Discover Your Ancestors

Issue 112

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A warm welcome to the August issue of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical, your monthly digital mix of family and social history.

And ‘warm’ is the operative word, as we head into another heatwave at the time I’m writing this. Jayne Shrimpton’s interesting article this month about the history of ice cream comes therefore as a refreshing relief, especially if you read it with a cone in hand!

Don’t forget the London Family History Show is coming up very soon, next month (see www.thefamilyhistoryshow.com), by which time hopefully things will be a little cooler.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading this issue.

Andrew Chapman, Editor.

Articles

Stop me and buy one'

The first chilled refreshments originated when the ancient Chinese, Romans and other early civilisations combined snow or ice with fruit juice or dairy products – epicurean luxuries for the enjoyment of the social elite. In the Levant sharbat/sherbet, created by whisking ice shavings or snow into sugar syrup flavoured with fruit juices and floral essences, became renowned as a summer delicacy; however, this concoction and similar Middle Eastern-style sherbets that eventually came to be replicated in fashionable 17th century London coffee houses were not genuine ices, but scented water-based drinks – sometimes cooled with ice or snow, but never frozen.

Mistress of spin

In October 1895, the Globe reported on the extraordinary exploits of a little-known lady cyclist: In France she was robbed by highwaymen; while witnessing the battle between the Japs and Chinese in Gasan she was shot in the arm; a cyclist ran over her in California, and a five-weeks’ stay in hospital was the result; while another occasion, through a bad fall, she was compelled to ride 175 miles with a broken arm.

Family maintenance

From reading accounts in the local press, it seems that Edwardian Britain was full of individuals seeking to avoid paying for their family’s upkeep. From husbands failing to maintain their wives, to fathers refusing to pay for their children to be accommodated, fed and educated in industrial schools and relatives not paying for their ‘insane’ family members to stay in private asylums, cases were frequently being heard in courts to decide who needed to pay for what.

The last of the 39ers

Some people’s life stories have the ability to simply stop us in our tracks. Our attention may have been drawn by something that they had once done or something that they were involved in. The incident motivates us to take a closer look at the subject’s life in a bit more detail. This is especially true when they have been involved in something that is outside of the normal experience of most people and so we are drawn in to find out more.

Two centuries of history

It’s ironic our word ‘barrack’ has French origins (from ‘baraque’, meaning a soldier’s tent) as the barracks that emerged in Christchurch (now in Dorset but in Hampshire before 1974) in the final decade of the 18th century was established with the sole purpose of dealing with French invaders. This was the Revolutionary and Napoleonic era and the threat to national security was not an idle one. Housing cavalry and horse artillery, this community of almost 200 people and 150 horses certainly made an impact, socially and economically, on the local area.

National tithe record collection completed

Family historians can now search the complete National Tithe Record Collection for England and view their ancestors’ land and homes plotted through the ages on Victorian tithe maps, as well as on today’s modern street and satellite maps.

History in the details: Materials - Silk (part 3)

Following the arrival of tens of thousands of weavers fleeing religious persecution in 16th and 17th century France and Flanders, bringing superior handloom weaving skills and expertise in achieving Paris fashions, Britain became a major silk-producing nation, its manufactures rivalling the quality of French silk textiles. Fine silks – fashionable alamodes, brocades, ducapes, lustrings, watered (moiré) silks and velvets – were the most prestigious and desirable materials of the early to mid-18th century, requisite for formal dress, favoured for elite household and carriage furnishings and palpable symbols of wealth and social status

Place in Focus: Scotland

The Kingdom of the Picts was the state that eventually became known as ‘Alba’ or ‘Scotland’. By the 12th century, the kings of Alba had added to their territories the English-speaking land in the south-east and attained overlordship of Gaelic-speaking Galloway and Norse-speaking Caithness; by the end of the 13th century, the kingdom had assumed approximately its modern borders.

Additional Information

Other Formats

You can buy a printed version of the annual Discover Your Ancestors bookazine directly from the publishers, please see www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk and click on ‘Order print copies’ at the bottom.

Editorial Office

Discover Your Ancestors Publishing,

PO BOX 163,

Shaftesbury,

SP7 7BA

E: editor@discoveryourancestors.co.uk

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Discover Your Ancestors – The Family History Show

The Family History Show, York!

Saturday 22nd June 2024
10:00 –16:00 (GMT)

Put your research questions to an expert, watch a talk, speak to a local society, archive or genealogical supplier.

Free talks all day, held in a large lecture hall.
Free Experts on hand to help with your queries.
Many family history societies, archives and companies will be attending from all over the country.

Special Offer! Buy tickets for £8.00 (£12.00 on the day)

Buy your tickets early and get two for the price of one!

Find Out More Purchase Tickets

Future Events

Unable to make the next show? We also have shows planned for the following locations:

Discover Your Ancestors Periodical is published by Discover Your Ancestors Publishing, UK. All rights in the material belong to Discover Your Ancestors Publishing and may not be reproduced, whether in whole or in part, without their prior written consent. The publisher makes every effort to ensure the magazine's contents are correct. All articles are copyright© of Discover Your Ancestors Publishing and unauthorised reproduction is forbidden. Please refer to full Terms and Conditions at www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk. The editors and publishers of this publication give no warranties, guarantees or assurances and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised.