Monthly Archives: August 2013

A Day Out Researching

This week I’ve spent a day researching at the William Salt Library in Stafford. Isn’t it wonderful?  The building is a classic Georgian town house, built in 1735.  The reading room is equally stunning: a bibliophile’s dream, packed full of old … Continue reading

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Political cartoons and your ancestors’ lives

It’s quite instructive to look at the wider view – how events of national importance affected the lives of your ancestors, and how these were depicted. Often political cartoons tell us more about the public perception of such events than … Continue reading

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A Walk Through Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter

Last Sunday I found myself in Birmingham: and although the purpose was to see the Yatha Ratra (Festival of the Chariots), in the afternoon I wandered around the Jewellery Quarter. Jewellery  making was a major industry in Birmingham, and the … Continue reading

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Detective Work

A couple of weekends ago I was contemplating these images, which are part of a collection belonging to a friend of mine.   Nice, aren’t they? All my friend knew about these were that they were known to have been sent … Continue reading

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Update: Help with the census

I’ve just discovered the excellent – and free – website www.census-helper.co.uk -which lists many of the abbreviations used by census enumerators,  and also includes a handy age calculator, indications of wages and costs of housing in the Victorian period, and much more … Continue reading

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