Category Archives: Women

From Fred to Ed: Ellen Tomkins’ elusive husband

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

My great-great-grandfather’s second cousin Ellen Tomkins was born on 2 May 1864 in Colwall, her family’s ancestral birthplace in Herefordshire. As one of no fewer than thirteen children, Ellen belonged to a tight-knit family whose branches stretched across the county … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871 Census, 1881 Census, 1891 Census, 1901 Census, 1911 Census, Archives, Birmingham, Colwall, Death, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Women | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What happened to Joseph William Rodway?

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

The Rodways of Castlemorton In 1853 my great-great-great-great-uncle John Rodway, a wheelwright by profession, died in the Worcestershire village of Castlemorton, where he had lived for most of his adult life. He was 60 years of age, a widower, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1851 Census, 1861 Census, 1871 Census, 1881 Census, 1891 Census, 1901 Census, 1911 Census, Civil Registration, Genealogy, Marriage, Murder, War, Women, Worcestershire, Workhouse, World War II | Leave a comment

Mary Crowther (1707-1779?)

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

This is the story of my seven times great-grandmother, Mary Crowther. Very little is known about her – and yet, through a handful of records, it is still possible to reconstruct what must have been some of the most important … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, Genealogy, Marriage, Shropshire, Women | Leave a comment

My ancestor Eleanor Cam (1587-????)

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

This is the biography – as far as I am able to tell it with the limited documentation I have been able to find so far – of my 11x great-grandmother Eleanor Jones, née Cam. Eleanor Cam, who would later … Continue reading →

Posted in Shropshire, Women, Yorkshire | 1 Comment

Who was Eleanor Whitney’s mother?

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

To most of you, the name Eleanor Whitney probably doesn’t mean a thing – and why should it? She was a late Medieval woman about whom extremely little is known. She is not even known to have done anything particularly … Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, Herefordshire, Marriage, Medieval Ancestry, Royalty, Wales, Women | Leave a comment

The mystery of Anna Amerio

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

One of the most intriguing genealogical mysteries I have encountered lately is the private life of my (probably very distant) relative Anna Amerio, and her very peculiar family arrangement – for you see, for a number of years she lived … Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, Italy, Marriage, San Marzano Oliveto, Women | Leave a comment

The tragedy of Jane Dee

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

I think it’s time to take a short break from Italian genealogy, so I’ve decided to delve into the English side of my family tree instead! Looking at the various members of my extended family whom I’ve long neglected to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1851 Census, 1861 Census, 1871 Census, Canada, Colwall, Death, England, FindMyPast, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Marriage, Mormonism, Women | 1 Comment

Why YOU should do the #RussianDollChallenge?

Posted on March 4, 2020 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

Some of you may have heard of the #RussianDollChallenge, a hashtag I created on Twitter in September 2018 to discuss direct female ancestral genealogies. And why, you may ask, did this become a popular (dare one say, trending!) topic and, … Continue reading →

Posted in Birth, England, Famous Genealogy, Genealogy, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Women | Leave a comment

Victorian mourning

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

We are all familiar with the quintessential image of Queen Victoria in her widow’s weeds, dressed from head to foot in deep mourning for her beloved Albert, the Prince Consort. “Why may the earth not swallow me up?”, wrote an … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, England, Genealogy, Marriage, Royalty, Women, World War I | 1 Comment

The life of Sophia Rice

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Daniel (@DSRGenealogist)

As most of my ancestral lines are deeply rooted in rural Herefordshire and some of the surrounding counties, I rarely associate the North of England with my own family tree. The Yorkshire moors, and the industrial landscapes of Lancashire, are … Continue reading →

Posted in 1841 Census, 1851 Census, 1861 Census, Birmingham, Death, Emigration, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Hope-under-Dinmore, Lancashire, Marriage, Staffordshire, Wolverhampton, Women, Work, Yorkshire | Leave a comment