Just Finished Reading: The Spanish Armada by Robert Hutchinson (FP: 2013) [254pp] 

It was, without doubt, a turning point heralding both the rise of England to global power status and the long slow decline of the Spanish Empire into eventual obscurity. The Great Enterprise of the Spanish Armada was supposed to ring the death knell of Elizabeth’s Protestant England. Not only did it fail in rather spectacular fashion it set in motion a chain of events that would change Europe and the world forever. 

The launch of the Armada in 1588 came as no great surprise to anyone. Not only was Spain an avowed enemy of England after the accension of Elizabeth to the throne in late 1558 but Phillip II (ex-husband of Mary I of England) had publicly vowed to expunge the heretical monarch by fire and invasion if necessary. As the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) dragged on plans were drawn and ships began to cluster in various ports ready to destroy the English navy [I had to constantly correct myself thinking of England’s forces as “British” or thinking of England as either Britain/Great Britain or the UK as such entities had yet to come into existence] and facilitate a full invasion from the Spanish held Netherlands. Such a fleet took an inordinate amount of time to bring together. So long indeed that the early stores brought aboard began in rot in their casks. The fleet itself was a motley collection of newly commissioned ships, barges, older warships and even oar powered/assisted galleons. In all the fleet consisted of 141 ships and took two days just to leave port. Moving at the speed of the slowest ship it progressed towards England at a pace of 4MPH.  

From the ‘off’ things did not go well. Bad weather forced several ships back into port almost immediately and later storms forced several ships to leave for repairs. Finally reaching the English Channel it began to face increasing attacks from English warships which although smaller than many of their Spanish counterparts where much nimbler, better crewed and better armed. The failings of the Armada began to become obvious to all concerned. Barely half of the actual Armada were warships whilst most of the English ships could be described as such. Although the English did have a number of armed merchantmen the majority were very much men-o-war manned by experienced and hardened combat veterans. Retiring to Calais to await the invasion force from the Netherlands, the Spanish fleet were set upon by 8 English fireships causing only slight damage overall but scattering the remainder and beaching several ships. Interestingly, these 8 ships were the only English losses attributed to the fighting.  

Scattered, harried and with contrary winds – to say nothing of the dead and dying from various encounters including the Battle of Gravelines – the Armada pushed into the North Sea with the idea of circumnavigating the British Isles and returning to Spain. This is where things got really bad for the fleet. A mixture of unseasonably stormy weather, lack of charts, death, disease and fast running out supplies meant that the remaining 110 ships suffered greatly on their journey home. Finally, months after they sailed certain of their victory, only 35 ships made it back many containing hundreds of dead and dying. It was a disaster of epic proportions. Spain would never fully recover. 

Naturally the tale of the Spanish Armada is taught with pride (or at least it was in my time) in British schools – despite the fact that most of the damage was done by our notoriously fickle weather. Although its arguable if the Armada could ever have been successful even without the storms it's equally arguable that a successful invasion (if possible) would have ended Elizabeth’s reign reasonably easily. But I think a LOT would have had to have been different for this counter-factual to have much credence. Evidence at the time as well as later evidence from the many wrecks around the coast shows just how unprepared the Spanish had been relying as they did on God and the justice of their cause rather than solid logistics, a well thought out plan and seaworthy ships.  

As an aside, after receiving the rather odd update on my ancestry – that my DNA is apparently 2% Spanish – I paid particular attention to the crews of Spanish ships that washed up on the Irish coast on their way home. It seems that the vast majority either drowned (the idea I understand that it was ‘bad luck’ for a sailor to know how to swim) or were killed on the shoreline (as either invaders or, rather strangely, because of an idea that if you saved someone from the sea then it would be ‘compensated’ by the drowning of a local). Some of the richer survivors did manage to pay their way home (as always) but there is some evidence that a handful of survivors did settle in Ireland in various capacities. It's possible (just) that one of these Spaniards was an ancestor of mine – although I doubt very much if I’m going to find any documentation of a Pedro Gonzales married to Bridget Doyle in 1589.  

Overall, this was a very good examination of why the Armada happened and why it ultimately failed. Even if you have a reasonable familiarity with the events this can still highlight much that you might have missed from your school, movies or casual reading. Definitely worth a read.

DNA Update – October 2025 

Earlier in the week I had an e-mail from Ancestry.Com with a MAJOR update on my DNA stuff. It actually solved a mystery (by eliminating it completely) and added – at least potentially – another in its place. Part of the reason for the update is improvements in their algorithm as well as having more data to analyse. Here’s what they said... 

The mystery that I was struggling with – in that it was quite THE headscratcher – was my apparent Scottish ancestry. Although I haven’t gone too far back into my father's Irish side, I have gone back deep into the 15th century on my mother’s side without a SINGLE Scottish relative. My latest DNA results explain that by not showing ANY Scottish DNA at all – none. Therefore, my head no longer needs so much attention. Now the results show, as I fully expected from the start, that the majority of my DNA originated in Ireland. Interesting it's from ALL over Ireland – from the East coast (where my dad was from), to the far South and to the Northwest. It seems that my DNA liked to ‘get about’ a bit! Now as I completely expected I have 75% Irish DNA.  

The rest (or at least MOST of the rest) is, yet again, completely expected. 13% is from North Wales and Northwest England – where I was born and where I’ve found most of my English side relatives lived in the last 100 years or so. Again, completely expected, is the fact that 8% of my DNA comes from the West Midlands which is where my maternal grandmother is from. A mere 2% is from Devon & Somerset which is interesting but certainly not particularly strange. The STRANGE bit is that last 2%. 

Well within the margin of error is the interesting hint of 2% of my DNA being SPANISH. The rational side of me thinks that it came from a visiting Spanish sailor who ‘got lucky’ in a port in the Southwest and then went home to his family on the Cantabrian Coast. Of course, the more romantic side of my nature wonders if the guy in question (assuming it WAS a guy) was shipwrecked on the Irish coast on the way back from the failed Spanish Armada attack on England in 1588 and an Irish girl took a shine to his dark and brooding looks.... I doubt if I’ll ever find a Spanish name in the records though – but stranger things have happened.  

Either way it's an interesting update. Maybe a little ‘boring’ and ‘obvious’ but a really nice hint of the exotic. I’m amused if nothing else. I do have some Ancestry related reading to come. I wonder what I’ll discover?   

Just Finished Reading: The Origins of the Anglo-Saxons – Decoding the Ancestry of the English by Jean Manco (FP: 2018) [206pp] 

After reading the author’s previous book on the Celts around 2 years ago I thought it was about time to read her book about the Anglo-Saxons (despite not being one). As with the Celts this is a DEEP dive into the origins, culture, genetics and movements of a whole people so is very much a foundation – broad and deep – to any investigation of personal ancestry. I wasn’t expecting it to be particularly illuminating from my perspective but this didn’t stop it being always interesting and often fascinating. 

As I’ve said before, people (indeed peoples) moved around far more in the past than we moderns give them credit for. The Anglo-Saxons – generally made up of Angles, Saxons and Jutes – are a case in point moving across eastern Europe/central Asia westwards and northwards into western Europe, the British Isles and Scandanavia. Most of this slim volume covers that particular part of their history with diversions into archaeology, grave styles, coinage and, my particular favourite, languages and how they changed over LONG periods of time. Only the last quarter or so of the book looks at the impact on England putting to rest, yet again, the idea that the British Isles was ‘invaded’ and conquered by the Saxons and that the local population was displaced. Interesting this erroneous idea seems to have origination after the end of WW2 when the Saxons (AKA Germans) where not exactly in high standing in the UK. However, archaeological and, later, DNA evidence has shown the invasion motif to be overplayed at best. Apparently, which I found MOST interesting, around 36% of Brits living in the South East of England have Saxon genes and some individuals in Kent are essentially indistinguishable from native Germans (much, apparently, to their surprise and annoyance!). But the native population didn’t vanish (AKA killed). Nothing like it. The so-called ‘invasion’ actually took place over 2-300 years and varied from the hiring of mercenary soldiers who decided to stay – whether their ‘masters’ liked it or not – to actual raiders who stayed long term, and individual family groups looking for a better life and more productive farmland. 

Overall, this was interesting read that helped put present day genetics, place names and much else into a (DEEP) historical context. Although it didn’t help me very much to understand my own ancestry (of which more later) it did help me bed in the genetic foundations my ancestors were part of. Definitely of interest to anyone looking deep into their Anglo-Saxon past. Recommended.  

Just Finished Reading: The Debatable Land – The Lost World Between Scotland and England by Graham Robb (FP: 2018) [239pp] 

I’ve never been to Carlisle but I’ve been through it four times – twice on a train during a school trip to Edinburgh and twice in a car travelling to and from a Queen concert in Newcastle when I was at university in Lancaster. So, it's not exactly an area I know much about despite visiting the near-by Lake District many times and being based in and around Lancaster (around 70 miles to the south) for 5 years or so. The other thing that prompted me to pick this book up is the ongoing mystery of the significant amount of Scottish DNA in each and every cell of my body. I was hoping that this book – about the borderlands – might give me some hints to help resolved that. 

Borders, especially ancient borders, are strange beasts. These days we think of borders as barriers with checkpoints and, sometimes, armed guards whose job it is to prevent people simply crossing back and forth as they please. OLD borders were often much more porous and all too often much less defined, much less agreed upon. The ‘debatable land’ investigated by the author after moving into the area from Oxford is one of those more liminal places where the border between England and Scotland was more of a suggestion rather than anything hard, fast or agreed upon by either country. Despite having a VERY long history neither country really concerned itself with this small patch of land that straddled the border as long as order was, more or less, maintained. Both countries periodically invaded the zone – often in pursuit of raiders or cattle thieves – but neither stayed nor built any commanding structures in the area to control it. It was wasn’t worth the effort. This meant, of course, that the area eventually became controlled by a small number of (often feuding) families who made their living out of raiding and protection rackets whilst keeping, as much as possible, off the radar of either nations high and mighty. 

Despite not really being the book I was expecting – I had assumed that it would be about the whole border rather than a small piece of it – this was a reasonably interesting if rather niche book. I certainly now know a lot more about this zone and it might even give me a few family names to work with if they show up in my ancestry searches. Despite being illegal (if at least technically) there was a lot of cross marriage between Scots and English in this zone which might (possibly) explain where at least some of my DNA came from although as far as I can tell that ‘drift’ happened further East of any debatable real-estate. A reasonable read but only really recommended for anyone interested in the Scottish/English border zone or the history of the Carlisle area itself. 

Fascinating......!

Just Finished Reading: The Makers of Scotland – Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings by Tim Clarkson (FP: 2011) [230pp] 

I’ll be the first to admit that my knowledge of Scottish history – from any period – is scant at best. Apart from the existence of Hadrian's Wall my knowledge of early Scottish history was effectively zero - until now. For instance, although we studied Hadrian's Wall in school (and the fact I’ve walked along part of it) I had no idea, or maybe I’d forgotten, that there was another Roman ‘wall’ even further north. Although nowhere near as substantial as Hadrian’s effort or as well defended, it did play its part (albeit briefly) in the Roman occupation of Britainnia and the suppression of the unruly Scots (who, obviously at that time neither called themselves Scots nor were called that except in the generic Roman term Scotti for people in the North). Interestingly, the area between the two walls was kept as a buffer zone with (mostly) friendly tribes living there often dependent on Roman aid. Naturally this all fell apart when the Romans left and (mostly) returned to the troubled heart of their crumbling Empire. 

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that there is a gap in our knowledge of events in Scotland after the Romans left and before more modern, early Medieval times. The Romans were notorious record keepers, builders and distributors of coins and other items so loved by archaeologists and treasure hunters whereas the peoples who immediately followed them were anything but. What little we do know often has to be handled with care as myth, self-promotion and history are all too often mixed to a greater of lesser extent. As you can well imagine caveats galore are sprinkled throughout the entire book – which is, in my mind, a good thing! Saying that we don’t know, and in some cases can never know, something is much better than idle speculation which can rest on very narrow or very suspect ‘evidence’ such as the similarity of words or placenames coupled with Latinisation of people's often embellished family history. 

I did, being honest, skim through some parts of a chapter or so on the Church History of the Region which really doesn’t interest me. I understand why it's there – Christianity did have a significant impact on the UK and, indeed, Europe during this time, so passing over such history just isn’t an option. Plus, naturally, the early Church kept reasonable, indeed often the only, records from that time (even if they did sometimes shade into propaganda) and it would be unreasonable not to use them. Because of its remoteness from English and European affairs we are sometimes left with little more than lists of Kings and mention of battles – although surprisingly despite being ‘important’ enough to mention few seemed important enough to locate accurately – and these ‘histories’ being compiled by authors hundreds of miles and sometimes hundreds of years after the events.  

Despite the caveats above I thought this was fairly good read overall. I did find it particularly interesting how populations mixed from Ireland, England, Scandinavia and further afield which gave an extra layer of understanding to my ‘quest’ to uncover where my Scottish DNA comes from. My DNA profile shows 5% Scottish DNA from ‘Parent 1’ (presumably my father) and 16% from Parent 2’ (my mother) which makes sense from what else I know already as well as what I know of the history of the Isles. I’m looking forward to finding out more. Worth a read for anyone interested in the very earliest history of Scotland.  

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Just Finished Reading: Blood of the Isles – Exploring the Genetic Roots of our Tribal History by Bryan Sykes (FP: 2006) [339pp] 

This is apparently the first ever book published on the genetic heritage of the British Isles. Previously, the foundations of the Isles have either been shrouded in myth, based on sometimes questionable historic documents or, going back into deep history, evidence from archaeological sites and ancient monuments. The question for the author, and his scientific team from Oxford University, was both what they could add to this story and what they could clarify. For example, how much change did the Anglo-Saxon migration to the British mainland accomplish? Was it, as some historians portray, a series of invasions (complete with significant displacement or replacement of locals) or was it a more gradual and much more peaceful process. Other questions revolve around the impact – partial or not – of the Viking occupation of North-western England for several centuries and, naturally, the long-term impact of the Norman Invasion in 1066 (to say nothing of the much earlier Roman occupation). 

Interestingly, for a science Geek like me, the author went to great lengths to show the team’s work – essentially how they went about collecting a significantly large number of samples from across the Isles. Back in those days [grin] the knowledge and appreciation of genetic fingerprints was much lower than it is today. So, first they had to convince people to hand over their genetic data which, naturally, they thought would be a hard sell. It turned out to be nothing of the sort. Using the opportunity to speak to people at their local Blood Transfusion Service, they asked if they could have some of their blood and asked for any ancestry details that they were willing to divulge. Almost everyone without exception said YES. Again, back in those days it took somewhat longer to derive results from the samples, so the project was a long one. But once the results began being complied it was clear that the effort and the wait were worth it. 

It would seem that the genetic make-up of the Isles has changed very little – despite all of the known historical events – from the original pre-Roman ‘base’. Not only did the Romans have a negligible impact on the British/English genome it had, as we might expect, none in Wales, Ireland or Scotland. A good part of the explanation for this was that the majority of Roman soldiers based in Britain were not in fact Italian but, rather, Germanic or from Gaul – the very peoples that had either already settled in Britain or who would shortly do so. Interestingly, the Viking occupation of the Danelaw also had only a slight impact on the local DNA. This was, again as you might suspect, significantly more pronounced – though still only a minority stake – in places like the Shetland Islands and parts of west Scotland. One thing that made me smile, being a fan on the Anglo-Saxons, was the fact that the Norman Invasion barely registered on the countries DNA despite the deaths of many of the Anglo-Saxon great and good. It would seem that the Norman DNA (which was essentially Scandinavian DNA already here) wasn’t different enough to show up in the results. From my own personal view – that of my Irish and Scottish ancestry – the author confirmed what I had already come across in various books on the subject, that the west of Ireland and the east of Scotland have had a LONG history of mixing which might just explain at least some of my Scottish DNA. 

If you’re looking into your ancestry from these islands – including England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – you could do far worse than start here. This will certainly give you a good grounding in the genetic history of those countries as well as some appreciation of how things changed over time and the general movement of peoples into and within the British Isles. More to come. Recommended. 

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Just Finished Reading: Blood of the Celts – The New Ancestral Story by Jean Manco (FP: 2015) [205pp] 

Originally thinking that both sides of my family could trace their roots back to Ireland, I’ve long considered myself a Celt and have equally long been interested in all things Celtic. I was gratified (if a little confused) by the DNA confirmation that I am indeed 94% Celtic with a 62-32% Irish-Scottish split. The confusion comes from the Scottish angle as I have yet to find any Scottish ancestors in any branch of my family tree. This interesting and intriguing book provides a hint of a possible answer to that mystery. 

Delving (naturally) into DEEP European history, the author looks at the origin of the Celts highlighted by burial style, grave objects and in particular pottery. Changes in these styles across Europe give clear evidence of the spread of Celtic culture and trade across the Continent, Scandinavia and, of course, the British Isles including Ireland. With much of our earliest knowledge of Celtic history and culture coming from interactions with Greek travelers and Roman conquerors, the author spends some time looking at Celtic Gaul and the impact of its Romanisation – essentially a sustained migration of Celts from Gaul/France to the British Isles with, naturally, an impact on the local Britain’s. Likewise, as the Roman juggernaut crossed the Channel and began the occupation of Britain the Celts moved North and West away from them (as much as possible) and into Wales and across to Ireland. The bit that helped me understand, or at least appreciate, the Scottish aspect in my own history is the fact that commerce – both in the trade sense and in the genetic sense – was taking place between the Celtic heartlands in Ireland, Wales and Western Scotland for centuries (indeed for millennia) which might very well account for the 32% due to the slow accretion of DNA over the years. At least it’s a thought until I find something a bit more concrete.  

As you can imagine, this was a DEEP dive into my ancestral gene pool and, although it didn’t give me a whole lot to work with, it still provided both food for thought and a much deeper understanding of all things Celtic. I liked the author's style of writing and she very clearly ‘knew her stuff’. If you’ve ever wondered about the Celts, and especially if you have (or think you have) Celtic blood flowing through your veins, this is definitely an excellent introduction to the subject. Likewise, if you have an interest in ancient (and sometimes dead or dying) languages – including Celtic – this volume will give you some interesting insights and ideas to follow up on. Recommended. More ancestry deep dives coming soon.

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Just Finished Reading: The Scots – A Genetic Journey by Alistair Moffat (FP: 2011/2017) [243pp] 

My regular (and returning – THANKS!) readership will be aware that I recently took an Ancestry DNA test which kind of surprised me, and that was BEFORE I started digging into my family tree. The surprise was that by DNA I’m 36% Scottish. Now my father's family are from the East coast of Ireland and my mother's side mostly come from the English Midlands and (generally) points South. I’ve only gone back into the early 19th Century on my Dad’s side so some Scots might show up there, but I’ve managed to go back a LOT further (mid-15th century) on my Mum’s side and.... not a single Scot to be had. So.... Mystery....  

I had read that Scotland and the East coast of Ireland had a long and convoluted history together. That’s one thing that this book confirmed. Certainly, for many centuries there was a lot of commerce and emigration from Ireland to Scotland and, no doubt, the flow went both ways from the very earliest times – although mostly, it seems, From Ireland and TO Scotland. So, at least from that perspective this book didn’t really help me much to start to understand that particular quirk of my double-helix. But there’s So much else of interest here! 

Starting from cradle of humanity, the author follows the slow movement of people (moving at around 1Km per year) from Africa and into Europe, the meeting – and occasional mating – with our close human relatives the Neanderthals, the brief occupation of southern Britain (back in those wonderous days when you could WALK there from ‘France’) and then the reoccupation of what would become the British Isles after the last Ice Age. Obviously, Scotland could only be occupied once the Northern Ice Cap retreated and this happened as humans followed herds North. Over the centuries more people settled in the far North of Britain with occasional immigrants from Ireland and Scandanavia – plus of course a few very brave Roman’s, either sent North to combat the ‘unruly tribes’ there or stationed around Hadrian's Wall and settling down with local wives (staying behind after the Roman’s left). Starting with this core population, the author follows Scottish history with diaspora across the world to Canada, the US and Australia as well as hints of comingling with French settlers and the slow drip feed of European refugee’s seeking shelter across the centuries.  

This is a very informative and often fascinating read. I was generally aware of Scottish history when it impacted on my much wider reading of English history (Scotland and England having an often-troubled relationship!) so it was really interesting to hear about much earlier events. Like in his other book on British DNA he talked about the land-bridge and comparatively long-term settlement of areas that are now under the North Sea. This whole concept completely blows my mind and I really need to read more about it. Although this didn’t really help me much with my DNA search, I found it most enjoyable. Definitely of interest to anyone with Scottish ancestry or just a general interest in that region.   

Latest DNA Update 

Ancestry.Com have just added a DNA ‘traits’ assessment to their website. It was £15 to activate it but that’s a pretty minimal charge in the grand scheme of things – equivalent to an expensive non-fiction paperback. So, what did it find? Mostly what it highlighted didn’t come as much of a surprise, but it was interesting to see both what data my DNA contained and if they got anything wrong. Here are some of the results: 

Apparently, my DNA suggests that I might be ‘more Introverted’. Now those who know me well will be aware of the problems I have with the whole Introvert/Extrovert ‘thing’, but in this case I’ll hold back on that particular tirade and go with it. If I had to choose, I’d say that yes, I am ‘more Introverted’. Score 1. 

Apparently, I’m well within the average for remembered dreams. That feels about right. Sometimes I have VERY vivid dreams (which I’ve remembered) and I also have recurring types of dreams too. I’ve mostly figured out what they are and why they happen – it's my ‘lizard brain’ trying to communicate without the ability to speak..... but that’s a WHOLE other story. 

Nutrient wise I (apparently) have typical levels of beta-carotene, average omega-3, typical levels of B12 (nice to know being a veggie!), typical vitamin C, slightly lower than average levels of vitamin D and typical levels of vitamin E. So, no inherent biological problems there – although I do take a multi-vitamin tablet every day (as I have for over 30 years) plus a number of other vitamin-esque tablets.  

Fitness-wise things got a bit interesting. Apparently, I have “some DNA differences that are commonly found in elite endurance athletes”. That made me laugh a bit but I do have what I regard as a reasonable level of stamina. My heart-rate recovery is average which is OK. I do tend to quiet down quickly after a sudden burst of effort – like running for a bus & such. I’ve always been pleased with that. Interestingly, my “muscles may tire faster than average” which honestly, I haven’t really noticed too much. I’ve never been particularly active, muscle-wise, so probably haven’t really noticed any great problems. Rather interesting too is the fact that I seem to have the ‘sprinter gene’ which came as a bit of a surprise! Seems that I’m quick off the mark but tire easily, but at the same time have some endurance genes – quite a mix there! Lastly here apparently, I have an average ability to increase my oxygen uptake during exercise. Centre of the pack – just where I like it. 

In other news, I don’t ‘flush’ after drinking alcohol, I’m probably not sensitive to certain bitter tastes (probably why I like Brussels sprouts), my caffeine consumption is probably higher than average (as I sip some vanilla Coke zero), I don’t have a problem with fresh coriander (Oh, I love Indian food – period), I’m not lactose intolerant (I’m OK with a glass of milk or ice cream but if I drink TOO much milk in a short period I can feel a bit queasy – although this might not be any kind of tolerance issue), apparently I’m less sensitive to savory flavours (I do like a bit of savory but can live without too much of it), I might sneeze when exposed to bright light (not sure if I do that, I’ll check next time I look at the sun – if it appears at some point!), and I have a sweet tooth – well, duh! 

My DNA suggests that I was of average (that word again) birth weight which I think I was, that I don’t have a cleft chin (true), that I have blue eyes (also true), that my ring finger may be longer than my index (pointer) finger (probably true on my right hand and definitely true on my left), that I probably have freckles (some, though not many), that I’m blonde and could pass on red hair to my children (I was actually born with red hair which then went white-blonde before getting progressively darker [or dirty] blonde before eventually going grey), my hair is naturally straight (true even when it reached my shoulders back in my teens), I have a low chance of hair loss (yeah!), I have a light skin tone (true and I really don’t tan well!), I don’t have a unibrow (true!) and, finally, I’ll get (or probably already have had) all of my wisdom teeth. 

So, I’d say that the results – although pretty mundane as things go – are spot on. I wonder what else they can learn just from your DNA. If they come up with more (and interesting!) results I’ll let you know. 

Just Finished Reading: Britain – A Genetic Journey by Alistair Moffat (FP: 2013) [261pp] 

After ‘treating myself’ to a DNA ancestry test last year I was intrigued (actually more than a little confused) by the amount of “Scottish” DNA in my cells. According to my results I’m 36% Scottish which was, and still is, rather surprising as at least on my mother's side I have zero Scottish ancestors going back to the 16th century and none on my father’s side going back around 200 years. Needless to say, this has prompted some head scratching and book buying including this fascinating volume (the first of a significant number). 

Although it certainly didn’t directly answer any of my questions concerning my mysterious ancestry, it’s given me some ideas, some baselines to work from and, rather inevitably, more ideas for book purchases including the authors companion work on Scottish DNA. Expecting an exclusive focus on the waves of immigration into the British Isles over the millennia I was surprised at how far back into deep time the author looked – indeed as far back as the human diaspora out of Africa as we populated the rest of the planet beyond where we evolved. One of the things that intrigued me most was when the author discussed Britain’s initial occupation just after the last Ice Age when glaciers retreated North and humans followed in their chilly wake. Of course, the interesting thing about that era is that the occupiers didn’t somehow sail across the English Channel, the North Sea or across the unpredictable Bay of Biscay because those features we know so well from satellite imagery had yet to exist. No, the first colonisers of Britain *walked* here across the ‘land bridge’ that connected Britain to mainland Europe. Now, I had always imagined that this ‘bridge’ was a reasonably narrow corridor across what is now the Channel from France which collapsed at some point to separate us from the Continent. I could not have been more wrong. The so-called ‘bridge’ was HUGE, not only across the area of the Channel but across much of what we now call the North Sea. Not only was the bridge extensive but it also lasted a LONG time after the ice retreated. Scans of the North Sea bed, undertaken by companies looking for oil and gas, not only discovered underwater river beds but signs of long-tern occupation and even stone circles now submerged. It is not unusual, apparently, for fishing boats in parts of the North Sea to dredge up PEAT off the sea floor! Things like that really blow me away and remind me that even present day geological and geographic features have not always been like this. But I digress! 

Like much of the planet, Britain is a nation of mixed genetic heritage. Originally lightly populated by wanderers from the attached continent it experienced waves of colonisation (and conquest) from Anglo-Saxons, Romans (who located legions here from all over their Empire – some of which still show up in DNA clusters around original Roman camps), Vikings and Normans. On top of this there has been a steady influx of individuals and family groups from across the Empire and the world to these shores. All of them have had an effect on the genetic makeup of Britain’s DNA. My father relocated here, aged 10, from Southern Ireland in the late 1930’s. Further back, some of my mother’s Irish ancestors arrived in the Midlands around the time of the Industrial Revolution. Such has always been the case and probably always will be. 

Whilst not exactly helping me very much with any of my ongoing ancestry questions or mysteries this was definitely an interesting and often fascinating read. I have at least 3-4 more books on this subject lined up which should give me a decent foundation for going forward in my quest to understand my genetic, historic and cultural heritage a bit more clearly. Recommended for anyone interested in Britain's genetic history and especially the history of their own land. Much more to come on this and associated subjects.  

Looking Backwards: Nice Place You Have (2)

As I’ve said before here many places in England (and the rest of the UK) have odd, unusual and often funny names because of their individual histories. Because occupying groups changed over time as well as languages and language usage you might easily get a Celtic village which had its name Latinised later changed into Medieval English and then updated into what it is today. Such a long and often convoluted process can produce apparently bizarre place names but once you dig into their histories it can all become almost obvious and also reveal a LOT about what was going on back at the very edges of the historical record.

Following my ancestors records again I came across my 5^th great-grandfather who lived and died in the village of Albrighton in Shropshire from 1773-1858. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Albricston(e) or the home/farm of Albric/Aethelbeorht, it received its charter in 1303, which was renewed in 1662 for rather unusual reasons. The charter declared that "because Albrighton (then) adjoined Staffordshire on the east, south and west sides, felons and other malefactors fled Staffordshire to escape prosecution because there was no resident justice of the peace in that part of Shropshire". [From Wiki] Interestingly Charles Dickens stayed there in the local Public House briefly whilst working on The Old Curiosity Shop.

My 6^th great-grandfather lived in a little village called Wem (again in Shropshire) during the 18^th century. For a place with such a small name it has a LONG history.  The name of the town is derived from the Old English wamm, meaning a marsh, as marshy land exists in the area of the town. Over time, this form evolved into "Wem".  The area now known as Wem is believed to have been settled prior to the Roman Conquest of Britain, by the Cornovii, Celtic Iron Age settlers: there is an Iron Age hillfort at nearby Bury Walls occupied over into the Roman period, and the Roman Road from Uriconium to Deva Victrix ran close by to the east at Soulton.  Weme was an Anglo-Saxon estate, which transitioned into a planned Norman castle-town established after the conquest, with motte-and-bailey castle, parish church and burgage plots. The town is recorded in the Domesday Book as consisting of four manors in the hundred of Hodnet. The Domesday Book records that Wem was held by William Pantulf. [From Wiki]

Another of my 6^th great-grandfather’s lived during the mid-18^th century in King’s Bromley in Staffordshire. The manor was anciently called Brom Legge, and derived its present name from the circumstances of its being the property of the Crown for nearly two centuries after the Norman Conquest, previous to which it had been distinguished as the residence of the Earls of Mercia. Leofric, the husband of the famous Lady Godiva, died here in 1057. Henry III granted the manor to the Corbetts, who sold it, in 1569, to Francis Agard, of Ireland. About 1670 it was sold by Charles Agard to John Newton, of the island of Barbados, and in 1794 it was bequeathed by Sarah Newton to her cousins, John & Thomas Lane. [From Wiki]

Lastly (for now) is the intriguingly named village called Tong in Shropshire, birthplace of my 6^th great-grandmother in 1708. Presently Tong has a population of around 243. I have to wonder what the population was over 300 years ago! The name of the village derives from the Old English Tweonga, which means a pinched piece or spit of land. This stems from the fact that Tong sits between two tributaries of the infant River Worfe.  In "White-ladies," one of the "Boscobel Tracts" that describe the events of the escape of Charles II from England after the Battle of Worcester (3 September 1651), there is a statement that Charles, while sheltering at Boscobel House about two miles away, "had the pleasure of a prospect from Tong to Breewood (sic), which satisfied the eyes, and of the famous bells at Tong, which entertained the ear." The bells he heard were the bells of St. Bartholomew's. During the escape Charles also spent the night of 4/5 September 1651 at Hobbal Grange in the parish of Tong as a guest of Richard Penderel.  The village is remarkable mainly for its church, St Bartholomews, outside of which is the supposed grave of Little Nell, a fictional character in Charles Dickens's book, The Old Curiosity Shop. It is thought that Dickens visited Tong church. His grandmother is supposed to have worked at Tong Castle many years before as a girl. The Castle (demolished in 1954) stood to the south; its site is now occupied by the M54 motorway.  The 'grave' is thought to have come about because Charles Dickens's novel was serialised and shipped over to America, and as a result, Americans began coming over to England to visit scenes featured in the book. The tourists recognised the references to Tong church from the book and came to view the supposed 'grave', which of course was not there. However, a verger and village postmaster, George H. Boden (16 August 1856 - May 1943) apparently asked local people to pay for a headstone, forged an entry in the church register of burials (apparently the giveaway was that he used post office ink to do this), and charged people to see the 'grave'. The marker has been moved from time to time to make way for genuine graves. [From Wiki]

Finally, in related news Ancestry.Com has just updated my genetic profile on their website. Originally I was 59% Irish, 36% Scottish (STILL a mystery to me!), 3% English/North European and 2% Swedish. The update has tweaked that a bit as their database grows and their algorithm improves. The new details are now 62% Irish, 32% Scottish (!), 3% English/North European and 3% Welsh – so I’ve lost my Swedish connection…. [sobs]. More to come… [grin]  

Looking Backwards: Nice Place You Have (1)

I’ve loved maps for as long as I can remember. Not only do they feed the imagination for far away and, presumably, exotic places, but they’re also mysteries to be unravelled. It always intrigued me how the maps had been created, how the people had travelled there and why were so many places saddled with such strange and bizarre names. I’m sure that my mother in particular spent many moments wondering why exactly I was chuckling when scanning an Atlas. It was of course the names of towns, rivers, mountains and lakes. Why, oh why, I wondered did they name that town by THAT name. Naturally, as always, such questions lead to many, many interesting places – and not all of them on maps. But what’s my point, you may be wondering about now, and how does it apply to my Ancestry investigations?

As my father was born in Southern Ireland and my mother had a very Irish maiden name I presumed that my lineage was going to be almost exclusively Ireland based. As I learnt very early on I was wrong – dead wrong. On my mother’s side most of her ancestors were from the Midlands and then, much later, scattered across the country but mostly from the Midlands southwards. Despite having (apparently) 36% Scottish DNA I have still yet to find any Scottish ancestors – but I’m working on that. But we should start from the beginning – at least as far as I’m concerned. My mother, I and both of my siblings were born in Liverpool (home of The Beatles!) on the North-West coast of England. This is from Wiki: The name comes from the Old English lifer, meaning thick or muddy water, and pōl, meaning a pool or creek, and is first recorded around 1190 as Liuerpul. According to the Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, "The original reference was to a pool or tidal creek now filled up into which two streams drained". The place appearing as Leyrpole, in a legal record of 1418, may also refer to Liverpool. Other origins of the name have been suggested, including "elverpool", a reference to the large number of eels in the Mersey.

This is, of course, one of the great things about English place names – many of them are OLD and some of them are so old that no one actually knows where the name comes from. In this case ‘Old English’ means Anglo-Saxon but there are places with modernised versions of Roman names, Celtic names, Scandinavian names and so on and, of course, place names have an influence on family names with a typical ‘X of Y’ Surname not exactly uncommon. [Side Note: It’s always funny finding someone in my lineage called ‘Fletcher’ or ‘Bowman’ or some such and ponder “I wonder what THEIR ancestors did for a living!”].

Going back a few more generations a LOT of my ancestors came from in and around Wolverhampton. From Wiki:  The city is named after Wulfrun, who founded the town in 985, from the Anglo-Saxon Wulfrūnehēantūn ("Wulfrūn's high or principal enclosure or farm"). Before the Norman Conquest, the area's name appears only as variants of Heantune or Hamtun, the prefix Wulfrun or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter. Alternatively, the city may have earned its original name from Wulfereēantūn ("Wulfhere's high or principal enclosure or farm") after the Mercian King, who according to tradition established an abbey in 659, though no evidence of an abbey has been found. The variation Wolveren Hampton is seen in medieval records, e.g. in 1381. So, solidly Anglo-Saxon again. I had no idea that Wolverhampton’s history went back quite that far.

Interestingly, digging a little deeper, a whole bunch of my maternal ancestors hail from a place called Sheriffhales in Shropshire. From Wiki: The name derives from Halh (Anglican) and scīr-rēfa (Old English) which is a combination of Hales (a nook of land, small valley) and Sheriff (a king's executive). At the time of the Domesday Book, it was held by Roger de Balliol the Sheriff of Shropshire. I did have a feeling it was a Norman sounding name but it looks like the village, which only had around 1000 people scattered across farmland when my 4^th great-grandfather lived there, pre-dated the Norman invasion.

Another interesting, and somewhat weird, place name is Gnosall in Staffordshire. My 4^th great-grandmother was born there at the turn of the 19^th century. From Wiki: The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book, in which it was named Geneshale. It is listed there as having a population of 12 households. According to research presented online by the University of Nottingham, the name Gnosall derives from a combination of the Old Welsh Genou meaning 'mouth' and the Mercian word halh meaning 'a nook of land' or 'a small valley' or 'dry ground in marsh.' The Gnosall Parish Council also believes that Gnosall derives from both Genou and halh, however believes that halh actually stands for 'low-lying land by a river' and states that Gnosall translates to a ‘narrow valley that suddenly opens out into a wider one’. That same site also states that there are at least 27 different spellings of the name, the oldest surviving record being for Geneshale in the Domesday Book of 1086, and that it is only by chance that Gnosall is the current spelling. How STRANGE is that one – a name so ‘odd’ that no one could agree on its spelling!

My 5^th great-grandmother was also born in Shropshire in a little place called Shifnal. From Wiki: The town, also once known as "Idsall" (relating to potential Roman links), most probably began as an Anglian settlement, established by the end of the 7th century. Shifnal is thought to be the place named "Scuffanhalch" in a 9th-century charter, as a possession of the monastery at Medeshamstede (later Peterborough Abbey). Though this seems a dubious claim, and the ancient charter is in fact a 12th-century forgery, the full picture is more complex. Sir Frank Stenton considered that "Scuffanhalch", along with "Costesford" (Cosford) and "Stretford", formed part of a list of places which had once been connected with Medeshamstede; and the charter purports to have been issued by King Æthelred of Mercia, during much of whose reign the bishop of Mercia was Sexwulf (or "Saxwulf"), founder and first abbot of Medeshamstede. The first part of the name "Shifnal" is reckoned to be a personal name, "Scuffa", while the second part, from "halh", means a valley, thus describing the town's topography. Unusually, the name of the town has alternated through the centuries between Idsall and Shifnal. Idsall is mentioned in a 9th-century charter as "Iddeshale", meaning "Idi's nook" or corner. A nook is said to be an area of land of approximately 20 acres (81,000 m2). It is often conjectured that the two names of Idsall and Shifnal were names of settlements on the east and west sides respectively of Wesley Brook, a brook which runs through the town, and is a tributary of the River Worfe. In the 19th century, J. C. Anderson, in his Shropshire its Early History and Antiquities, wrote that Idsall means "Hall of Ide", and that Shifnal is "Hall of Sceafa".

You see why I like looking at maps so much. Place names are not only important and endlessly fascinating but tell you a LOT about the history of that particular place as well as what was going on in the rest of the country. The things you can learn from an apparently simply enquiry into your ancestry continues to blow me away. MUCH more to follow…   

 Looking Backwards: An Onion by Any Other Name

I have a ‘thing’ about names. To me some names just ‘go’ or ‘sing’. They make sense, they have a ‘ring’ to them, or they ‘work’. Other times they most certainly don’t. At best they might be clunky or difficult to pronounce, as if the words fall over each other or end up ignoring each other at opposite ends of a signature. Some names are just bad. I’ve heard of babies being named and my first thought was “You should really teach that kid to fight as soon as possible because they are SO going to be picked on in school’. The last time I thought this was when someone named their new baby boy ‘Huckleberry’. They probably thought this was a pretty cool name, a heroes name, and that his school friends would naturally shorten it to the even cooler name of ‘Huck’ but, kids being kids, I’m guessing he’ll go through his school life being called various kinds of ‘Berry’. I feel sorry for him already. But anyway, back to my ancestors (where I should be) and, of course, Onions.

One of the first names that jumped out at me during the delve into my past was Emma Onions (1857-1909) who was the wife of an early favourite named relation Simeon Doughty (1854-1916) who’s name does ‘go’ in my opinion. However, following Emma’s line backwards in time we eventually get to Paul Onions (1708-1786) who was my 7^th great-grandfather. As mentioned in a previous comment he married Sarah Cheese (1711-1797). I did wonder if this caused any amusement at the time with comments about it being less of a marriage and more of a ploughman’s lunch. But I digress…. With 722 ancestors at least minimally ‘discovered’ so far there’s bound to be a handful of what I consider to be great names and here’s a few of them I have a weird fondness for…

Mary Vanstan (1717-1789)

Mary Barfoot (1624-1708) and her mother Elizabeth Madgwick (1598-????)

Bridget Maloney (1856-1913) which is a CLASSIC Irish name – LOVE it!

John Harper Lockier (1637-1668)

Maudlyn Beffield (1612-1684)

Joyce Wynstons Whiston (1597-????)

Prudence Evans (1664-1742) as I do so love the name Prudence!

Elizabeth Felicia Elwell (1682-1737)

Cassandra Nevison (1682-????)

Mary Gilson Pomfrett (1630-1653)

Sampson Cotton (1584-1635)

Benjamin Gibbons (1595-1664)

Martha Smout (1648-1741)

Prudence Torr (1665-1720) and another Prudence!

Silvester Grubb (1783-1858) and like something out of a Dickens novel!

Susannah Sukie Newell (1741-1768) and I must find out where ‘Sukie’ came from!

Jane Harriet Staunton Stanton (1537-1640) and I think I’m going to have to confirm her 103 years!

Bartholomew Pee (1674-1759) and lastly my all-time favourite ancestor name yet

Druscilla Husslebury (1820-1900) the wife of my 4^th great-granduncle Enoch Onions (1823-????) and another possible Dickens character. I can just imagine her, always late for an appointment, always moving at top speed complaining that there’s not enough hours in the day……

Obviously I’m still digging and still, slowly, scraping away at centuries of detritus surrounding my ever expanding family history. I’ve essentially stopped going as far back as I could and am now investigating sideways and along family names – like the Onions clan! – for a bit more meat on the (so far) bare bones. It’s amazing what I’ve discovered in less than 3 months. No doubt there will be MUCH more to come. 

Looking Backwards: A Matter of Life and Death (2)

As I’ve mentioned recently it appears that the vast majority of my uncovered ancestors lived and died within sight of where they were born. I see where I get my ‘home body’ genes from. There are a few examples of those who moved though – some a great distance to VERY foreign lands. I’ve already mentioned some connections with the Caribbean island of Barbados (of which more later) and a few connections with America (before the Revolution). But, as always, there’s more…..

Just recently I’ve been looking at William Banks II (1796-1868), my 4^th great-grandfather, and his wife Elizabeth – nee Taylor (1798-1868) who moved from Shropshire, England (where a great many of my ancestors originated) and ended up in Spanish Fork, Utah where they farmed and raised five children. One of those children, John Banks (1834-1896), my 3^rd great-granduncle, fought with the Utah Territory Militia in the ‘Blackhawk War’, the name of the estimated 150 battles, skirmishes, raids, and military engagements taking place from 1865 to 1872, primarily between Mormon settlers in Sanpete County, Sevier County and other parts of central and southern Utah, and members of 16 Ute, Southern Paiute, Apache and Navajo tribes, led by a local Ute war chief, Antonga Black Hawk. [Thanks, Wiki] How WEIRD is THAT! One of HIS sons, Robert Taylor Banks (1871-1915) married a local Utah girl Ellen Gudrun Johnson (1871-1964) whose family was from ICELAND [another STRANGE connection] and whose mother had the brilliant, if difficult to pronounce name of Ingibjorg Ingimundsdr.

Then, there’s the brilliantly named Mary Elizabeth Gilson Pomfrett (1630-1653), my 10^th great-grandmother, born in the East Riding of Yorkshire who gave birth to Thomas Key (1643-1695) at age 13! [interestingly Thomas was born in Cheshire and not Yorkshire where Mary, his mother, was from. I’m guessing she was sent to relatives to give birth and then either return home or leave for the New World] and who died 10 years later in Charles City, Virginia, New England in 1653. I do wonder if she went there voluntarily. I don’t know much more about her presently – including what age she was when she arrived – but it looks certain that she left her son behind in England.

Then, there’s another possible English Civil War refugee William Cotton (1611-1652) who was my 10^th great-grandfather. He was born in Staffordshire and produced a daughter there in 1642 just at the start of the Civil War. Ten years later he died in Boston, Mass. I wonder if he left the chaos that was England at the time looking for a new, and more peaceful, existence in the Colonies. Interestingly, it looks like his daughter, Mary Cotton (1642-1726) stayed in England. She then married Thomas Key – mentioned above – in Staffordshire 1666.

Lastly for now what I originally thought might have been an elopement story but now I’m not so sure. Both James Nolan (1840-1910), my 3^rd great-grandfather and Sarah Katherine Gallagher had a rather eventful 1865 with the birth of their 2^nd child, leaving Ireland, arriving in the US, taking up residence in Batavia, Illinois and also getting married there……

I’ll see what else I can dig up about my ever expanding cast of endlessly fascinating ancestors……. [lol]

Looking Backwards – DNA Results!

Several months ago I bought myself a DNA Ancestor kit and sent a seeming bucketful of spit to a lab in Ireland for analysis. The results were due next week but dropped early. Interestingly the results were mundane, surprising and a little disappointing.

Rather unsurprisingly my results came out as 59% Irish. On my father’s side of things I’ve only managed to go back around 100 years but I’m confident, once I break through the deadlock, that they go back as far as records allow – and no doubt much further – on the Irish East coast. So 59% is no great surprise. Knowing now that my mother’s side of the family are, by and large, English (or at least born & bred in England) the 59% seems reasonable. There’s a blip of Irish blood back in the 18^th century – most likely from one of the periodic famines – that shows up in the Midlands (no doubt in the early-ish stages of the Industrial Revolution) which probably explains the additional 9%. So far, so mundane.

The surprise, at least to me, in the next big chunk of DNA in each of my cells – 36% Scottish. Now certainly on my Mother’s side (the only lineage I’ve managed to track back to any great depth) I’ve thought several times that there is a notable ABSENCE of Scots. As mentioned above most of my maternal ancestors are English with an Irish blip and a handful of Welsh back in the 16^th century. The vast majority of my maternal ancestors are either from the Midlands or points SOUTH. I could understand a bleed-over effect from ancestors near the Scottish borders but it surprises me a great deal to see Scottish genes so heavily represented here. I’m obviously missing some information. The only things I can think of is either some SERIOUS mixing of Scottish DNA into my English ancestors prior to Tudor times (I know that several serious raids into the Midlands and the South happened over the last 1000 years but nothing that resulted in long term occupation) or, and probably more likely, the Scottish DNA comes from migrations from Scotland into Ireland from VERY early days. As always more research (AKA books!) is required.

Of course what this does mean is that I’m 95% Celtic – which is COOL in itself and something I had long believed myself to be. It seems that I do indeed have an INDENTITY that I can back up with science & stuff. I am, as you might expect, more than happy with that result. I’m a CELT – deal with it [lol]. This, of course, also requires much more reading! [grin]

So, what of the other 5%? Well, the DNA results said that I’m 3% English or North European. Again that’s interesting. It would suggest that the Irish side of the family didn’t have any noticeable influx of other DNA lines and that the ‘English’ side of things – presumably from Irish and (somehow) Scottish ancestors - didn’t mix much with the locals. I wonder if that was due to their Catholic faith. I’m guessing that the local English (with majority ‘English’ DNA) were Protestants so were outside the acceptable breeding range of the ‘Irish’/’Scottish’ DNA lines. That might explain any mate selection process that would, as a consequence, exclude ‘English’ DNA from the available gene pool. At least that’s a working theory!

The remaining 2% was, rather oddly, Swedish. This is both funny (in a way) and more than a little disappointing. The ‘funny’ part is that I expect that a LOT of European DNA, including the UK and Ireland, have around 2-5% Scandinavian in its code structure. Those guys got around a LOT over the years. The disappointing part is that it destroys a personal myth I kind of toyed with about having Viking ancestors. After all the area where my father’s family comes from was periodically settled by Vikings. I guess they didn’t mix very much…. So, my first impulse was to be rather underwhelmed by the whole thing but thinking about it more deeply my mind is starting to run down interesting rabbits as they bob and weave away from me. One of the interesting takeaways from the results is how incredibly LOCAL my DNA is. Despite the UK in general being a real mixing pot over the millennia my DNA line managed to stay fairly cohesive. That in itself is something to ponder on….. Oh, and one more thing that popped into my head. The DNA trail seems to suggest that NONE of my ancestors came over with the Normans in 1066 and after. Interesting!

Looking Backwards – A Matter of Life & Death (1)

Looking back over my ancestry records over the past month or so has thrown up some very interesting, and honestly mysterious, long lost relatives. It’s also highlighted that, generally, my family are quite long lived despite coming from common stock and, presumably, having correspondingly hard lives. It’s certainly not unusual going back into the 18^th or even 17^th century and fining members who lived well into their 60’s and beyond. This is an era when average life expectancy was around 40. But I guess that the average was rather skewed towards the lower end of things because of high infant mortality. Get past you first 5, and definitely your first 10, years and reaching 50 or beyond was a lot easier.

But I think the most interesting thing I’ve come across is not how long people lived but where they died. Unsurprisingly most of my ancestors died pretty much within a stone’s throw of where they were born and lived out their lives. At best they might have moved to another town in the same county or moved to an adjacent county at some point. Long distance migration seemed to have been very much the exception. So singular exceptions REALLY jumped out at me.   

First on that list was John Lee (1751-1784). He was my 5^th great-grandfather and was born in Limerick, Ireland. Interestingly all of the ancestors listed here are from my maternal line (largely from around the West Midlands of England) rather than my father’s Southern Irish line. The odd thing was where he died – in Richmond, Georgia aged 33. I wonder if he was going for a new life in the Colonies due to famine conditions in Ireland.

Then, there’s Ann Woodroffe (1640-1696) my 12^th great-grandmother. She was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire and married John Padmore II in her teens following him back to his sugar plantation in Barbados where she gave birth to a son when still 17. That same year her husband died but Ann stayed on in Barbados where she died aged 56.

Another interesting example is Elizabeth Woodley (1646-1720), my 11^th great-grandmother who was born in Barbados but died, aged 74, in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in 1720. I wonder what her story was. I am, of course, naturally concerned with any connection to Barbados during this era because of its very strong connection with sugar and slaves. Was Elizabeth part of this trade with property in both locations? Good question!

Somewhat more mysterious, and possibly more disturbing, are the details surrounding Mary Reade (1610-1655), my 12^th great-grandmother. She was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire which 100 years later was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. In 1646 she was in Barbados (again!) giving birth to a daughter. The most intriguing part though is where she died, aged just 45. She died – in 1655 – in West Nimba, Liberia. I looked at the map and Nimba is significantly inland from any coastal settlement or trading post. What on earth was a woman doing there in the mid-17^th century? With her husband trading maybe, either for pepper (a very valuable commodity at the time) or for slaves to take back to Barbados. Not a particularly nice thought process there. It seems clear that the Padmore family (mentioned above) must have kept slaves to harvest their sugar crop but was Mary Reade’s family TRADING in slaves?

I’ll leave it there for now. Fascinating stuff though and much food for both thought and future research. Watch out for books on much of this going forward. 

Looking Backwards – The ‘Good’, the ‘Bad’ and the (Very) Ugly

I’ve been continuing digging into my past on an Ancestry website and, so far, have come up with around 500 ancestors mostly on my Mother’s side. I’m still hitting a bit of a brick wall on my Father’s side of things so I’m concentrating on what I can find rather than banging my head too much. So far, as I expected being (as far as I know) a peasant from a long line of peasants it’s all been pretty mundane. Most of my maternal family have been solidly working class with most of the men (that I know of) holding general labouring jobs and most of the women – in between birthing an outstanding number of children – being servants or dressmakers. But going back a ways I did find out a few that stood out.

First the ‘Good’. I say ‘good’ because this was the first Sir I came across. His name was Sir Matthew Herbert (1536-1603) who was born in South East Wales. He was, apparently (and I say ‘apparently’ because I’m still not 100% sure that all of this is real as tracing back my family for 500 years is still freaking me out a bit), my 12^th great-grandfather. He seems to have been a Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Mary and her sister Queen Elizabeth I. Being a Catholic this must have been quite a stressful time for him!

The ‘Bad’ here isn’t really that bad (at least not yet!). What I mean by ‘bad’ is that the two following ancestors were both supporters of the Monarchy of Charles I during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651). The first that popped onto my ‘radar’ was Hannah Parnell Rand (1609-1694) who was ‘apparently’ my 10^th great-grandmother. Apart from having an outstanding name I was intrigued by her birthplace – Arundel Castle in Sussex. This was indeed a full-on castle which was interesting enough – although her family didn’t own the castle as far as I’m aware. What was more interesting to me was where and when she died – in Essex county, Massachusetts in 1694 when it was very much still a British colony in the New World. Arundel castle was held by Royalist forces during the war and was held under siege for 18 days in 1643 when Hannah was in her early 30’s. I haven’t confirmed yet that she was present during the siege but it wouldn’t surprise me. I’m speculating that she was likely part of the castle owners ‘affinity’ who were royalists (and no doubt Catholics). How and why she ended up in the New World 50 years later I can only, again for now, speculate. I’m guessing that after the Royalists lost the war and Charles was executed that they felt they could no longer liver here – especially under Cromwell’s reign – so moved, as many seemed to have done, to the colonies and a new life. By the time of the restoration in 1660 I’m guessing that Hannah and her cohorts had put down deep enough roots that they decided to stay.

The other ‘bad’ I actually know much more about. I’ve even found a portrait of him (below). His name was Sir Thomas Allin (1612-1685) and he was ‘apparently’ my 10^th great-grandfather. Not only was he around during the Civil War but her fought in them as an Admiral in the Royal Navy (and commanded the Mediterranean fleet) on behalf of Charles I [so another royalist damn him!] and also in the seemingly never ending wars with Holland around that time. I think he’s definitely my biggest ‘fish’ so far!

Now to the (very) ugly…. I have long maintained in conversations about historic slavery that, coming from a long line of peasants, my ancestors were much more likely to have been slaves (indentured probably) rather than to have kept them. Apparently I was wrong. My 13^th great-grandfather was one Thomas Padmore (1610-1661). The red flag was that he died in St Thomas Parish, Barbados. So, 17^th century Barbados….. Which meant sugar, which meant plantations which meant….. yup, slaves. I haven’t done much of a deep dive into this element of my family history yet but it appears that the Padmore family had a sugar plantation known as Bagatelle which covered 213 acres. This means that the plantation is highly likely to have used slaves even if the Padmore’s themselves didn’t technically own them – which, to be honest, they most likely did. To say that I was less than impressed by this revelation is somewhat of an understatement. Having Royalists in my family tree was bad enough but slave owners too? Not good…… It certainly gives me more to dig into though which is always good. Next time I’ll let you know some of the smaller mysteries that my brief investigations have brought up.      

 Looking Backwards – An Overview

A little over a month ago I treated myself to a late birthday present – an Ancestry DNA test. It arrived just over a week ago (from Germany!) and I dutifully spat in a plastic tube as directed and sent it off to be analysed (in Ireland!). I expect to get the results in Late July/early August. Naturally I’ll share things here when the results are in. What I expected, until recently anyway, was for the majority of my genetic heritage to be Irish with probably a percentage of Scandinavian thrown in. After all my father was born in Ireland and my mother has an Irish maiden name so….. WRONG!

As an additional sweetener from the Ancestry website they offered an introductory 3 month access to their database and family tree toolset for £1 (how could I refuse THAT!) going up to the usual £49.99 for a further 3 months from September. So, I thought, I’d dabble in my family history for 6 months and see what I can come up with in that time. The answer is: a LOT. Within a day or so of digging I discovered that nearly all of my assumptions had been dead wrong. But let me explain…..

I grew up in a family that didn’t have much interest in outside family members. It wasn’t something that we discussed. Sure I knew my immediate family but we were never what you would call close, especially after my family moved to their present location. So my knowledge of my family history was close to zero. I knew my father was born in Ireland and that his family arrived in England in 1939 and that was essentially it. On my mother’s side I almost knew as little. I knew my maternal grandmother was from Wolverhampton in the Midlands and that my grandfather fought in North Africa in WW2 and that was about it. Like I said – zero. But I had assumed that, because my mother’s maiden name was Irish that there would, pretty quickly, be a strong Irish connection there too. Oh, no. Far from it…..

OK, step back and BIG picture time. Starting from another low knowledge of the Ancestry ‘business’ I assumed that, if I was lucky, I might be able to push my family tree back to the first national census in 1801. That, I thought, would be amazing. Personally I was ready to settle at 100 years back and would call myself satisfied. So I started digging…. Beginning (naturally) with my parents. Now I knew so little about my father’s side that I had to ask my mother about them. Getting details of my paternal grandparents I managed, not without some difficulty, to push back to my 3^rd great grandfather born in 1820. Interestingly, but hardly surprisingly, my father’s family went back 200 years largely living and dying within a handful of miles of where my dad was born. I still need to do a LOT of digging on that side of things but, apart from the odd ‘in-comer’ from a different part of Ireland I’m not expecting any great surprises. What I would hope, indeed LOVE, to find is a connection to two people of my Surname who died on the Titanic in 1912. You will definitely find out if I come across THAT discovery.

The BIG surprise I found was from my mother’s side. Not only could I trace them back further – indeed MUCH further – but the majority of them had nothing at all to do with Ireland. The only direct line, in fact, to what I half-jokingly refer to as the ‘old country’ was through my maternal grandfather whose line goes back to southern Ireland for generations - indeed as far back as the late 17^th century with my 8^th great-grandfather born in Dublin in 1690. On my grandmother’s side of things the line goes initially to Wolverhampton and then onto Shropshire in the West Midlands bordering Wales. Following her line directly back through her father and so on I got as far back as 1590 all roughly in the same geographical area. So far so interesting if not particularly earth-shattering…. (apart from the fact that I managed, from my ‘spare’ room, in my stocking feet to track part of my family back to the ELIZABETHAN AGE!!!).

Of course being so close to Wales there was bound to be the odd Welsh connection and there was. A few names at first and then a whole LOAD of them, again from the 1500’s. One in particular jumped out at me – Sir Mathew Herbert (1536-1603) – of which more later! Another person jumped off the records because of her birthplace – Arundel Castle. Now I knew that people back then – she was born in 1609 – called their houses ‘castles’ in they had some crenellation and ‘looked’ like a castle from a distance so I wasn’t immediately impressed. So I Googled it – and discovered it WAS in fact a castle and a pretty big one. The other interesting fact about her is where she DIED – Massachusetts….. More later on THAT! Oddly I’ve come across several family members who died in the USA and several of which who died in the New World colonies prior to the War of Independence. MUCH digging to be done there!!

But I don’t want to give TOO much away on my first pass on my ancestry investigations. So I’ll just wrap up with a few first impressions. I was surprised (actually AMAZED) at just how easy it was to go FAR back in the records. So much so that I was a little sceptical about it all, thinking that I must be doing something wrong. Most of what I’ve discovered so far has been on the prompting of the website itself linking up family members that have already been established but I’m going pretty much on what can be said with a fair amount of certainty. If I come across anything even slightly questionable I reject it and park it for investigation so confidence is reasonably high so far. I am totally blown away by the fact that I haven’t just gone back 100 or even 200 years but, more than once, 500 years into Britain’s past. I’ve mentioned to a few people that it really connects you to history in a way that no history book has ever done before. If what I’ve found so far pans out then I have blood relatives who served ‘bloody’ Queen Mary, fought in the Civil War on the side of King Charles, and quite probably kept slaves on a sugar plantation in Barbados (I’m still processing THAT one!). It’s weird how REAL it all feels. I can certainly understand why people become completely addicted and obsessed about finding out as much as they can about their ancestors. It really does ROOT you in time (and place) in what is increasingly a rootless world. I’m SO glad I started looking into this. I’m both intrigued and a little apprehensive by what I’ll find next.