831 – he was tried there, on 1
sources in order to build a picture of to try and learn about our ancestors’ December, charged with stealing 60
our ancestors. Some websites have lives – particularly, their criminal yards of printed cotton on 29 October.
some documents; others have careers. This month, I’ve been looking His record can also be found in The
different ones, which means we need at one Londoner to find out about his National Archives’ Newgate Prison
to cross-reference and check these life and crime – and how he ended up Calendar (HO77), on TheGenealo-
sites and what they hold to ensure we on the other side of the world. gist.
have as many details as possible about Simon Solomon was born in 1811 The trial records show that he stole

LAW & ORDER
 Britain started to send convicts to Australia in the 1780s; formerly, they had been sent to America, but the American Revolution
put paid to that practice. Transportation to Australia did not officially end until 1868
the cotton from linen draper Jabez value of the goods he had stolen was in October 1831, and William Cox,
Ranwell, who had a shop at Bedford valued at 30 shillings – this was convicted at Northampton. Others
Place, off Commercial Road in regarded as a serious theft, and in came from Suffolk, Sussex, Warwick,
Whitechapel. On 29 October 1831, at previous times he would have faced Worcester, Wiltshire, Chester and
4.30pm, Ranwell’s assistant, Charles the death sentence: grand larceny, the elsewhere, with one, George Roe,
Brent, had tied some new printed theft of any goods over the value of having been convicted from far
cotton to a chair outside the shop. He 12d, was punishable with death. further afield, at the Corfu Court
then left and walked up Commercial Luckily for Simon, in 1827, the Martial back in December 1830 (the
Road, before turning down Philpot separate offence of grand larceny was website http://oldbritishnews.com/
Street, where he bumped into Simon abolished, with both grand and petty convicts/index.php/transported_
Solomon, who was carrying the or petit larceny – the lesser charge – convicts-286/ has more details of
cotton. On being faced with Charles being replaced by simple larceny. those on board). Drawn from these
Brent, Solomon dropped the goods Simon was transported to Australia disparate places and courts, they were
and ran off. Brent lost track of him, on the Lady Harewood – a ship first kept in close confines on an insanitary
but called “Stop thief!”. He was heard launched in 1791. Simon was on the ship for five months, travelling from
by a local man, John Sherod, who ship’s third and final voyage to New familiar territory to a place they knew
apprehended him. Another man, South Wales; it set sail from little or nothing about.
Samuel Westgate, gave evidence, Portsmouth in March 1832, and Simon received his ticket of leave
saying that he saw Solomon take the arrived at Sydney Cove on 5 August. on 2 October 1837, nearly six years
prints and walk away with them – he On board were 200 convicts – all male after his conviction. Two years later,
had not been able to catch the man, – and, perhaps surprisingly given the on 21 May 1839, he was granted his
but had gone straight to the shop to notoriously poor conditions on certificate of freedom. This certificate,
report the theft to Jabez Ranwell. convict ships, only one convict died which is available to view online, has
Simon Solomon was just 20 years on the voyage. a wealth of detail about what Simon
old when he appeared at the Old He was with convicts who had been looked like: he was small by modern
Bailey, and heard the verdict that he sentenced both at the Old Bailey and standards, at just under five feet three
had been found guilty and sentenced around England – these included inches; he had brown, curly hair and
to seven years’ transportation. This John Shortin, who had been convicted grey-blue eyes, and it reads as though
sentence sound harsh to us, but the at the Norwich City Quarter Sessions he had eyebrows that met in the

LAW & ORDER
}
middle – a monobrow. He also had a life in Australia, then it may have when Henry Eames was accused of
disfigured fingernail on his left hand. been scant pleasure for him to learn stealing 35 yards of flannel from him
Although it’s not possible to build a that Jabez Ranwell – the man from in November that year, Ranwell again
picture of Simon’s entire life, the whom he had stolen, and as a result of spoke in court to say he recognised
granting of his certificate of freedom which was sent across the world – did the stolen goods because his mark was
isn’t the last mention of him online. not have a peaceful life. Firstly, as a on them. Henry, aged 27, was
The Sydney Morning Herald for 9 shopkeeper with a lot of goods that convicted but recommended to
August 1849 – ten years later – shows were tempting for the opportunistic mercy, and received the relatively
that he had remained in Australia thief, he spent quite a bit of his time lenient sentence of 14 days in prison.
(many former convicts were unable to prosecuting these individuals. The Jabez Ranwell was obviously a law-
return to the UK due to cost, while Old Bailey Online shows that after abiding individual, and when he saw
others settled and had families in Simon Solomon’s case in December an offence being committed would
Australia). The newspaper – which 1831, he is mentioned again – firstly, report the person in question. This is
can be found on the Trove website he gave evidence when Eliza Reay was understandable, given that he faced
(http://trove.nla.gov.au) – notes that: accused of theft in July 1832, having financial loss from theft. However, his
‘Simon Solomon, who stated he was stolen several items including lengths actions had long-term implications,
free by servitude, having arrived in of printed cotton, silk and calico as for at least two people saw themselves
the colony in the year 1832, was well as 36 pairs of gloves, and two sentenced to transportation to
apprehended on suspicion of being a dresses from a neighbouring Australia, but his morals meant that
runaway… having nothing to show Commercial Road draper. he preferred this to individuals getting
for his liberty, [the] filthy and In that case, Ranwell gave evidence away with theft. 
neglected appearance of Solomon was that the accused had been a frequent
enough to raise the suspicion of shopper at his own drapery, and that Note: Eliza Reay may not have been
anyone meeting him. He was ordered he had noticed goods missing after transported at the time of her
to be sent to Sydney to be identified. her visits. Eliza Reay was only 13 years conviction for stealing from Jabez;
The police magistrate stated his deter- old at the time she went on trial, but there is a subsequent record for a 19-
mination to deal with all such persons she was convicted and transported to year-old of the same name, who was
in a similar way as fast as they Australia for 14 years (her parents tried for theft in the same area in
appeared in the town, or as long as the Robert and Sarah were acquitted of 1836. This trial referred to Eliza
roads were infested by such idle and receiving the stolen goods). Still a having a previous conviction; she was
suspicious characters.’ child, she had stolen more than the convicted again, and this time
If Simon Solomon continued to adult Simon Solomon, and her sentenced to transportation for life.
have a difficult and poverty-stricken sentence was twice as harsh. Then, This Eliza duly arrived in Australia,
and the Digital Panopticon website
(www.digitalpanopticon.org), which
draws together different records, show
that she applied to get married there
in 1839, but later absconded twice, in
1841 and 1843.
 Life in Australia would have been

much different for convicts used to
London life. Here, convicts are shown
under guard in 1830s Australia
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DR NELL DARBY is a freelance
writer, specialising in social
history and the history of crime.
Her latest book, Life on the
Victorian Stage, was recently
published by Pen & Sword. She
is a regular writer for DYA.
www.criminalhistorian.com

SOCIAL HISTORY
}
Is there anybody
there? Caroline Roope explores the
heyday of spiritualism
O
n February 27 1906, a alism’s popularity in the 19th
séance was held on the century, drawing rooms up and
Grove Estate in Pinner down the country were alive with
by well-known ‘medium’ levitating tables, spirit rapping,
Frederick George Foster ectoplasm and mesmeric trances.
Craddock. Having charged his Was it proof of the ‘other side’?
attendees – a Colonel Mayhew Or mere hocus-pocus?
and his wife, and another man Modern spiritualism was
called Mr Sinclair – the 7s 6d. imported from the US to
entrance fee, Craddock ‘sat in a European shores in the 1850s but
chair and made several facial the belief that the spirits of the
contortions and went into a dead could be communicated
trance’. After a while the attendees with was not in itself a new
were informed that there were phenomenon. Throughout
‘several spirits here’ and the spirit  The Victorian popular press were history, humankind has been
slates were fetched so that communi- highly sceptical of mediumship and conscious of the existence of the spirit
often ridiculed seances and spiritual-
cation could commence. The slates ist activity – in the form of God, or gods; or the
were duly placed on the floor, but spirits of ancestors. These higher
then disappeared backwards under a to stick his theatrical beard and beings were approached to bestow
curtain, leading the medium moustache on properly. His fate was favours, guide decisions and provide
Craddock to cry out ‘See! The spirits sealed, however, when he passed on a support and healing in times of stress.
have taken the slates!’ Unfortunately, message from the colonel’s mother to Many ancient cultures practiced
Craddock had been a little careless ‘send her love’ from the spirit world. divination to obtain guidance from
with his performance that night and The colonel’s mother was very much the gods, and the early Christian
had forgotten to conceal the wires alive and well. It is unsurprising, Church was founded on the concept
attached to the slates that allowed him therefore, that Craddock was hauled of the Holy Spirit – with Jesus himself
to move them unseen. He then in front of the magistrates at Edgware appearing after his physical death to
appeared as a manifestation of ‘Dr Police court on charges of fraud and prove his ongoing existence. In the
Alder’ and ‘Uncle George’, but forgot that he ‘being a rogue and a 18th century, the writings of Emanuel
vagabond, did unlawfully use certain Swedenborg (1688–1772) and the
subtle craft, means, or device, by teachings of Franz Mesmer (1734–
palmistry or otherwise, to deceive the 1815) contributed to the idea of a
said Mark Mayhew and others’. spirit world. Swedenborg claimed that
Craddock was ordered to pay £10 and his trance-like states enabled him to
five guineas in costs or go to prison commune with spirits, and Mesmer –
for one month. as well as lending his name to the
It may seem laughable to a modern technique of mesmerism – alleged
audience, but at the height of spiritu- that his subjects could contact
spiritual beings while under hypnosis.
 Mr Punch’s History of England (1921) In an era of rapid advancement –
openly mocked spiritualism, using the faster trains, electricity, photography
symbolism of a fox (the medium) and
its victims portrayed as hares and
and X-rays were all inventions of the
geese (the attendees) 19th century – the Victorians were

SOCIAL HISTORY
}
 The Countess of Caithness (1884) was
renowned for her interest in spiritual-
ism. The movement appealed to all
classes and was an accepted pastime
or form of employment, even amongst
the wealthier classes
primed to challenge the ‘old world’

cosmic order. Scientific endeavour
helped to answer the question of ‘how
the world worked’, but what
Victorians really wanted to know was
‘Is there life after death?’. In an age
where death was a tragic but all-too-
common part of everyday life, the
belief that the soul could continue to  Mesmerism was part of the spiritual-
ists toolkit and demonstrations often
exist beyond the mortal plane drew audiences in their hundreds
provided a source of comfort to
grieving families. Christianity was still turning them into celebrities in a
the mainstay of religious practice, but matter of months. Their experience
outside of faith, where was the proof aroused curiosity, as well as publicity,
of immortality? and enabled mediumship and spirit
The answer initially came from an communication to come out into the
unlikely place. On 31 March 1848, open. However, this also meant it was
Kate and Margaret Fox of Hydesville, exposed to increasing scrutiny, as the
New York, reported that they had scientific world of fact and certainty
made contact with the spirit of a collided with manifestations, moving
murdered pedlar. The spirit was tables and floating objects. The case
communicating with them via was not strengthened when three
rapping noises, which they could elicit years later in 1851, tests carried out at
by clapping their hands or snapping the Fox residence suggested the sisters
their fingers. News of their claims were producing the sounds  The magician William Marriott demonstrating
a fraudulent method of levitating a table in
quickly travelled across the Atlantic, themselves, although this was 1910. Table levitation and turning became a
staple part of drawing room seances in the 19th
and early 20th centuries. From Pearson’s
Magazine, 1910
vehemently denied by the sisters.

Despite this exposure, the
popularity of spiritualism continued
to grow, and every level of Victorian
society was gripped by the craze –
from upper-class ladies to the
working classes. Invitations to tea
among the wealthy classes often
included a spiritualist element such as
spirit writing or table-turning. Table-
turning involved the spirits
communicating with those seated
around the table by tilting, rotating or
lifting the table. A medium would
typically have planchettes or talking
boards (patented as the Ouija Board
 Medium Eusapia Palladino demonstrates table levitation. From Eusapia Palladino in 1891) and slates for spirit writing at
and her phenomena (1909) by Herewood Carrington their disposal – as well as themselves,

SOCIAL HISTORY
} 1860s and 1870s, famously shocked

the country in 1871 by making a spirit
powered journey through the air from
her house in Highbury to a séance in
Bloomsbury. And in the 1870s
spiritual claims. Much of their early
work involved exposing fake
phenomena, sifting and corroborating
reports of spontaneous paranormal
experiences, and collecting data. Its
Florence Cook, a young medium work produced the first landmark in
working in London, could allegedly psychical research, a two-volume
perform full-form materialisation – study of visions and apparitions titled
where the spirit world would Phantasms of the Living (1886).
 How the table lifting trick can be achieved by a materialise from the body of the Not all of the scientific community
simple nail in the top of the table – revealed by medium and move within the circle of were sceptical. Several eminent
magician Chung Ling Soo in 1898
sitters. scientists of the day believed in spiri-
 John Anderson, the ‘Wizard of the North’,
published several books exposing the magic
Middle-class women often tualism – Guglielmo Marconi and
tricks used by mediums, inspired by his dominated the ranks of amateur Alexander Graham Bell were notable
knowledge of showmanship mediumship. It was one of only a few supporters. John Logie Baird, inventor
professions open to genteel ladies, of the television, was also persuaded
giving them the opportunity to by his spiritual experiences, claiming
discreetly earn money. It was also that he had communicated with the
seen as an acceptable hobby or spirit of American scientist Thomas
pastime, alongside embroidery and Edison. After visiting a séance in 1926
sketching. he wrote, ‘I am convinced that
Outside of the domestic sphere and discoveries of far reaching importance
private sittings, lectures and demon- remain waiting along these shadowy
strations would be held in front of and discredited paths.’
audiences of hundreds, becoming a And discredited they often were –
common form of ‘inspirational’ enter- largely due to acts of dishonesty and
tainment. The industrial north of deceit. Demonstrations of
England, where dissenting religion mediumship had proved themselves
was already strong, became a hub of to be a profitable venture, but this
spiritualism and the first spiritualist meant incidents of fraud became
church opened in Keighley, West widespread. Mr Punch’s History of
Yorkshire, in 1853. The town also England (1921) was in no doubt as to
published the first spiritualist the dubious nature of some mediums:
newspaper – the Yorkshire Spiritualist ‘The gipsies are hardly dealt with in
Telegraph – two years later. being convicted as rogues and
Inevitably, spiritualist vagabonds for telling fortunes by the
activity started to be called into cards or the palm of the hand, whilst
question; and since some of the practitioners in Clairvoyance get their
phenomena involved gravity – such as hands crossed with silver, or with
as they were the conduit for the spirits the movement of objects and postage-stamps with perfect impunity.
to communicate. The phenomena levitation – it was the scientific There is clearly one law for the
produced often depended on the community who decided they would Romany, and another for Somnambu-
medium’s speciality, but some be best placed to investigate it. lists.’ John Henry Anderson
mediums offered a broad repertoire of Scientists such as Michael Faraday, (1814–1874), a prominent magician
manifestations – as well as a broad who discovered the principles of elec- nicknamed the ‘Wizard of the North,’
range of spirits to call upon – and it tromagnetism, were called in. He did much to expose spiritualist fraud,
was not unknown for Charles Dickens attended two séances with the aim of denouncing the movement as
to make an appearance alongside finding a rational explanation and ‘humbug’. His book, The Fashionable
Auntie Mary! immediately dismissed the claims as Science of Parlour Magic (1855), used
Women were often considered to be nonsense. In 1882, the Society for his magician’s knowledge to describe
better suited to mediumship and were Psychical Research was founded to in detail how the effects of spirit
often highly regarded. Mrs Guppy, a examine the phenomena using rapping and table-turning are
medium operating in London in the rigorous scientific methods to test achieved. The movement was also

SOCIAL HISTORY
}
called into question in 1888 by the
most unlikely source: Margaret Fox.
Forty years after their original claims,
Margaret revealed the rappings of the
murdered pedlar in Hydesville were a
hoax perpetrated by herself and her
sister, stating, ‘There is no such thing
as a spirit manifestation. That I have
been mainly instrumental in perpe-
trating the fraud of spiritualism upon
a too-confiding public many of you
already know. It is the greatest sorrow
of my life… When I began this
deception, I was too young to know
right from wrong.’
Just to muddy the waters further,
Fox went on to claim at a later date
that the confession was in fact a  An illustration of how a medium might invoke table rapping, using a mechanised
machine and a wire
deception and she quickly returned to
promoting spiritualism. motivation, science has so far failed to Resources
The movement appeared undimin- categorically prove or disprove the • The Society for Psychical Research,
ished by this scandal and continued to existence of the spirit world. The only https://www.spr.ac.uk (see website
gain credibility into the 20th century, certainty we have is that one day we’ll for details on how to access their
gaining distinguished supporters such all get the opportunity to find out the archives and libraries)
as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Elizabeth truth, once and for all, for ourselves. • The British Library, 96 Euston Road,
Barrett Browning, scientist Sir Oliver As John Mortimer’s famous London, NW1 2DB, www.bl.uk/
Lodge (who became president of the Rumpole quipped in Rumpole and the catalogues-and-collections (search
Society for Psychical Research from Dear Departed (1981), ‘What I can’t for literature and ephemera relating
1901–1903) and the journalist accept about spiritualism is the idea of to Victorian Spiritualism and
Hannen Swaffer. The Church was millions of dead people (there must Parlour Magic)
surprisingly slow to condemn the be standing room only on the Other • British Newspaper Archive,
movement – the Roman Catholic Side) kept hanging about just waiting www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Church denounced spiritualism in to be sent for by some old girl with a (lots of detailed accounts of seances,
1898 and the Anglican Church Ouija board in a Brighton boarding mesmeric performances and
warned of ‘grave dangers’ in the house, or a couple of table-tappers in mediumship)
‘religion of spiritualism’ in 1920. By Tring, for the sake of some inane • Victorian Web, www.victorianweb.
the late 1920s and early 1930s there conversation about the Blueness of org/victorian/religion/spirit.html – a
were around 250,000 practicing spiri- the Infinite. I mean at least when huge online archive of information
tualists and 2000 spiritualist societies you’re dead you’ll surely be spared and resources relating to the
in the UK, in addition to many local such tedious social occasions.’  Victorian era.
mediumship circles.
Undoubtedly, many seances and Further reading
sittings were held in genuine faith, but • Conan Doyle, Arthur, The History of
others were conducted for pure enter- Spiritualism Volume One and Two
tainment value; incorporating a (Cassell and Company, 1926)
mixture of magic, sleight of hand and • Owen, Alex, The Darkened Room: ABOUT THE AUTHOR
masterful psychological tricks. Some Women, Power and Spiritualism in
were successful in their endeavour – Late Victorian England (Virago, After working for many years as
a heritage practitioner for the
whether that meant pulling the wool 1989) National Trust and English
over an audience’s eyes for money or • Oppenheim, Janet, The Other World: Heritage, CAROLINE ROOPE is
being able to comfort a grieving Spiritualism and Psychical Research now a freelance social history
writer and researcher.
family with heartfelt messages from in England, 1850-1914 (Cambridge
the spirit world. Whatever the University Press, 1985)

NEWS
}
NEWS IN BRIEF More than 260,000 poll
This month we welcome another online
Family History Show event. Our
book records go online
online event has all the features of our
physical shows, from the comfort of heGenealogist has just released
your own home! Put your research
questions to an expert, watch a free
talk, and speak to a local society,
T over 260,000 records into its
ever growing Poll Book
Record Collection. This useful
archive or genealogical supplier. The resource for family historians can be
show runs from 10am to 4.30pm on used to find the address of an
Saturday 26 September. To get your ancestor’s residence from the period
discounted early bird tickets visit before and after the census records.
www.thefamilyhistoryshow.com. The newly released Poll Books
There is already a packed programme records range from 1747 to 1930 and
of talks by experts including join records that also cover periods
genealogist and house historian Gill between the census years.
Blanchard, military historian Chris The release allows researchers to:
Baker, DNA expert Debbie Kennett, • Find ancestors who had the vote
online expert Mark Bayley and social • Discover where ancestors were
history buff Keith Gregson. The next registered to cast their ballot Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk and
online event after that is scheduled to • See the nature of their qualification Surrey.
be on 20 February 2021. to vote, such as owning rateable They join the millions of electoral
property. resources on TheGenealogist which
The Association of Genealogists and The records cover 36 different include electoral registers, voters lists
Researchers in Archives (AGRA), the registers of people who were entitled and absentee voters.
association representing professional to vote and covers constituencies Read TheGenealogist’s article at:
genealogists in England and Wales, has situated in Bath, Devon, Hampshire, https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/
announced its latest development, a Hertford, Kent, Lincolnshire, London, featuredarticles/2020/poll-books-
series of podcasts to be streamed via Monmouthshire, Northumberland, and-electoral-rolls-used-to-locate-
the www.agra.org.uk website: Ask Rutland, Scotland, Shropshire, ancestors-address-1296/
AGRA – Family History Question
Time. The free AGRA podcasts will be
available to all in an initial series of six,
Data from Edwardian Hounslow
available monthly from 1 September. TheGenealogist has just released the records of over 33,000 individuals for the
Some well-known authors and experts Hounslow area into its property ownership and occupancy record set, the Lloyd
in their field will be adding their voices George Domesday Survey. This is a unique online resource that includes maps
to the discussions including Gill and field books and gives researchers the ability to discover where an ancestor
Blanchard, Dr. Geoff Swinfield, Les lived in the 1910-1915 period. By making use of TheGenealogist’s powerful
Mitchinson and Simon Fowler, to name Map Explorer the researcher can see how the landscape where their ancestor
but a few. The six themes will be as lived or worked changed over time.
follows: House histories – September; The maps and residential data in The Lloyd George Domesday Survey
Ancestral research – getting started records are sourced from The National Archives and are being digitised by
including understanding BMD and TheGenealogist so that it is possible to precisely locate where an ancestor lived
Census records – October; Research on large-scale, hand-annotated maps. These plans include plots for the exact
before 1837 – November; Military properties and are married to various georeferenced historical map overlays
research including British service in and modern base maps on the Map Explorer. With this resource the researcher
India – December; DNA testing and use is able to thoroughly investigate the area in which an ancestor lived.
in conjunction with genealogical The Hounslow records cover the areas of Bedfont, Chiswick, Cranford,
research – January 2021; Using land Feltham, Hanworth, Heston, Isleworth, New Brentford and Old Brentford.
records such as maps and tithe maps to Read an article on finding the retreat of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
further research – February 2021. that became a ‘lunatic asylum’ in World War 2 in these records: www.thegeneal-
ogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/harlow-property-records-discover-snapshot-o
f-owners-and-occupiers-from-edwardian-past-1290/

HISTORY IN THE DETAILS: SHOP WORKERS’ DRESS
A brief history by costume and picture expert Jayne Shrimpton
any of our ancestors worked jewellery and other trinkets, so that million by the 1960s, due to
M in shops of various descrip-

tions and during the 1800s
as urban communities and commerce
sales staff appearances did not
overshadow the merchandise. Most
female staff had to provide their own
the continued growth of
department stores, and
emergence of interwar high
expanded, retailing became a significant workwear, even though an apprentice street multiples such as Woolworths
occupation. Initially most counter staff or junior assistant’s annual wages were and C & A. Typically women worked in
were men, including drapery store only £10-£15. areas like millinery, corsetry, drapery
assistants, but from the 1860s onwards Shop girls were typically young and and other fashion departments, or in
large establishments and department single, often chosen for their tall, furnishings, stationery shops, confec-
stores employed more female staff. elegant figures, pleasing features and tioners and fancy goods emporia.
Shop work appealed to smart, semi- luxuriant hair. Some became the first Edwardian shop wear comprised a
educated girls and by the late 1800s new live ‘mannequins’ (models) from formal dark frock, or more modern
retailing opportunities also attracted around 1900 – statuesque store staff crisp blouse and black tailored skirt,
independent middle-class women. selected to demonstrate to clients new styles relaxing gradually between the
Reflecting the wider development of seasonal fashions. Senior saleswomen wars, when green, grey or blue dresses
more standardised workwear, in many and department supervisors could earn and suits might be adopted. Male staff
Victorian shops a formal black dress £60 annually and dressed more also had to look well groomed in a
became the correct mode for females handsomely in finer dresses, cultivating tailored suit, spotless shirt and smart
behind the counter. Typically a silk, an air of efficient, courteous elegance. neckwear. Grocers and shop staff
wool or mixed-fabric black gown was Despite their professional image, young handling foodstuffs wore bibbed or
accessorised with a starched white female shop staff ‘on display’ often half-aprons. From the 1910s onwards
collar and white cuffs. Styles generally attracted unwanted male attention. In long-sleeved buttoned overall coats
followed fashion, for ideally shop girls 1894 The Shop Girl, a romantic musical grew common, protecting the clothes
should look up-to-date, whilst avoiding comedy, opened at London’s Gaiety and satisfying more rigorous hygiene
extreme dress. The store proprietor Theatre, highlighting the lives of sales requirements. 
John Lewis insisted in the mid 1880s on assistants who were now a major
JAYNE SHRIMPTON is a professional dress
black, high-necked woollen dresses, workforce.
historian and picture specialist, and author of
boots and black stockings for his sales By 1900 about 250,000 women several books on these subjects.
girls. Employers often prohibited worked in shops, this rising to one www.jayneshrimpton.co.uk
 Smartly dressed
early Edwardian male
and female store
assistants are
depicted in ‘The
Delights of Living-In’
from The Shop
Assistant Journal,
March 1901
 Like many village

shops, the Post Office
and General Store at
Plumpton Green, East
Sussex sold a variety
of food. Its staff,
pictured here c.1910,
 ‘A Portable Shop Seat’, from The wear spotless long
Girls’ Own Paper 1880, shows weary white aprons
late-Victorian female counter staff Jayne Shrimpton
wearing formal black trained gowns

with smart white collars and cuffs
PLACE IN FOCUS
Leicestershire}
he first recorded use of the being Leicester, Hinckley and Lough- cast sheet lead roofing and stained
T name Leicestershire was in

the 11th century. Its
boundaries have changed little since
borough. Before the development of
steam-driven frames in the 19th
century, hand framework-knitting of
glass since 1825, working on many of
England’s major cathedrals and
historic buildings.
the Domesday Survey. In the 7th hose and gloves was carried on in Abbey Pumping Station houses four
century, the region formed part of the about a hundred villages. Wool- enormous steam powered beam
kingdom of Mercia. In the 9th carding was also an extensive industry engines built in Leicester in the 1890s
century the district was subjugated by before 1840. in the Vulcan factory owned by Josiah
the Vikings, and Leicester became one Other industries in the county have Gimson.
of the five Danish boroughs. included the manufacture of boots Exclusive census analysis from the
Among the earliest historical events and shoes in Market Harborough, data at TheGenealogist.co.uk reveals
connected with the county were the plus brickmaking and iron founding. that common Leicestershire surnames
siege and capture of Leicester by Melton Mowbray gives its name to a include Ward, Clarke, Cooper, Hill,
Henry II in 1173 after the rebellion of well-known manufacture of pork pies, Moore, Allen and Bailey. Green and
the Earl of Leicester. Parliament was and since the mid-18th century, King were also common in 1841, as
held at Leicester in 1414. Stilton cheese has been made near was Harris in 1911. Census occupation
During the Wars of the Roses there. data also shows framework knitters
Leicester was a great Lancastrian Leicestershire is considered to be and stocking makers among the
stronghold. In 1485 the battle of the birthplace of fox hunting as it is leading trades in the county; by 1911,
Bosworth was fought in the county. In known today. Hugo Meynell, who hosiery hands and shoe machinists
the Civil War of the 17th century, the lived in Quorn in the 18th century, is were near the top of the list, although
greater part of the county favoured known as the father of modern fox outnumbered now by coal mine
parliament, though the mayor and hunting. Melton Mowbray and hewers.
some members of the corporation of Market Harborough have particular Leicestershire Record Office is at
Leicester sided with the king. In 1645 associations with the sport. Wigston, Leicester (www.leics.gov.
Leicester was twice captured by the Engineering has long been an uk/recordoffice). The Museum of the
Royalist forces. important part of the economy of Royal Leicestershire Regiment is also
The county has a long history of Leicestershire. John Taylor Bell- in the city (www.royalleicestershire
agriculture, particulary dairy farming. founders continues a history of regiment.org.uk/the-regimental-
The woollen industry flourished in bellfounding in Loughborough since museum). 
Leicestershire in Norman times, and the 14th century. In 1881 John Taylor
in 1343 Leicestershire wool was rated cast the largest bell in Britain, ‘Great This month all premium subscribers
at a higher value than that of most Paul’, for St Paul’s Cathedral in can access marriage records for
other counties. Coal was worked at London. Meanwhile Norman & Leicestershire, thanks to
Coleorton in the early 15th century Underwood has been making sand- www.thegenealogist.co.uk.
and at Measham in the 17th century.
Part of Snibston Country Park is built  LEICESTERSHIRE RECORDS
on one of three coal mines that
Leading data website TheGenealogist.co.uk has a wealth of records for Gloucestershire.
operated in Coalville from the 1820s
Here is a quick run-down of what you can find (in addition to national collections):
until 1986. Blue slate has been • Trade directories: eight directories from 1835 to 1941.
quarried at Swithland for centuries, • Census records: Leicestershire records for every census from 1841 to 1911.
and a limestone quarry at Barrow-on- • Nonconformist registers: Nonconformist chapels and meeting houses across
Leicestershire are covered in the site’s collections.
Soar is also very ancient. • Parish registers for more than 80 parishes (see
The staple manufacture of the www.thegenealogist.co.uk/coverage/parish-records/leicestershire/).
county historically, hosiery, originated • Land owners: the site’s huge collection of tithe commutation records includes
Leicestershire, along with tithe maps; plus an 1873 survey of Welsh and English
in the 17th century, the chief centres landowners includes the region.
• Indexes of wills from 1495 and 1660, and many people from Gloucestershire can be
MEET LEICS RESEARCHERS found in Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) Wills 1384-1858.
• Freemen of Leicester from 1196 to 1930.
• Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society, • 1619 medieval visitations.
www.lrfhs.org.uk

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k
BOOKS
}
With detailed, accessible and authori- Kitted Out • Caroline Young
tative coverage, it is full of advice on www.thehistorypress.co.uk • £18.99
how to explore and get the most from When war was declared in September
the records. Each census from 1841 to 1939, young people around the world
1911 is described in detail, and later were expected to put on a uniform
censuses are analysed too. The main and fight in a conflict not of their
focus is on the census in England and making. They may have been dressed
Wales, but censuses in Scotland, in regulation khaki or air force blue,
Ireland, the Channel Islands and the or restricted by rationing, but driven
Isle of Man are all examined and the by angst, patriotism and survival, they
differences explained. Particular took every opportunity to express
emphasis is placed on the rapidly themselves by adapting their clothing.
expanding number of websites that Away from the war their lives were
offer census information, making the shaped by swing music and its
process of research far easier to carry fashions, allowing individualism to
out. The extensive appendix gathers flourish despite repression and
together all the key resources in one offering a rebellious reaction to the
place. Emma Jolly’s guide is an ideal fearful sound of jackboots marching
Life in the Victorian Asylum introduction and tool for anyone who in unison.
Mark Stevens • £14.99 is researching the life and times of an It was a time of new identities,
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk ancestor. factions and hierarchies. From the
Life in the Victorian Asylum recon- British Tommies and the American
structs the lost world of the 19th Under Fire • Stephen Bourne GIs, to the ‘Glamour Boys’ of the RAF,
century public asylums. This fresh www.thehistorypress.co.uk • £12.99 the ‘Spitfire Girls’ of the ATA and
take on the history of mental health During the Second World War all members of the French Resistance,
reveals why county asylums were British citizens were called upon to do Kitted Out is a fresh take on the
built, the sort of people they housed their part for their country. Despite history of the Second World War
and the treatments they received, as facing the discriminatory ‘colour bar’, through a fashionable eye. The
well as the enduring legacy of these many black civilians were determined poignant and inspiring stories behind
remarkable institutions. Mark to contribute to the war effort where the uniforms, styles and self-
Stevens, the bestselling author of they could, volunteering as air-raid expression in Britain, the United
Broadmoor Revealed, is a professional wardens, fire-fighters, stretcher- States, North Africa and occupied
archivist and expert on asylum bearers and first-aiders. Meanwhile, Europe will be painfully resonant to a
records. In this book, he delves into black servicemen and women, many new generation of young people.
Victorian mental health archives to of them volunteers from places as far
recreate the experience of entering an away as Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana
asylum and being treated there, and Nigeria, risked their lives fighting
perhaps for a lifetime. for the Mother Country in the air, at
sea and on land.
A Guide to Tracing Your Family In Under Fire, Stephen Bourne
History using the Census draws on first-hand testimonies to tell
Emma Jolly • £14.99 the whole story of Britain’s black
The census is an essential survey of community during the Second World
our population, and it is a source of War, shedding light on a wealth of
basic information for local and experiences from evacuees to enter-
national government and for various tainers, government officials,
organizations dealing with education, prisoners of war and community
housing, health and transport. leaders. Among those remembered
Providing the researcher with a are men and women whose stories
fascinating insight into who we were have only recently come to light,
in the past, Emma Jolly’s new making Under Fire the definitive
handbook is a useful tool for anyone account of the bravery and sacrifices
keen to discover their family history. of black Britons in wartime.

CLASSIFIED ADS
}
BRISTOL & AVON FAMILY MALVERN
HISTORY SOCIETY (WORCESTERSHIRE)
W: www.bafhs.org.uk FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY
The society, founded in 1975, serves the W: www.mfhs.org.uk
geographic area of the former County of Avon E: info@mfhs.org.uk
including Bath, Bristol and parts of the historic An enthusiastic group providing support in
counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset. We have around 1000 research, irrespective of county or country. Well-attended monthly
members. The services we provide include our excellent meetings; quarterly journal; use of our indexed Worcestershire
research room at Bristol Archives, our quarterly journal, monthly parish records 1500s-1839 and local monumental inscriptions.
meetings at three locations and the sale of society and local- See our prize-winning website to get the full picture.
interest publications. Our volunteers provide advice and
guidance at local and regional events. NUNEATON & NORTH
WARWICKSHIRE FAMILY
GLOUCESTERSHIRE FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY
HISTORY SOCIETY W: www.nnwfhs.org.uk
W: www.gfhs.org.uk NNWFHS is the friendly, helpful group serving
T: 01452 524344 everyone researching ancestors in northern
Please visit www.gfhs.org.uk for full details of Warwickshire or for those who wish to meet with other family
the facilities and records available to family historians. Monthly meetings; quarterly journal; wide range of
history researchers. Better still, come and visit us at Clarence publications and data available via FHS-Online. Research assistance
Row, Alvin Street, Gloucester, GL1 3AH, where a team of for far-flung members plus help desks in local libraries. A choice of
volunteers is available to help Monday to Friday from 10am to membership options to suit everyone. Join – and enjoy!
4pm. We also have an extensive reference library of Gloucester-
shire books. SHROPSHIRE FAMILY
HISTORY SOCIETY
HAMPSHIRE W: www.sfhs.org.uk
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY The society was founded 40 years ago and
W: www.hgs-familyhistory.com primarily provides support to people investi-
Do you reside, or have family connections, gating their ancestors within the county. The
within Hampshire? HGS, run since 1974 by journal is quarterly and meetings with a speaker are held
volunteers who are informed, friendly family monthly. Our library and bookstall are available at these events.
historians and genealogists, has been promoting and We are a friendly society and would be pleased to see or hear
encouraging the study of genealogy and has collected, from you to help you further your research.
transcribed, published and made accessible, in various formats, a
large catalogue of family history records, data and historical SOMERSET & DORSET
documents relating to the county of Hampshire FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY
W:www.sdfhs.org
HUDDERSFIELD & DISTRICT We will help you to find documented facts about
FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY the lives of your former family members which
W: www.hdfhs.org.uk will unlock doors to your own personal family
W: 01484 859229 story. Although we do specialise in Somerset and Dorset and have
With 900 members worldwide, our society extensive records from our two counties, our experienced research
provides advice, research, courses and much volunteers have skills which can help you trace your family roots,
more. We have baptism, marriage, burial and MI transcriptions regardless of where they might have originated.
for most churches in Huddersfield, Dewsbury and District. Our
research room opens six days a week with help from WILTSHIRE FAMILY
experienced volunteers. Find us on Facebook: HISTORY SOCIETY
www.facebook.com/huddersfieldfamilyhistory, Twitter: W: www.wiltshirefhs.co.uk
www.twitter.com/HDFHS01 or through our website. E: membership@wiltshirefhs.co.uk
The focus for people worldwide with Wiltshire
ancestors and for local family historians, all
To advertise in next year’s print edition, or linked by a popular journal, six branches and a society website.
in the monthly digital magazine, please Forty years of advising, collecting and transcribing by our
members has created a wealth of knowledge and information
contact ads@discoveryourancestors.co.uk shared: plentiful data online via our website, and much more in our
downloads, publications and CDs.

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Issue No. 89 | September 2020

Is there anybody there?

The table-turning times of spiritualism

Issue 9 – with £280+ of oﬀers –

To advertise your services in our next print edition or in our

Never miss out again!

Want to complete your print collection?

Issue 1 is sold out in print but a limited

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The near death}

WILLIAM HANSFORD Aged 61 Years

FAREWELL MY WIFE AND CHILDREN DEAR

 Headstone for William Hansford,

hose are the words on the

4 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

with Eliza, her widowed daughter,

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 5

} located on the island of Portland, at

An issue of the Western Antiquary

It becomes our painful duty this week

6 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 7

} At Dorchester, Dorset, 71-year old

8 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

 The Eve of the Battle of Edge Hill, 1642_by Charles Landseer

Was your ancestor a

W defeated usually have to

10 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 11

12 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 13

 Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart

The soldier, the

14 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

Ditched the law to run away to war

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 15

1908 that is found in TheGenealogist’s July 1914 to March

16 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 17

as a left-wing Catholic Party member

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

18 www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL

A only too aware, even in this

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 Life in Australia would have been

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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primed to challenge the ‘old world’

vehemently denied by the sisters.

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} 1860s and 1870s, famously shocked

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M in shops of various descrip-

 Like many village

wearing formal black trained gowns

T name Leicestershire was in

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Find out more at RootssMagic.co.uk

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