Family trees, research, history and photos
From their humble beginnings as yeomen, many of the descendants of our early family members have achieved considerable prominence in UK society. This is the story of their development. In Sir William Dugdale’s book, The Visitation of Yorkshire 1666, he refers to a letter dated 1626 issued by John Borough Miles, Norroy King of Arms of … Read more
The Viking invasion History tells us of many Danish Viking raids on Anglo-Saxon England, but they never stayed. But when the ‘Great Viking Army’ invaded in 856, they slowly made their way across England. By 866, the Vikings led by Ivar The Boneless had taken the city of York. They changed its name from ‘Eoforwic’ to ‘Jorvik’ and made it … Read more
The development of the UK Southern Branch is in my view quite incredible. This branch was fathered by Rev. Thomas Micklethwait (1538–1593) Vicar of Plumstead, Kent. The youngest son of one of the original Yorkshire Yeomen, he found himself shipped off as a new vicar to a poor parish east of London. He married there and … Read more
Many of members on our family trees were living in the 16th Century. Following are some interesting facts about living in this period and where some of our modern-day expressions come from. For example, houses had thatched roofs (thick straw piled high) with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery, and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs.’ … Read more