ShareHistory

Following surnames isn't always easy. There are plenty of ways our ancestors could trip us up. Spellings were very variable even quite late on. A simple name like Smith could be written as Smyth or Smythe. Unfamiliar foreign names have always been particularly difficult, especially when you don't share the same alphabet. Inconveniently for us, our ancestor changed their names. Sometimes the reasons are obvious. Foreign names may be changed for  safety, economic or cultural... read more

There is only one news item in the UK newspapers today and that is Andy Murray's win at Wimbledon yesterday. It was indeed a triumph of incredible proportions with both players moving at lightening speed and hitting winners off impossible balls. How did they do it? One can analyse it all one wants but for the moment let's just enjoy it and admire not just the talent but the dedication and training which made that... read more

Yesterday in the UK there was a meeting of scientists to talk about the weather - why it has been so wet over the last fesw years and what the implications might be of such weather continuing. There was a report  on the Today programme this morning summarising the workshop and one of the scientists referred to the extreme weather of the 1870s. What he said was most interesting in relation to history. He said... read more

I was watching a programme on television last night about the Battle of Trafalgar which was interesting in several ways. Firstly there was an expert on the navy of that time and he was excellent. He explained things so well that even someone who knows nothing about naval life, could understand it. There were two slaves on board, one from Jamaica, I think, and the other from Sweden. The Swedish man had written a diary... read more

Books are often specialist and  hard to find. Here are a few books which people have told me about and one which I wrote which you may find useful. Ditton Priors Manor Court Rolls 1560-1614 by Sylvia Watts and Ralph Collingwood Shropshire Almshouses by Sylvia Watts A Life's Work. Metal Detected Finds in a Shropshire Parish by Frank Taylor and Jane Smith Local History Societies PhilHudson told me about the North Craven historical society www.northcravenhistoricalresearch.co.uk... read more

A member (ATrescott1) is looking for information about Trescott. This is what she knows so far. My mother's surname is Trescott...decended from William Trescott (<1642)the immigrant to Dorchester, MA.   It is possible (but no proof) that he isthe son of Anthony Triscott of Woodbury Devon, born 1614.  In Staffs, I find no Trescotts (or de Trescotes) after 1380 or so.  But if we are descended from this ancient branch, I think they ended up near... read more

A very happy 2013. What was happening in your history world back in 1913, I wonder. Here is a link to a photograph of a theatre that was in Wolverhampton which was burnt down in 1913. http://www.sharehistory.org/stuart_g/uploads/1800-fire-at-star-theatre. The reverse of the photo is as interesting as the front. It says: Maser (or Mason) this was taken from the pit Lavarty their is not one that as got one of these at the theatre so please... read more

I have just had a meeting with an extraordinary man. Initially there is the usual problem of ‘where do we start?’ There is the tiptoeing about to see how far we can trust each other, what should I tell this woman who has come and wants to talk about my family? What does she want, what  is she looking for? It goes fairly slowly to start with and I am just thinking that perhaps I... read more

This is a history resource like no other, created by the Sharehistory community from what they have and would like to share with others. There are very different items - old photographs, postcards, research, observations on contemporary life, memories and artefacts of all sorts.  This is one of the most unusual items, a family reunion cane http://www.sharehistory.org/jamesparish8/uploads/4916-francis-family-reunion-cane commemorating the Francis family reunion. The inscription follows, "This cane is a souvenir of The Francis Family Reunion held at... read more

 Last night I had a phone call from a woman who had bought a piece of history on Ebay which related to a German prisoner of war who was at Worfield in Shropshire in the Second World War. So one might have expected that the item, which was a letter sent to his family in the Russian Zone of Germany in 1947 who have been in Germany. But no, such is the diaspora of history... read more