My Blog

Joseph Goodall was Ari’s 6x great-grandfather, born in 1758 in Bradley, Ashbourne, Derbyshire and christened on 5 October at All Saints’...

One of Ari’s ancestors (a 4x great-grandmother) was Mary Anne Tilley. Her christening record at St James in Poole helpfully gives her...

Ari’s 3x great-grandfather Meyer Loshak was born on 4 April 1884 in a town that is now called Hritsiv in Ukraine. Before WWI the town was...

One of Ari’s Lithuanian ancestors was Moses Gurvich, the father of LK Hurwitz. Moses was known as Movsha or Moshe, and his middle name...

Today we found the grave of William Sheppard, Ari’s 4x great-grandfather, and his wife Angelina. They are both buried at the church of St...

There will now be a slight pause while I order lots of birth and death certificates from the General Register Office at the reduced price...

One of Ari’s 4x great-grandmothers was Mindel or Millie Gross, the mother of Grandma Raye. Her Hebrew name was Mindel Bat [daughter of]...

Job Spencer was Ari’s 6x great-grandfather, baptised on 16 Feb 1770 at St Mary’s Church, Wirksworth, Derbyshire. Job was the second son...

Samuel Sims was Ari’s 5x great-grandfather, born in 1817 at Morley Park, Ripley, in Derbyshire. Coke iron furnaces at Morley Park, c.1780...

Ari’s 3x great-grandmother Rahle (Rachel) Mendelsohn was born on 16 Aug 1875 in Memel (Klaipeda), now in Lithuania. She was the second...

Ari’s 7x great-grandmother Jane Goodfellow was probably born in Fovant, Wiltshire in 1704. Fovant is on the main Salisbury–Shaftesbury...

Hannah Godbehere was Ari’s 7x great-grandmother. She was baptised on 15 Apr 1757 in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, and died at the age of 78 in...

Ari’s 5x great-grandfather Asher Butt lived in Christchurch, Hampshire (now Dorset). View from the castle Christchurch was originally...

Sarah Volfson was Ari’s 4x great-grandmother. This photo shows Sarah with her husband David Nisman and son Chaim (Hymie), who was born in...

George Thomas Waters was Ari’s 3x great-grandfather, born in 1856 in Kempsey, Worcestershire and baptised on 23 March at St Peter the...

One of Ari’s great-great-grandfathers was Horace Sims, the son of Frederick Sims and Elizabeth Phipps. Horace was born on 1 Nov 1909 in...

Hinda Hirshfeld was Ari’s 3x great-grandmother from Liepaja (Libau), Latvia. She must have been born in about 1865 (based on her age at...

Mary Bishop was Ari’s 5x great-grandmother, born in 1809 in Grafton Flyford in Worcestershire. Mary was the seventh of eight children of...

One of Ari’s 6x great-grandfathers was John Beckett. John was born in about 1729 in Chilmark, Wiltshire. Chilmark is known for its stone...

Ari’s 3x great-grandmother Rachel Cohen was always known to me as Grandma Raye. She was born at 8 East Mount Street in Whitechapel on 5...