UK
Fire Insurance Records
Fire Insurance Records. What an intriguing collection of resources for the family historian but it can take a bit of footwork to unearth. To help you to find out more about these records follow the links and find family history connections Some of these records have been made available through the hard work of volunteers…
Read MoreCharles Dickens – supporter of Ragged Schools
In 1843, Charles Dickens visited the Field Lane Ragged School and was so shocked and moved by what he saw there, he decided to write a pamphlet about it. Instead though he penned ‘A Christmas Carol’ as he thought he could reach more people through a novel. An intriguing connection is that John Pounds set…
Read MoreFirst Ragged School Portsmouth
In all history there are unsung heros and one of these must surely be John Pounds. Born in Portsmouth Hampshire, in 1766, John Pounds was crippled after a fall in the dockyards where he was an apprenticed shipwright. He became a shoemaker and was known as the crippled cobbler. There were many destitute children living…
Read MorePrison Hulks littered British Waterways…
Prison Hulks were moored off British Coast , prisoners held in dreadful conditions often whilst awaiting deportation to USA or Australia…
Read MoreWorkhouse Schools
More than 50% of those in Workhouses were children of the poor and often orphans. The Workhouse system was far from perfect but Workhouse schools at least offered some hope for a better educated and informed future. One of the turning points from Old Poor Law and bad ways to social reform and the fight for better rights for the unfortunate in society?
Read MoreWarwickshire Tithe Maps 1838 – 1853
Tithe maps are a great underused resource, containing surname data. They are also good fun because you can relate past land use to todays. These are the tithe maps that have so far been transcribed for the county of Warwickshire
Read MoreWarwickshire Family History
Warwickshire UK, is probably best known around the world for it’s most famous son William Shakespeare. It is a fascinating county, largely rural to the south, the North became more industrial as the Industrial Revolution unrolled. It’s industrial heart contains a mixture of mining, clay and cement working, textiles and engineering. It is crossed by…
Read MoreInternal Migration
Internal Migration As family historians, one of our objectives is to try to determine where our ancestors originally came from. Another is to try and make sense of and follow their movements. We all have ‘lost’ ancestors, who seem to disappear or pop up in unexpected places! Understanding the social history helps us to make…
Read MoreHow did the Jamestown colony survive?
How did the Jamestown Colonists survive? They went in search of finding their fortunes, full of hope and ambition. The reality was much harsher and more difficult than they could have imagined. Find out here how they survive their rials and tribulations.
Read MoreCaptain John Smith C17th Capitalist?
The name of Captain John Smith, is, in the minds of many British people intrinsically linked to ‘Pocahontas’ , his native American saviour. Beyond this connection though, his writings on the settlement of Virginia are quite vigorous and erudite and he could be judged as having a very positive influence on how the New England…
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