A tantalising find in an online archive reveals a family conversation hidden in plain sight for nearly 200 years
Cracking a 19th Century Cross-Written Letter
Category: 🌐 Migration & Emigration
The Brevoort Family Commonplace Book
A beautifully illustrated 1837 commonplace book kept by the Brevoort children reveals their distinct personalities, youthful ambitions, and family tragedies
Poor Cottages in the Wilderness
John Coolidge (1604–1691) left Cambridgeshire in 1630 to help establish the Puritan settlement of Watertown in early colonial Massachusetts
Twins and the Paths of Poverty and Prosperity
Henry Mayhew (1812-1881) and Priscilla Mayhew (1812–1886): born together, lives apart - twins in an age of change
Luck of the Irish
Joseph Twohey (c1838–1913) an Irish-born soldier whose career spanned Crimea, India, and near-miraculous survival, honoured with Hayling’s first military funeral
A Ruptured Life
James Twohey (1794-1866) an Irishman who served with the British Army and endured hardship in India before being discharged through injury
What’s in a name
Julia Lane? (c.1840–1925): Illiterate but resilient, she rose from famine-era Ireland to hardship in London, through her inner strength and determination
The mysterious disappearance of Arthur Earle
Arthur Earle (1896-1977) a soldier in WW1, later disappeared and started a new life in England, leaving a tale of resilience and transformation.
Shadows of Injustice: Survival and Suffering at E72
Ted Mayhew (1919–1982) a British soldier captured near Dunkirk, who, along with fellow POWs, endured unrelenting hardship at the notorious E72 work camp
A woman before her time
Meta Brevoort (1825-1876) an intrepid Victorian mountaineer and the first female climber to wear trousers
