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Nicholas BROME & the Three Murders: Part Five

ST JAMES now ST MICHAEL at BADDESLEY CLINTON The above window at St Michael Baddesley Clinton [previously St James] gives some important details of Nicholas BROOME’s life: ” Nicholas BROME Esq. Lord & owner of Baddesley Clinton. Married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Rawfre ARUNDELL of Eggleshole in the County of Cornwall, Knight Anno Domini 1473 […]

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NICHOLAS BROME & the Three Murders: Part Four

When last we left Nicholas BROME we had fixed on the approximate date of the murder of the priest as about 1485. One of the challenges of trying to understand Nicholas is to understand the time and the circumstance in which he lived. Trying to do so with someone who lived 500 years ago presents […]

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NICHOLAS BROME & the Three Murders: Part Two

“This late dissension grown betwixt the peersBurns under feigned ashes of forg’d love,And will at last break out into a flame:As festered members rot but by degree,Till bones and flesh and sinews fall away,So will this base and envious discord breed.” William Shakespeare, Henry VI Part 1 When last we left young Nicholas BROME in 1468, […]

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NICHOLAS BROME & the Three Murders: Part Three

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Plantagenet Kings represented the richest family in Europe and they ruled the English throne from 1154 to 1485 while also holding Anjou in France. The name Plantagenet comes from “planta genista,” Latin for the yellow broom plant. A symbol of humility, the broom sprig was chosen as the badge of the royal […]

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How a Historical Novel Inspired my Genealogy Research: In Praise of Gopher Holes

In my blog post “They Aren’t Rabbit Holes they are Genealogy Networks” I wrote about my deep dive back into 15th and 16th Century documents while trying to locate the origins of 17th Century English immigrants to America. This is the another part of the story. It all started when Dale and I were planning […]

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The Mystery of the Fleur-de Lis: Why would John SHELDEN / SHELDON use this symbol in his sheep brand?

You just never know what mysteries you will be presented with in your research and how sometimes there is very little to be found about them. Such is the case of John SHELDEN’s [John of Kingstown] sheep brand as registered in South Kingstown, Rhode Island in 1705. You might think why does it matter—and perhaps […]

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