It's time for the first of our special BRICKDUST episodes - where one of our previous guests return to the show to give host Andrew Martin an update on the progress of their pesky brick wall.

This time, we're welcoming back local historian Pam Smith, last heard in Season One back in 2021. If you've not heard Pam's episode, you can catch-up now by listening to 'The Activist' with Pam Smith. 

THE BRICK WALL - SIR RICHARD ETHERINGTON 

It's been four years since Pam asked for help in her episode - where she was trying to find a connection between the family of George Etherington from Driffield, who'd been Knighted after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, and the family of Sir Richard Etherington of Rillington, who'd been Knighted in 1603. 

Were these two ennobled men related - if so, how?

Has she been able to get her answer about Sir Richard Etherington? Will that brick wall turn to brick dust? Listen now to find out!

THE QUESTION

We asked our listeners; What's the weirdest or funniest name that you've found whilst researching your family history?

We've picked some of our favourite answers from our listeners which you can hear in this episode. If you'd like to submit your answer via email or voicemail, head to our Question page. 

FANCY A CHALLENGE?

Check out the full list of our guests research Brick Walls - can you help them make a breakthrough?

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Episode Credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Pam Smith - Guest

Read this episode's Shownotes

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In this short bonus episode, that follows on immediately from 'The Incorrigible' with Karen Cummings, host Andrew Martin is ready to take a long-awaited holiday in post-war 1940's England. However, instead of the 1940's, he finds himself in the 1640s.... and it's witch-hunt season! 

To make things worse, he's just been accused of witchcraft after making one of the villagers vanish into thin air!

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Episode Credits

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi
• Stacey Hughes - Agnes Poppelwell and Ethel Skinner
• Ruth Bramley - Libbit Weaver
• Sarah McDowell - Nell Podley
• Meg Spencer-Thomas - Mary Chandler 
• Eliot Lees - John Hardwyke

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In this final episode of Season Nine, host Andrew Martin meets professional genealogist, scientist, and owner of Pharos Tutors - Dr. Karen Cummings. He hears about how she got interested in family history, her adventures in DNA testing, her thoughts on the future of the genealogy industry, and why even hobbyist family historians should consider studying courses.

THE LIFE STORY - JONATHAN HORSLEY 

Karen has chosen to tell the life story of her husband's ancestor Jonathan Horsley born in Coggeshall, Essex in 1869, who she is amused to reveal was 'a baddun'.. or at least to start with.

Jonathan was born in the workhouse with an absent father - times were hard and in 1886 he's up before the courts and being handed 14 days of hard labour where he's noted as 'incorrigible'. As Karen's research continued, she finds a trail of reports of poor behaviour. By the turn of the century, Jonathan has become an apprentice within the booming fishing industry of Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. However, he resumes his pattern of behaviour, including absconding. 

After joining the army, he does finally settle down at about the age of 30. Sadly though, after marrying and becoming a father, after a few years working at sea, he is killed when his ship is struck by a mine.

THE BRICK WALL - SELL COWLING

Karen's choice of brick wall is a DNA mystery waiting to be solved! 

Her ancestor, Sell Cowling appears on the 1841 census for Ickleton in Cambridgeshire, England, where it states that he was born in Cambridgeshire circa 1775. However, he dies in 1850, and therefore the parish of his birth is not revealed.

Karen has checked the parish registers in the area for his name and surname variants... but there's no match. She's researched so much, that she's ended up running a Cowling One-Name Study!

Being from the Science community, Karen has turned to DNA testing and is examining DNA matches.... but nothing pointing to hers in Cambridgeshire. Were they connected?

Therefore, Karen would like to do a Y-DNA test of a living male Cowling descendant - making this a super-specific brick wall.

• Where was Sell Cowling born?
• Are YOU a male Cowling descendant, from an unbroken male line - if so, Karen would like to hear from you?

If you think that you can help Karen with a research clue, or some precious Cowling saliva, then you can contact her via her website or alternatively you can send us a message and we'll pass it on.

In the meantime, Karen accepts Andrew's offer of help but witch way will it go?

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Episode Credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Dr. Karen Cummings - Guest
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

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In this sixth episode of Series Nine, host Andrew Martin meets genealogist Asad Khabibullin. He hears how Asad got hooked on family history, the challenges he has faced in tracing his ancestors from the Republic of Tatarstan, and his thoughts on how the genealogy community could become a more helpful place for new-starters.

THE LIFE STORY - VALIT HALITOV 

Asad has chosen to tell the life story of his relative Valit Halitov who lived in the village of Olı Mäñgär in the Republic of Tatarstan. The village  was being oppressed by Russian authorities, and they had heard rumours that they were to be forced to convert to Christianity - something the local officials didn't deny. When a constable visited and was beaten, Valit was picked out as a perpetrator and beaten under the orders of the Russian Governor Nikolai Skariatin.

Whilst Valit was beaten, he and the villagers raised a complaint against the Russian authorities, and surprisingly the Senate at St. Petersburg found that the Governor's punishment was too extreme and it was now he that was punished for his actions.

THE BRICK WALL - HASAN-HUSAIN 

It's a brick wall also in Olı Mäñgär that has Asad stumped for clues. Asad is looking for information about his relative at the top of his tree Hasan-Husain who migrated from the Crimean Khanate.

Problem is, there's a tree already, that was kept by the villagers, and the difference between them is that sometimes Hasan-Husain is one person, and sometimes the name is split because they're two brothers instead.

• Are Hasan-Husain one or two men?

If you think that you can help Asad with a clue or research idea, then you can contact him via his Instagram page, or alternatively you can send us a message and we'll pass it right along.

In the meantime, Asad is curious about Andrew's offer of help, can Andrew get it to work?

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Episode Credits

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Asad Khabibullin - Guest

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In this fifth episode of Series Nine, host Andrew Martin meets professional family historian, author, and former FamilySearch volunteer, Robin R. Foster and hears about how she got hooked on researching her family history, her drive to help people through online communities like Facebook and Substack, and how she found herself surrounded by sources when she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

THE LIFE STORY - BEVERLEY VANCE 

Robin has chosen to tell the life story of her 2x Great Grandfather, Beverley Vance who was born into slavery circa 1832 in South Carolina, USA.

While Robin and her mother were not initially searching for Beverley, they found him and his wife Matilda whilst researching her Great Grandfather (Beverley's son, Lafayette Vance) on the 1880 US Census for Cokesbury in Abbeville County, South Carolina.

It was here that they were presented with their ancestors' names - Beverley and Matilda for the first time. 

Robin soon found herself on the research trail, and this led her back into Beverley's life in enslavement, his slave owner's name, and ultimately to reveal the identity of her 4x Great Grandfather - his slave master Samuel Vance!

With the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery just a few years beforehand, Robin finds Beverley in 1868 where he testifies to a Senator about the way the Democrats treated him. 

THE BRICK WALL - MATILDA VANCE

Whilst her name was discovered on that 1880 census alongside her husband Beverley, Matilda's origins are less clear. Robin knows that she was born as Matilda Dunlap circa 1841, but there are some questions to answer;

• Who were Matilda's parents?
• When did Matilda die (did she survive Beverley in 1899)?

If you think you can help Robin with a clue or a research idea, then you can contact her via the email address she gives in the episode, or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it on to her.

In the meantime, Robin accepts Andrew's offer of help, but will it help her to get the answers she needs?

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Episode Credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Robin R. Foster - 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.
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In this fourth and mid-way episode of Season Nine, host Andrew Martin meets professional genealogist John Boeren and hears about how he got hooked on researching his Dutch ancestry, why he became a professional researcher, and how he ended up being awarded a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2018 for services to local history and genealogy.

THE LIFE STORY - MAARTEN VAN LEEUWEN
John has chosen to tell the life story of his 4x Great Grandfather, Maarten van Leeuwen, who was born in 1795 in a small village near Gouda (yes, as in the home of the cheese) in the Netherlands.

When John finds references to a silver shield and medal awarded to Maarten in 1825, it sets him on a trail to discover why he was being called a 'hero' and of the Order of the Dutch Lion.

Despite his service in the Napoleonic Wars as a gunner, this was not why he received his medal - that's down to his relationship with fire!

THE BRICK WALL - JACOBUS HENDRIKX and JENNEKEN HEIJLIGER JANSSEN
John's looking for help to find the earliest ancestors in his Boeren line, except this is during a time where patronymics were being used... therefore 'Boeren' is not the name to find, and this makes it much harder for him. 

Whilst John knows the names of his brick wall ancestors - Jacobus (Jacob) and Jenneken (Joan), he can't find their marriage nor their baptisms. He can see their children being baptised in villages close to the border between Netherlands and Belgium during the 1660s, but there's no further clues to their identities.

Can you help him with;

• Where were Jacobus Hendrickx and Jenneken Heijliger Janssen married?
• Where were Jacobus and Jenneken baptised?
• What were their fathers' patronymic surnames?

If you think you can help John, then you can send him a message via his website or alternatively you can send us a message and we'll pass it on.

In the meantime, John isn't quite sure what to make of Andrew's offer of help... but will it work?

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Episode Credits

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• John Boeren - Guest

Support the show

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In this third episode of Season Nine, host Andrew Martin meets Gary Stanley - a family historian who has researched his Romany roots. Andrew hears about Gary's research web project in which he documents all references in the UK and USA of Roma families, and he explains the challenges of researching relatives, the benefit of baptismal records and newspapers, and how he participated in a DNA test led by Professor Turi King.

THE LIFE STORY - ELIZABETH NICHOLS
Gary has chosen to tell the life story of one of his Romany relatives Elizabeth Nichols... and it is quite extraordinary!

Elizabeth appeared to baptise a child, with the father noted as Antonio Nichols - a Portuguese sailor. Then Gary finds another baptism... then another... except the baptisms spread around the area, and sometimes the details are a little different. Sometimes Elizabeth's surname is Nichols, Nicholas, or Nicholson, sometimes it's Stivery or Twivey. Sometimes Antonio is deceased or at sea.

This pattern intrigued Gary, and following the clues and an incredible amount of research, he has found around 600 baptisms during the 1830s! So many, that he even created a website to map them around England and Scotland.

It's very clear that Elizabeth did not have 600 children, and the register entries note that sometimes the child is a new-born, or of a few years old. So, did Elizabeth have a few children that could span this age?

The question is obviously; Why go to this much effort? Gary believes that in order for Elizabeth to receive parish relief (a monetary benefit paid by the church), the child had to be baptised. Given Elizabeth's Romany heritage, she moved around regularly, and therefore amassed 600 known baptisms for her children, in order to receive relief!  

THE BRICK WALL - ELIZABETH NICHOLS
Connecting directly to the Life Story that Gary has told, is his brick wall.

Gary may well have found hundreds of baptisms for her children, but he's wanting to find out;

• Where was Elizabeth Nichols before the 1830s
• What became of Elizabeth Nichols after 1840s?

If you think you have a research idea or clue to help Gary with his research, you can send him a message via his website, alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it along to him.

In the meantime, Andrew offers Gary some help,

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

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Host Andrew Martin meets genealogist Helen Brooks for this second episode of Series Nine. Andrew hears how Helen's family history research got started by a button, the importance of writing everything down when your aunt tells stories, and her love of photographs. 

THE LIFE STORY - GERTRUDE LESTER / SISTER HELENE DU ST. SACRAMENT  Helen's choice of life story is her Great Aunt Gertrude Lester who later became a Catholic nun known as Sister Helene du St. Sacrament within the order Les Filles de la Sagesse.

Helen uncovered a story of a woman’s rise through her order and her work in Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi), right through to a tragic accident at Croydon Aerodrome on 25th January 1947 which would see Sister Helene make the ultimate sacrifice in a moment of bravery that saved a man’s life.

With the aerodrome demolished and the site covered in housing, residents in the 1970s are reported as having seen the nuns had return in a ghostly form…

THE BRICK WALL - GEORGE WRIGHT
Following directly on from her choice of Life Story, Helen has been researching the other people in the plane crash. She's managed to find information on all of them apart from the most significant one (to her) - the man that Sister Helene saved!

He's known as George Wright, and in January 1947 he had been de-mobbed from wartime service. She doesn't know his age but assumes that he's in his 20's, but she does know from newspaper reports that he was catching a later flight to Johannesburg, South Africa to find work.

Despite her searches, Helen does not know what became of him after the day of the crash.

• What happened to George Wright after 25th January 1947?
• Where did he go?

If you think that you can help Helen with a research idea or clue, then you can find her on Bluesky, or alternatively you can send us a message and we'll pass it along to her.

In the meantime, Andrew and Sándor's offer of help results in a dangerous and tricky manoeuvre...

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Episode credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Helen Brooks - Guest
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

Support the show

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

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In this first episode of Season Nine of The Family Histories Podcast, host Andrew Martin meets Canadian genealogist Ron Williams whose family tree research resulted in him encountering a 57 year old mystery...  Understandably, Ron couldn't not investigate and in doing so, uncovered a fascinating story which he then turned it into a book.

THE LIFE STORY - ALFRED VICTOR WILLIAMS
Ron has chosen to tell the fascinating story of his paternal Grandfather - Alfred Victor Williams - one that involves mystery and intrigue, and 57 missing years.

The story sees Ron find just a few clues that hint towards some very different elements of his Grandfather's missing first 57 years - an affidavit, a school photograph of a son, and a letter. Why did Alfred spend years living under the alias Roy Hammond?

Ron has turned Alfred's story into a book titled 'The Lost Fifty-Seven - A genealogical journey of discovery, deception, secrets and scandal' (2024).

THE BRICK WALL - MARY WILLIAMS
It's the identity of his 2x Great Grandmother - Mary Williams - that is causing Ron problems in his research. 

He knows that she was born in about 1831, and likely in Shropshire (or Salop as it was known back then). After finding a confusing 'Cumberland in Salop' reference, Ron has found further Salop references in her census entries after her marriage to George Williams.

As Ron doesn't know the birth name of Mary, he's struggled to find the correct marriage, which he estimates was circa 1853, as the couple rapidly grow a family, starting with his Gt Grandfather in 1854.

• What was Mary Williams' pre-marriage surname?

If you think you have a clue or a research idea, you can contact Ron at his website, or alternatively you can find him on Twitter and Bluesky. You can also send us a message, and we'll pass it on to him.

In the meantime, Ron is fascinated by Andrew and Sándor's offer of help... but someone's clearly hungry....

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Credits:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Ron Williams - Guest
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

Support the show

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You can find us on Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
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We're back! It's time for Season Nine of The Family Histories Podcast.

Your host - family historian Andrew Martin, will once again be joined by seven guests, for seven more fascinating life stories and of course a load of those pesky brick walls for you to help solve.

As usual... as a 'thank you' treat, each guest is given a return trip back in time in Andrew's (shh: secret time) machine, all with the help of his assistant - the 19th century missing Hungarian poet and revolutionary, Sándor Petőfi. 

Join us right here for Season Nine, which begins on 6th May 2025.

Find out more about the new series. 

Support the show

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