Sir William Ruthven managed to outlive two of Scotland’s King James and was guardian to a third, James V
Skeleton in the Cupboard
Edwardian England could be a dark place to live – as the Hattons of Castle Gresley found out.
The Irish Navvy
Great great great grandfather John Fitzpatrick had a short life – but contributed to building Great Britain.
Llywelyn the Great, King of Wales
27 generations back, we find a man who had a profound influence on the history of Wales.
John de Clifford, the ‘Butcher’
17th Great Uncle John de Clifford earned the nickname ‘the Butcher’ and ‘Black faced Clifford’ – and with good reason.
Man of Mystery
Richard Montprivat went from cow keeper to medical surgeon – but not before being found guilty of libelling a member of the aristocracy. He’s one of our more unusual ancestors.
Puritan Founding Father
Thomas Wilson was born around 1600 in Leicestershire though in his mid-thirties he took the momentous decision of moving to America where he was one of the founding fathers of the town of Exeter, New Hampshire.
A miner – but not coal
When you think of someone being a miner, particularly in the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border area, you might automatically think of coal. But for at least one of Annette’s mining ancestors, the substance they mined was not coal but clay.
Fighting at Ypres, Loos and the Somme
Percy Beard was already in his mid-30s when the First World War broke out at the end of July 1914. He signed up as a volunteer in Hounslow within a few weeks in September 1914.
From Farmer to Miner
Matthew Lee worked as a farm labourer on his uncle John Lee’s farm, then had his own farm (albeit a smaller one) but then was the first of the family line to go down the Ironstone mines of North Skelton, in Yorkshire.