19th Century 1800-1899
Help from Memorial Inscriptions
August 30, 2016
Why look at memorial inscriptions?
Often overlooked are details on memorial inscriptions. These can provide information not found elsewhere. – read more…
“Lost” an Ancestor before 1837
August 30, 2016
Have you an ancestor you cannot find before 1837? Have you thought that they may be non-conformists? Ancestry have scanned the non-conformist registers handed to the authorities in 1837. – read more…
Death notices in old Hampshire newspapers
November 17, 2015
Death notices in old Hampshire newspapers can reveal useful information about the deceased. Among the deaths listed in the Hampshire Advertiser of 22 December 1855 were several interesting announcements of deaths home and abroad. Combine the details with information from HGS parish indexes and a personal story emerges. – read more…
West Meon infanticide 1830
November 10, 2015
On 28 January 1830 Frances MARCH aged 32 drowned her infant child Amelia and then herself. The drowning occured in a tub of water usually used as a foot-bath. Her husband Lancelot Foquett March and mother-in-law Mary March were absent at the time. – read more…
Greywell re-marriage in 1855
June 15, 2015
Francis FREEMAN and Sarah Ann ROGERS from Odiham, Hampshire had legally married in 1854. The Hampshire Advertiser reports how they were then induced by their local curate in Greywell to a re-marriage in 1855. – read more…
Hampshire Murder in Swanwick, 1899
March 1, 2015
The 1899 Hampshire murder of young Dorcas HOUGHTON resulted in nationwide publicity.
Eighteen year old Dorcas was killed in Swanwick by her jilted boyfriend Charles MAIDMENT aged 22. Despite a plea of insanity Charles was found guilty and hanged 3 months later. – read more…
1855 Portsea hospital bed shortage
February 22, 2015
An 1855 Portsea Hospital bed shortage raised concerns when a man who was turned away later died. – read more…
Portsmouth police gas explosion in 1855
December 13, 2014
This account of an explosion in a Portsmouth dockyard police station in 1855 should serve as a cautionary tale of the dangers of mixing gas with a naked flame. – read more…
Who was Sweet Fanny Adams?
October 20, 2014
The phrase ‘sweet Fanny Adams’ is still used today, but where did it originate? The story of the brutal murder of 8 year old Fanny from Alton is told here by a descendant of one of Fanny’s cousins. – read more…
Hardship cases in a Portsmouth court
October 19, 2014
After the Napoleonic wars many suffered hardship that often resulted in lawbreaking and people being taken to court. William ATRELL and John CHAMBERLAIN were two such cases reported in the Hampshire Telegraph in 1817. – read more…