Discover Your Ancestors

Issue 131

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A warm welcome to the March issue of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical, your monthly digital mix of family and social history, in our unique web-friendly format ideal for screens of all sizes.

If any of your ancestors were tailors, you'll find Nell Darby's historical exploration of this trade illuminating. We also join Ruth Symes for a look into the social history of wallpaper and the secrets it can reveal, while Paul Matthews investigates a particularly unpleasant crime of past times. All that and more besides can be found inside…

The first of this year's live Family History Shows takes place this month, on 16 March at the super convenient Midlands venue of the Three Counties Showground. Do get your tickets now! One of our own highlights at the show will be the release of the 11th printed edition of Discover Your Ancestors! This flagship, high quality 'bookazine' is packed with brand new features on all manner of subjects – do grab a copy at the show, or you can buy one online now!

I hope you enjoy this issue, and good luck with your own historical explorations this month.

Andrew Chapman, Editor.

Articles

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Each issue is packed full of entertaining stories, case studies, social history articles and research advice – great for anyone starting out in family history research, for experienced researchers needing help overcoming stumbling blocks, and for those with a general interest in how our ancestors lived their lives.

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Bare criminality

During the 19th century, the courts and the press noted an alarming rise in the unusual crime of ‘child-stripping’: the stealing of clothes from children, by force or deception.

The tailors of Gloucester (and other places)

Dismissed in the past for being ‘weak’ individuals, our tailoring ancestors were actually highly skilled, hard-working people who had to climb their way up the career ladder.

Bravery and kindness

Group Captain The Lord Cheshire of Woodhall VC, OM, DSO and Two Bars, DFC was not only a highly decorated British war hero, but also a tremendous example of a selfless humanitarian. In 1948 he took a dying man, with nowhere else to go, into his own home. This act is now seen as the inception of the Cheshire Foundation Homes for the Sick, an organisation that today is simply known as Leonard Cheshire.

If walls could talk

While few of us probably actually still live in the houses of our own ancestors, many of us certainly live in older properties with rich histories. If you’ve ever attempted a makeover of such a house, you might well have been surprised by the number of layers of wallpaper beneath the one with which you are familiar.

Who destroyed the stones?

Who destroyed the stones? Today, the Avebury (Wiltshire) megaliths attract many visitors. The stone circle and the avenues are among the largest prehistoric monuments of their kind in Europe, and are protected as valuable assets to the community. It was not always so. It may not be obvious to the casual observer, but many of the stones have been lost. Over the millennia, they have suffered much wear and tear, but between the 14th and early 20th centuries many were deliberately destroyed.

Pivotal battles: Newbury I & II (1643 & 1644)

It’s rarely that a place has two battles to its name. There’s St Albans (Wars of the Roses), of course, but there’s also Newbury (English Civil War).

News for March 2024

Exciting new additions to TheGenealogist's Map Explorer and Image Library

Books for March 2024

Irish newspapers, Tudor social life and a Captain Cook mystery… solved?

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: [email protected]

W: www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk

Discover Your Ancestors – The Family History Show

The Family History Show, London!

Saturday 5th October 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 £12!

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.