THEME Business, trade and industry
Elizabeth Fry Reformer and Quaker
The work of Elizabeth Fry, Quaker and social reformer inspired others such as Florence Nightingale. Her courage and work was outstanding in a time when women were considered to have few roles outside of the family
Read MoreInsolvency and Bankruptcy in C19th
Bankrupt or Insolvent, what did it mean to our C19th ancestors?
Read MoreJapan and the Colonial Powers
Japan was forced to open up it’s ports for trade with the west but this resulted in the Japanese have an unequal and uneasy relationship with the west in the years that followed
Read MoreNews Stories 4th April 1891London Daily News
Newspaper stories add such a richness to your family history, not just in terms of individual ancestors but about the news that absorbed them, the things they talked about at meals, work, in the pub..
Read MoreSuez Canal opened 1869
Suez Canal, crucial to Britain and the passage to India
Read MoreThe Scramble for New Colonies post 1870
The new colonialism post 1870 was a response to the growth of the Industrial Revolution beyond Britain and the building of the Suez Canal
Read MoreUsing Livery Company Records
Did your family work in the City of London? If so, then they may well have been a member of one of the guilds or livery companies
Read MoreDurham Mining Maps
Many of us have miners in our family trees but with so many mining areas closing down it is not always easy to find out exactly where the mines were. A project called Miner Mapping, undertaken in Durham has listed place names in County Durham and by clicking on a place name you can search…
Read MoreTailors and Family History
A plethora of tailors and dressmakers in our own family trees made us stop and think about the role of the tailor in the community and how they went about their everyday work and we will get to that but first Many in our families were tailors in Hampshire between Portsmouth and Hambledon. It just…
Read MoreLord Shaftsbury built on John Pounds Ragged School idea…campaigned to improve the lot of working children
“The future hopes of a country must, under God, be laid in the character and condition of its children;…” Inspired by John Pounds and his own increasing religious conviction Lord Shaftsbury was a leader in social reform for children as the best way to improve society overall…
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