The Family Histories Podcast The Family Histories Podcast

In this first episode of Series Seven, host Andrew Martin meets Jackie Kohnstamm - a lecturer, author, playwright, and family historian. Jackie tells Andrew how she got hooked on researching family histories after hearing stories with missing bits, and then finding letters. She tells him what motivated her to write her book 'The Memory Keeper: A Journey Into The Holocaust To Find My Family', and...

THE LIFE STORY - CHARLOTTE RYCHWALSKI
Jackie has chosen to tell the life story of her maternal aunt, Charlotte Rychwalski (known as 'Lotte'). 

It's clear from Jackie's description of Charlotte, that she has some very fond memories of her aunt being the daring, and fascinating relative who would bring excitement into the family home after the Second World War, but through the memories Charlotte shared, and a cache of letters, Jackie has been able to discover more about her life. 

THE BRICK WALL - JUTTA TOWNSEND
Jackie is looking for one of her maternal cousins - Jutta - the surviving descendant of a family that was sadly murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Jutta Rychwalski escaped from Germany on one of the Kindertransport trains.

Jackie knows that Jutta was married at least once, perhaps twice, but her last husband was named Frederick Townsend, and they lived in the Wakefield area of Yorkshire. Jutta is known to have died in the Wakefield area in 2012 aged 87 years, having been predeceased by Frederick in 1982. The couple had a son named Steven in 1955, but he died in 1973.

Jackie would like your help to discover more about her cousin's life.

If you think you can help Jackie with a clue or research idea, then you can send us a message via our contact form, and we'll pass the message straight on to her.

In the meantime, Jackie is fascinated by Andrew's offer of help, but can he get her to the church on time?

- - -
Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerJackie Kohnstamm - Guest

Send us a Text Message.
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 Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review.

The Family Histories Podcast is back for Series Seven!

Once again, host Andrew Martin, and his 19th century assistant Sándor Petőfi, welcome seven more guests, each with a fascinating life story, and of course a pesky genealogy research 'brick wall' for listeners to try to solve.

However, before they welcome their first guest, there's something in the garage that needs some maintenance.... from an expert.

- - -
Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host & ProducerEtienne Durandt - Charles BabbageJohn Spike - Sándor Petőfi

Send us a Text Message.
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 Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review.

Series Six of The Family Histories Podcast begins with host Andrew Martin meeting family historian, storyteller, and author of 'Quilt Of Souls: A Memoir' - Phyllis Biffle Elmore. She explains what got her hooked on researching family history, the value of listening to our elders, and collecting oral histories.

THE LIFE STORY - LULA HORN
Phyllis has chosen to tell the life story of her grandmother Lula Horn, born in 1883 in Sandersville, Mississippi, USA, whom she met for the first time aged 4 when she was taken to live with her.

Phyllis recalls how her grandmother made her feel welcome, which kickstarted an unbreakable bond over the telling of family history stories whilst making quilts from the clothes of ancestors.


THE BRICK WALL - LULA HORN
Returning to her beloved Grandmother, Lula Horn, Phyllis is keen to discover the descendants from Lula's aunts and uncles.
 
Phyllis has explored DNA matches, but despite filtering out the DNA matches from other parts of her ancestors in GEDmatch, she's been left with a few matches that she's been unable to tie in to her research. Can you help?


Who were Lula's parents?Are there modern descendants of Lula's aunts and uncles?Do you have matches against GEDmatch kit A331399?
If you think that you can help Phyllis smash through her brick wall, or you can offer a clue or research idea, then you can contact her via the email she gives in the episode or at her website www.thequiltofsouls.com. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it straight on to her.

In the meantime, Phyllis is concerned about Andrew's offer of help... but will she find it useful?

- - -

Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerPhyllis Biffle Elmore - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor Petőfi

Send us a Text Message.
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 Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review.

In this second episode of Series Six, host Andrew Martin meets Rick Glanvill - a family historian, author, and tour guide, who is also the official historian of Chelsea Football Club. Andrew will be finding out how Rick got hooked on researching his family tree, how his work as a tour guide is affected by this, and how he ended up being the expert of a football club's history.

THE LIFE STORY - WILLIAM URMSTON SEARLE GLANVILLE RICHARDS
Rick has chosen to tell the life story of his third cousin, three times removed - William Urmston Searle Glanville Richards.

William, like Rick, spent countless hours researching family history, but unlike Rick, William began taking on the rich and well-to-do Victorian clients for whom he would be paid to research and write up their family history, having already written up his own Glanville family.

This all sounds impressive, but then Rick started to spot cracks in his research. Upon further analysis, he found a case of William taking a creative route to his family history work involving the defacing of records in the British Library and the Bodleian Library. This landed him in big trouble.

THE BRICK WALL - ELLEN TAYLOR
Rick needs your help to solve a mystery that's been causing him problems for years - he's trying to find his 3x Gt Grandmother, Ellen Taylor, who appears to have married Henry David Linsell...  However, Rick can't find their marriage, and she can't find a correct registered birth for Ellen either.

He has a few theories of why he can't locate her; maybe Taylor was a surname from a previous marriage, maybe Ellen was a middle name, maybe Ellen or Eleanor wasn't her first name.

Fascinatingly, there is a cousin noted at the time of Ellen's death in 1890, called Harriet Copping - but where does she fit in the tree? Was she a first cousin? A second cousin? Or not even Ellen's cousin but her husband's cousin instead?  All this remains a mystery.

If you think that you can help Rick solve his brick wall with a research idea or clue, then you can send him a message via his Twitter account @RickGlanvill or via the email address he gives in the episode. Alternatively, you can send a message and we'll pass it straight on.

In the meantime, Rick accepts Andrew and Sándor's offer of help, but will there be penalties?
 
- - - 
 
Episode Credits: 
Andrew Martin - Host and Producer 
Rick Glanvill - Guest 
John Spike - Sándor Petőfi 


Send us a Text Message.
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 Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review.

Our third episode of Series Six sees host Andrew Martin meet professional genealogist Clare Kirk, and he'll be finding out how she got hooked on researching her family history, why she does it for other people, what she does for Friends of Friendless Churches, and her hopes for an unusual 18th Century record in Buckinghamshire that reveals who the local cake man, rat man, and pig poker were!

THE LIFE STORY - HARRIET READ
Clare has chosen her husband's relative Harriet Read - a 'cousin' of his grandfather.

Family stories involving Harriet involved a nurse, the King, a silent movie star, a dancer, a private detective, a Baron, Joseph Merrick (known as 'the elephant man'), and a Royal pay-off to America.

However, when these stories began to collide and conflict, it was time for Clare to delve into them to determine fact from rumour and to help her husband's family to learn exactly who Harriet was.

THE BRICK WALL - THOMAS BOWEN MAULTBY
It's a brick wall in West Ealing, London that has Clare stuck - her Great Grandmother's brother was Thomas Bowen Maultby, and whilst she knows that he was born in Newport Pagnell in 1867.

Clare has been able to follow him through the census returns until 1881 when he appears as a ten year old. He then appears twice more - once, in 1915 named as a beneficiary in the Will of an aunt, and secondly as the person who seems to have lived in West Ealing, London when he purchased a plot at Hanwell Cemetery in London, where his mother was buried.

If you think you have a clue or a research idea, then you can contact Clare at her website digupyourancestors.com or via her Twitter/X account @digupancestors, alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it on to her.

In the meantime, Clare has concerns about Andrew's help, but is she wise to be worried....?

- - - 
Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerClare Kirk - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor PetőfiSend us a Text Message.
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 Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review.

In this fourth episode of Series Six, host Andrew meets family historian Sven Grewel, who has been tracing his German ancestry for many years and has since become a professional genealogist. He explains how he got hooked on researching his family history, and the challenges of researching in Germany - a country that has frequently changed its borders through history.

THE LIFE STORY - JOHANN CARL MAX SABEL
Sven has chosen to tell the life story of his 2x Great Grandfather Johan Carl Max Sabel who worked as a policeman in between the First and Second World Wars. This was a dangerous time, and unfortunately whilst delivering justice as a policeman, he is accused of a crime.

He spends years fighting for his innocence against a backdrop of rising Nazism, which includes time in prison and a psychiatric clinic, as his crime gets bigger and evidence seems lacking. Something doesn't seem right!

THE BRICK WALL - KARLSTADT RECORDS
A puzzle in Karlstadt, Bavaria, Germany is causing Sven a headache, so it's time for us to try to help.

Sven's research has been troubled by the destruction and burning of records that took place during The 30 Years' War that spread across what is mostly now Germany between 1618 and 1648. For many of his family branches, this is war causes his research to hit a dead end.

One place in particular he would like to find records is the town of Karlstadt in Bavaria, but the records are either lost, mislaid, or destroyed. Sven is feeling lucky though, and hopes that a listener might just be able to help find some.

If you think that you can offer Sven some help, then you can reach out to him directly at his website svengrewel.com. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we'll pass it straight on to him.

In the meantime, Sven jumps at Andrew's offer of help but will he get the information he's hoping for? 

- - -

Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host and ProducerSven Grewel - GuestJohn Spike - Sándor Petőfi

Send us a Text Message.
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 Twitter @FamilyHistPod, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.
If you liked this episode please subscribe for free, or leave a rating or review.