In this final episode of Season Nine, host Andrew Martin welcomes Dr. Karen Cummings to the podcast and finds out how she got interested in researching her family history, how her scientific background is aiding her DNA testing activities, how she ended up owning Pharos Tutors – an online genealogy course provider, and her thoughts on the future of the genealogy industry!

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Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, and others…

The Life Story – Jonathan Horsley

Karen has chosen to tell the life story of her husband’s ancestor – Jonathan Horsley – who she reveals is ‘a bad-un’.

Jonathan was born in 1869 in Coggeshall in Essex, England, and his early life would have been tough – with an absent father, and time in the workhouse with his brother.

He was soon recruited as an apprentice on a fishing boat at the harbour town of Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England…. but this was not what Jonathan really wanted, and he was repeatedly in trouble for absconding.

After joining the army, he is noted as having an equally rocky start here, but eventually he seems to have redeemed himself, at some point before he married and became a father. He went on to serve in the Boer War and then later joined the effort of the First World War back on the ships (somehow) in Grimsby.

It was here, that his boat was hit by a mine, and he was killed.

The Brick Wall – Sell Cowling

Karen has chosen her ancestor Sell Cowling for her brick wall, and despite tracing so many Cowling (and a plethora of name variations), Karen has been unable to find supporting evidence to suggest where he came from.

The 1841 census tells Karen that Sell Cowling came from Cambridgeshire in about 1775, but he unfortunately dies in 1850 and so does not appear on the more detailed 1851 census that would otherwise ask for the specific location and county of birth.

Karen has been examining baptism registers and has seen some potential family groupings in Ickleton and Castle Camps, both are villages close to Duxford (home of the Imperial War Museum) in Cambridgeshire, England…. but it seems that there are some gaps in registers, which makes him hard to find.

Karen’s research efforts into Sell Cowling have gotten so significant, that she’s ended up running the Cowling One-Name Study.

Of course, being from the science community, DNA is ingrained into Karen’s family history work, and this has enabled her to find some potential matches between Cowling people in Yorkshire and Cornwall, but do these connect to her line on the Cambridgeshire/Essex border?

To help make a breakthrough, Karen is looking to do a Y-DNA testing on male-only Cowling descendants. If you are male, from an unbroken line of male Cowling fathers, then she’d love to hear from you in order to find the connection between Sell Cowling pre-1841.

• Where was Sell Cowling born, circa 1775?

If you think that you can help Karen with a clue, a research idea, or some precious Cowling saliva, then you can contact her at her website. Alternatively, you can send us a message and we’ll pass it along to her.

In the meantime, Karen seems a little unsure of the scientific methods behind Andrew’s offer… maybe it’s all just witchcraft?

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Episode Credits

• Andrew Martin – Host and Producer
• Dr. Karen Cummings – Guest
• John Spike – Sándor Petőfi