Skip to content

Funny where life takes you…

Stories from beyond the family trees

  • Home
  • Families
    • Brevoort
    • Brock
    • Coolidge
    • Collingwood
    • Dibben
    • Levens
    • Mayhew
    • Twohey
    • Wackrill
  • Themes
    • ⚕️ Health, Medicine & Mental Health
    • ⚔️ Military & Wartime
      • American Revolution
      • Earlier Conflicts
      • First World War
      • Second World War
        • Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945)
        • Kent Electric Power Co Roll Of Honour (1939-1945)
    • 🌐 Migration & Emigration
    • 🗺️ Places
      • Americas
        • Canada
        • New England
        • New York
        • Other States
      • Asia & Pacific
      • Britain & Ireland
        • England
        • Guernsey
        • Ireland
        • Scotland
        • Wales
      • Continental Europe
        • Alps & Switzerland
        • France
        • Germany & Poland
        • Italy
        • Netherlands
    • 🔍 Mysteries & Brick Walls
    • 🛠️ Occupations
      • Art, Sport & Performance
      • Business, Trades & Professions
      • Domestic Service
      • Farming & Agriculture
      • Seafaring & the Navy
    • 🏡 Social History
      • Childhood & Family Life
      • Poverty, Hardship & Resilience
      • Religion & Social Reform
      • Women’s Lives
    • 📚 General
  • Recollections
  • More stories
  • About
  • Contact

Category: Women’s Lives

Endurance Through War and Change

Catherine Dibben (1850–1934) faced significant personal and social challenges during WWI, managing her boarding house while mourning deeply for her family and navigating economic hardships

Natalie Mayhew England, First World War, Women's Lives December 18, 2024June 24, 2026 4 Minutes

The suffragist and saviour of ‘Cutty Sark’

Catharine Courtauld (1878-1972) was a key suffragist, contributing significantly to women's rights, art, and Cutty Sark's preservation

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Religion & Social Reform, Seafaring & the Navy, Women's Lives October 19, 2024June 24, 2026 7 Minutes

Not just a pretty face

Ellen Kirby (1851-1924) whose humble origins in rural Berkshire contrasted sharply with her later success as a respected housekeeper, wife, and businesswoman

Natalie Mayhew Domestic Service, England, Italy, Women's Lives June 8, 2024June 24, 2026 11 Minutes

A trailblazing free-thinker

Vera Conway Gordon (1874-1955) a suffragist, novelist, community leader, advocate for women's rights, and trailblazer for social progress

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Religion & Social Reform, Women's Lives April 9, 2024June 24, 2026 14 Minutes

A woman before her time

Meta Brevoort (1825-1876) an intrepid Victorian mountaineer and the first female climber to wear trousers

Natalie Mayhew Alps & Switzerland, Art, Sport & Performance, 🌐 Migration & Emigration, New York, Women's Lives March 22, 2024June 24, 2026 13 Minutes

Destiny and duty

Emma Levens (1873-1908) a story of love, marriage and motherhood in urban nineteenth century London

Natalie Mayhew Childhood & Family Life, England, Poverty, Hardship & Resilience, Women's Lives January 17, 2023June 24, 2026 12 Minutes

Margaret Todd (1736-1809)

Pigmented wax and oil paint on glass of Margaret Todd Whetten showing an elderly lady in bonnet and shawl in profile

Margaret Todd (1736-1809) Overview with links to chapters on her story

Natalie Mayhew American Revolution, New York, Women's Lives October 21, 2022June 24, 2026 1 Minute

Caught between the lines

Cowboys and Skinners Plundering Civilians during the Revolutionary War

Margaret Todd (1736-1809): 1736-1778, her early life and the first years of the Revolutionary War

Natalie Mayhew American Revolution, New York, Women's Lives October 21, 2022June 24, 2026 7 Minutes

The Damnedest Rebel

Margaret Todd (1736-1809) 1778-1809, life in occupied New York

Natalie Mayhew American Revolution, New York, Women's Lives October 21, 2022June 24, 2026 7 Minutes

Lil Coolidge (1857-1906)

Victorian carte de visite photograph of a young girl

Lil Coolidge (1857-1906) Overview with links to separate stories about her life

Natalie Mayhew 🌐 Migration & Emigration, England, France, New York, Women's Lives July 30, 2022June 24, 2026 1 Minute

Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts

Funny Where Life Took Them
Some of the surnames on this site — click one to find stories behind it

Bailey Baker Banfield Banfield aka Wackrill Barrett Baynes Booth Bovill Bowes-Lyon Brevoort Bristow Brock Carson Chaldecott Collingwood Conway-Gordon Coolidge Cooper Cotton Courtauld Daley Dibben Dowman Down Earle Finch Fitzgerald Gordon Hall Harvey Hill Irving Kirby Krug Lane? Levens Mayhew Mayo Napier Obee Payne Poulton Rose Saumarez Sheldrake Todd Twohey Wackrill Whetten

Follow Funny where life takes you… on WordPress.com

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Loading Comments...