From the office: hitting a Welsh wall

It’s the beginning of February already (how did that happen?)  – and less than four weeks to go until Who Do You Think You Are? Live.

We’re feverishly putting the finishing touches to our March issue; look out for it at the show. It’s a must-have for those of you with military forebears, providing finding aids, photo identification and other tips and tricks. Oh, and it also features Thames Watermen and Lancashire research advice among other goodies.

Frustratingly, I’ve hit a bit of a brick wall with my Welsh research. How nice then to be able to sit back and watch Gavin and Stacey actor Alison Steadman successfully pursue her Welsh roots in Coming Home this week (the series has ended now, but look out for repeats of series four this week on Blighty.

Alison’s search wasn’t wasn’t all plain sailing. Her mother, Marjorie, had always claimed Welsh heritage. The genealogists duly discovered the family hailed from a small village called Trefarclwdd. The only problem? It’s actually just over the border in England! Happily for Alison, one of her other lines yielded Welsh ancestors – phew…

One eagle-eyed researcher discovered why her forebears had moved to England – and there was a delicious twist to the story.

Martha and Morris, Alison’s great great grandparents, had been under the age of consent, and had eloped to Liverpool to marry. The researcher spotted something else very unusual in the records – Martha’s mother and Morris’s father had both been widowed – and had then married each other, making Martha and Morris step siblings. Though not illegal, their marriage would probably have been frowned upon by the family. For more, click here.

It’s these amazing little revelations that keep us going, despite the brick walls! If you have a query, why not post it on our forum or send it to our Q&A panel by emailing WDYTYAquestions@immediatemedia.co.uk.