The Hampshire Family Historian | Volume 50 No.2 | Sept 2023

Local Group Programmes

builder got the money to build it! This was an example of how a simple project can grow into a fascinating story. (May) Migration: When We Get Stuck – Laurie Page This talk was not about travel abroad but rather how our ancestors moved about the country, especially before the 19th century when most of the population, except the very wealthy, rarely went beyond their own neighbourhood. By using nationally collated statistics alongside examples from his family he showed us how this situation changed. He also reminded us to consider the reasons why our ancestors may have moved by looking at the bigger picture of events. Why would a person who moved to London return to a village? The answer could be the Plague! By using sources available, combined with circumstantial evidence such as location and unusual names, Laurie was able to find his elusive ancestors. This was a reminder about how to act on your hunch. (June) Member’s Evening – A Tragedy in the Family We had five different tragedies. Jonathan started with two family quotes ‘your grandmother didn’t have any time for her father’s housekeeper’ and his great grandfather Owen was ‘a drinker, gambler & womaniser’. Miriam Bell had married Owen Thompson in 1892 and in 1901 was living in Bootle. While he was still here in 1911 with servant Helen Milburn, Miriam was now a patient on a mental ward suffering from delusional insanity and died here in 1919. So, were the quotes accurate? As Owen continued to live with Helen, could household dynamics have triggered Miriam’s state of mind?. Next was Margaret and her cousin Ernest Vernon Aylmore who in WW2 quickly gained promotion and expertise in submarine warfare. Aboard HMS Peacock in 1946 and redeployed to stop illegal immigration to Palestine, he had survived the war only to die that year in a car crash while on shore leave on the island of Rhodes. David followed with Mary Broomfield who was found guilty of murdering her husband in 1927 after she cut his throat with a bread knife made from a bayonet and then tried to hang herself. She was sent to Broadmoor Hospital as insane, but her husband had been a violent man and today it could be considered as an abusive relationship. A further tragedy was the effect on the children and that she died from cancer just before her release into the care of her sister. Rosemary’s talk was about her 2x great grandfather. Married with three children, he committed bigamy in 1848 and was sent to prison, his physical description bearing all the signs of venereal disease! A child was born to this marriage with more children to his first wife. This wife did outlive him but the day after she died, three of her children were found wandering the streets. The younger ones then spent the rest of their lives in & out of the workhouse. The final talk was about my grandmother’s 2nd cousins, three girls aged 18 months to ten years who by necessity were alone at home on the 27th November 1909. Their father was unemployed so their mother was the main bread winner working 7.30am to 9pm. But this day he got casual work and was out until 10.30pm. Sadly that day there was a fractured gas main outside their basement flat and neighbours found the girls dead from carbon monoxide

poisoning while he was out. Inquest verdict – an accident! Five very diverse, but in their own way – equally tragic stories.

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