Davis Family Detective Agency, London (2026)

25/07/2024

Hey there everyone, I have been absent on this page for far too long! So to get back into posting content, I wanted to share this unexpected award!

Having started my career at the BBC many years ago, it feels extra special to be recognised by the industry after eight years in the history content field!

Going forward I will be posting about the house histories which I have been working on and any intriguing stories I find along the way!

Will

23/08/2021

A most unfortunate death:

One morning in May 1894, the eminent Dr Twining of Kingsbridge was passing through the village of Loddiswell in his carriage.
A local tradition of Loddiswell was to hurl water over anyone passing through the village on May Day.
Some local lads grabbed their buckets and chucked water at the doctor's horse and carriage which spooked the poor animal who bolted - upending the carriage as it ran.
Dr Twining was severely injured as a result and was taken to Plymouth hospital.
There the doctors decided to amputate his leg as he had a fracture... 😳😳😳
For whatever reason, the operation was not a success and the good doctor died the following day.
The boys who threw the water were arrested for their part in the doctor's death. Personally I feel that the hospital was more to blame than the boys - who amputates a leg to fix a compound fracture?!

18/12/2020

Soldier, surgeon and doctor to Dukes:

Dr Edward Mason Wrench was born in London in 1833.

After studying to be a doctor, Wrench wanted adventure rather than comfort and was commissioned into the 34th Foot and sent to the Crimea in 1854.

During the Crimea War, Wrench saw action at Sevastapol and Inkermann and Redan. He worked alongside Florence Nightingale during this time and saved many lives - both British and Russians too.

After the end of the war, Wrench was sent to India. Here he saw action during the Indian Mutiny. By the end of his time in the army he had reached the rank of colonel.

In 1862, at the age of just 29 years old, Wrench retired and took up the position of personal doctor to the 7th Duke of Devonshire and lived near Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

Wrench would spend the next 50 years living in the Peak District and becoming the GP for the local villages. He would look after the health of the Dukes of Devonshire and their families and even met the Prince of Wales at the time - the future King Edward VII.

He helped whole communities in the Peaks for 50 years and was really missed by many when he died in 1912.

If you want help looking into your ancestry, please get in touch!

01/12/2020

Identifying a Lord Mayor:

Arthur Morrisson was born in Dublin in 1765 to a merchant family. From a young age, Morrisson would have helped his father in the business of moving goods and exacting accounts.

By 1814, Morrisson was running a tavern on Dawson Street in the heart of Dublin. He would have been well known by the local community and probably established a host of contacts during this time.

Morrisson's tavern became a hotel by 1820 and was named the Leinster Hotel. By this time Morrisson was moving ever upwards amongst the merchants of Dublin.

Within 10 years, Arthur Morrisson was made an alderman of Dublin and sat on the Council in 1829.

In five short years, Morrisson was elected Lord Mayor of the city of Dublin. This was the pinnacle of his success - having come from a modest background, his rise is quite remarkable and owes his graft and a partially meritocratic system for his success.

Whilst Lord Mayor, Morrisson helped to fund better roads and pavements in the district of Donnybrook and has an obelisk standing to this day by the Anglesea bridge.

Despite their grand titles, Lord Mayors are not always easily identifiable and there are many whose portraits no longer exist. So was thought the case of Mayor Morrisson until we discovered a painting of him in a client's distant relative's house!

The relative had no idea about Morrisson and was astonished to find out its importance. Always check with distant relatives who might have inherited heirlooms, sometimes you find absolute gems!

Let us know if you need help with your ancestry by DMing us or following the link in our bio to our website.

06/10/2020

Another case printed and ready for binding!

If you want to learn about your family history, get in touch!

06/10/2020

Infamous pub landlady:

Blanche Ada Beard was born in the little village of Snowshill in Gloucestershire on a cold December day in 1876.

She was probably born in the pub that she would one day run. Her father Edwin was the landlord of the Snowshill Arms as his father had been before him and his father before him!

Ada would never marry and was her parents' only child. So when her father died in 1912 and mother in 1914, Ada took over the pub on her own at the age of 38. She would run the Snowshill Arms for the next SIX DECADES.

Ada was born, lived and worked her entire life and died in the pub which her family had run since 1826. Sadly Ada never married and had no children to pass the pub on to. The year before she died, the pub was in a terrible state - a tree was growing from the foundations through the ceiling! A journalist dubbed it The Worst Pub in Britain.

After her death the pub was renovated and is still going today - the tree has been uprooted and the beer is much better but Ada's warm spirit can still be felt.

Find out about your pub history with our help. Link in bio.

06/10/2020

A life of work and partnership:

Meet Harold Foster and his wife Geraldine (née Rogerson). This couple represent the backbone of the UK's economy from as early as the neolithic era up until the start of the 20th century.

Harold was born in 1834 in Sutton Benger - a little village in Wiltshire. He was the fourth son of a tenant farmer and from the age of 9, he would have been working alongside his family in the fields.

A work day would begin before dawn, sometimes as early as 4am, and would run through until late evening - a total of 16 hours of work. Everyday. That's an 80 hour week!

Harold would have met his future wife Geraldine at one of the local taverns or at Market days in the nearby towns.

The work was no easier for Geraldine. Her father was also a tenant farmer - working near Chippenham. Whilst the majority of physical labour would have been done by Geraldine's 6 brothers, she would have been in the fields alongside them. She would also be in charge of collecting eggs, cleaning the pens, milking the cows as well as all the housework too.

All of this work every week, every year - relentlessly without complaint. On top of all of this they had 8 healthy children and later on a whopping 34 grandchildren.

At first glance, this couple might seem a little ordinary - but they are a power couple of their time and probably never received the recognition they deserved.

Want to know about your power couple ancestors? Get in touch with us - DM or link in bio.

18/08/2020

Forgotten #7 A tough lady with a determined stare:

This portrait photograph reveals a lady who has been through a lot by the look on her face. Our guess is that this lady is in her 60s or possibly her early 70s.

Who knows what she went through over her life? She may well have been a mother and a grandmother. The average woman in the 1800s had 5 children. This would be that this lady could be mother to 5 children and grandmother to 25 grandchildren.

The lady is wearing a smart polkadot dress of fine quality. It is buttoned up to the chin and tied with a simple bow.

The bonnet on her head is simple but again of a certain quality. The modesty of the bonnet might show that this lady does not want to show off in public - many bonnets of the late victorian period were much more elaborate and colourful than this one.

Whilst it is impossible to say for sure, the modest yet high quality of her clothing may point to the importance of religion. She strikes us as being quite strict and ardent in her demeanour but this is just an opinion.

In terms of working out when this was taken - the best clue is at the bottom of the portrait (see second image). You can just make out "A&G Taylor" and "to the Queen". A&G Taylor were granted their royal warrant in 1886. So this photograph was probably taken in the 1890s as a guess.

Whoever she might be, she had a life with ups and downs like the rest of us. Hopefully she was happy and resting peacefully now. You are remembered 🔥

Find out about your victorian ancestors with our help. DM us to start your research journey!

12/08/2020

Another tree hand-inked and on it's way to the happy customer!

06/08/2020

Young cavalryman sent to India:

Adam Mason was born in a little village in Lincolnshire in the summer of 1856. His father was the village gardener and his mother brewed ale.

His parents had a whopping 15 children, all of whom made it to adulthood! Adam was the 9th child and the family would have struggled to feed all the children and Adam may well have enlisted to lift the burden on his family.

Adam may well have walked from his village to Grantham (6 miles) and signed up to join the cavalry - specifically the 12th Lancers. This was an elite unit with a long rich history. At the age of 18, Trooper Mason boarded a ship and headed to his post in Madras, India.

This photo of Adam would have been taken shortly before he shipped out. He is wearing a dark blue uniform with the high chinstrap. He looks very confident and determined.

Despite the fact that he was about to head halfway across the world when he might have never walked 10 miles from his home.

Tragically, after two years of service in the 12th, Adam Mason died in Madras - most likely from cholera or dysentery - at the age of 20. His family would have been informed by telegram and his body was buried in the Trimulgherry Cantonment Cemetery near his barracks in Madras.

Find out about your family history with our help! DM us or link in bio.

23/07/2020

A loving father and veteran gardener:

Thomas Fulbeck was born in Horbling, Lincolnshire in 1829. He was the only child of his parents. Tragically, his mother died whilst giving birth to him meaning that Thomas was raised by his father.

His father was a gardener who worked in the surrounding villages, helping farmers with hedges, fence-making, tree pruning and yes some flower arranging too.

By the time Thomas was 16 he was working with his father who (now 52) was probably feeling every bump and bruise after 35 years of outdoor work.

By the time Thomas was 23 he had set up his own business in the village of Thurlby. Here he settled down in a cottage with his new wife Hannah and together they had 13 children!

As the years rolled on by two sons and a daughter joined the family business and they would have been known all across the surrounding countryside for their work.

This photograph was taken to commemorate Thomas when he died. Judging by the photograph, we think he was in his mid to late 40s. Considering he was a gardener, the wreath of plants and flowers in incredibly fitting.

Find out about your ancestry with us - DM us on here or link in bio.

Davis Family Detective Agency

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