The Family Histories Podcast

In this second episode of Series Seven, host Andrew Martin meets professional genealogist, author, lecturer, Fellow, and former Principal Family History Specialist of the National Archives - Dave Annal. Dave tells Andrew how he got hooked on researching his family, how he ended up working for the National Archives, his thoughts and hopes on where he sees the genealogy industry going next, and his love of Wills.
THE LIFE STORY - MARGARET HOWLAND
Dave has chosen to tell the life story of his paternal Grandmother, Margaret Howland, who was born in Edinburgh in 1906 to an unmarried mother also named Margaret Howland.
Whilst both Margarets were known to be hoarders, it seems that they both continued this behaviour when it came to the identity of Dave's Great Grandfather.
However, one day, whilst on a walk to a cemetery, Margaret, then in her 80's, decided to reveal her father's identity... and the time she had shared with him.
THE BRICK WALL - THOMAS FLYNN
It's a research brick wall with Irish roots that is baffling Dave.
Whilst Thomas Flynn and his wife Catherine have been found in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1851 and 1861, Dave is unable to find out about them before and after this date.
Dave descends from one of the couple's sons, and he has that documented, but Thomas and Catherine - along with their marriage, births, baptism, and deaths, all remain a mystery.
If you think that you can help Dave with a research idea or clue, then you can contact him at his Lifelines Research website, via his @lifelines_dave Twitter account, or via the email address he gives during the episode. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it straight on to him.
In the meantime, Dave is curious of Andrew's offer of help, but is he really ready for what's in store?...
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Episode Credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Dave Annal - Guest

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In this final full episode of Series Six, host Andrew meets James Danter - a family historian who is also a professional archaeologist. Andrew learns about how he got into both of these areas, and how they overlap and help him with his research in both fields. He also asks James on his thoughts of how these two areas could work closer.
THE LIFE STORY - DARCY FOWLER
James has chosen to tell the story of his wife's ancestor, Darcy Fowler (later known as D'arcy Fowler) who trained and worked as a solicitor. However, as James' research progressed he soon uncovered a story that led Darcy to move from the UK to America, and fighting as a loyalist in the American Revolution.
THE BRICK WALL - GEORGE RICHARD CORDWELL
It's a First World War mystery that has James digging around for clues.
His 2x Great Grandfather George Richard Cordwell, born in 1894, earned medals for his work in The Great War, and James has a photograph of him in his military uniform, but beyond this, he's been unable to find any conscription, army service records, medal cards, or discharge records. Somehow, he's missing.

• Which battalion was George in?
• Does a Cordwell surname variant hide the truth?

If you think that you can help James with a research idea or a clue to turn that brick wall to dust, then you can contact him on his Twitter/X profile at @jdanter or alternatively, you can contact us and we'll send your message on to him.
In the meantime, James is hoping to dig into some new clues in Andrew’s garage, but will he strike gold, and will Andrew take a trip of his own?
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Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
James Danter - Guest

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news.

You can find us on Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

In this episode, host Andrew Martin meets genealogist Valmay Young to find out how she got into researching her far-flung family tree. We'll also hear about what it's like to work for a county archives, and her work with the Families In British India Society (FIBIS).
Relatively Speaking
Valmay chooses her 3x Gt Grandfather, Richard Sheridan Wardley. As you'll hear, he sounds like a complicated man, with regular vanishing acts, trips to the USA, his attempt to publish someone else's work, and more seriously, posing as a medical doctor. In the process, Valmay also quashed a family rumour about Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
The Brick Wall
Fred Beckwith is Valmay's 2x Gt Grandfather, and he's proving to be a mystery for her. Aside from his marriage to Selina Woolf at West Ham Registry Office in 1882, and his death in 1939, there seems to be no other trace of him. Where was his father Henry? Why is he so vague about addresses? Is Fred the link to Valmay's rumoured Romany ancestry?
Andrew tries to help Valmay with her breakthrough, but they're not alone in the garage....
Credits:
Series One, Episode Five.
Andrew Martin (Host, producer)
Valmay Young (Guest)
Eliot Lees (Foley)
John Spike (Sándor Petőfi)
Show notes: familyhistoriespodcast.com

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You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news.

You can find us on Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
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In this second episode - The Granddaddy - Andrew meets genealogist True Lewis and discovers how she got hooked on researching her family tree, what challenges she faces when researching her enslaved African-American ancestors, her work to research her American Revolutionary ancestor, and she talks about her co-host role on the Black Pro Gen Live show.
Relatively Speaking - Ike Ivery
True has chosen her 2x Great Grandfather Isaac 'Ike' Ivery for her life story.
Ike was born into slavery in Alabama, USA, but when emancipation came, it is then that his family became the Ivery family - adding an 'r' to discontinue the name of their enslaver.
Ike lived a long and full life, marrying 3 times, having 23 children, and becoming a chaplain and a farmer - and listening to this life story, you can hear just how much love and respect True and her family continue to have towards their granddaddy.
The Brick Wall - Anna Maria Lambert
It's True's 5x Great Grandmother, Anna Maria Lambert that is giving her the biggest Brick Wall headache.
Anna was born in 1764 in Albany Township, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite knowing this, and having done DNA tests that show a U5b1c2 ancestor group, True has not been able to find records that detail her parents, rumoured to be Dorothea Zimmerman and Nicholas Lambert, and she's been unable to confirm Anna's death too.
She really is True's mystery, and it's one that True believes gives her a connection to European, perhaps German, ancestors.
Can you help her find out more about Anna Maria Lambert? Do you know of records or research techniques she could try? If you think you can help True with her research, you can contact her at her website or via her Twitter account @MyTrueRoots, or over at familyhistoriespodcast.com's contact form.
In the meantime, True is keen to accept Andrew's offer of help, but her enthusiasm might just cause a bit of a problem...
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Episode Credits
Series Two, Episode Two

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• True Lewis - Guest

Show notes and more: familyhistoriespodcast.com

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news.

You can find us on Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

It's a special delivery in today's episode from Series Eight, as host Andrew Martin meets family history and military history researcher, champion eBayer, and postman, Adam Simpson-York. Andrew finds out how Adam got hooked on researching family history, how he has honed his research skills that enable him to buy family heirlooms on auction sites and then trace their living relatives, allowing him to reunite them with their descendants, and hears about his letters from a Queen.
THE LIFE STORY - DAVID EDWARD ELLIS
Adam has chosen to tell the story of his Great Grandfather David Edward Ellis, who was born in Shotton Colliery, Durham, England in 1907.
David's father William was a coal miner, originally from Wales, and this was an occupation that was synonymous with the village of Shotton Colliery - David's brother worked in the mine, and David followed suit. At the time of David's marriage in 1929 in London, he's still noted as a coal miner.
David later served in World War Two as a Driver in the Royal Army Service Corps' 18th Division Transport Company. He was captured and was forced to march with 7,000 men a distance of 290km during the wet season to Songkurai, Thailand, where he contracted cholera and died of this and tropical ulcers. His remains were exhumed and re-buried in Burma (now Myanmar).
News of his death took a very long time to reach home, and whilst a lack of letters may have hinted towards his demise, the eventual news deeply affected his son for the rest of his life.
THE BRICK WALL - THOMAS TYLER
It's a research puzzle involving his wife's Great Grandfather Thomas Tyler that has Adam stuck for ideas.
Adam knows when Thomas died, and when he married, but there's ambiguity surrounding his date of birth (circa 1910-1912), and there's also a family rumour that Thomas Tyler wasn't his real name, and a rumour that he was a minder for London gangster Jack 'The Hat' McVitie. Tantalising isn't it?
Adam's mother-in-law is going to take a DNA test to try to help solve this, but can you help Adam to identify a birth record for him? Was he really 'Thomas Tyler' or was that a pseudonym to protect his real identity during or after a potential gangster involvement? Was his father, as stated in marriage records, also 'Thomas Tyler' or did he simply not know who his father was and made it up? Can you help solve this brick wall?
If you think you can help Adam with a research clue or idea, then you can contact him via his Medals Going Home profiles on Facebook, Twitter, or BlueSky, or alternatively you can send us a message and we'll pass it along.
Meanwhile, Adam has concerns that despite their offer of help, Andrew and Sándor won't be able to deliver him to the churc

Support the show

Thank you for listening!
You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news.

You can find us on Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.