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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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
  

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NOTE: This episode contains discussion on the topics of eugenics, suicide, and abuse. Please consider others when listening aloud.

In this sixth episode of Series Five - The Cousin, host Andrew meets Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, and now family history author John Erickson. Andrew will be finding out about how John's 30 years in journalism has helped him with researching his family, how his mother surprised him with news of her younger brother, and how the life of his Grandmother has affected him.

THE LIFE STORY - CAROLYN PHILLIPS 

John has chosen to tell the story of his cousin Carolyn Phillips who, despite a lot of painful memories of her traumatic loss of her father, brother, and sister, was able to help him establish facts and write his book When Mortals Play God. 

THE BRICK WALL - PATRICIA & ROBERT ANDERSON 
 
Anderson is a rather common surname in the USA, and so this brick wall has been hanging around for quite some time. John wasn't able to discover much about his cousins, but he does know that they were the children of Raymond Anderson (b. 1925) who served active military service as a young man in World War Two. 

John thinks that both Patricia and Robert would have been born in the 1940s, and in at least the 1980s, they were living in Minnesota, USA... but that's it!

This is a real needle in a haystack, but if you think that you have a research idea or clue that can help John's brick wall to come tumbling down, then you can send him a message via our Contact Form and we'll pass it on to him. 

Meanwhile, John is unsure about the safety of Andrew's offer of help... and what IS that noise? 

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Episode Credits: 

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

Support is available to those who are affected by abuse, and suicide, or if you are feeling suicidal. You can find your local support lines and resources here: https://findahelpline.com/ 

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Andrew is joined by professional genealogist Fiona Brooker for this fifth episode of Series Five. Andrew finds out how she researches family history in Scotland and England from New Zealand, as well as the challenges of researching within New Zealand and its privacy laws. She reveals how she got hooked on family history, and also shares her thoughts on how our modern lives will be researched in future.

THE LIFE STORY - THOMAS URQUHART
Fiona has decided to tell the life story of her Great Grandfather, Thomas Urquhart, who was born in Aberdeen in 1882.

Thomas starts off as a mason but joins the Police Force in 1907, and through detailed staff records she's able to trace his career until he resigns in 1924.

With his wife Ann, and their seven children, he embarks on a journey to a fresh new start in New Zealand... but his journey take a tragic turn before they even arrived.

THE BRICK WALL - JANE RICHARDSON
It's a woman in New Zealand that's causing Fiona a headache - her ancestor Jane Richardson, but whilst Jane's later life is known, it's her origins that remain a mystery.

Her marriage records suggest that she was born circa 1833, and other records suggest she was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but sadly, her parents are documented only as 'Richardson' and 'Richardson'. Not very helpful!

Can you help Fiona discover;

• Who were Jane's parents?
• Do Jane's children's names follow the Scottish Naming Pattern - offering hints of their ancestors' identities?
• When did Jane arrive in New Zealand? Was she with her parents, or alone?

If you think you can help Fiona with a research clue or idea, then you can contact her at her MemoriesInTime.co.nz website or alternatively, you can send her a message via our website and we'll pass it on to her.

In the meantime, Andrew is surprised at just how keen Fiona is to accept his help...

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Episode Credits
Series Five, Episode Five:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Fiona Brooker - Guest

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In this fourth episode of Series Five, host Andrew meets family historian, blogger, and Family Tree Magazine columnist Paul Chiddicks. He tells Andrew how he got into family history, about his Old Palace School Bombing project, and shares his ideas for some genealogy-themed Lego sets.

The Life Story - William Wootton
Paul has chosen to tell the life story of his maternal Great Grandfather William Tom Wootton, who was born in 1863 in Kentish Town, London. Paul describes him as an 'entrepreneur' although others might describe him as a 'chancer' given some of his actions.

William had 7 children with his first wife Elizabeth Compton, but the final child saw Elizabeth die in childbirth. William re-married to an Emily Dodd, and they added a further 9 children to their family - and as you might expect - this came at a price!

William worked as a lead glazier on some of England's most impressive architecture, but his determination to keep a roof over his family's head led him to take on a number of other jobs to make ends meet, including Punch and Judy shows, busking and there's even a family rumour about a sale of some well known East End songs.

The Brick Wall - Samuel Chiddicks 
It's a brick wall that's been standing for 30 years that is asking for help with, and it's one that he has tried to crack time and time again.

Paul knows that Samuel Chiddicks was buried in South Fambridge in Essex, England, in 1816, with a given age of 55 years old, which in turn gives an approximate birth year of 1761.

He is believed to have married a Mary Turner in 1787 in South Fambridge, but he is known to have married Ann Beard in 1794.

Paul has undertaken an autosomal test with Ancestry, and a Y-DNA test with Family Tree DNA, and this has given him some Chiddicks matches in the USA and Northern Ireland, that all lead back to County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland... but how?

• Where was Samuel Chiddicks born?
• Who were his parents?
• Is Northern Ireland in his Chiddicks ancestry? 

If you think that you can help Paul with his brick wall, you can contact him via his website chiddicksfamilytree.com or you can find him on Twitter @chiddickstree. Alternatively, you can send us a message via our website and we'll pass it on to him.

Meanwhile, Paul is cautious of Andrew's offer of help, but maybe he has a good reason to be...

- - -
Episode Credits
Series Five, Episode Four:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Paul Chiddicks - Guest
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi.

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In this third episode of Series Five - The Missionary - host Andrew meets family historian Kim Brengle and hears how she got hooked on tracing her family history, and how she manages to trace her nomadic relatives.

The Life Story - Daniel and Emily Oliver
Kim has chosen to share the life story of her Great Grandparents Daniel and Emily Oliver, and this is one that sees Daniel leave his agricultural labouring life in Caithness, Scotland, and Emily leaving her Quaker family in Yorkshire, to both independently end up living and working in the mountains near Beirut in Lebanon.

Here, they married, raised a family, and set up a school and an orphanage, the legacy of which still lives on today in the memories their community.

The Brick Wall - Juliaetta Harrington
Kim's 2x Great Grandmother Juliaetta Harrington/Herrington (later Stephenson) is causing her a headache. Born in 1841 in Michigan, USA, Kim knows about Juliaetta's life - which lasted just 38yrs until her death in 1879. The puzzle here is the identity of Juliaetta's parents.

Despite lots of close-ish DNA matches, Kim has not been able to piece together the evidence to identify how these matches and her known ancestry are connected.

Can you help Kim identify Juliaetta's parents?

If you think you can help Kim with a clue or research idea, then you can make contact with her via her website at generationsofnomads.com or alternatively, you can head over to our website to read this episode's show notes and send her a message - we'll pass it straight on.

In the meantime, Kim is curious of Andrew and Sándor's offer of help, but what could possibly go wrong?

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Episode Credits
Series Five, Episode Three

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Kim Brengle - Guest
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

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In this second episode of Series Five - The Righteous - host Andrew meets Slovak professional genealogist, and host of the Slovak Ancestry Podcast, Michal Razus. Andrew finds out how Michal got into researching family history, the challenges of researching in Slovakia, and finds out about his work to assist people with citizenship.

The Life Story - Michal Razus
Michal has chosen his 2x Great Grandfather also named Michal Razus as his relative to tell the life story of. This Michal was born in 1908, and lived in Czechoslovakia (as it was back then). Amidst World War Two, Michal, who worked as a cabinet maker, took in, fed, and employed a young Jewish man in carpentry - thus helping to save him from the on-coming Nazi forces and the Holocaust.

Years later, and after Michal's death in 1985, Michal the younger's family had been unaware of their ancestor's act until contact was made from a man in the USA. That man had been the young Jewish man who'd been taken in, and he came with news that he was being posthumously honoured with the Righteous Among the Nations award by the State of Israel.

The Brick Wall - Juraj Franko
It's a 2x Gt Grandfather, born in Chmelovec, Slovakia in 1890, that is causing Michal a headache.

However, it's not the Slovak part that's the problem - Michal has traced his ancestor Juraj Franko to 150W, 104 Street, Manhattan, New York, USA on 25th April 1942, and that's where his trail ends.

• What happened to Juraj after this date?
• Did he stay in Manhattan, or did he travel elsewhere?

If you think that you can help Michal with a clue or a research idea that might help him solve his brick wall, then you can make contact him via the email address he gives in the episode. Alternatively, you can head to our website where you'll find this episode's show notes, and be able to send a message which we'll pass straight on to him.

In the meantime, Michal is intrigued by Andrew's offer of help - but will he stick to the rules?

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Episode Credits
Series Five, Episode Two

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Michal Razus - Guest

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In this first episode of Series Five of The Family Histories Podcast, host Andrew Martin meets genealogist Jenni Phillips, and finds out how she got hooked on family history, why she can't get enough of studying genealogy, her love of family and local history societies, and the lengths she goes to to research house history.

The Life Story - John Spring
Jenni has chosen to tell the life story of her 7x Gt Grandfather John Spring of West Cholderton in Wiltshire, England.

John was a carpenter, baptised in West Cholderton in 1730 to a carpenter and parish clerk Thomas Spring and his wife Mary.  John would go on to inherit his father's carpentry business, and he also inherited a number of thatched cottages... with an  unexpected tenant - a British Army veteran of the American War of Independence - Sir William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe!

How did this Viscount end up in a Wiltshire carpenter's cottage? Jenni had to find out.

The Brick Wall - David Davies
It's a birth and parental puzzle that's been bugging Jenni for a while now, so she's asking for your help to demolish her brick wall.

David Davies is Jenni's 4x Great Grandfather, and she has traced him to New Street, Swansea, Wales during the mid 19th century's censuses. However, his place of birth is not consistent - sometimes Swansea, sometimes Carmarthenshire. Records point to him having been born between 1797 and 1801, but Jenni has found a lot of David Davies candidates in both Swansea and Carmarthenshire as it's quite a common name.

Can you help her find out; 

• Who David Davies' parents were?
• When and where was he born?
• Is there a baptism entry for him?

If you think you can help Jenni with a research idea or a clue, then you can contact her via Twitter at @JenniPh, or alternatively you can send us a message and we'll pass it on.

In the meantime, Jenni can't believe her luck when Andrew offers his help, but was it a wise choice?

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Episode Credits
Series Five, Episode One:

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Jenni Phillips - Guest
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

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The Family Histories Podcast returns for its fifth series on 2nd May 2023, but before episode one arrives, there's just enough time for a spot of tea... in 1811... with Jane Austen!

Host Andrew Martin returns for Series Five, along with seven more genealogy addicted guests, seven more fascinating life stories, and seven more annoying family history research brick walls that will need your help to demolish them.

Of course, there's also a secret time machine in the garage, but we know you won't tell anyone else about that, right?

Series Five begins on 2nd May 2023, and is available from wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe now to make sure you don't miss an episode!

Meet the Series Five guests!

- - - 
Episode Credits 
Series Five, Trailer 

• Andrew Martin:  Host and Producer
• Phoebe Batteson-Brown: Jane Austen

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Previously.... on The Family Histories Podcast:

Computer has given host Andrew and guest Simon Last a stark warning and now they find themselves in immediate danger... but from what, and who can save them?


This is the Series Four bonus episode, following on from the cliff-hanger of episode seven - 'The Reunited'.


- - -
Episode Credits
Series Four, Episode Eight (Bonus)

• Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
• Simon Last - Guest
• Courtney Dunn - Computer
• John Spike - Sándor Petőfi

Show notes and more at: familyhistoriespodcast.com

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