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Send us a message 💬 In this special extra episode in Season Eleven, host Andrew Martin sets out on a visit to the Society of Genealogists, but ends up making unintentional visits to three places. Along the way he meets genealogists Lori Samuelson, Debbie Bradley, and Dr. Patrice Connelly and learns that when researching your family history, it really is All About The Place! - - - This episode is recorded as part of the All About The Place event in 2026 which runs with more than 150 speakers delivery almost 200 free talks from 7th October to 16th October 2026. - - - THE INTERVIEW - LORI SAMUELSON Andrew's first unintentional stop is in Indiana, USA where he surprises professional genealogist Lori Samuelson. She then explains how she got hooked on researching, her love of technology, how her old boss talked her into setting up as a professional genealogist, and her thoughts on the direction of the family history industry, and concerns about cuts to the US archives. With a few adjustments, Andrew heads off on his way to the Society of Genealogists in London... THE LIFE STORY - GEORGE HENRY CLARKE with DEBBIE BRADLEY ... however, he manages to get a bit closer - arriving in Norfolk, England instead, where as if by chance, he bumps into professional genealogist, speaker, AGRA member and Administrator of the Family History Federation - Debbie Bradley. Debbie share the life story of her elusive ancestor George Henry Clarke, whose life has been a true genealogy puzzle to trace. Despite living during the time of the modern census, his constant name changes and geographic moves has led Debbie round in circles a few times, until a witness at a wedding helps to unlock the mystery. THE BRICK WALL - JOHN CARSON and MARGARET SMITH with DR. PATRICE CONNELLY Despite tweaking settings, Andrew arrives in Brisbane, Australia where he soon finds Dr. Patrice Connelly - musicologist, genealogist and lecturer at University of Queensland. Patrice is trying to solve a brick wall around her ancestors John Carson and his wife Margaret Smith. She finds them marrying in Stepney, London in 1808, but would like to know more about their origins. John's career as a Mariner makes Patrice believe that he moved around a lot, and that this was perhaps the reason why his children with Margaret are baptised later than expected. Can you help her find evidence of John Carson and Margaret Smith's early life and parents? If you think you can help Patrice with a research clue or idea, then you can message her via the email address she gives in the episode or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass that right along. In the meantime, Andrew thinks he's finally got the right coordinates... but will he find the correct Place? - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerLori Samuelson - GuestDebbie Bradley - GuestDr. Patrice Connelly - GuestRuth Willmore - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor PetőfiStephane Flux - Foley Artist Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 This short bonus episode follows on immediately after 'The Overlooked' with Olwen Moseley, and therefore we recommend you listen to that first. Lightning has struck. Olwen is missing. That's not the only problem though as Andrew awakes to the sound of something large moving outside the garage...  - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerJohn Spike - Sándor PetőfiSupport the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this final full episode of Season Eleven, host Andrew Martin meets genealogist, writer, and storyteller, Olwen Moseley. She tells him how she got hooked on researching family history and how she inherited lots of research, she shares her love of death certificates, and explains how she feels like a detective when researching. THE LIFE STORY - MARY ANN BOWLER Olwen has chosen to tell the life story of Mary Ann Bowler - but it took Olwen a long time to realise that Mary Ann existed.  This is a case of a group of young women - all cousins - united by the care of their grandmother and the fact that they were mostly all orphans, and died as young adults.  When research hints keep flagging a connection to Bristol in England, rather than Llangybi in Wales, Olwen kept dismissing them... but... a newspaper article caught her eye, with Olwen assuming they'd made a mistake with the name 'Mary Ann Bowler' rather than Mary Jane Bowler. Further investigation was needed when the references started to stack up... resulting in Olwen discovering Mary Ann Bowler existed, and that her story was just as fascinating as the others. THE BRICK WALL - ELIZABETH BOWLER An Elizabeth Bowler (another of the cousins) is what is giving Olwen a research headache - particularly when it comes to her life after the 1851 census. Where did Elizabeth go after appearing on the 1851 census with her parents Joseph and Elizabeth at Market Street, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales? Olwen knows that Elizabeth (her mother) dies in 1858... so what becomes of the family by then? If you think that you can help Olwen with a clue or a research idea, then you can send her a message via her Substack account, or via the email address she gives in the episode. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it along to her. In the meantime, Olwen is happy to accept Andrew's offer help, but they're in for a bit of a shock... - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerOlwen Moseley - Guest ALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 Joining host Andrew Martin for this sixth episode of Season Eleven, is public historian and award-winning author Tamiko Nimura, who tells Andrew about how she got hooked on history, how she ended up deciding to publish her father's memoir of his time as an incarcerated Japanese-American child, and her thoughts on the future of archives. THE LIFE STORY - JUNICHI 'FRED' NIMURA Tamiko has chosen to tell the life story of her Grandfather - Junichi Nimura who was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1885. Junichi emigrates from Japan to Mexico in 1925, before entering the US the following year. His first wife, unhappy with life in the US, returns to Japan, and so Junichi then meets his second wife via the 'picture bride' service (think; Tinder by mail). The couple stay together, and raise a family. However, when World War Two begins, Junichi, his wife, and their children, have to leave their home with whatever they could carry and move to a concentration camp at Tule Lake, California, where they lived for years.  Junichi becomes separated from his family and is taken miles away. Eventually Junichi was reunited with his family and they all left the camps for home - but everything was lost. The impact of this time never left Junichi, but his son - Tamiko's father, recalled his childhood years at the camp - which Tamiko has now published as her book 'A Place For What We Lose - A Daughter's Return To Tule Lake' (UW Press, 2026).  THE BRICK WALL - JUNICHI NIMURA It's a brick wall in Mexico that has Tamiko scratching her head. Whilst researching her Grandfather, Junichi Nimura, she found a tourist certificate in Mexican Spanish, dated 19th November 1926, which states that her 41 year old married Grandfather was traveling alone and had been permitted to spend 15 days in Mexico. Tamiko would love to know; Why was Junichi there? What did he get up to?If you think that you can offer Tamiko a research idea or clue to help her solve her brick wall, then you can send her a message at her website or via her Bluesky account, alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it right along. Meanwhile, Tamiko is fascinated by Andrew and Sándor's offer of help but is it safe? --- Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerTamiko Nimura - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor PetőfiALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this fifth episode of Season Eleven, host Andrew Martin meets Australian genealogist, tech and AI fan, and former school teacher Andrew Redfern - whom some of you may recognise from the podcast Ironclad Sisterhood which uncovers the lives of convict women in Australia. THE LIFE STORY - WILLIAM MILLWARD BESTWICK Andrew has chosen to tell the life story of his 3x Gt Grandfather William Millward Bestwick whose life has left a fascinating paper trail. William is born in 1818 in Derbyshire in England, but in the early 1830's his family migrated to the US.  In the 1840s/early 1850s, William had been part of the Santa Fe Trail trade route, writes a letter who explains that he was captured during this and worked on a Man of War ship but escapes and eventually ends up in Australia. Meanwhile, his mother Amy was completely unaware that he was still alive. William did leave Australia to return to the US, but the ship was turned around and William was escorted off the ship as he was bankrupt and trying to escape his creditors. Andrew has worked hard to find the trail of documents scattered around the world, including a letter to the US President of the time.  THE BRICK WALL - ROBERT REDFERN Another globetrotting 3x Gt Grandfather is up next - this time Robert Redfern is causing Andrew a headache with his research.   Robert was born circa 1770, and he ends up in jail, then finds himself in Portugal, then the USA, then the UK and eventually Australia... but Andrew is wanting to know about his early life, which stems back to Ireland. However, Andrew can't find details about Robert's birth or baptism, and his cousins even consulted Australia's top psychic to help - who advised them to look for a slave trade connection.  DNA has also thrown some curious matches, and what seems to be a name change from O'Neill to Redfern... Can you help find Robert Redfern's birth or baptism? If you think you can help Andrew with a research idea or clue, then you can message him via the email address he gives in the episode or check out his website. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it right along. In the meantime, Andrew and Sándor offer guest Andrew some help... but things are about to get complicated... - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerAndrew Redfern - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor PetőfiALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this fourth episode of Season Eleven, host Andrew Martin meets Polish professional genealogist Eliza Karpińska - the co-owner of Genealogia Polonica. He hears how she got hooked on researching family history, the challenges of researching in neighbouring Ukraine, and how she ended up turning professional. THE LIFE STORY - WLADYSLAW SIEMIONOW Eliza has decided to tell the Life Story of her grandfather Wladyslaw Siemionow of Lithuania, who was captured by Nazis during World War Two and put on a train to do forced labour. Despite his father bribing the German station guards to let him off the train, Wladyslaw decided he wanted to stay on the train with his friends as he wanted to travel. Things did not go well, and despite being shot at during the forced labour, he escaped. Unfortunately he fell into the hands of the Soviet Red Army where he was forced to sign-up to their army. Whilst here, he sustained another injury during an explosion - this time to his head - which caused him to be sent to multiple places for treatment. Miraculously, once he'd regained enough strength, he escaped again and made his way home - the long way round! THE BRICK WALL - ANNA SIEMIONOW Related to the Life Story above, Eliza is asking for help to find records for her Great Great Grandmother Anna Siemionow - who, as she has discovered, was a single mother seemingly from Dubki near Pskov in Russia.  The challenge for Eliza is that Anna was a peasant, and peasants in this area did not have surnames until the 19th century - meaning that it's hard to reliably find her in records (even just a birth record). She does know, that Anna's father was an Ivan Siemionow, but apart from the Dubki connection, she's not managed to get any further back. Can you help? If you think you can help Eliza with a research idea or clue, then you can email her via the address she gives in the episode, or head over to her Genealogia Polonica website and use the form there. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it right along to her. In the meantime, Andrew offers Eliza some help, but she decides it's time for war... - - -  Episode Credits Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerEliza Karpińska - Guest ALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 For our third episode of Season Eleven, host Andrew Martin meets public historian and family historian Ulysses Swanson, and hears about his family history journey, his use of Wikitree, and his project Transgender Ancestors - tracing the lives and family histories of gender nonconforming people from the 1840s to the 1940s. THE LIFE STORY - EDGAR WALES BURNHAM Ulysses has chosen to tell the life story of organist Edgar Wales Burnham who was born in 1841 in Woodstock, Vermont, USA, as Ellen - the daughter of Milo and Ellen Burnham. In 1859, Ellen married Luke Winthrop Powell, and by 1863, Ellen's father had renamed his drugstore to 'M. L. Burnham & Son', signalling the transition of Ellen to Edgar.  In 1868, Edgar and Luke are found on a train, where Luke is noted as State Agent, and Edgar is arrested as a 'confederate spy in women's clothing'.  This soon leads to a string of newspaper articles that reveal Edgar's transition, and those articles would go on to be republished for more than 20 years.  The author of the article.... happens to be Edgar's ex-husband, Luke Powell, now down on his luck. Did he write those in an attempt to raise money? THE BRICK WALL - SALLIE TALBOY BINNS It's a brick wall in Philadelphia, USA, that has Ulysses asking for help.  Ulysses has identified a popular actor named John 'Sallie' Talboy Binns, who was famous for playing lots of female roles. However, there's hints in newspapers that Sallie had Irish roots... but Ulysses has not yet been able to confirm that. He knows that Sallie was born in about 1812, and that she's reported as having been in the US since the 1850s, and that she possibly had Irish roots.  Sallie is admitted to the Philadelphia Almhouses in 1853, and she dies there in 1882... but Ulysses wants to know about her life before 1853. Can you help? If you think that you can help Ulysses with a research idea or clue, then you can message him via the email he gives in the episode, or edit Sallie's Wikitree entry, or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it right along. In the meantime, Andrew and Sándor's offer of help appeals to Ulysses, but can they help him find answers without mishap? - - -  Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerUlysses Swanson - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor PetőfiALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this second episode of Season Eleven, host Andrew Martin is delighted to welcome the family historian, author, lecturer, historical interpreter, One-Place and One-Name studier Dr. Janet Few who amongst these roles is also the President of the Family History Federation. Janet explains how she got hooked on researching family history, her passion for One-Name and One-Place studies and how they complement family history research, and her thoughts on the genealogy industry. THE LIFE STORY - ANN STRATFORD Janet has chosen to tell the life story of her 2x Great Grandmother Ann Stratford b.c. 1834, with whom Janet discovered a surprise extra connection to. Ann's family were based in a rural community in Buckinghamshire, England, and times were hard. Ann learned straw plaiting (something Janet wasn't as successful with) and this brought the family a valuable income. However, plaiting was taught at an early age in specialist schools, and those who were good at it could earn sometimes twice as much as the men... and this seems to have been a problem! The plait girls and women were thought of as disreputable, and they were victim of lots of bad press.    THE BRICK WALL - MARY CARDELL An unusual surname gives Janet a long-term brick wall - Mary Cardell - her 2x Great Grandmother and the only one of her 2x Great Grandparents whose parents (her 3x Gt Grandparents) remain unknown. Janet has found several references to Mary having been born in Highgate, Middlesex, England, with her 1841 marriage certificate giving her father as James Cardell, and the witnesses including a Catherine Cardell. Janet can't find a baptism record for Mary, but she can find references to other Cardells, but she isn't able to link them up. Is there a Worcestershire connection? Can you help Janet; Find Mary and her husband Philip Woolgar in the 1851 census?Find Mary's baptism, with James Cardell as her father?If you think you can help Janet with a clue or idea, then you can contact her at her Granny's Tales website. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it on. In the meantime, Janet is curious of Andrew's offer of help, but has concerns over her safety... - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerDr. Janet Few - GuestALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this first episode of Season Eleven, host Andrew Martin meets family historian John Matheus. He hears how John only recently got hooked on researching his family's history, hears about his wonder of the spelling of his last name, and why he thinks Warren Zevon's 1978 song 'Lawyers, Guns and Money' describes his family tree well. THE LIFE STORY - NOAH DAVIS John has chosen to tell the life story of his 3x Gt Grandfather Noah Davis born in 1818, who went on to become a Judge and a significant figure in American law and politics after making it into the US House of Representatives in 1868.  His success did not stop there, as after being nominated as the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York by President Ulysses S. Grant, he ended up convicting the notoriously corrupt and powerful politician William 'Boss Tweed' Tweed. THE BRICK WALL - HULDAH TAYLOR John is looking for help to find records of the early life of his ancestor Huldah Taylor, and her parents. He believes that her father may have been called Gad Taylor, but evidence is somewhat thin - as he can't find a suitable Gad Taylor, and he's seen a few other trees that suggest other names than Gad. Huldah, born in 1758, is present in Suffield, Connecticut, but can you help John confirm her parents, and shed light on Gad Taylor? If you think that you can help John with a clue or research idea, you can send him a message via his Bluesky account, or alternatively, send us a message and we'll pass it right along. Whilst John is curious of Andrew's offer of help, can they Connect with the truth? - - - Episode Credits Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerJohn Matheus - GuestALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 The Family Histories Podcast is back, and ready to share a whole load of brand new episodes from our eleventh season. Join host Andrew Martin and the 19th Century Hungarian assistant Sándor Petőfi as they welcome another 7 guests to the show, each with 7 fascinating life stories to tell, and 7 annoying brick walls for you to help solve. Find out more about this season and meet our guests. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this fifth episode of Season Ten, host Andrew is joined by professional genealogist, adoption research specialist - Kathy Wilshaw. She tells Andrew about how she got hooked on family history, the challenges of researching as an adoptee, and her work to mediate for other adoptees and their birth parents. THE LIFE STORY - IVY COLLISON  Kathy has chosen to tell the story of her... shhhh.... Great Aunt, Ivy Collison who was born in Northamptonshire, UK in 1893. The problem for Kathy in researching Ivy, is that no-one was supposed to talk about her. Obviously, Kathy had to go rummaging as soon as she could... What Kathy found was, at face value, a woman living a somewhat uneventful life, but then a turn of events leads Kathy to the newspapers... and suddenly Ivy's extravagant and criminal lifestyle began to appear. Ivy was a con artist, a fraudster, and she managed to take large amounts of money from unsuspecting hopeful men, and from those who fell for her schemes. Of course, this landed her in trouble many times and this led her to prison sentences and a host of pseudonyms too. Amongst Ivy's story, Kathy has found what is perhaps a woman who was unwell, or desperately sad and lonely, leaving her wondering who the real Ivy was.  THE BRICK WALL - JOHN WILSHAW One of Kathy's longest-running brick walls is in her husband's family - with his 3x Great Grandfather John Wilshaw born circa 1804. Whilst Wilshaw is an unusual surname, it isn't unusual in Staffordshire, England, and Kathy wants to know where her husband's ancestor John Wilshaw was from. Sources seem to point to a birth circa 1804, and there's references to Cheddleton too, but despite there being John Wilshaw in the Cheddleton parish register, they don't appear to be him. Can you help her find the correct John Wilshaw, son of John Wilshaw?  If you think that you can help Kathy to break down this brick wall with a research idea or clue, then you can message her via her website or via the email address she gives in the episode. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it on to her. In the meantime, Andrew offers Kathy help to break that brick wall... but she chooses a different adventure... - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerKathy Wilshaw - GuestALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this fourth episode of Season Ten, Andrew once again has two guests… and they’re siblings! Joining him are brothers who as Parra Genealogía, focus on researching family history in Mexico - it’s Roberto and Ramón Parra!  THE LIFE STORY - FLORENCIO PÉREZ COMOTO  Ramón and Roberto have chosen to tell the life story of Florencio Pérez Comoto - the son-in-law of their 5x Great Grandfather. Florencio was born around 1775 in Cádiz in Andalucía, Spain, and when he graduated from medical training, he headed over to Nueva España (part of which is now modern Mexico) and settled in Veracruz. He worked as a military medical doctor and after arriving he found himself deep in epidemiology. After Edward Jenner's discovery of using cowpox to vaccinate against smallpox, Florencio ended up leading the efforts of vaccination against the spread of a deadly smallpox epidemic in Mexico, and encouraging people to get vaccinated. Florencio's work is a success, but when Mexico gains Independence in 1821, he and his family flee back to Spain. THE BRICK WALL - FLORENCIO PÉREZ COMOTO It's a research brick wall that also surrounds their Life Story choice Florencio Pérez Comoto, that has Roberto and Ramón asking for help. Whilst Florencio and some of his sons were writers, translators, and poets, Roberto and Ramón have yet to find anything biographical about his life during the smallpox epidemic and his family's fleeing back to Spain after the Declaration of Mexico's Independence in 1821. If you think that you can help with a research idea or a clue to help bring their brick wall down, then you can contact them via their Parra Genealogía website, or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it along. In the meantime, Roberto and Ramón are keen to accept Andrew's offer of help, but it's all a matter of timing... - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerRoberto Parra - GuestRamón Parra - GuestALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In today's 3rd episode of Season Ten, host Andrew Martin is joined by tech nerd, un-retiree, and YouTube and Facebook live-streaming genealogist, who is perhaps better known by her award-winning blogging nom-de-plume - it's the wonderful DearMYRTLE! THE LIFE STORY - MYRTLE ELIZA WEISER Myrt has chosen to tell the life story of her much beloved, and namesake, grandmother who was born Myrtle Eliza Weiser in May 1895, in Salt Lake City in Utah, USA. Grandmother Myrtle heads to a strict nursing school. She then gets a job for US $1 a week as a postpartum nurse - involving caring for infants and doing laundry. After marrying in 1917, Myrtle gives birth to her first child amidst the Great Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 (often called 'Spanish Flu'). DearMyrtle reflects on the experiences that her grandmother must have had as young mother and trained nurse during that flu epidemic, and relates it to her own experience during the Covid-19 pandemic that swept the world in 2020. Moving to Seattle, her kindly ways emerge again - serving as a nurse during World War Two, giving inoculations to servicemen on the waterfront and would bring an occasional young recruit home to have dinner with the family. She also campaigned for children to have shoes. Myrt's fond memories of her beloved grandmother beam from this episode, and has clearly shaped her own life. THE BRICK WALL - HANNAH HUDSON It's a brick wall in Bisham, Berkshire, UK that has Myrt asking for help. Hannah Hudson and her husband Benjamin Sanders take their daughter Zillah for baptism in 1788, but prior to that, remains a mystery. Myrt has searched for Hannah's origins - checking the parish registers for marriages and baptisms, but she can't find Hannah Hudson's parents, nor her marriage to Benjamin Sanders. A record on FamilySearch gives a baptism of a Hannah Hudson of John and Anne Hudson elsewhere in Berkshire, but there's not enough evidence yet to connect her Hudsons to them. Who are Hannah Hudson's parents?When/where was she born?If you think that you can help Myrt with a research idea or clue, then you can message her via her Substack page. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it on to her. In the meantime, Myrt is enthusiastic about Andrew's offer of help, but maybe she knows more than he does...  - - - Episode Credits Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerDearMYRTLE - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor PetofiALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this 2nd episode of Season Ten, host Andrew is joined by Norfolk-based family historian, churchyard lurker, heirloom re-uniter, and TikTok video maker - Simon Howard. THE LIFE STORY - ELEANOR THORNBERRY SMITH Simon has chosen to tell the life story of his 3x Gt Grandmother Eleanor Thornberry Smith, who was born circa 1822 in Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Simon discovered Eleanor was baptised by her mother Elizabeth Smith, who was unmarried. There was no mention of a father, but that middle name of Thornberry seemed unusual, and would be the clue to help him unlock the identity of his 4x Gt Grandfather. What he found was a man called David Thornberry living a very different life than Eleanor's mother Elizabeth. He was a young engineer working on the sluices and riverways of the area.... and he was also married. As Simon discovers, Elizabeth manages to get David to contribute to his daughter in her early years, but when he discovers that she's not mentioned in his Will, did she ever know who he was? THE BRICK WALL - BERNARD LOWN  Simon is looking for help to track down Bernard Lown and his family, who go missing in the Norfolk area of Clunchwarton, Terrington St. John, and Terrington St. Clements.  He's been able to find the Lown family - Bernard, his wife Mary, their sons Richard, George, and Bernard, in the 1841 and 1851 censuses, and he's found Mary with a burial in 1867 at Clunchwarton... but that 1861 census remains a mystery.  What becomes of Bernard Lown? Where were the Lown family in 1861?If you think you can help, you can send him a message via his social media channels - Facebook, Instagram, or via the email he gives in the episode. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it straight along to him. In the meantime, Simon is curious of Andrew's offer of help, but does he have time? - - - Episode Credits: Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerSimon Howard - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor Petőfi ALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.

Send us a message 💬 In this first opening episode of Season Ten (TEN?!), host Andrew welcomes family historian, author, RootsTech and TEDx speaker, former CEO of the Society of Genealogists and now the CEO of the Black Cultural Archives - Dr. Wanda Wyporska. THE LIFE STORY - THEODORE JOSEPH PAUL  Wanda has chosen to tell the Life Story of her Great Grandfather, Theodore Joseph Paul, who was born in East Stonehouse, Devon in 1888. While she never met him, her grandmother would regularly speak of her father, and this therefore gives Wanda a fondness and curiosity of his life. Theodore was sent off, without his family, at the age of 12, where Wanda has found him at the Royal Greenwich Hospital School in Greenwich, London. Wanda is soon able to trace him through Naval records - of which there are plenty - and she can see that he travelled the world with them, but was drawn back to the UK, where he also became a member of the Freemasons. In 1912, he marries Nellie Mabel Turpin... sparking off a family rumour that the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin was also a relative. Theodore and Nellie start their family which includes Wanda's grandmother. Despite travelling the world with the Navy, there's something that keeps drawing him back to the city of Chester in Cheshire, UK. THE BRICK WALL - RICHARD HOLMES and SARAH NANNY ROGERS  We're looking for clues in Barbados to help Wanda solve her Brick Wall, as she looks for the origins of her 3x Gt Grandparents Richard Holmes and Sarah Nanny Rogers. Richard appears to have been born in 1797 and died in 1849, It is believed that Sarah was a freed woman who owned slaves, but in this period, Wanda explains a few scenarios that may have meant that Sarah had enslaved people and Wanda hopes to unravel this story one day. Sarah marries Richard Holmes on 28th September 1844 in Christ Church, Barbados, but Wanda would love to know the origins of Sarah Nanny Rogers. If you think that you can help Wanda with a research clue or idea, then you can contact her via her Twitter account, or alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it along to her. In the meantime.... while Wanda accepts Andrew's offer of help, she's struck by a sense of déjà vu.... - - - Episode Credits Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerDr. Wanda Wyporska - GuestALL ABOUT THAT PLACE is back! The FREE family history and local history online event is back with over 190 talks and 150 speakers. Visit www.sog.org.uk/aatp to find out more. Support the show Thank you for listening! You can sign up to our email newsletter for the latest and behind the scenes news. You can find us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review, or consider giving us a 'tip' to keep the show funded.