On the 24th April 1888 my Great, Great Grandparents suffered the loss of their daughter Laura. So how did they let people know?

First some background.

Laura Dent was born around April 1880 in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. She was the 9th child of 11 born to William Thomas Dent and his wife Louisa Dent nee Payling. William was a farrier and also ran the Red Lion Inn on North Brink alongside Louisa. In total the couple had 3 sons and 8 daughters born between 1864 and 1884. They were Louisa 1864-1940, William 1865-1945, Marion 1867-1937, Richard 1870-1877, Jane Ann 1871-1943, Ella 1873-1959, Maud Mary 1875-1876, my great Grandma Eva 1878-1918, Laura 1880-1885, Myra 1882-1966 and George 1884-1887.

The family had already know tragedy as in 1877 they had lost their son Richard aged 7 and their daughter Maud Mary in 1876 who was under 1 when she died. Loosing Laura would have been heart breaking for the family. She was just short of her 5th birthday. Laura was buried in St Peter’s churchyard on the 26th April 1888 alongside her siblings.

Laura’s parents announced her death in the Cambridge Independent Press on the 02 May 1885 but by now she had been buried. Her family had a funeral card produced to inform family and friends of her passing. 

These would have been sent to members of the family who may not have been able to travel to the funeral. Louisa, Laura’s mother was from Long Sutton in Lincolnshire which although only 10 miles away may have meant members of her family may not have been able to travel to the funeral. The card would have given them a memento to remember little Laura with.

Now Laura’s card was typical of the time. Most cards were on heavy card and embossed with a grave and a boarder. On the grave was the information of the deceased along with some uplifting words or phrases intended to offer solace to the recipient.

As time went on and printing techniques evolved the cards became more elaborate. They would include a picture of the deceased and may have gold lettering on black card rather than white card with black lettering. As with everything the more elaborate to the card the more expensive they were.

As time went on the cards evolved into folded cards with more information on and became more of an order of service for the funeral along the lines of what some people have today.

So what use are the funeral cards to genealogy. Well to start with they are a great insight into social history. They give an indication into the times your ancestors lived in. The more plain the card the earlier they are.

In terms of for genealogy they give an insight into the financial situation of the family. A poor family would never have been able to afford to spend money on funeral cards. So if you have a funeral card in the family the deceased family must have had some wealth. Then the card itself can indicate the level of wealth. The better the card, the more it costs so the more wealth they had.

I know William and Louisa Dent had 2 businesses with the farrier shop and the pub around the time Laura died and that this continued as they also had cards made 2 years later when their son George died. There is no card for the death of William Dent in 1900 but in 1911 when Louisa died she had a folded card to announce her death and burial. Also other family evidence indicates they were better off as in photographs I have of Laura’s sisters in the early 1900 they were well dressed and in a nice garden setting.
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So it may be just a small card announcing the death of a little girl but the information beyond what is found on the card can give you an insight into the family’s situation.

At the moment I’m sure we all need something to laugh about so I thought I’d repost a blog from December 2017 which looks at the funny names people have given their children over the years in the hope that they can give a little light relief to you.
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I’ll start by saying some of these name fails may not have been funny at the time and it is only as life has progressed that the funny side can be seen, I can attest to this. Pre Harry Potter, most people just thought I had a strange surname, but now…. Most just laugh or make a comment about my clothes. For those who don’t know my surname is Dobby, and Dobby is the house elf in the Harry Potter series.

I think some parents knew what they were doing when they chose their child’s name.

So onto the funny side of names in genealogy. I decided to spend an amusing day typing what I thought were funny names into Ancestry to see what I came up with. I’ll admit many I found amusing I have decided not to include as they could be considered rude. Really funny though. So here is my top 40 funny names in no particular order.
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Horticultural Names
Rose Bush – There have been loads of these unfortunate ladies
Holly Tree - There have been loads of these unfortunate ladies
Hazel Nutt, born 1915 in Chesterfield
Timothy Burr, baptised 1726 in Essex (Tim Burr)
Daisy Weeds, born 1889 in Norfolk (my first cousin 3 times removed)
Cristafer Weeds married in Norfolk in 1561. (C.Weeds)
Grass Green who departed the UK in 1947
Teresa Green, born 1852 in Ware
 
Festive Names
Lilian Ruth Christmas Tree, baptised 1903
In 1886 in London Mary Magdalen married Abraham Bateau
Florence Angel Gabriel was buried in London in 1884
Merry Christmas was born in Sussex in 1874
 
Character Names
Thomas Snow White was born in 1882
Cinderella Lord was born in Burnley in 1901
Donald Duck was found on the 1881 census
Michael Mouse was on the 1841 census (Mickey Mouse)
Minnie Mouse was born in Pendleton, USA in 1880
Robert Builder married Susanna Sproll in 1778 (Bob Builder)
Sam Fireman was living in London on the 1911 census (Fireman Sam)
 
Animal Names
Kitty Williem Catt was born in 1880
James Little Lyons was born in the USA in 1822
Jack Daws was born in Nottingham in 1902
 
General
Stanley Still has been the unfortunate name of many men (Stan Still)
Jo King was baptised in Watford in 1589
Annette Curtain (whose dates I’ve not given to spare blushes)
William Board has been the unfortunate name of many men (Bill Board)
Isla White was found on the 1851 census
Peter Perfect was born in Dartford in 1889
Bad Cook was born in Alabama, USA, around 1882
Good Cook was baptised in London in 1723
Olive Cart was born in Warwickshire in 1919
Sunny Day (whose dates I’ve not given to spare blushes)
Sidney Bridge was born in Essex in 1872 (not quiet there but close although my Uncle had a friend call Sidney Arborbridge but I can’t find his records)
River Jordan was born in Birmingham in 1854
Beau Bunting (whose dates I’ve not given to spare blushes)
Richard Taylor Coal Miner was buried in Kirkheaton in 1874
Norman Knight was a soldier during WW1, as was
Harold Norman Knight (who died during the conflict)
Austin Healey who was an England Rugby Player
Morris Van de Car was on the 1881 census (he couldn’t decide if he was a car or a van)

​So when you find out your expecting the pitter patter of tiny feet, think through the name you choose carefully so you little one doesn’t have to endure a name fail! And future genealogist won’t sit typing into their genealogy websites to find the funny names like I do.
 
So I hope I have brought some amusement to you and given you a little light relief in this difficult times.

Now you may not have heard of this lady but what a life she had. She was the second recorded supercentenarian and lived in 3 centuries.
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Margaret Ann Harvey was born on the 18th May 1792 in St Peter Port on the Island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. She was the first child and eldest of seven children born to John Harvey and his wife Elizabeth Harvey nee Guille.

Margaret’s father was a shipping magnet and privateer which afforded her a better life than most. She attended school in Bristol followed by finishing school in Brussels. She was a great fan of literature and spoke English, French, Italian, German and Spanish and could read Greek.

On the 18th January 1823 in St Peter Port she married John Neve. The couple lived in England from their marriage until John Neve died in 1849. The couple didn’t have any children so after John’s death Margaret returned to Guernsey and spent the rest of her life living there.

Throughout her life she travelled in Europe. She visited the battle site of Waterloo and throughout Europe including the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She travelled before her marriage and during. In her widowhood her travelling companion was her sister.

It was reported that in 1902 Margaret was found climbing a tree to pick apples at the age of 110. It just shows she never gave up. I couldn’t climb a tree as a kid so full marks to Margaret.

Margaret died on the 4th April 1903 a month before her 111 birthday. She was alive in the 1700’s, 1800’s and 1900’s.

So let’s consider what she was aware of during her life time.

She was alive during the reign of 5 monarchs. When she was born King George III was on the throne and would reign for a further 28 years. Then came King George IV, King William IV, Queen Victoria and King Edward VII was 2 years into his reign when she died. She would have started out life as a Georgian and ended as an Edwardian.

The world changed so much during her lifetime. The industrial revolution was a big part of her life as was the inventions that would change our lives.

Some of the inventions included:
1798. Edward Jenner invented the inoculation for Smallpox.
1804. Richard Trevithick invented the steam locomotive as a form of power.
1837. Samuel Morse develops morse code.
1855. Henry Bessemer develops the Bessemer converter for use in the steel industry.
1867. Alfred Nobel invents dynamite.
1876. Alexander Graham Bell developed the telephone.
1879. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb (amongst others).
1901. The first vacuum cleaner was developed.

Also the steamship was developed, steam trains for passengers, the first steps into flight and the development of the car.

There was also so much change in the world. Margaret was known to have visited the battle site of Waterloo in Belgium but she also would have been aware of so much more. She recalled she remembered the end of the French Revolution which ran from 1789 to 1799. This was followed by the Revolutionary wars which ran from 1792 to 1802. Next came the Napoleonic wars which ran from 1803 to 1815 ending with the Battle of Waterloo. The Crimean war ran from 1853 to 1856 and Margaret would certainly have been aware of this. Next was the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. The final major outbreak she lived through was the Boer War from 1899 to 1902.

Margaret’s life must have changed so much over her 110 years with so many new developments and inventions, changes in medicine and the world around her.

This week I thought I’d give you a list of all the births, marriages, deaths, burials and coronations that have occurred for the Monarchs and Consorts of England, Scotland and the United Kingdom.
1st:
Birth month, or it could be April, of future Queen Margaret of Scotland, 1283, Tonsberg, Norway.

Birth of future Queen Consort Caroline of Ansbach, 1683, Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire. Consort of King George II.

2nd:
Death of Queen Consort Anne of Denmark, 1619, Hampton Court Palace. Consort of King James VI.
Death of Queen Consort Anne of Denmark, 1619, Hampton Court Palace. Consort of King James VI.
Birth of future King Robert II of Scotland, 1316, Paisley Abbey.

3rd:
Death of Queen Consort Matilda of Bolougne, 1152, Hedingham Castle, Essex. Consort of King Stephen.

4th:
Death of Queen Consort Joan of England, 1238, Havering-Atte-Bower, England. Consort of King Alexander II of Scotland.
Coronation of Queen Consort Phillipa of Hainault, 1330, Westminster Abbey. Consort of King Edward III.
Reign 1 ends of King Henry VI after being deposed, 1461.
Reign 1 ends of Queen Consort Margaret of Anjou, 1461. Consort of King Henry VI.
Reign 1 begins of King Edward IV, 1461.

5th:
Birth of future King Henry II, 1133, Le Mans, France.
Burial of Queen Mary II, 1695, Westminster Abbey.

6th:
Burial 1 of King Richard II, 1400, Kings Langley. Moved to Westminster Abbey in 1413.

8th:
Death of King William III, 1702, Kensington Palace.
Reign begins of Queen Anne, 1702.
Reign begins of Consort Prince George of Denmark, 1702.

10th:
Marriage of King Edward VII to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, 1863, St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

16th:
Death of Queen Consort Anne Neville, 1485, Westminster. Consort of King Richard III.

17th:
Death of King Lulach of Scotland, 1058, Essie.
Birth of future King James IV, 1473, Stirling Castle.

19th:
Death of King Alexander II of Scotland, 1286, Kinghorn Ness, Fife.
End of reign of Queen Yolande of Dreux, 1236, consort of King Alexander II of Scotland.
Reign begins of Queen Margaret of Scotland, 1236.

20th:
Divorce of King David II of Scotland from Margaret Drummond, 1370
Reign ends of Scottish Queen Consort Margaret Drummond, 1370.
Death of King Henry IV, 1413, Westminster.
Reign ends of Queen Consort Joan of Navarre, 1413. Consort of King Henry IV.
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21st:
Reign begins of King Henry V, 1413.
Death of former King Henry VI, 1471, Tower of London.

22nd:
Coronation of Queen Consort Matilda of Bolougne, 1136, Consort of King Stephen.

23rd:
Birth of future Queen Consort Margaret of Anjou, 1430, Pont-A-Mousson, Lorraine, France. Consort of King Henry VI.

24th:
Death of Queen Elizabeth, 1603, Richmond Palace, Surrey.
Reign begins of King James VI, 1603.
Reign begins of Queen Consort Anne of Denmark, 1603, Consort of King James VI.
Death of Dowager Queen Consort Mary of Teck, 1953, Marlborough House, London. Consort of King George V.

25th:
Approximate start of the reign of King Malcolm II of Scotland 1005
Reign begins of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland, 1306.
Reign begins of Queen Consort Elizabeth de Burgh, 1306, Consort of King Robert I.
Coronation of King Robert I, 1306.
Coronation of Queen Consort Elizabeth de Burgh, 1306, Consort of King Robert 1.
Coronation of King James II of Scotland, 1437, Holyrood Abbey.
Burial of Queen Consort Anne Neville, 1485, Westminster Abbey. Consort of King Richard III.

26th:
Possible birth date of the future King Malcolm III, 1031, Scotland.
Coronation of King Robert II of Scotland, 1371.
Coronation of Queen Consort Eupemia de Ross, 1371. Consort of King Robert II.
Burial of King Richard III, 2015, Leicester Cathedral.

27th:
Death of King James VI, 1625, Theobalds House.
Death of King James VI, 1625, Theobalds House.
Reign begins of King Charles I, 1625.
Reign begins of King Charles I, 1625.

29th:
Burial of King Alexander III, 1286, Dunfermline Abbey.

30th:
Death of Dowager of Queen Consort Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons, 2002, Royal Lodge, Windsor.

31st:
Burial of Dowager Queen Consort Mary of Teck, 1953, St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
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So that’s March covered for you.

As we’ve all got to stay home and avoid social contact I thought I’d tell you about a genealogy idea I’ve had.
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I was thinking the other day about different ways to record my ancestors. I was looking at a blank family tree and wondered if I could use this for chart for other purposes. There great for just having the names of your ancestors on but what else can they be used for.

So I started by using the tree as a way to record the places where my ancestors were born. I followed the tree as you would usually complete it only adding where they were born rather than their names. This way I can track the migration of my ancestors. As you can see they moved around a lot. It gives you an indication as to the towns and cities they were in at birth. It shows all the moves your ancestor had to make to get to you.
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I decided to take this further and use the same tree but I just used the counties my ancestors were from instead.

This is more of use if you’re showing your tree to others. You may know where places are but others may not. For example I wouldn’t imagine many people know where Tottington is, (or was as it is now on a military restricted zone). So if you use the counties method then you can see that Tottington is in Norfolk.
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So I decided to follow this method and use it for where my ancestors died. It allows you see at a glance where you ancestors died and thus gives you a reminder as to where to search for their burials and death notices. You can also use the same method with counties.

Now here is where the trees can be used side by side. If you compare them you can see how your ancestor moved around the country. You could also modify the tree to show where your ancestors got married. This could give you a better view of where your ancestors moved around the country.

How about using the tree to record how your ancestors died. If you substitute a name for a cause of death then you can see at a glance how all your ancestors died as well as showing any patterns within families which could show and hereditary illnesses.

You could also make the boxes larger and combine all the information into one tree. So for example you would have your ancestor’s name, place of birth, marriage place, death location and cause of death. This would make the tree rather large, but it could be possible to do if you draw your own, or use excel like I did.

It’s not just trees you could do this with. You could use a fan chart in the same way. This would mean you could get more ancestors in one place and can see more trends throughout your ancestors. As the fan chart goes further out the boxes get much small so they can be more difficult to write in so you could use colours, numbers or shadings for each county or place. So in the case of Yorkshire you could use a different shade of blue per county, for example light blue for South Yorkshire, a mid blue for West Yorkshire, dark blue for North Yorkshire and denim blue for East Yorkshire. As long as you make sure to use a key you can use whatever you like.
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So why not experiment with the charts and forms you use and try and find new and interesting ways to use them and honour you ancestors.

Know I bet your thinking what is she on about? Who is Isabella Mayson? Well you may know her better by her married name of Isabella Beeton.

Isabella Mary Mayson was born in London on the 14th March 1836 to Benjamin Mayson and his wife Elizabeth Jerrom. She had 2 younger sisters and a younger brother. When she was 4 her father died and she went to live with her grandfather. She eventually went back to live with her mother. When she was 7 her mother married Henry Dorling the clerk of Epsom race course. Henry had 4 children of his own so it was a large family living at the race course. It got even bigger after Elizabeth and Henry had 13 more children. This taught Isabella a lot about running a large household and raising a family. To be honest most days must have been crowed control in the Mayson Dorling household. Isabella spent time at boarding schools in London and Germany and it was in Germany she began an interest in pastry which continued when she returned to Epsom.

Isabella married Samuel Orchart Beeton in July 1855 at St Martin’s Church, Epsom. Samuel was a publisher who made his fortune publishing Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Samuel encouraged Isabella to write for the women’s magazines of the day including The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine. It was in the magazine that she encouraged women to send in their recipes which they published, usually unsourced. Isabella also translated French texts and had a cooker column. Isabella also had a column in the new magazine The Queen, The Ladies newspaper.
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It was in 1861 that Isabella published her most famous work the Book of Household Management through her husband’s publishing house. The book was 1112 pages long and in the first year sold over 60,000 copies. All the aspiring women wanted a copy. The book held a wealth of information in it. The book held around 900 recipes most of which were the ones that were sent into The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine. The book also gave information on how to run the household including how to manage the servants and look after the animals of the house. She also advocates the use of in season produce. There is also information on basic first aid and poisons. I’m not sure if it’s how to uses them or how to avoid them. Mind you the way I cook if it explained how to survive my food then it could help. Later editions of the book included pictures and the book is still in print today.

Isabella continued her work in the magazines and with her book throughout her marriage as well as being a mother. She gave birth to 4 sons and had several miscarriages. Her first son Samuel Orchart Beeton was born in May 1857 but he died in August the same year. Her second son Samuel Orchart Beeton was born in September 1859 and he died on New Year’s Eve of the same year. The couple’s third child was born in December 1863 and he was named Orchart Beeton and he lived until the age of 83 in 1947. Their final child was Mayson Moss Beeton who was born in January 1865 and he also died in 1947 aged 82. It may be that Isabella’s husband had syphilis when the couple married and it was this that caused the miscarriages.

Isabella died on the 6th February 1865 aged 28 just 9 days after giving birth to Mayson. She died from puerperal fever or childbed fever. This is a bacterial infection and is similar to sepsis. It’s the same thing Queen Jane Seymour died from.
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So just think how many of your ancestors have read this book since it was published in 1861. Did my great, great grandmothers pick up a book? I can just see Charlotte Weeds nee Voyce in her cottage in Norfolk with the book or Louisa Dent nee Payling in the Red Lion in Wisbech. How about Jane Jessop nee Wood cooking up a storm in Barnsley waiting for her slater husband to come home. How about Grace Elshaw nee Moor cooking for her family and running the household waiting for her forger son in law to come home. I may never know if they read it but maybe they did.

Today is world book day to promote reading especially in kids. These days we pick up our e reader and download the latest books or go to the book shop and get our hands on a proper book. We have books everywhere from the libraries to the shelves at home. We read everything from a good murder mystery to a political thriller to a good paranormal book. But what were our ancestors reading?
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Now for me it would be a great paranormal book full of werewolves and vampires. But then there are the great books that combine genealogy, history and mystery. I love 2 series of these book, the Morton Farrier books by Nathan Dylan Goodwin and the Steve Robinson series based around Jefferson Tayte. There are more series out there but these are my favourite. Then there’s a good history book whether fact or fiction. I’m a fan of anything by Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir.

In 1950 one of the best selling books was Animal Farm by Orson Wells (I prefer Orson’s farm the cartoon series). The book is basically a look at what was happening in 1940’s Europe told through the eyes of animals portraying the main political figures. For the younger reader the frankly excellent The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis was published. This is the story of 4 evacuated children who enter another world through a wardrobe and the side of good under the command of Aslan the Lion take on the evil side of the Witch.

If we go further back to 1900 the grownups could pick up a copy of The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud and for the kids it was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum. I’ll admit I’ve never read either but they were all the rage at the time. Maybe my Great Grandparents or Great, Great Grandparents picked up a copy.

In 1890 you could read the latest Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (he wasn’t knighted until 1902) or for the kids there was English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. This was a collection of fairy tales including some well-known ones such as Jack and the Beanstalk and less known ones such as The Fish and the Ring. If you’re interested you can read the book here: https://archive.org/details/englishfairytale00jaco

Let’s go back to 1880 where our ancestors may have settled down to read the latest Mark Twain A Tramp Abroad or for the little ones Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio.
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Now in 1870 one of the most famous nursery rhymes was written in the Owl and the Pussycat. For the older reader they could read the latest by the French writer Jules Verne. They could descend under the waves on board the Nautilus and attempt to find the sea monster through Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.

The 1860’s saw Wilkie Collins publish the novel the Woman in White which was a good old who done it. If this wasn’t our ancestor’s bag then maybe they would have reached for the new novel by George Eliot The Mill on the Floss which follows the lives of 2 siblings as they grow up.

1850 would have seen people reading for David Copperfield (the book not a person) by Charles Dickens and in 1840 Edgar Allan Poe published his Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque which was a collection of short stories.

1830 saw the publishing of the novel The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck by Mary Shelley which considered that Perkin Warbeck was actually Richard of York the second son of King Edward IV. For the children why not the Chronicles of a School Room by Anna Maria Hall.

Back in 1820 the novel of the year was Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott which is set in medieval Scotland in the 12th century. 1810 could have seen your ancestor’s reading the latest by Percy Bysshe Shelley entitled Zastrozzi which is a romance set in Germany.

Now some of these books are still loved today by some even if they just know the books by film and TV adaptations but they do still live on and can be read by us today.
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I suppose what we should remember in all this is that we have access to books and we can all read them when we want. This wasn’t a luxury our ancestors may have had. They may not have been able to read and books would have been too expensive for them to buy. The central library in Sheffield didn’t open until 1934 so before then you would have to buy your books. So this world book day why not settle down with a book you’ve being bursting to read and lose yourself in the pages. Now will it be Freddy the Frog, Don’t Forget the Bacon or Eric Carle’s seminal work The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

February may be the shortest month of the year but for the history of the Monarchy it was quite busy.
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1st February 1327 was the coronation of King Edward III. He came to the throne following the death of his father Edward II. He came to the throne aged 14 on the 25th January 1327 and was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

2nd February 1626 was the date of the coronation of King Charles I. His reign began on the 27th March 1625 when his father James VI (under the new convention) died. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey but his wife Henrietta Maria of France was not crowned alongside him as she was of the Catholic faith and as such could not be crowned in a Church of England ceremony.

6th February 1685 saw the death of King Charles II at Whitehall Palace several days after he suffered a seizure. Charles and his wife Catherine of Braganza didn’t have any children, although Charles was rumoured to have had as many as 14 illegitimate children, so he was succeeded by his brother James as King James VII (under the new convention) whose reign began on this day. It was also the date of the birth of the future Queen Anne in 1665. She was born at St James Palace to the future King James VII and his first wife Anne Hyde.

7th February 1102 was the date of birth of Matilda, the daughter of King Henry 1. She would later become the Empress Consort of the Holy Roman Empire and then Lady of the English during the Medieval Anarchy. She was also the mother of the Plantagenet dynasty in England through her marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet and their descendants. The 7th of February also saw the marriage of King Henry IV to Joanna of Navarre, the daughter of the King of Navarre, at Winchester Cathedral. It was the Kings second marriage and produced no issues.

9th February 1649 was the burial date of King Charles I following his execution for treason on the 30th January 1649. Charles was not allowed to be buried at Westminster Abbey so he was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

12th February 1554 was a black day. It was the date that Queen Jane was executed at the Tower of London and then buried within the Tower at St Peter ad Vincular. She was executed on the orders of her cousin Queen Mary as she feared Jane would be a focal point for a Protestant uprising. Jane’s husband Guildford Dudley was also executed on the same day.

14th February 1400 is the date when it was believed that King Richard II died at Pontefract Castle. He may have starved to death, although no one is really sure. Richard had been force to abdicate the year before in favour of his cousin King Henry IV. This date was also the date of the burial of King Charles II in 1685 at Westminster Abbey.

15th February 1516 saw the future Queen Mary enter the world at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London. She was the only surviving child of King Henry VIII and his first wife Queen Catherine of Aragon and would become Queen after the death of her half-brother King Edward VI in 1553.

16th February 1547 was the burial day of King Henry VIII. Henry had died on the 28th January at Whitehall Palace in London. His body was transferred to St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle where he was buried alongside his third wife Queen Jane Seymour.

20th February 1547 was the day King Edward VI was crowned King at Westminster Abbey. He ascended the throne aged 9 after the death of his father King Henry VIII. He would reign until his death in 1553.

25th February 1308 saw another coronation in Westminster Abbey. It was on this day that King Edward II was crowned. He became King after the death of his father King Edward I on the 8th July 1307. Edward was crowned alongside his new bride Isabella of France.
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So lots happen in the monarchy in February. Why not try coming up with a similar list for your own family.

This week the new £20 note enters circulation in the UK, but did you know that on the 26th February 1797 the first £1 was issued. The bank of England did this as a result of the panic the Invasion of Fishguard created. But what was the invasion of Fishguard?

It’s the year 1797 and Britain is about to be invaded for the last time by a foreign force. The location, the towns of Fishguard and Goodwick in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The invaders, the French.
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Now anyone who knows the area will tell you it’s a quiet place with a nice walk along the parrog at Goodwick and the old harbour of Fishguard. At the time of the invasion the area was deeply agricultural (as it is today) and small fishing vessels would have been out and about. 

So how did this come about? Well it’s was a kind of past time that the French had a go at the British and we had a go back. On the 22th February 1797 it was the French’s turn. They thought if they invaded the people of Britain would join forces with them against the nobility and land owners in an attempt to gain more rights. The French people had successfully done this in the late 1780’s early 1790’s during the French Revolution.

The French were under the command of Colonel William Tate, who incidentally was of Irish American ancestry, and disliked the British as some of his family were killed during the American Revolution. What better way to get back at us than to invade. He had 4 ships loaded with around 1400 soldiers, around 600 regular troops and the rest were ex and part time soldiers as well as criminals. He anchored his ships 2 miles from Fishguard and the landing parties began.

There was panic amongst the people as you can imagine. They took up arms under the command of Thomas Knox who was a local landowner. They used any weapon they could find including the scythes from the land and what guns they had.

The French were busily looting in the surrounding areas and farms where their main target so they could get food and steal what valuables they could find. In one instance a French soldiers shot a grandfather clock thinking it was a person. As a side note the clock still exists with its hole. By the second day of the invasion it was reported that many of the French soldiers were rather merry on the wine and beer they had found.

The locals had had enough and moved to where the French were with their makeshift weapons and began capturing them. It’s said that the local shoemaker Jemima Nicholas who was in her late 40’s captures 12 soldiers using only a pitch folk and marched them back to Fishguard. She allegedly later brought 2 more to the town, one under each arm (well she was described as a well-built lady).

Now Colonel Tate was at an impasse. His ships had returned to France as he was convinced of his success, but the locals were closing in on them. He then got the shock of his life when he saw British armed soldiers heading in his direction. What he actually saw was Welsh women in the traditional costumes who from a distance could be mistaken for soldiers by their hats (there is some debate about whether this is true but I love the story). 

As a result the Colonel surrendered that night to the British commander Lord Cawdor. The next day the people of the town gathered to watch the capture of the remaining soldiers. So by 4pm on the 24th February 1797 it was all over. The jovial French set off to walk to Haverfordwest and the prisons and churches (which were used as an overflow prison). The prisoners remained in the area until the following year when they were returned to France, Tate included, under a prisoner exchange.

So in just 3 days the last invasion of Britain was over. The French were defeated and no one would try and invade our lands again. Jemima Nicholas was the heroine of the day and she lived until 1832 when she died aged 82.

If you go to Fishguard there is a tapestry depicting the events of the invasion. It was made in 1997 and is designed along the same lines as the Bayeux tapestry. It can be seen in Fishguard town hall. There is also a video made of the recreation of the capture of the French which was done in 1997 (I’ve seen some of it, but homework called!), the lady playing Jemima certainly gave it her all.
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So we can really thank the French for giving our ancestors a new currency note. Mind you most probably never got to see them.

This week sees the anniversary of Malcolm Campbell breaking the land speed record again. It got me thinking how different the speeds he was achieving were from those of the general public.

Malcolm Campbell was born in 1885 in Kent. He first took up motorcycle racing in the 1900’s and then cars as well in the 1910’s. It was with the cars that he started to call them Blue Bird. During WW1 he started out as a dispatch rider and was then in the Royal Flying Corp as a pilot.

It was in the 1920’s when he began taking on speed records, as well as Grand Prix racing. In 1927 and 1928 he won the French GP. Campbell first broke the land speed record in 1924 on Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire, Wales when he achieved 146 mph in a V12 Sunbeam beating Ernest Eldridge’s record of 145mph. He then broke this record again in 1927 at 174 mph in the Napier Campbell Blue Bird also at Pendine Sands beating Parry Thomas’ 170mph record set on the beach. For his next 2 records he took to the USA. In 1931 on Dayton Beach he achieved 244mph beating Henry Segrave who achieved 231mph. The result of this record earned Campbell a Knighthood from the King. He continued getting faster and faster but when he moved the attempts to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and with his car Blue Bird he achieved 301mph beating his own record he set on Dayton beach of 276mph.

Campbell then moved to the water and took on the water speed record which he achieved in 1939 on Conniston Water in the lake district of England when he achieved 141mph in Blue Bird K4 beating his own record of 126mph he achieved in Blue Bird K3.

Sir Malcolm Campbell died in 1948. Unlike most of his fellow speed men he died as a result of a stroke and not behind the wheel of a vehicle.

So how did these speeds compare with what regular drivers were achieving? Well despite what you might think drivers never had to have someone walking along with a flag in front of them and it was the technology of the day that limited the speed, to an extent.

In the UK until 1931 the speed limit was 20mph, so when Campbell broke his first record at 146mph he was 126 mph faster than he could drive on the roads. Admittedly when he broke the records between 1931 and 1935 there was actually no speed limit in the UK. You really could go as fast as you wanted. Let’s put that into perspective. In the 1920’s the fastest production car in the world was the American Dusenberg Model J which could achieve 119mph. The UK Government decided this was daft as people were speeding along and unfortunately hitting people. So in 1935 they introduced a speed limit of 30mph in built up areas but else where you could still go as fast as you wanted. Thus on the early motorways car companies used them as test tracks late at night. It wasn’t until 1965 that the 70mph limit was introduced. But if you think about it the last speed record set by a car with an internal combustion engine was in 1947 at 394mph. That’s 324mph higher then we can do now.
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Can you imagine the speed in the 1920’s at 20mph. Your ancestors would have been astounded if they could go in a car, as unless they had gone on a train or had a really fast horse they wouldn’t have known such speed. These days 70mph is the norm on motorways and 125mph on the trains. Planes are a little faster at around 500mph so when you jet off abroad you are faster than the land speed record of an internal combustion engine but not as fast as Wing Commander Andy Green who hold the record in a jet powered car of 760mph.

Me, the fastest I’ve gone is 125mph on a train, although I swear when I fell down the stairs as a kid I was going much faster! I have driven along Pendine Sands in a car and a mobility scooter but I didn’t achieve Malcolm Campbell’s speeds. That was back when you could still take your car on the beach and drive along.