William Gibson: Éirinn go Brách

William Gibson was born between 1808-12 in Monaghan, Ireland. During those years Napoleon and Josephine’s marriage was annulled, Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, and Edgar Allen Poe were born, the future King George IV was named Regent on account of his father’s insanity, and Ludwig van Beethoven composed Fur Elise. The Napoleonic Wars occupied much of …

Ann Spargo: A Cornish Alewife

Ann Spargo was born on 23 Jan 1825 in Stithians, Cornwall, England to Samuel Spargo and Catherine Collins. George IV had been on the throne for four years, Beethovan’s 9th symphony had its British Premiere at the Argyll Rooms in London, and speculative investments in the imaginary country of Payois in Latin America caused the …

Henry Allison: Dulce et Decorum Est

Henry Allison was born on the 27 Jan 1872 in Cullercoats, Northumberland, England to William Allison and Elizabeth Hornsby. That year saw the construction of the Albert Memorial in London, the first FA Cup Final between Wanderers F.C. and Royal Engineers A.F.C., and the Mary Celeste set sail from New York on November 7. It …

Susan Ann Robins: A Tale of Two Women

Susan Ann Robins was baptized on 15 April 1838 in Illogan, Cornwall, England, daughter of William Robins and Susanna Harris. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Charles Dickens had just released the first installments of his third novel, Nickolas Nickleby (A Tale of Two Cities wouldn’t come out until …

Jerry Grant: what’s in a name?

Jerry Grant, aka Gjermund Olsen, was born 17 Aug 1866 in Trysil, Hedmark, Norway to Ole Olsen and Siri Gjermundsdatter. That summer saw the start of a great famine in Finland and Sweden as crops failed and food rotted in the fields. Norway was affected to a lesser extent, but enough to prompt calls for …