Why did so many of great-great grandmother's children die young? Were those great aunts really on speaking terms with Mr Marks and Mr Spencer? Did great grandfather actually run away to live with Native Americans? And what was 'the piece of gold' that grandfather once owned? Every family is packed with stories like these about ancestors: some shocking, some humorous, some sad. Stories from Your Family Tree will inspire readers to pursue and explore the stories in their own family trees. Starting with snippets of gossip, anecdotes, hunches, sayings, heirlooms and documents, Ruth A. Symes sets out to investigate twelve of the tantalising family tales with which she grew up. This book uncovers the secrets of lives that were lived in Britain and its Empire from the reign of Queen Victoria, through the early years of the twentieth century and up to the Blitz.

Through careful use of a range of sources, from cookery books and ornaments, to more formal certificates and census returns, the stories are confirmed, disproved, shown to be exaggerations and - in some cases - revealed to be less odd than the truth. These stories will shed light on many aspects of the social history of the last 150 years, including matters which may well have affected your family such as disease and childhood mortality, emigration, women's work and funerary customs. Brimming with useful research tips, this book will enable as well as entertain.