General Chat

This one left a lot of questions unanswered, it did skip around alot. Wasn't her father lovely though, kept crying, bless him!!!

I didn't think this episode was as gripping as some of the others, but I thought Jane was perfectly lovely, and her family seemed very warm and friendly. I also thought it was nice that even though the aunt's ring was from ill gotten gains, she said she'd keep it and her own romanticisms about it. I was also interested to see the cotton factory and the black and white films. It made me realise that conditions like that were actually not THAT long ago. Claire xx

This is next week's Gurinder Chadha, the successful director of Bend It Like Beckham, grew up in Southall, West London. But she was born in Kenya, and her family's story is tied up with that of the British Empire Penny

thats right Jess always look on the bright side of life. Gloria

Don't think it was the last one Jess. Sure i heard 'next week it is ?' Germaine x

was it the last in the series? its seemed to lack 'guts' yes it was interesting but seemed to skip about, and gloss over bits, like those two sons/brothers- that could have made intereting veiwing. How could you NOT have got Thomas death cert? yes, they told us asbout disease and afflictions of the era, but he may have died as a result of his pram falling into the canal or something! Jess

I totally agree with you there Joe. Whilst on the subject of Germany is it easy to get certificates from there. I have some from rellies from Perlin Mecklenburg Schwerin born 1829. How far back do their birth certificates go. Or indeed maybe more success with marriage certificate. GLoria

I am pleased to see that another episode of this programme returned people who are not too interesting - historically, and only put some 'beef' into it by diverting to a distant relation connected with ownership of the mills. Far more down to earth was the fact that children from 8 years of age were working on looms, it makes a change from the people who refer back to their glorious pasts. We all know that the majority of the people that we find were relatively non-descript, many being ag labs etc., but it was these ag labs who helped make this country what it was/is. I found my gran was born in Germany in 1860s and made a trip over there to see, as far as is possible, what she had left. Now I have found that gr'pa came from Lithuania and was born about 1860 too and I will be making a sort visit there some time this year ....... just to know something about the place(s). In all event my German family were for the most part all ag labs there too and in Lith my gr.gr'pa was a farmer ........ so, nothing changes ! This evenings programme was interesting to hear, again, what life was really like back in the 1800s and how children were treated - if they survived, and what the hardships of children or people in general had to endure - THAT is how the majority of our rellies had to live and it brings home the number of deaths that you may have found in you family if you have searched the BDMs close enough. I found that this was a REAL story which the BBC found required the inclusion of a distant relative necessary to 'glamourise' it . With the help of so many researchers it is not surprising that they did not include all the censuses or show all the certs .... I am sure that they were considered or they would not have got as far back as they did.

I too was insisting to hubby that they must have been her sons. An identical age difference and similar birth years as my paternal grandfather and his 'sister'. She was born 1853 and he in 1875. My paternal grandmother always alluded to 'a problem on that side of the family that we don't talk about'. They were staunch methodists! I think there are a lot of skeletons in the cupboard that they didn't want the rest of us to know about. Quite strange I think as it's the skeletons which add a bit of flesh to family history! Daisy

Thanks Zoe. be prepared to travel the length and bredth of the country. Oh yea and a trip to Germany and New Zealand would have to be on the agenda. Gloria

Must be somebody descended from those secret siblings. Gloria

I'm sure they used Ancestry though at the library to find Thomas's death details, usually theyre whiping their laptops out before you can say 'who Fathered Jack Robin'. I'm sure more things were found out that the family asked not to be included. Be interesting to see if theres anyone on here whose related/researching that line. Karen

Gloria when I win the lottery you can become my genealogy companion if you like we'll spend all our days driving up and down the country walking into archives unannounced and demanding personal attention Z x

Well I wish I could drive I wish I had a car I wish I didnt have to go to work so then I could drive around the country visiting all the important places related to my ancestors just like they do!!!! One day I will visit NRH in Edingburgh and try to find a few results. GLoria

Karen I guess it's because she was looking in the rawtenstall library and they didn't have the records for Cheshire still sticking with the son stheory tho Zoe

the 1871 also reveals that father John was a mechanic in the mills

Twinkle - that explains it! I thought the Australian census data wasn't available, and this programme had me wondering if I'd missed something.

How strange, no scandal though :-( I'm the sure the Aunt knew more than she was letting on

c'mon Zoe dont keep us in suspenders any longer Gloria

It wasn't a census she looked at in 1912; it was a trade directory. She wasn't listening to what the researcher told her! Only goes to show that these celebrities don't actually do any research themselves. In Australia, censuses are shreded once the statistical information has been gathered, so there aren't any surviving from 1912. PS what's the secret in 1871?