Stories from your family tree - Ruth Symes

Why did so many of great-great-grandmother's children die young? Is it true that great-uncle was washed overboard during World War I? Were those great-aunts really on speaking terms with Mr. Marks and Mr. Spencer? And did great-grandfather actually run away to live with Native Americans? These are some of the intriguing stories with which Ruth Symes grew up and which she sets out to investigate in Stories From My Family Tree. Every family is packed with stories about ancestors: some shocking, some humorous, some sad. Starting with snippets of gossip, family anecdotes, hunches, sayings, heirlooms, and documents, this book uncovers the secrets of lives that were lived from the reign of Queen Victoria, through the horrors of World War I and up to the Blitz. Through careful use of a range of sources, from cookbooks and ornaments to more formal certificates and census returns, 12 tantalizing tales are confirmed or disproved, shown to be exaggerations, or-in some cases-revealed to be less odd than the truth. These stories will shed light on many aspects of the social history of the last 150 years, including such matters as disease and childhood martality, emigration, women's work, and funerary customs. More than this, they will inspire and enable readers to pursue and explore stories in their own family trees.