In this fourth episode of Series Five, host Andrew meets family historian, blogger, and Family Tree Magazine columnist Paul Chiddicks. He tells Andrew how he got into family history, about his Old Palace School Bombing project, and shares his ideas for some genealogy-themed Lego sets.
The Life Story - William Wootton
Paul has chosen to tell the life story of his maternal Great Grandfather William Tom Wootton, who was born in 1863 in Kentish Town, London. Paul describes him as an 'entrepreneur' although others might describe him as a 'chancer' given some of his actions.
William had 7 children with his first wife Elizabeth Compton, but the final child saw Elizabeth die in childbirth. William re-married to an Emily Dodd, and they added a further 9 children to their family - and as you might expect - this came at a price!
William worked as a lead glazier on some of England's most impressive architecture, but his determination to keep a roof over his family's head led him to take on a number of other jobs to make ends meet, including Punch and Judy shows, busking and there's even a family rumour about a sale of some well known East End songs.
The Brick Wall - Samuel Chiddicks
It's a brick wall that's been standing for 30 years that is asking for help with, and it's one that he has tried to crack time and time again.
Paul knows that Samuel Chiddicks was buried in South Fambridge in Essex, England, in 1816, with a given age of 55 years old, which in turn gives an approximate birth year of 1761.
He is believed to have married a Mary Turner in 1787 in South Fambridge, but he is known to have married Ann Beard in 1794.
Paul has undertaken an autosomal test with Ancestry, and a Y-DNA test with Family Tree DNA, and this has given him some Chiddicks matches in the USA and Northern Ireland, that all lead back to County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland... but how?
If you think that you can help Paul with his brick wall, you can contact him via his website chiddicksfamilytree.com or you can find him on Twitter @chiddickstree. Alternatively, you can send us a message via our website and we'll pass it on to him.
Meanwhile, Paul is cautious of Andrew's offer of help, but maybe he has a good reason to be...
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Episode Credits
Series Five, Episode Four:
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