Tracing Your Roots

The accidental tourist who turned out to be a full blooded revolutionary. The family tale of Queen Alexandra attempting suicide. And finding the POW father who returned to Germany after the war. Sally and Nick discover new information and lasting repercussions as they revisit three of their favourite Tracing Your Roots stories.

When Sally and Nick are able to provide vital new clues for listeners, they often wish they knew what listeners decide to do next with this new found information. Today Sally and Nick follow up on a few of their favourite stories from past series and discover the remarkable consequences one tiny detail can lead to.....

The uncle who lost millions, and the family legend of a pile of cash just waiting to be released from chancery....Sally and Nick attempt to trace what happened to the money.

Delving into the debtors' prison system- how to land in there, how to earn your way out, and whether there really are millions stuck in chancery just waiting to be released to families today.

Produced by Lucy Lloyd.

What happened to all those ancestors who were "disappeared" into institutions because society couldn't cope with them or deemed their behaviour unacceptable? Sally and Nick answer listeners questions about life in confinement.

And what if your ancestor was locked away indefinitely on the Queen's say-so? Sally visits the Tower of London looking for traces of a suspected traitor.

Produced by Liza Greig.

Sally Magnusson is back with more genealogical mysteries for Nick Barratt to sink his teeth into. Today, they all involve name changes, and we reveal the stories behind them.

And how can you let future generations looking into your family history know that you've changed name and gender? Nick tackles that question.

Produced by Lucy Lloyd.

In this Tracing Your Roots Census Special, Sally Magnusson visits Fox Lane in Leyland. With the help of genealogist Nick Barratt, she explores how, through the Census, we can piece together a street's changing history and also uncover secrets about our own family's past.

The first census records date back to the early 1800s. At this time, Leyland was a small village which became a small town over the nineteenth century. Sally visits one of the original weaver's cottages where the owners are intrigued to find out more about the original residents. Through the census records we build up a picture of how the weaving industry declined in the 1830's, with the weavers required to sub-let their cellars to poorer families. As the Industrial Revolution progresses we can see in the occupations listed in the census how the town evolves through to the beginnings of its famous motor industry.

Plus Sally and Nick are joined by Peter Christian, author of The Online Genealogist, and The Expert Guide to the Census. They'll discuss how having the Census available online has transformed family history research and reflect on what future family historians would lose if the Census is abolished.

And we convince one Fox Lane resident to fill out a form for the first time, by illustrating what they can learn about their own family's past from previous census records.

The last programme of the series ties in with the History of the World in 100 Objects. Sally Magnusson and resident genealogist Nick Barratt track down the stories behind fascinating objects and family heirlooms. All the objects featured in the programme are also featured on the History of the World website, where listeners are also encouraged to upload their own treasured heirloom.

When listener Sarah Bailey inherited a pearl necklace and a letter written at the time of Marie Antoinette, she contacted the History of the World Website. Now she'd like to know which of her ancestors was at the French court and how she came to be there.

There's a very personal heirloom in the shape of a beautiful hand drawn book created by an illustrator, Carrie Solomon, whose baby was born when her husband was away fighting in WW1. She kept a daily record of their baby growing and developing and gave it to him on his return. Now her descendants hope to find examples of her professional work as an illustrator of children's books.

Kenneth Curley sent audio discs back to his family while he was in the RAF in WW2 and his granddaughter Becky Rowe has inherited some of them. She and her family would dearly love to hear what's on the discs, but no-one can play them. That is until they got in touch with the Tracing Your Roots team.

October is Black History Month and this week Tracing Your Roots hears from listeners with family ties to the Caribbean. We follow Monica Brown, whose family come from Jamaica, as she makes an emotional trip to Zanzibar, visiting the underground chamber where slaves - including, she believes, her ancestors - were kept in horrific conditions before being sold. She wants to know more about her east African heritage.

Rosemarie Barnes also has slavery on her family tree, or so she thinks. Her great great great grandfather (who lived in Essex in the mid-nineteenth century) shares the name of a man who appears on the Jamaican slave register. Were they one and the same person? And if so, how did Edward Andrews get to England?

Soldiers from the Caribbean played their part in World War One, but how were they treated in comparison with their white counterparts? And were false promises made to them to induce them to head for Europe? Valerie Vaughan-Dick and Sheena Simpson ask what their ancestors did in the war, and what greeted them on their return home.

This week the popular Radio 4 genealogy show presented by Sally Magnusson features listeners whose ancestors may have been involved in revolution or radical actions.

Trying to find records pertaining to revolutions is always tricky, since by their nature revolutions are fraught with chaos and upheaval. Files tend to be mislaid or destroyed, or too secret to have been placed in national archives. However, when an ancestor gets involved with revolution as well as high profile legal wrangling, there's a much better chance of striking gold. In this week's programme, Listener Anne Induni finds out the true story of her ancestor's arrest, for killing a politician in a 19th century Swiss revolution, and there are a whole lot more eye popping revelations about his activities.

When Judy Thompson wrote into the programme wanting to find out about her French ancestor's activities in the Paris Commune of 1871, she was hoping to track down more details from French archives, but found getting access and information baffling for a non gallic speaker. Author Gavin Dowd has been through the process and joins the team to dispense advice.

And another listener is keen to verify if she really is the great great great granddaughter of the assassin of a British 19th century Prime Minister. The first and only successful attempt in British history didn't quite spark a revolution, but has left a legacy in the modern House of Commons.

And regular studio guest Dr Nick Barratt is on hand to dispense advice and tips on how to trace revolutionaries in your family tree.

Tracing the roots of rootless ancestors might seem an impossible task, yet in this second programme of the series, Sally Magnusson and Nick Barratt attempt to do just that.

Mark Lorch is descended from a troupe of German Jewish acrobats, at one time the highest-paid circus act in the world. Mark wants to know more about their service in World War One and to fill in other gaps in his ancestors' lives. For a glimpse into the world of the circus and of the Lorch family, Sally visits the theatre archive of London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Theresa Mitchell has asked for expert advice on how to explore her family's Romany heritage. Census records have told her that her family gave up their itinerant lifestyle at around the turn of the 20th century, but what happened next?

And Carol Hudson's mother came from a community who spent their summers in tents and their winters in caves in the west of Scotland. She never saw them again after leaving at the age of 14 to become a farm labourer, and World War Two brought her a marriage and a complete change of lifestyle. What, though, happened to the brothers and sisters she left behind? Nick has checked the archives and has the answers for Carol.