Book Review: The History of England, Volume 1, Foundation by Peter Ackroyd

This is by far the most interesting book I've read about this period of English history. While the main text follows the lives and deaths of the rulers of our fair land, this is only part of the book.

Some of the most interesting chapters, and certainly the most important for me, are those that follow the lives of normal people, those that may not have made history, but certainly had to deal with what seems like near constant war, taxes, and change. These smaller chapters deal with certain topics at certain periods, such as children's toys and education, the house, and birth and death. Other chapters look at the country and how we evolved as a nation, how other nations saw us as a people (not positively for the main), and our climate over time.

Web Resources: zoekakten.nl

24/07/2018, ETA: THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN.

This website is a fantastic in that it has allowed me to go from reading transcripts on wiewaswie to actually being able to view and download the original documents.  This website interfaces with the Family Search database and provides links to the exact document you're looking for - often with an index for easier searching.

While the website is only in Dutch, copying words into Google Translate provides translations that will help you select the right type of document for the information you are seeking. I'll take you through a simple search by way of introducing you to this amazing resource.

An Unfortunate Tradition

Last year I got married. The record of my marriage has my father's name and describes him as deceased. There is a line through the Rank or profession of father cell.

I didn't think much of it until my wife purchased my parents marriage record for Valentine's Day this year. I immediately saw that the same situation. I knew that my grandad had died from lung cancer (as my dad did) when my dad was a young boy. But, it still came as a shock.