New Series - A House through Time

[nanny jan]

Anyone else recognise the man who explained things at the synagogue? He has been on Heir Hunters.

Yes.....Saul.

[Martin Briscoe]

Surprisingly, the majority of the cotton workers supported the north rather than the Confederacy. It was more important to be against slavery than to eat.

As a result, Manchester has a Lincoln Square, with a statue of Abraham Lincoln.

A bit ago I sent a link to a copy of the famous letter from Abraham Lincoln to some friends in the USA (might have been after the bomb attack there).  They did know about it.  Well worth reading.

[Martin Briscoe]

I don't think so. I'm very much into history - I have a degree in it. However, I'm afraid I can't get too excited about the minutiae of random people, certainly not to the point of wondering about their birth, marriage and death dates etc.

Are you saying that you're happy to pluck a name out of the air and start researching their history? I wouldn't be sufficiently motivated, I'm afraid. I'm perfectly happy to try and help Rootschatters with the family history of their ancestors - who I obviously don't know from Adam (or Eve) - but that's because I'm motivated to help. it seems to me that what you're doing is taking it to the nth degree, which, as I said before, is fine - but not for me.

It can be interesting doing a bit of research when a programme leaves loose ends without explanation.  Often they have the full story and put online but have to edit it down for television. 

Obviously does not interest everyone but it can be an interesting way to pass a bit of time especially when you find something that the 'professionals' missed.

I was also intrigued wondering what happened to the two daughter, I presume they were informally adopted.  But can't find any trace so far.

[Martin Briscoe]

Well that depends on if they are trying to get easy celebrity status or not, as per the current fashion!! (See this mornings news.)

I am quite enjoying the series though I agree with all the -ve comments I
also feel that it "contained more examples of useful genealogy work than most episodes of WDYTYA" as AntonyMMM says.

One of the newspaper reports said the BBC (or at least the production company) had been working on the series for several years and that the current occupants did not want to be interviewed or photographed.  Then in the last couple of days a couple of articles have appeared about them with name and photographs!

[bykerlads]

I  can well believe that it took some years of work and research to make the series.
Presumably they started off with a number of houses and had to find out which would be the most interesting.
I wonder how much the current owner got paid for the use of the house. It can be quite lucrative even if program or film makers use only  a small part of your house.

[Martin Briscoe]

I  can well believe that it took some years of work and research to make the series.
Presumably they started off with a number of houses and had to find out which would be the most interesting.
I wonder how much the current owner got paid for the use of the house. It can be quite lucrative even if program or film makers use only  a small part of your house.

I doubt whether a history documentary, like this one, has a large budget!

The presenter has connections to one of the universities in Liverpool so it could be they chose a house through personal contacts.

[ChrissieL]

Having started this thread I've only just got round to watching the two episodes that have been televised. I've enjoyed both episodes very much and although there have been one or two loose ends, I thought the use of the resources available has been excellent and I've been impressed how much information has been gained from the newspaper archives. I

Chris

[Martin Briscoe]

Having started this thread I've only just got round to watching the two episodes that have been televised. I've enjoyed both episodes very much and although there have been one or two loose ends, I thought the use of the resources available has been excellent and I've been impressed how much information has been gained from the newspaper archives. I

Chris

I have a subscription to the BNA and use it many times every day.  Often find things (not just Family History) there that I cannot find with usual web searches.  Also found some really useful bits of information about my own family.

[IgorStrav]

I've just caught up with both episodes of this and thought it absolutely fascinating.

I know that the programme moved off at tangents to follow people who'd lived in the house once they'd left it, but that didn't matter - it's the social life of the time which is totally absorbing.

And it touched on those mysteries - why did they do that, why did they move there, why did they call themselves that, where the hell have they gone - which affect us all in family history research.

I find myself desperate to find out what happened to the wife who tried to divorce her husband, but stayed with him and brought up his illegitimate girls, and was then widowed in mysterious circumstances.

Can they REALLY not find out what happened via censuses and so on??  I see some people on this thread have been having a look, can count on Rootschatters 

And jillruss, I hear what you say about only being interested in following your own ancestors, but for one I find it absolutely fascinating to get a glimpse into other lives.  Sometimes they illuminate my own ancestors' and sometimes because it's just that I'm interested.  Or nosy.