In this second episode of Season Ten, host Andrew Martin welcomes Norfolk-based family historian, heirloom re-uniter, and graveyard detective – Simon Howard.
Listen to the episode
S10EP02 – 'The Disinherited' with Simon Howard – The Family Histories Podcast
Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, and others…
The Life Story – Eleanor Thornberry Smith
Simon has chosen to tell the life story of his 3x Gt Grandmother, Eleanor Thornberry Smith, who was born in 1822, in Kings Lynn in Norfolk, England.
Eleanor was the daughter of Elizabeth Smith, and at her baptism no father is noted. This presented Simon with an irresistible brick wall to break down, and Eleanor’s unusual middle name of Thornberry seemed like the obvious clue.
Simon was able to find some payments made by a David Thornberry to Elizabeth in 1830 in the Bastardy Bonds, and this was exactly the information he needed!
He found that David Thornberry was a successful engineer working on the sluices and riverways in the area. Clearly he’d met Elizabeth and she’d become pregnant. There was a problem though…. he was married.
Simon was able to research David’s family, and contrast the differences between Eleanor who was living with her mother in cottages that still stand as True’s Yard – Kings Lynn’s museum, and her half-siblings who lived a much more comfortable life. Did David’s family know of Eleanor’s existence….?
The Brick Wall – The Lown family
Simon is looking for a family named Lown who go missing in the 1861 census.
He is able to find agricultural labourer Bernard Lown, his wife Mary (née Gilbert), and their sons Richard, George, and Bernard in the 1841 and 1851 censuses in the Clenchwarton, Terrington St. John, and Terrington St. Clements area of West Norfolk, but when it comes to 1861 – they’re all missing!
Mary turns up in Clenchwarton in 1867 to be buried… but the family’s whereabouts remain a mystery. Simon wonders whether they’re victim to poor spelling and name variants, but he only suspects Lowen as a potential variant.
Can you help him answer;
- Where were the Lown family in 1861?
- What happened to Bernard Lown (the father)?
If you think that you can help him with a research clue or idea, then you can contact him via his social media channels at Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, or via the email address he gives in the episode. Alternatively, you can send us a message, and we’ll pass it along.
In the meantime, Simon accepts Andrew’s help but can he navigate 19th century Norfolk….
Episode Credits
- Andrew Martin – Host and Producer
- Simon Howard – Guest
- John Spike – Sándor Petőfi