Introduction

I’ve been researching my family history for almost 25 years now and I think it’s high time that I started to share what I have discovered.

The ancestors that I will write about over the next twelve months are mostly ordinary people who lived unglamorous lives, but they sometimes did extraordinary things, regularly overcame great adversity, and were often witnesses to unprecedented social upheavals.

They all have a story that deserves to be told and I will be adding a new chapter each week throughout 2025 using the prompts provided by Amy Johnson Crow in her 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.

Family Tree

I’ve been able to trace all of my family lines, apart from one, back to at least my great great great grandparents. An abridged version of my tree can be seen below and my full tree is on Ancestry – it’s named the Maitland-Cullingford Family Tree.

In terms of geography, my father’s line splits neatly as Frederick Maitland’s ancestors are from Dorset whilst Flora Clark’s are from Aberdeenshire. My mother’s side is more complex, as Suffolk features in the history of both my grandparents, but whereas William Cullingford’s family were all born there as far back as records exist, Mildred Howe’s are also found in other areas of southern England as well as Derbyshire.

DNA

I had my DNA tested in 2023 and the results are now loaded on the Ancestry, My Heritage and 23andme sites. As well as verifying my earlier document-based research, this has enabled me to break down several brick walls and, to my great delight, to make contact with some of my long lost Scottish cousins.

Contact

ecmfamilyhistory@gmail.com