Have you ever wondered about the people who sent postcards in the past? Helen Baggott has researched hundreds of them and found the stories and lives of the senders and recipients. Helen shares tips for finding, evaluating and buying them and for researching the people and places plus stories of some of those she has found herself. We also discuss the books she has written "Posted in the Past" and "With Love from Grace" raising money for Parkinsons UK.

Over the last 600 years Herstmonceux Castle has had mixed fortunes. From the first brick castle in England in the 1400s to ownership by a Canadian university in the 21st century. Former archivist Scott Mclean brings its history to life and that of some of its former owners and visitors including the Fiennes family, the Dacre family, Colonel Claude Lowther, Sir Paul Latham, the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Queen's University (Canada) and others. 

There have been some illustrious visitors over the years and Winston Churchill used to come and paint in the gardens. 

There is a second interview on Substack regarding some of the more unusual uses and goings on at Herstmonceux together with a transcript of this episode. Available here: Journeys into Genealogy on Substack

All About That Place and All About That Place Pacific Edition start on 27 Sept 2024. Find out more about both events with Ruth Willmore of the Society of Genealogists and Barbara Tien of Projectkin. These are two separate interviews and Barbara starts at approximately 11.25 of the recording. Transcripts are available via Journeys into Genealogy on Substack. 

Have you wanted to write your own family history book? This family have had an annual newsletter going since the 1950s and Daniel had a vision of creating a book to share with other family members. Daniel who is in his 90s, and one of 13 siblings, worked with his daughter Freda and some of her cousins. Freda and Daniel talk about their experience of collaborating via a committee and how they produced a coffee table book and even a cake to celebrate the launch (shown on the cover image here).

There is a second interview with Freda on Substack where she talks about how it all came together and some of the lessons learned. journeysintogenealogy.substack.com

DNA expert Michelle Leonard shares the do's and don'ts for anyone who is considering doing a DNA test and what to do once you have your results.  She explains what information you receive when you test and how far back you can reliably trace your ancestors. With advice on how to organize matches, the definition of a 'genetic community', how reliable Ancestry's ThruLines and Origins are, whether you should upload your results to more than one company and if books and courses are helpful and much more.

There is a separate Journeys into Genealogy on Substack interview on the new Ancestry Pro Tools and whether it is worth signing up for (hint: we both think it is!). 

P J Ahern was a bard, poet, journalist and storyteller in Limerick, Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th century. His great niece Patricia talks about him, his life and poetry and the parallels with her own life. 

Ruth Graham talks about migration to Australia from the first non-indigenous settlers in 1788 up until the £10 POMs in the 20th century. We covers convists, ships, their crews, assisted immigration, non assisted immigration, mining, free settlers, trade and much more.

The transcript for this episode will be added for paid subscribers on Substack. There is a resources sheet available for free on Substack. 

The Gentleman's Magazine was the world's first modern magazine. Julian Pooley of the Surrey History Centre is an expert on the magazine and tells us about its history, contents, readership and how it is helpful to family historians. He also shares some of the stories contained within it including how Samuel Johnson was involved. A full interview transcript is available on Substack at https://journeysintogenealogy.substack.com. 

In New York in the early 20th century young women who broke the rules or didn't obey their parents were called 'wayward' and sent to reformatories to change their ways.  Stephanie O'Connell discusses her case study titled "Wayward Girls," exploring the 1923 Wayward Minor Act in New York, which criminalised female disobedience and sexual delinquency. We learn about the New York State Reformatory in Bedford Hills, where young women were sent for being 'wayward' or 'incorrigible.' Stephanie explains the social context of the time, the daily life of the girls in the reformatory, and the impact of these institutions on their lives and on her own grandmother who was sent to this reformatory.

Wendy Aris has spent years searching for her Jamaican ancestors. In this episode we discuss what records are available and how far back they go. Visiting the National Archives and National Library in Jamaica, slavery, manumissions and emancipation and some of the surprising places records can be found. 

Ruth Graham, chair of the Society of Australian Genealogists, talks about the history of Australia, how the states are organized (it's changed quite a bit over the years!) where to find records, what records are available, including burial registers, newspapers, national and local archives, Trove, electoral rolls, Australian cemeteries, the services provided by the Society and much, much more. Ruth has provided a resource guide which is available on Substack alongside an interview transcript. This is the first of two interviews with Ruth about Australia, the second one will be focussed on migration.