Heroes and Villains, Triumphs and Tragedies
Once you begin researching your family history you will discover a kaleidoscope of colourful characters and exciting events
Researching your family history is like holding the key to a door through which you can discover a marvellous array of stories. All of us have heard rumours and legends — the “black sheep” who served as a warning to the generations which followed, the military hero whose bravery on the battlefield is retold by grandparents to grandchildren time and time again, or the political activist who was on the coal face of change. Using records on Findmypast, you can master the tools to uncover these stories, and trace your family’s lineage back hundreds of years.
Sometimes, the tales you uncover on your journey prove inspiring beyond imagination. One Findmypast member, Joanne, found that not only did she have an ancestor who fought at Waterloo, Sergeant George Rose, but that he was an escaped Jamaican slave who went on to become the highestranking black sergeant in a British regiment.
As is so often the case in family history, the devil was in the detail. “I was researching my family tree, and it intrigued me to find my great-great-great-great-grandfather, George Rose, was a Methodist minister,” says Joanne. “It was an early time for Methodism in Scotland so I set about searching online, using Findmypast, the National Archives and the National Army Museum to see if the internet could offer me any information.”
The deeper Joanna delved into George’s story, the more remarkable a character he proved himself. Born a slave in Jamaica’s Spanish Town some time between 1787 and 1791, George escaped to England — and freedom — when he was around 20 years old. He enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the 73rd Regiment of Foot, and served first in Germany, then the Netherlands and eventually at the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo in 1815. He was wounded twice, and his Waterloo battalion suffered the heaviest casualties of any line regiment.
George distinguished himself during his service, however, and his dedication was recognised when he was promoted to corporal in 1829, and then sergeant in 1831. Following his discharge in Glasgow, George became a member of the Primitive Methodists, preaching regularly on Glasgow Green. It was the records left behind from his time here which, nearly two centuries later, would unlock his incredible life story.
In 1849, George returned to Jamaica, where slavery had been abolished 15 years previously, to work as a missionary. He died on 27th July 1873, near his birthplace in Spanish Town. “What I found was more amazing than what I could have wished for,” says Jo. “Every time I open the family tree I have to pinch myself, for I have found what everyone hopes they will find... a true hero.”
Of course, every family is different. And while not all of us can boast a war hero in our tree (though you’d be surprised!), that’s not to say less-renowned relatives can’t make for fascinating research. Sometimes just a newspaper article is enough to set you on the trail to exonerate or condemn a black sheep in your family tree, which makes Findmypast’s British newspaper collection one of the best places to start for a budding detective.
The newspaper collection dates back over 300 years, and covers hundreds of local titles. Often the news covered in their pages was so particular to a village or town that you might discover that your great-great-grandfather was a dab hand at cricket, or sold an especially popular local brew. One journalist from the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette even took pains in 1938 to report on the progress of the local vicar, whose sore throat saw the Sunday sermon in jeopardy (fear not, he recovered after a visit to Harley Street). In short, never assume that an event was too inconsequential to make headlines.
But back to tracing those less-salubrious characters. The newspapers add glorious colour to Findmypast’s extensive crime records, which themselves offer an illuminating glimpse into our ancestors’ world. Just a few of the bizarre offences uncovered so far include the “malicious” destruction of nine trees in Middlesex by one Charles Williams in 1826 (goaded by a drunken friend, apparently), and the peculiar “snipping of horse tails” by Richard Ayres of Surrey, who was apprehended by officer Benjamin Cole, and forced to empty his pockets.
Sometimes, however, the case isn’t so simple. Imagine discovering that sometime in the early 1800s your father’s greatgreat-great-great-grandfather, a simple agricultural labourer in Somerset, had been caught stealing a few coins. Just enough to keep the family going through a harsh winter. Could you condemn him? For Findmypast user Clare Brown, this was the beginning of a tragic story, and one which, in her mind, should see her ancestor, the poor thief John Wines, remembered in a more forgiving light hereafter.
“I learned that for that crime, John was sentenced to transportation, and set sail on a prison ship to Australia,” says Clare. “Towards the end of that long, cruel voyage, the ship had
caught fire, causing a terrible loss of stores.” The captain, fearful of starving before they’d reached their destination, took a short cut. As a result the vessel was caught in a storm which saw it wrecked just off the Tasmanian coast, a disaster which cost the lives of nearly every soul on board, including John’s.
“It was such an exciting discovery, but such a tragic story”, says Clare. “What was really sad was that the ship’s doctor’s records showed that John — the thief, my ancestor — was well thought of. The medic’s notes said he had a ‘good character’, which makes his death just a few months later all the more moving.”
Sensational unknown tales like this are scattered throughout history, throughout our families’ pasts, just waiting for us to find them. Sometimes, they appear closer to home than you might think. The 1939 Register, available exclusively on Findmypast, is effectively a census of the population of England and Wales on the eve of the Second World War. This remarkable survey can uncover details about even close relatives’ lives which you might not have anticipated. For Philip Smith, it was the key to finding out that his parents, who married when his father returned from serving in the RAF, were in fact neighbours before the war.
“My father and mother lived in adjacent roads in Harrow,” says Philip. “I could imagine them meeting up for the first time on the street corner to chat with some other names I had, leading to them getting married after the Second World War.” With the help of the 1939 Register, Philip was able to pinpoint exactly where on the street his parents lived, as well as several of their friends who appeared next to them in an old photo. The detail available in the records, as well as supplementary materials such as maps, articles about pre-war Britain, newspaper reports and photographs can bring that pivotal moment in history to life and take you closer to your relatives.
Don’t forget, you needn’t restrict yourself to searching for your relatives. Just a few famous faces in the 1939 Register include the Queen Mother, George Orwell, Winston Churchill, Enid Blyton, Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie and Neville Chamberlain. Delve back further, and you can discover suffragette Emily Wilding Davison recorded as hiding in a cupboard at Westminster in the 1911 Census. Still further, you might come across Charles Dickens recorded as an “author, novelist, essayist and editor” in the 1861 Census — around the time Great Expectations was published.
Often, the records reveal a little more than anticipated. Many of history’s scribes couldn’t resist adding their two-penneth, and included subtle (or not-so-subtle) additions of their own. For example, across King Charles I’s death record, some sympathetic party scrawled “murder’d” across the space where his cause of death was recorded.
In many Victorian census records, householders recorded their pets’ names in the census, adding remarks such as: “Drink sterilized milk. Sleep with the windows open. Wash our Feet once a week etc. God Save the King RSVP” — much to the irritation of the enumerators. Suffragettes sometimes refused to participate, writing “no persons here, only women”, or sticking paper over the return printed “No votes for women, no census”.
So whatever your interests, researching your family history can be deeply rewarding. And for all you know, there are unsung heroes scattered throughout your lineage, waiting to be celebrated. Did you inherit your passion for protest from your suffragette ancestor? Is your killer left foot the legacy of a local football hero? Or perhaps you too are eager to prove the innocence of a supposedly nefarious ancestor, thought to have committed dark deeds which sealed their position as the family’s black sheep...
“It’s so worth seeing what you can discover for yourself,” says Clare. “Had it not been for the records, my ancestor John might have gone down in history as nothing more than a petty criminal transported for theft. Now I know the truth of his story, and I can share that with the generations to come.”
Tracing your family history with Findmypast offers you the chance to discover things about the past which shaped who you are today. Start now, and see where your tree takes you.