Previously on The Family Histories Podcast....

Whilst trying to send the previous episode's guest Kelly Cornwell back in time, Andrew makes a mistake and suddenly finds himself in an alternate dimension where things are the same but also a little bit different. In this reality, the host of The Family Histories Podcast is author and historian Dr. Wanda Wyporska who has been waiting for her guest - Andrew! 

In this Series Five bonus episode, Wanda hears how family historian Andrew Martin got hooked on researching his family tree, his love of family documents, his thoughts on what's next for the genealogy industry, and his work to catalogue and digitise the collection of the town archive of The Littleport Society.

The Life Story - John Goltrip
Andrew has chosen to tell the life story of his maternal 5x Great Grandfather John Goltrip who was born in 1771/1772 in Littleport, Cambridgeshire.

By the time John and his wife Elizabeth are married and having children, the Napoleonic Wars are in full swing, then The Corn Law begins which raises inflation and causes the poorest to get even poorer with food prices rocketing, and then an Indonesian volcano erupts.

Andrew explains how this combination of events culminates in his ancestor taking action as part of the Littleport Riots of 1816, and how John risked changing things forever.

The Brick Wall - Mary Clarke
It's a sense of revenge that makes Andrew so keen to solve this long-running brick wall.

In 1841, his paternal 4x Great Grandmother Mary Clarke, by then Mary Bailey, was serving a 6 month prison sentence with hard labour in a gaol in Ipswich, Suffolk, England for the neglect and abuse of her step-children.

Moving ahead a few years, and the family briefly reunites in Botesdale, Suffolk, before William dies and widowed Mary returns to the workhouse in Eye, Suffolk in 1881. This is the last trace of Mary, who by this time is about 70yrs old.  Having checked many burial, marriage, and death certificates, Andrew has not been able to finally kill off his nasty-piece-of-work.  

• What happened to Mary after the 1881 census?
• When did she die? 

If you think that you can help Andrew with a clue or a research idea, then you can contact him on Twitter at @FamilyTreeUK, or via his website. Alternatively you can head over to our website and we'll send your message on to him.

In the meantime, Andrew is very enthusiastic towards Wanda's offer of help, which makes her suspicious of him...

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Episode Credits
Series Five, Episode Eight (Bonus)

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