Category Archives: Death

Divorce, Spanish style

Divorce, or the dissolution of a marriage, is an institution which has existed for centuries. Although we may not realise it, there were hundreds of historical divorces which preceded the case of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine … Continue reading

Posted in Bigamy, Birth, Death, Divorce, Galicia, Genealogy, Illegitimacy, Marriage, Property, Spain, Women | 1 Comment

Bye, Aunty Rita

Today my brother spoke to me on Skype; I knew something was up, because we hardly ever speak on Skype save for the odd conversation about something in particular now and then. He told me he had some news which … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Genealogy, Illegitimacy, United States, War, Women | 4 Comments

Dora Carrington’s Family

Dora Carrington is perhaps best remembered for being associated with the bohemian, artistic Bloomsbury Group of the early 20th century. Although not a part of the Bloomsbury Group herself, Carrington knew some of group’s members intimately. The person who had … Continue reading

Posted in 1911 Census, Birth, Death, England, Famous Genealogy, France, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Illness, Marriage, Women | 1 Comment

The first Ronquete

Up until a couple of years ago, I had always been struck by the odd-sounding last name of my grandmother’s paternal grandfather, Miguel Ronquete. This unusual, very un-Spanish surname always seemed to me rather mysterious, particularly as most of the … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Emigration, France, Galicia, Genealogy, Italy, Santiago de Compostela, Ships, Spain, War | Leave a comment

Mad as a March Hare

It was the year 1854. Cholera broke out in many parts of the world, and decimated countless families. My family was among those affected, and very probably among one of the epidemic’s numerous victims was my 6x great-uncle, Elias de … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Engagement, France, Galicia, Genealogy, Illness, Marriage, Money, Property, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Women | Leave a comment

A Murder in the Family

Whenever we start investigating our family tree, I think most of us expect to find something “out of the ordinary” among our ancestral roots, whether it be a scandal, a rogue or a murder. Well, I don’t know if I … Continue reading

Posted in Birth, Death, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Illegitimacy, Marden, Marriage, Murder | 2 Comments

A New Branch Full of Surprises

Every time I assume that by now I have located and traced entirely all the collateral branches of my family tree, I am (happily) proven wrong. A couple of days ago I logged on Ancestry.co.uk where a pop-up message informed … Continue reading

Posted in 1871 Census, 1881 Census, 1891 Census, 1901 Census, 1911 Census, Birth, Colwall, Death, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Illness, Marriage, Property, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Workhouse | 1 Comment

Understanding Passenger Lists

Genealogy can provide us a lot more than a mere list of names and dates plunging back endlessly into History. In an interview I recently read, a professional genealogist expressed her opinion that she prefers to investigate personal details about … Continue reading

Posted in 1910 US Census, Death, Emigration, Engagement, Genealogy, Italy, Marriage, Ships, United States | Leave a comment

Tracing your ancestors… on the RMS Titanic

100 years ago today, the RMS Titanic set sail from the English port of Southampton, completing the first leg of a journey which would never be completed. Less than five days later, the largest ship in the world at the … Continue reading

Posted in Argentina, Death, Emigration, England, Famous Genealogy, France, Genealogy, Ships, Spain, United States | 6 Comments

Unearthing a tyrant in the family

We genealogists have an inevitable tendency to visualize all our ancestors through the lens of romanticism and redemption. In most cases we may well be very near the mark, as I am sure many of our forebears were generally nice … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Engagement, Galicia, Genealogy, Illegitimacy, Illness, Marriage, Money, Property, Spain | Leave a comment