08/11/2025

Some listeners to the podcast may recall the episode we published on Three Australian Brothers. I am now delighted to say that a brief essay about their wartime experiences has been published in the Journal of the Henley and Grange Historical Society. (Number 46). They have even come up with some extra photographs, including a picture of a house built by the family and still surviving. My thanks to this very active (not to say, ambitious) local history group and congratulations on the profession production of a quite scholarly journal

07/10/2025

Here is a summary of my research into the TASSELL line of my genealogy.  I am confident of the information and would welcome any options for linking the different medieval branches.

I have traced the tree back to Robert Tassell’s will (probate 1520) which identifies his son as William TASSELL of  Balsham, Cambridgeshire.  Robert lived, and farmed, in Wycherley, Kent and there is a broad TASSELL presence in Kent (including a long surviving ‘Tassells Farm’) However, the will indicates that Robert had some lands remaining in Balsham. So, it seems that his presence, at least in land tenure, goes back into the 15th Century.

I have not been able to find evidence of Robert TASSELL in Kent before his generation.  (One of his daughters married in London  ).  

So, I have four  branches which I would like to connect

1. Kentish TASSELLS, mentioned above.

2. William TASSELL of Balsham, who married Joan _____ and had a large family including a ubiquitous Bartholomew. See my paperback Outrage in Balsham, and my published genealogy

3. William TASSELL of Bury St Edmunds who married into the Jermyn family. A handy gateway ancestor that takes us back, sort of, to Alfred the Great BUT the will (mentioned above) makes it clear that William Tassell of Balsham cannot be the William Tassell who married into the Jermyn family. This is also corroborated by Herald’s visitation.  Many online genealogies say that the two Williams are the same person but they cannot be correct.

4 The TASSELL family of Norfolk.  These go further back and might be the senior line. These are extensive, mentioned in the Visitations and a land tenure document – described as : Robert Tassell of Bukton, Robert Tassell of Fouldon, Henry Tassell of the same and William Tassell of the same to master William Bathecome of Cantibyrch clerk and Richard Edward of Westderham  Messuage and land in Bukton 1481

We know that Robert Tassell of Wychling Kent and Robert Tassell from Balsham are the same person.  We  have not to shown either of the two Robert Tassell, forty miles from Balsham, is the same Robert Tassell who owned land in Balsham,

Also, there is a strong TASSELL representation in medieval Devon/Cornwall, including a presence at the Battle of Agincourt. However I have found no hint that this branch easily connects with mine

22/09/2025

We’re often meticulous in cataloguing facts and diligent in documenting sources, yet curiously lax when it comes to cataloguing the people we know. Cataloguing friends? It sounds unworthy—perhaps even deceitful. But let’s soften the term. Cataloguing, after all, is merely an aid to recall. Let’s call it remembering our friends on paper. Or better yet, an address book annotated with skills as well as birthdays.

In mine, you’ll find a friend who knows someone embedded in the rhythms of The National Archives. A retired librarian who can unearth elusive references faster than any search engine I’ve met. An overseas enthusiast who transcribes seventeenth-century wills with a precision that leaves artificial intelligence blinking in admiration.

Of course, I don’t need to write these details down to remember them. And if any of you are reading this, rest assured—you’re not in any index. These names and talents live comfortably in my head, refreshed by regular contact and shared curiosity. But what happens when the list grows? When the network stretches beyond a few dozen to a few hundred? And how many is it already?

Truth be told, among neighbours, colleagues, and long-time friends lies a reservoir of expertise—untapped, uncredentialed, and quietly profound. Not the kind that comes with badges or bios, but the kind shaped by practice, instinct, and lived experience. Most people carry a toolkit of skills they rarely name: a retired engineer who restores antique radios with surgical grace, a cousin who reads probate records like poetry, and a friend who tames chaotic archives with intuitive flair. We gather this knowledge not through any planned campaign, but through our everyday people skills. Through curiosity, we are led into conversations. And, of course, we only learn by listening, not by talking.  This sort of social osmosis means that we lose track of just how much we do know about those people we meet.  What has all this got to do with genealogy?  Well, begin by noting skills, knowledge, and access against those names in the birthday book, and find out.

13/04/2025

I have posted Episode 52 a few days before time. My wish to restrict the podcast to thirty minutes and not to wander too far off-topic meant that I could not give a fully rounded picture of the family. In particular, I had to leave Carew’s later life untouched; the visual impairment that had dogged most of his adult life deteriorated to the extent that he was blind in his final years. He doggedly kept to his books, but died in his study as he knelt in prayer. He was 65

I mentioned his paper on the English language, and I have been tempted to offer a full audio version as a bonus episode — a blogcast, or that sort of thing.  However, recognising that few listeners would survive the likely indigestion, I offer here just a snippet.

He wrote: “Now for the significancy of words, so in our English Saxon language we find many of them expressed by words of one syllable; those consisting of more are borrowed from other nations. Our words are fewer in tale and the sooner reduced yo memory;  neither are we laden with those declensions flexions and variations with are incidence in many other tongues and so we read a very short grammar.”

The excellence of this writing becomes clear when you attempt to substitute any word for another.

Richard Carew had several notable relatives.  We might best remember the Vice Admiral (that is, a Vice Admiral for the day of the Battle of the Solent) who cried, “I have the sort of knaves I cannot rule” as his ship, the Mary Rose, slipped beneath the swell of the Solent.  His wife, spectating from the Southsea shore, is said to have fainted at the distressing sight – but managed to recover in time to marry again within a year.

Then, there was Nicholas Carew. Like George, the Admiral, Nick was a rascal in his younger days and although he managed to get close to Henry VIII, he was regularly in and out of favour.  His worse move was making a enemy of Tom Cromwell who roped him into those taken for the Exeter conspiracy. Nicholas was executed in 1539.   His widow Elizabeth was reputed to have been 14 years old when she was the King’s mistress.

And also: Alexander Carew, who was executed in 1645 for attempting, as a Parliamentarian, to hand St Nicholas Island to the King.

However, Richard Carew remains notable as a local historian, still read (and studied) today.

(13/04/2025)

19/03/2025

A few snippets from my family tree. My mother said that she was born at the bottom of a staircase; as she remembered it, the third step up. Her great grandfather was, according to a family tale, born in a field. Talking of fields, one of my gtx4s was killed by a cow that chased him to a hedgerow. Years later, his widow expressed her last words “Now leave me and let me die.” (And she did). Two children of another gtx3 died by poison while my gtx14 gdma died of the plague (along with more than a dozen members of her family). Meanwhile, life goes on.

26/02/2025

As we approach the fiftieth episode of the podcast, I thought it would be fun to work out the most popular episode so far.

Here are a few notes.

First, the most popular platform:  Buzzsprout by a clear margin with YouTube in second place. However, the YouTube figure combines the episodes posted from Spreaker and what you might call YouTube home posts. Mixcloud was the third most popular platform with Spreaker in fourth place.  Some episodes were linked to Sound Cloud but this produced little activity and I stopped posting on the site.

Of course, the older episodes have had a longer opportunity to build an audience

The talk on Marriage Registers snuck into the Top Twenty of our popularity chart, reaching Number 19.  Two better than the talk on Baptisms.

The episodes about old genealogists were most fun to produce but, really, did no better than average.  My favourite genealogist is SHA Hervey – well, he didn’t make the Top Thirty while Robert Cotton – has there been a better benefactor to our hobby? – was the thirteenth most popular.

OK . What about the Ten Most Listened to Episodes?

The talk on Pipe Rolls was Number Ten and  the episode on Tips for American Researchers in England was the Ninth most heard.

The genealogists Burke and W.E. Tate bagged  Eighth and Seventh Spot.

Number Six:  How to Narrow Down  Suspects

Number Five;  Tips for finding a Gateway Ancestor

Number Four:  Heralds’ Visitations

Number Three: How to intepret a Village

Number Two:  Working with Tudor Wills.

By far and away, the most popular episode focussed on linking your family tree to William the Conqueror

So, you found episodes about sources of information more interesting than more general chats about genealogy.  Of those sources, Medieval History was more popular than Tudor Times which, in turn was marginally more popular than Modern Times. 26/02/2025

16/02/2025

Recently, I have sought help from several genealogists and researchers with specialist knowledge and skills which are beyond me. There is nothing new in this. I have always been lucky in building a web of enthusiasts who seem only too keen to assist.   This month’s network has included a maritime history practitioner, a lady from Texas who is good at reading old handwriting, a retired librarian who seems to produce sources like bunnies out of a hat, and a hand well used to navigating TNA.  Then, I need to mention the two people who peer reviewed some of my work.

There is a shame-faced side to this collaboration. I am not particularly good at anything, so I don’t do much to repay their generosity. But talking to these folk adds to the enjoyment of family tree hunting; the only regret is the growing list of names who are longer with us. 16/02/2025

Recently, came across this old newspaper interview. Goodness, how times change.