Category: family history
Nathaniel Dean Lowthian – tasteful adverts!
Nathaniel Dean Lowthian may or may not have been responsible for the following advert, but I doubt a firm of Temple Sowerby tailors employed an advertising agency. The advert was in the Penrith... Read More
Most Haunted fake ghost: debunked by research
A Most Haunted fake ghost didn’t take much to debunk, thanks to some basic research of the facts… With nowt else on, I happened to watch an episode of Most Haunted on Friday night, exploring H... Read More
Mary Pears: a painful calamity
The story of poor Mary Pears is a tragic one. And while it may be unkind to use it as an illustration for family historians, it does show you should never take anything for granted. It also ties in wi... Read More
Bankruptcy: a boon for family historians
Bankruptcy in the family may mean you weren’t born into luxury, but it does mean there’s a wealth of information to look for, tracing your ancestors. In the late 1780s, a man named George Fawell, ... Read More
Facts about coats of arms – and some fun
Coats of arms are colourful, meaningful, mini-puzzles, and great fun. People use them to illustrate online family trees. And there are loads of websites and physical tourist shops where you can buy co... Read More
James Irving of Blackwell House – an unusual will
The will of James Irving (baptised 1835 Bowness-on-Solway, died 1877 Switzerland) suggests he was worthy of the description Cumbrian Character… Elsewhere on this site, you can find a general inf... Read More
Curious deaths – death certificates and family history
Cause of death is a key feature of death certificates, not only for family (and the state) at the time, but also for social and family historians. Knowing an ancestor died of TB helps us to ‘know’... Read More
Cumbrian surnames
Cumbrian surnames may not, for the most part, be exclusive to old Cumberland or Westmorland. But, there many surnames that are strongly associated with the twin counties. Are there Birds on your famil... Read More