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: 🏡 Social History
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
New York’s First Grand Costume Ball of 1840
In February 1840, New York hosted its first grand masked ball, organised by Henry and Laura Brevoort, captivating society and setting a new standard for extravagant celebrations
One Photograph, Four Generations
One faded photograph of a 1920s motorcycle outing transformed my understanding of a grandfather I had known only as a bitter old man
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
A Woman of Her Own Making
Catherine Dibben (1850-1934) rose from a poor Hayling Island childhood to running a successful boarding house and inspiring four generations of women
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
Discovering the Missing Mayhew Child
Lily Violet Dorothy Mayhew (1907–1942) vanished from the records as a baby, only to re-emerge as a young woman whose life was shaped by loss, work, and war
“Present at the Death”
Charlotte Mayhew (c1816–1899): a silenced life recovered through the records
The Good Mother
Leah Ellen Mayo (1847–1927) a young widow, navigated poverty, prejudice, and impossible choices - then reinvented herself to keep her family together
