Alexander began the show by saying he had always been called ‘posh’ and that he would be disappointed if his research didn’t reveal a ‘posh’ background. As it turned out, he didn’t need to worry…

Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong was born in 1970 - we found Alexander’s birth record in findmypast.co.uk’s records:

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Alexander started his journey by talking to his parents and revealed that he wanted to learn more about his mother Virginia Thompson-McCausland’s side of the family. Virginia’s mother was Helen McCausland. Helen’s father was Maurice Marcus McCausland, Alexander’s great grandfather, who was born in 1872.

We found Maurice’s birth record in findmypast.co.uk’s record collection:

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Maurice’s parents were Laura and Connolly.

Alexander wanted to find out how the McCauslands did so well for themselves. He learned that his 6x great grandmother Mary Boughton was a lady of the bedchamber to Queen Charlotte, confirming Alexander’s solid link to royalty in the 18th century. Mary died in 1786.

Mary had two sons, Edward and Charles. Charles was Alexander’s 5x great grandfather. Edward inherited the baronetcy from his cousin Sir Theodosius in a controversial turn of events.

Alexander discovered a letter which Edward sent to Charles informing him of Theodosius’ death. Edward described the death as ‘wonderful’ news because it meant he would inherit the baronetcy. All was not well, however, as Theodosius’ death was deemed suspicious and his body was examined by physicians, who claimed he’d been poisoned.

Alexander travelled to Boughton Hall to read the records of the trial which followed to see if Edward acquired the baronetcy through foul play.

Alexander Armstrong (Copyright Justin Sneddon 2007)

In the end Edward wasn’t implicated - Captain John Donellan, Theodosius’ brother in law, was tried for the murder instead. He was found guilty of poisoning Theodosius, although Alexander thought it was more likely that he had died from syphilis, as Donellan claimed and medical records supported.

When Edward died in 1794 he left his estate to his illegitimate daughters and left Charles £100 - a pittance compared to the value of his estate. Alexander thought it very unfair that Edward disinherited Charles, describing him as a ‘rogue’.

Alexander discovered that Mary Boughton, his 6x great grandmother, was the great granddaughter of the first Duke of Beaufort, Alexander’s 9x great grandfather Henry Somerset. Today the Beauforts are one of the wealthiest aristocratic families in the country.

Henry’s father was Edward Somerset, 6th Earl of Worcester, who lost most of the family’s fortune in the 16th century during the civil war. Edward donated money to King Charles I from early on in the civil war; he loaned the King more than £70 million in today’s money.

Charles I made Edward the Earl of Glamorgan and made him secret envoy to the Catholic confederates in Ireland. The King’s letter detailing this fell into the wrong hands and he had no choice but deny all knowledge of the mission and accuse Edward of high treason. Edward was imprisoned in Ireland and his home, Raglan Castle, fell. In 1649 King Charles was executed.

Edward never again occupied the family seat of Raglan. Alexander felt that Edward was heroic and didn’t get the reward he deserved.

Edward turned to science in later life. He invented a water commanding engine which harnessed steam power 40 years before steam engines were invented. Edward died in 1667 and it was believed that he literally took the designs for the steam engine to his grave.

We searched our parish record collection and found Edward’s parish burial record:

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In a bizarre twist 200 years later, a group of engineers took a trip to Raglan in 1861 to exhume a model of the engine from Edward’s grave. Alexander found a detailed account of the mission which stated that the engineers hoped to find model of the engine in Edward’s tomb but after a thorough search failed to find anything.

Finally, Alexander traced the earliest roots of the Somerset family and discovered Edward III 20 generations back in the 1300s. Edward III was a distant relative of William the Conqueror, making William the Conqueror Alexander’s 27 x great grandfather!

Remember to tune in to Who Do You Think You Are? tonight at 9pm on BBC1. Comedian Alexander Armstrong is the celebrity tracing his ancestry this week, and he’s keen to find out for sure how posh he really is.

Alexander discovers that he is linked to one of the wealthiest families in the country, closely connected to the King, which proves his aristocratic roots. But what other discoveries will he make, and will they all be so pleasant?

Alexander Armstrong (Copyright Justin Sneddon 2007)

Last night’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are saw actor Rupert Penry-Jones eager to learn more about his Indian heritage.

Rupert was born in 1970 and he is listed below in the fully indexed birth records on findmypast.co.uk:

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Rupert began his journey by speaking to his mother, Angela Thorne. Angela was born in 1939 in Karachi, India, which was part of British India. We found Angela in our overseas birth records, as shown below.

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For the first five years of her life, Angela’s father, William Thorne, was a doctor in the army. William commanded the 29th field ambulance unit as part of the Indian Army in World War Two. William died when Rupert was 12 and he wanted to learn more about his grandfather’s time in the Indian Army.

Rupert Penry-Jones (copyright Owen Benson)

William was posted to Italy from India and was involved in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1943, one of World War Two’s most vicious battles. Rupert’s mother told him that William never talked about his experiences in the army, so Rupert travelled to Cassino to find out more.

Rupert met a soldier who served in the battle and paid tribute to how brave William’s medical unit was. William’s unit worked on the front line, treating over 1,500 casualties with no regard for their own safety. William stayed in Italy until 1945 and returned to India where he worked until 1971.

Still with no answer as to his Indian heritage, Rupert went on to investigate his great grandfather Theophilus Thorne. Rupert visited The British Library and discovered that Theophilus was a self made man who did well for himself, despite a humble upbringing.

Theophilus was born in Somerset and joined the army as a private when he was 18, leaving behind his job as a gardener. He arrived in India in 1881 when Queen Victoria was empress of India and the British Raj was at its height. At this time in India there were plenty of opportunities for young men to prosper. Theophilus quickly rose through the army ranks to become major and he looked after ceremonial and state camps. These camps were lavish places where India’s and Britain’s elite paid homage to each other. Rupert learnt that Theophilus was part of the 1911 Delhi Durbar, a mass assembly held in Delhi to commemorate the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India.

Theophilus’ army service record lists his marriage to Sarah Jane Todd in 1885 - here you can see them both on the General Register Office Index of Army Marriages in findmypast.co.uk’s armed forces marriages 1818-1994:

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Rupert discovered Sarah Jane’s baptismal record which showed her parents to be Thomas Todd and Louisa Johnstone. They got married in 1866 in South India when Louisa was just 15.

Louisa’s father, Thomas Johnstone, first went to India in 1842 where he was a sergeant in the Indian army.

Rupert travelled to India to find out once and for all if he had true Indian blood. He discovered that Thomas was stationed in Allahabad in 1857 during the uprising in India, when the Indians were rebelling against the British and their western culture. Thomas was 38 at the time and fought to calm and control the rebellion. At this time his wife Louisa and their children were in South India out of harm’s way. Rupert read some of the letters Thomas had written to Louisa which portrayed him as a loving husband and father. In 1857 Louisa received a letter from a commanding officer telling her Thomas had died after falling victim to cholera.

After tracing back six generations of his family in India, Rupert found out that Louisa’s parents were John Smith and Susannah (no surname). Rupert went to Nagpore to find out more about Susannah. Susannah’s baptism record shows her as an ‘Indo Britain’. Susannah’s and John Smith’s marriage record shows her surname as Collum.

Rupert then discovered that Susannah was baptised in June 1817 and the baptismal record showed her parents as Samuel and Elizabeth Collum. Elizabeth was born in 1816 but Rupert was unclear as to whether she was a native Indian or an Anglo-Indian.

Rupert successfully traced his mother’s line back eight generations, spanning two centuries, but never really achieved clarity around the origin of his Indian ancestry.

Make sure you tune into Who Do You Think You Are? tonight at 9pm on BBC1. This week actor Rupert Penry-Jones find out about his past. Rupert’s mother was born in Karachi and Rupert embarks on a journey to discover more about his Indian roots.

Rupert learns about his maternal grandfather, Bill, who was a doctor in India. This discovery inspires Rupert to travel to India where he finds out about his great-great-great-great grandfather Thomas who was part of the Great Indian Rebellion.

Last night, Monty Don became the latest celebrity to get the Who Do You Think You Are? treatment.

Monty Don (copyright jo-h)

The episode focused on two branches of his family tree, his maternal Hodge and paternal Keiller lines.

One of the ancestors focused on was Monty’s great-grandmother, Charlotte Augusta Hodge. The programme revealed that Charlotte was one of nine children born to the Reverend Charles Hodge and his wife, Ann. Charlotte was left behind in England when her parents and four of her elder brothers emigrated to New Zealand in the 1850s.

While taking a look at the large Hodge family in the all-new fully searchable birth records this morning, findmypast.co.uk has discovered that there was actually a tenth child – Charlotte’s twin. The image below shows the record of Charlotte Augusta Hodge’s birth in East Retford, Nottinghamshire in the July / August / September quarter of 1846. Nine lines below Charlotte is an entry for a Harriet Vere Hodge, born in the same district.

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The death index for the same quarter of 1846 reveals that Charlotte’s twin died soon after her birth. Reverend Charles and Ann Hodge’s youngest child was born four years after this tragedy and was also named Harriet, presumably in memory of the child they had lost.

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This fresh information may help Monty understand why his great-great-grandmother, Ann Hodge initially emigrated to New Zealand without her husband and family in 1850. It was speculated last night that this showed a wish to escape from her husband. However, we feel that Ann’s emotional state following the loss of one child and the recent birth of another must have played some considerable part in her actions.

Please do let us know what you thought of last night’s episode and what you think Ann’s motivations may have been for leaving her family in 1850.

Make sure you don’t miss Who Do You Think You Are? tonight at 9pm on BBC1. This week, gardener Monty Don traces his family history and discovers more about the side of his family that’s always been a bit of a mystery.

Among other things, Monty unearths what happened to the fortune his ancestors made in the marmalade business and why his immediate family didn’t see a penny. With family feuds and tragedies, tonight’s episode should be an interesting one!

Last night’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was a rollercoaster ride for Dervla Kirwan. She found out about her great great uncle Michael Collins, a key player in establishing the Irish Free State, and the political relationship between Michael and his nephew, Finian.

Dervla Kirwan (copyright damo1977)

The programme spent a lot of time focusing on Dervla’s great grandfather, Henry Kahn. Henry was Jewish and married Teresa O’Shea, a Catholic, in what was for the time a very unusual (yet very romantic) union. Henry was sentenced to 12 months in prison for breaking a window, and in his hearing was subjected to anti-semitic comments by a notorious judge, who refused to let Henry make a statement in his defence and condemned him as ‘a specimen of your nation and your race that cause you to be hunted out of every country’.

This incident was so grievous (and a reflection of how Jews were viewed at that time) that it led to a question being asked in the House of Commons and it was even retold in James Joyce’s epic novel Ulysses.

Henry’s prison sentence, which involved months of hard labour, ‘broke’ him and he died aged 50 after suffering a series of strokes. Dervla described her journey into her past as ‘tough’ but said that she would recommend anyone to do the same. It just goes to show that tracing your family history can throw up some unexpected revelations, not all of which might be easy to hear.

Don’t forget to watch tonight’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? at 9pm on BBC1. This week follows Irish actress Dervla Kirwan as she journeys back into her past.

Dervla’s grandfather was in the Irish Free State Army, and her research leads her to make some fascinating discoveries about the IRA and Dublin’s Jewish community.

Tonight’s episode promises to be an interesting watch, so don’t forget to tune in.

This week it was actor Rupert Everett’s turn to trace his family history. The programme focused mainly on Rupert’s grandfather, Cyril Frederick Cunningham Everett.

Rupert Everett (copyright Vicki Neave)

Cyril was born on 12 June 1886 at 20 Porchester Terrace, Hyde Park, to Georgina Teague and Frederick William Cunningham Everett. Here we can see Cyril Everett, aged 4, living as an ‘inmate’ in The Home For Little Boys in Horton Kirby, Kent on the 1891 census:

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The 1901 census reveals that Cyril Frederick still lived in the Home For Little Boys in Kent.

In 1908 Cyril went to Nigeria, where he worked on Lagos port. He travelled to and from Nigeria many times in the following years - we counted 15 separate journeys from the UK to Nigeria in our passenger lists. Here you can see one of the many journeys Cyril made:

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This records Cyril as a Civil Servant and also informs us that his last address in the United Kingdom was Browning Avenue in Boscombe.

Our passenger lists show that Cyril’s wife, Marcella, visited him several times in Nigeria. The journey she made in 1923 is recorded here - she’s recorded as Mrs C F C Everett:

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Cyril’s mother (Rupert’s great-grandmother), Georgina Everett nee Teague, appears on the 1871 census with her parents, Rupert’s great-great-grandparents, George and Esther Teague. George was a Railway Porter, Esther a Housekeeper and the family was living in Marylebone:

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The 1881 census shows Georgina living with her widowed mother Esther. Georgina was a Dressmaker while her mother was a Housekeeper. They were living at a ‘home for old ladies’ in Marylebone:

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Georgina Teague is a bit of a mystery: she literally disappears after the 1881 census and her marriage to Frederick William Cunningham Everett in 1883. Can you find out what happened to her? If you have any luck, post your findings underneath this blog post.

Don’t forget to watch the next instalment of Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC1 at 9pm tomorrow (26 July). This week follows actor Rupert Everett as he traces back the paternal side of his family.

This promises to be a really interesting episode as Rupert learns about his paternal grandfather Cyril who worked for the Colonial Service in Nigeria. Tune in find out what Rupert discovers and if it’s what he expects…