A family tree is a framework through which the tide of history flows. To me, family history is so much more than a list of names, dates and places. I want to know what was happening on those dates, between those dates, and why. What was going on in the wider world? Sometimes, our ancestors would have been oblivious to events beyond their immediate horizon. On other occasions, those events shaped their lives.
Patrick Stanley, (1883-1961) my paternal grandfather, is the glue that holds everything together. I have looked at the place where he was born (Roscommon, Ireland) and places where he spent time (Dewsbury, South Africa, India, the Western Front and Brighton). I have tried to understand the events and conditions that shaped him and his family. These posts are a mixture of the macro and the micro, social & economic history as much as family history.
A full list of posts (now over 200) can be found by clicking the tab “All posts” at the top of the page. There is also a Search facility on the right.