Category: family history
Thomas Ollivant of Hesket-in-the-Forest
Thomas Ollivant, ‘clerk’ (vicar) of Hesket-in-the-Forest, Cumberland, died in 1686. His will included an inventory with a lot of names – local people who owed him various sums of money. These de... Read More
Kirkoswald parish registers
Kirkoswald parish registers have a lot to tell family and social historians, even if your family have zero connection with this Cumbrian parish. Trawling through parish registers is a lot harder than ... Read More
Church presentations a family history resource
You won’t find church presentations on genealogy sites, but if you can read original records, they are worth looking out for. Unless you live near the relevant archives, searching parish records... Read More
DNA testing plain and simple
DNA testing plain and simple guide All I wanted to know, plain and simple, was: is DNA testing worth it, in relation to family history/ancestry? ‘Centri-Morgans,’ ‘FIRs’… but listening to a ... Read More
Merchant Navy apprentices in the 1850s
Merchant Navy apprentices in the 1850s Like an eagle cag’d I pine On this dull unchanging shore Oh give me the flashing brine.. (The full lyrics are here). A life on the ocean wave may have been... Read More
Patents and family history
Patents and intellectual property don’t sound the liveliest of topics for family historians to research! But if you ever had an inventor in your family, they have their value. An edition of The Time... Read More
Census 2021: and those of old
Census 2021: and those of old Census 2021 is upon us! By now, every household in the UK is likely to have received a letter addressed to The Householder, asking them to complete the details. These day... Read More
Wrong certificate: a lesson for family historians
The wrong certificate A death certificate that turned out not to be the person I was looking for isn’t all ‘bad news’. It eliminates that possibility. And this being Cumbrian Characters, won’t... Read More
Lancelot Pattinson the Patterdale cave man
The ‘case’ of Lancelot Pattinson of Patterdale is a useful one for any family historian tempted to excitement over what seems an unusual name – or indeed a good yarn! The Matterdale puzzle A Lan... Read More- 2 of 4
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