Past newspapers are a very useful tool for the family historian, throwing up all sorts of fascinating titbits about our ancestors but they also provide a great opportunity to explore the detail of life at a particular point in time.

We thought it would be interesting to pick out some of the hot news from past newspapers and reflect upon them.

The first date chosen is Saturday 4th April 1891, the day before the 1891 census. From the London Daily News…

News from the Stockmarket:    ‘There is no improvement in speculative business and melancholy seems to have marked the members for it’s own. Business appears to have given way to gossip and the increased population of the reading room causes ‘the house’ to wear the appearance of a club rather than a money spinning institution. A settled gloom has taken possession of both jobbers andbrokers who are gradually becoming resigned to the situation and have made up their minds there will be no active business for a long time to come’

Oh dear now that sounds like a familiar tale………..

There was concern about the number of Lithuanians in London, who, ‘have no intention of returning to Lithuania and are in our workhouses’  and ‘the British public will not stand for it’.

We are going to check to see if there are any Lithuanians in London on census night on 1891 or if such stories were fanciful, made up stories, to stir up the British public.

Now where have we heard that before……