The Family Histories Podcast

The Family Histories Podcast is a show that celebrates those of us sat in archives, libraries, and spare bedrooms all around the world, tirelessly piecing together our collective social and family history.

Join author and family historian Andrew Martin as he interviews a fellow genealogy addict about how they got hooked; listen to his guest tell the life story of their most fascinatingly good, bad, or plain ugly relative; and then it's time to face 'The Brick Wall' - where it's over to the listeners to see if they can help solve their family history puzzle.

As a parting gift, Andrew offers each guest a surprise that no family history fan could possibly turn down.... a trip in his secret time machine.

Find out more at: familyhistoriespodcast.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/familyhistpod.bsky.social
Instagram: @FamilyHistPod
Facebook: TheFamilyHistoriesPodcast
Twitter: @FamilyHistPod

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Top 10 The Family Histories Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Family Histories Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Family Histories Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Family Histories Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

S03EP08 - The Great (Bonus)

The Family Histories Podcast

07/19/22 • 5 min

In this short Series Three bonus episode, we return right back to the ending of Episode Seven, where guest Sheldon K. Goodman and host Andrew Martin are facing a perilous fate where a bearded stranger has them both held at sword-point.
Who is this stranger, where did he come from, and what does he want?
- - -
Episode Credits
Series Three, Episode Eight (Bonus)

Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Sheldon K. Goodman - Guest
Prince Sterling - Charlemagne
Yetunde Abiola - Guest

Show notes and more at: familyhistoriespodcast.com

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S07EP09 - 'The Place' with Dr. Angela Buckley, Dr. Nick Barratt, and Christine Payne

The Family Histories Podcast

09/20/24 • 31 min

It's our 50th guest episode! So, to celebrate this special milestone episode, host Andrew Martin decides to head to the Society of Genealogists to meet three guests taking part in the annual All About That Place event. However, he doesn't quite end up where he expected...
All About That Place is a series of talks brought to us by the Society of Genealogists, supported by the Society of One-Place Studies, British Association for Local History and Genealogy Stories. You can join in with the All About That Place event, running from September 27, to October 6, 2024 online to find out all the details at https://www.subscribepage.com/allaboutthatplace

THE INTERVIEW - DR. ANGELA BUCKLEY
Andrew meets crime, policing, forensics historian, and author Dr. Angela Buckley and finds out how she got hooked on researching family history and crime history. He hears how she finds and follows the criminals and detectives, and about her relative's own criminal activities!
THE LIFE STORY - ERICA DOREEN FULLER with DR. NICK BARRATT
Next, Andrew meets genealogist, author, Medievalist, and broadcaster (The House Detectives, Hidden House Histories, Who Do You Think You Are?) Dr. Nick Barratt and hears about his grandmother Erica Doreen Fuller who was born in 1911 in Belgium. He finds that she was sort-of informally fostered into care at a remote farm house in Norfolk, England... but as he found out, not all was quite as it seemed...
THE BRICK WALL - JOSEPH QUIN with CHRISTINE PAYNE
Andrew meets family and social historian Christine Payne - the winner of the All About That Place prize draw, and hears about her brick wall - her paternal Great Grandfather Joseph Quin who was born in 1840.
In 1897, Joseph walks into Brixton Prison in London, and confesses to bigamy.. but what motivated him to do so - was he being blackmailed or did he want to face up to his crime?
Christine is also trying to find his date and place of death - as after his jail sentence he appears to go missing.
If you think you can help Christine with a research clue or idea, then you can message her at the email address she gives within the episode, or alternatively you can send us a message and we'll pass it straight on to her.
In the meantime, Andrew offers Christine some help, but he has a secret to reveal first...
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Episode Credits

Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Dr. Angela Buckley - Guest
Dr. Nick Barratt - Guest
Christine Payne - Guest
Else Churchill - Guest
John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

S01EP01 - 'The Tyrant' with Daniel Smith-Ramos

The Family Histories Podcast

06/01/21 • 49 min

In this first episode of Series One of The Family Histories Podcast sees host Andrew Martin talks to his guest Daniel Smith-Ramos - a genealogist with Spanish, English, and Italian-American ancestry. Daniel explains how he got hooked on researching his family history, the challenges of researching in Spain and the Spanish language, and we'll find out about how his new venture Revista Descendientes hopes to help make it easier.
THE LIFE STORY - ALONSO MARTÍNEZ
Daniel chooses to share the life story of his tyrannical 5x Great Grandfather Alonso Martínez (1765-1837) from Galicia, Spain, whose hypocritical and calculative behaviour manipulates his entire family, leaving them feeling alienated.
THE BRICK WALL - MARY ELIZABETH VICKRESS
Finally, Daniel will introduce us to his current research Brick Wall - Mary Elizabeth Vickress - a Victorian woman who seemingly outlived her entire family, only to go missing in 1886 in Birmingham, UK.
Can you help Daniel to find the next clue in this mystery that could bring that brick wall crashing down? If so, you can message Daniel via his twitter @DSRGenealogist, or alternatively you can head over to our contact form and we'll pass your message on to him.
In the meantime, Andrew offers Daniel some help with solving this puzzle using something he keeps in his garage....
- - -

Episode credits
Series One, Episode One:
Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Daniel Smith-Ramos - Guest
Eliot Lees - Foley
Show notes: familyhistoriespodcast.com.

S03EP01 - 'The Benefactor' with Denise Geelhart

The Family Histories Podcast

05/03/22 • 50 min

In this first episode of Series Three, host Andrew Martin meets genealogist and fellow podcaster Denise Geelhart. He'll find out how she got hooked on family history, how she researches her American and German roots, and balances that with researching the family history of the perpetrators and victims of true crime for her Murderous Roots podcast.
Life Story: Joseph Haberstroh
Denise has chosen her German 3x Gt Grandfather, Joseph Haberstroh, who was born near Frieberg im Breisgau, in Baden, Germany in 1843. However, along with his parents and siblings, he left Germany during the 1848 Revolution, travelled to France, and then emigrated to the USA, where they arrived after many months (including a birth of another sibling) in 1850.
Joining his uncles, Joseph and his family were able to start life a-fresh in their new adoptive homeland. After a few years serving in the American Civil War, Joseph married and raised his own family. The family's success enabled Joseph to make a donation to the Lutheran church in which he married his wife Elizabeth, and the bell still rings out to the residents of St. Louis today.
Joseph's ability to start from scratch and build up wealth and property, earned him a legacy that still bears his name today, and it's something that Denise and her family are immensely proud of.... particularly an unusual family recipe for a 'German Christmas Cake'.
The Brick Wall: Nancy Romines
One of Denise's 2x Great Grandmothers - Nancy Romines - is her research brick wall.
Nancy was born in Tennessee, USA on 11th August 1851, possibly in Putnam County. Whilst Denise knows mostly about what became of her, she has no clear evidence of her origins.
Information that Denise has previously received, stated that a Thomas Romines and Phoebe were her parents, but she has since discovered this cannot be correct, because according to a probate record, Thomas Romines died in 1835 - 16 years before Nancy's birth.

Was Nancy her real name?
Was Nancy a child of Isaac or George Romines?
What's the link between Nancy and Thomas senior, which the DNA seems to show?

If you think that you can help Denise with a clue or research idea, then you can contact at on Twitter at @Jayhawkmommy, via the email address Denise gives in the episode, or alternatively over at the MurderousRoots.com website. You can also just head over to our show contact form, and we'll pass your message on to her.
In the meantime, Denise is curious of Andrew's offer of help to solve her brick wall, but she's concerned about its safety...
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Episode Credits:
Series Three, Episode One:

Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Denise Geelhart - Guest

Show notes and more at

S08EP03 - 'The Collier' with Adam Simpson-York

The Family Histories Podcast

11/19/24 • 39 min

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 church on time...
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Episode Credits:

Andrew Martin - Host and Producer

S05EP07 - 'The Shoemaker' with Kelly Cornwell

The Family Histories Podcast

06/13/23 • 51 min

In this final episode of Series Five, host Andrew Martin meets professional genealogist Kelly Cornwell and hears about her love of researching family history, and how that led on to her going professional, as well as her work on an extremely niche One-Place Study.
The Life Story - Rebecca Monksfield
Kelly has chosen to tell the life story of her 5x Great Aunt Rebecca Monksfield of Shoreditch, London, who, like her mother, worked for a shoe factory.
However, a chance search in newspapers followed by a search on the Old Bailey Online site, revealed that Rebecca was seemingly not been the model employee. She was charged with the theft and sale of many stolen pairs of shoes. She was found guilty and her punishment was given as transportation for 7 years. So, as a teenager, she was taken from London and sent to Tasmania, Australia.
Despite still serving her sentence, Rebecca continued to to test, bend, and break rules in her new country - some of which Kelly seems to admire her for!
The Brick Wall - Rebecca Monksfield
Kelly is annoyed that she can't find Rebecca Monksfield in Hobart, Tasmania after 1836, and so it's her later life that she has chosen to ask for your help with. Despite help from the Tasmanian archives, and numerous other sites including Trove, she can't find a death or a marriage.

What happened to Rebecca Monksfield after 1836?
Did she die, or did she change her name to start a new life?
Did she marry?
Did she travel home or move somewhere else?

If you think you can help Kelly with a clue or a research idea, then you can email her on the address she gives in the episode, or you can contact her via her website, her Twitter, of Facebook page. Alternatively, you can send us a message via our contact form, and we'll pass that on.
In the meantime, Kelly jumps at the chance of some help from Andrew, but something very strange is about to happen...

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Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Kelly Cornwell - Guest
Daniel Loftus - Guest

S07EP01 - 'The Aunt' with Jackie Kohnstamm

The Family Histories Podcast

05/07/24 • 38 min

In this first episode of Series Seven, host Andrew Martin meets Jackie Kohnstamm - a lecturer, author, playwright, and family historian. Jackie tells Andrew how she got hooked on researching family histories after hearing stories with missing bits, and then finding letters. She tells him what motivated her to write her book 'The Memory Keeper: A Journey Into The Holocaust To Find My Family', and...
THE LIFE STORY - CHARLOTTE RYCHWALSKI
Jackie has chosen to tell the life story of her maternal aunt, Charlotte Rychwalski (known as 'Lotte').
It's clear from Jackie's description of Charlotte, that she has some very fond memories of her aunt being the daring, and fascinating relative who would bring excitement into the family home after the Second World War, but through the memories Charlotte shared, and a cache of letters, Jackie has been able to discover more about her life.
THE BRICK WALL - JUTTA TOWNSEND
Jackie is looking for one of her maternal cousins - Jutta - the surviving descendant of a family that was sadly murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Jutta Rychwalski escaped from Germany on one of the Kindertransport trains.
Jackie knows that Jutta was married at least once, perhaps twice, but her last husband was named Frederick Townsend, and they lived in the Wakefield area of Yorkshire. Jutta is known to have died in the Wakefield area in 2012 aged 87 years, having been predeceased by Frederick in 1982. The couple had a son named Steven in 1955, but he died in 1973.
Jackie would like your help to discover more about her cousin's life.
If you think you can help Jackie with a clue or research idea, then you can send us a message via our contact form, and we'll pass the message straight on to her.
In the meantime, Jackie is fascinated by Andrew's offer of help, but can he get her to the church on time?
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Episode Credits:

Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Jackie Kohnstamm - Guest

S06EP06 - 'The Runaway' with Teresa Vega

The Family Histories Podcast

12/12/23 • 50 min

In this Sixth episode of Series Six, host Andrew Martin meets family historian Teresa Vega and finds out how she got hooked on researching family history, how her background in anthropology has helped her research, her adventures with DNA testing to trace her Ramapough Lenape Nation ancestors, and her work on the Family Tree DNA Malagasy Roots project with TV's DNA Detective CeCe Moore.
THE LIFE STORY - ANTONIA 'TUN' SNYDER
Teresa has chosen to tell the life story of her 4x Great Grandmother, Antonia Snyder known as 'Tun', who was born circa 1790. Her mother's family had roots in Madagascar.
Teresa found an 1815 advert in a New York newspaper for a runaway slave - Tun. Crucially, this gave Teresa the key to solving her father's identity. Having found him, she was able to find her mother and siblings too.
Despite having been on the run from her enslaver, she does return to households of some of the big enslaver families in the area, where she is traded whilst having 13 children. She died in 1881.
THE BRICK WALL - ROBERT HENRY FISHER
It's a close-to-home brick wall for Teresa - her Gt Grandfather Robert Henry Fisher. He was born circa 1898 but was legally declared dead in the 1930s after going missing.
Whilst the death is not the point of interest, it's his origins that have spawned conflicting stories and theories - one tells of him being a descendant of Jewish traders in White Plains, New York, whilst others point to a Cuban connection.
Despite her efforts to analyse the DNA for clues about Robert's family, fascinating gaps seem to hide the answer.

Was Fisher/Fischer actually his surname?
Who were his parents?
Does he descend from the Dutch merchants?

If you think that you have a clue or a research idea that could bring Teresa's brick wall crashing down, then you can contact her at the email address she gives in the episode, or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it straight on to her.
In the meantime, Teresa is keen for Andrew's help, but will he be able to get her to the right place?
- - -
Episode Credits:

Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Teresa Vega - Guest

S08EP04a - The Nightingale of Iran (Bonus)

The Family Histories Podcast

11/30/24 • 34 min

Hello folks,
I had such a lovely time recording our episode 'The Nightingale' with Danielle and Galeet Dardashti, that after having talked with them at length about the old tape cassette recordings of family conversations, celebrations, singing, and music that Danielle had found stashed in a box in their parents' basement, we decided it would be nice for you to hear some of those recordings for yourself!
So, here's the full first episode of The Nightingale of Iran, aptly titled "The Time Machine" for you to listen to. You can find the rest of their series by searching wherever you enjoy your podcasts, or alternatively head over to www.nightingaleofiran.com.
We'll be back, as usual, on 3rd December, with our next full episode of Series Eight - 'The Marine' with professional genealogist Richard Holt.
Thank you for listening,
Andrew

S08EP06 - 'The Homesick' with Jennifer Jones

The Family Histories Podcast

12/10/24 • 40 min

In this episode of Series Eight, host Andrew meets Australian genealogist Jennifer Jones, who tells him about how she got hooked on researching family history, her motivation to blog her research, and her One-Place Study in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
THE LIFE STORY - THOMAS WATERS
Jennifer has chosen to tell the life story of Thomas Waters, her 2x Great Grandfather who was born in 1829 in the little village of Dunton in Bedfordshire, England, but in 1852 he emigrates to Australia. It has always baffled Jennifer quite why he did this, but it's been fascinating to speculate.
Once out there, Thomas writes home to his family, and through a fortunate cache of letters being deposited in an archive, Jennifer has been able to read his words and can see that he really was homesick. It appears that he didn't necessarily want to move so far away, and that his family back home did not particularly want to write to him either.
THE BRICK WALL - JAMES McEWAN
It's a research dead end for a Captain James McEwan that causes Jennifer's Brick Wall. Unfortunately, his name also comes with variants, including McQueen.
Jennifer has traced James back to his military career with the 33rd Regiment Foot in Jamaica, where he is a landowner and also unfortunately the owner of an enslaved person.
Whilst Jennifer knows that he leaves Jamaica, and ends up in Australia in 1832 via a return to the UK, she doesn't know his origins. She knows he's born about 1796 and it's thought that there is a connection to Scotland, and perhaps his surname reflects this, but she is yet to find any evidence.
If you think that you can help Jennifer with a research clue or idea, then you can send her a message at her Twitter or Bluesky account or via the email address she gives in the episode. Alternatively, you can send a message via our contact form and we'll pass it on to her.
In the meantime, Andrew and Sándor offer Jennifer some help, but will she take it?
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Episode Credits:

Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Jennifer Jones - Guest
John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

For more episodes on researching genealogy within Australia check out:

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Family Histories Podcast have?

The Family Histories Podcast currently has 74 episodes available.

What topics does The Family Histories Podcast cover?

The podcast is about Family History, Leisure, Hobbies, Genealogy, History, Ancestry, Podcasts and Dna.

What is the most popular episode on The Family Histories Podcast?

The episode title 'S03EP08 - The Great (Bonus)' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Family Histories Podcast?

The average episode length on The Family Histories Podcast is 38 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Family Histories Podcast released?

Episodes of The Family Histories Podcast are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Family Histories Podcast?

The first episode of The Family Histories Podcast was released on Mar 29, 2021.

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The Family Histories Podcast