UK
Act of Settlement 1700-1701
The Act of Settlement in 1701, enshrined the exclusion of Catholics from the line of succession in England. It ensured the continuation of the House of Hanover.
Read MorePhrenology- a Victorian obsession?
In 1824, George Combe’s ‘Elements of Phrenology’ was published. Phrenology was the identification of an individual’s faculties by feeling the shape of the skull. It was argued by Franz Joseph Gall, an Austrian physician, along with Johann Spurzheim that mind and brain were connected, in a way that, different characteristics of mind, would give different…
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 MoreHerefordshire Wills
If you have any family history links with Hereford then this will interest you. It’s a great site, put together by volunteers and contributions from others with Herefordshire wills to share. Wills can prove such a little goldmine, offering up new connections between hitherto unknown clusters of family, establishing family relationships, as well as adding…
Read MoreBletchley Park Buckinghamshire Roll of Honour
Bletchley roll of honour, did your relatives work at Bletchley ParK? Checkout the online roll of honour…
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 MoreWomen and children – Custody of Children Act 1839
Children no longer just the property of their father, Caroline Norton influences the first piece of feminist legislation protecting their rights to how a child should be cared for…
Read More‘Lunatics’ and the Poor Law Act 1834
Asylums had been operating in Britain for hundreds of years, the first recorded was the Bethlem Royal Hospital established in the C15th and were run as private charitable institutions. The whole business was a haphazard affair until the Madhouse Act of 1774 which established licensing and yearly inspections of asylums. Still little provision was made…
Read MoreBirth Marriage Death Registration Act 1836
The Birth, Marriage and Death Registration Act of 1836, introduced registration of these life events but contained no penalties for refusal to register. It established the General Register Office and divided the country into registration districts. It became effective from 1st July 1837 Find the earliest registration of a life event in your tree…
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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