Genealogy Chat

Had a look on history and this is link to that website - has various bits of info. on there I found it fascinating and read most of the old execution methods - but as I say it just list various names of old convicts/prisoners I was just checking out if had any skeletons. http://www.blacksheepancestors.com/uk/ Gill

I haven't found the relationship of this one to my tree yet but some of my other Goughs were blacksmiths so would have the equipment for smelting etc. Caroline

Actually, nasty though both punishments are, hanging was probably just as bad as being burnt. At least with being burnt you stood a good chance of suffocating from the smoke before the flames really got to you, and failing that, the pain would be so intense you would probably pass out pretty quickly. Hanging, on the other hand, was not usually the quick snap of the neck which we imagine. The hangmen were not that skilled. Most people choked slowly to death - it could take about 20 minutes sometimes. If you were lucky, your friends and relatives were allowed to pull hard on your legs to break your neck and get it over with faster. Personally, I have decided that I want to die of old age. Tina

Tina LOL! I want to die of old age too, preferably in Tesco's, having put a full trolley through the checkout, but not actually having paid... Olde Crone

Oh really, Olde Crone, that's no use at all. All that would happen would be that the checkout girl (or lad - let's not be sexist here) would cancel the whole transaction with one press of a button, and some poor soul would have to trudge round the store again putting everything back on the shelves. You, meanwhile, would be whipped into cold storage to await an ambulance - out of sight so as not to upset the other shoppers. No, no. Not nearly subversive enough. Now me, I plan to give my most treasured items to my children (warning them that if they are not sufficiently respectful to said items I will be back to haunt them). Then I shall sell everything I have, buy gold with it, and bury it somewhere safe (possible g-g-g grandfather's grave, if I ever find it). I shall leave cryptic clues for my children as to where it is buried. I shall then borrow as much as I possibly can on as many credit cards and bank loans as I can get (and believe me, you would be amazed how much you can borrow with absolutely no security) and embark on a year long round the world cruise on a very very posh ship (having previously bought a suitable wardrobe on one of my many credit cards). Naturally I shall pay for this trip on credit. I plan to die just as we dock at Southampton on the return journey. There will be nothing whatsoever in my estate so all my creditors will just have to lump it. Meanwhile, my kids will have to spend the next 10 years trying to work out where I buried the loot. Oh no, they won't forget me in a hurry. Beats your Tesco plan, don't you think? Tina

Tina I would of course be visiting Tesco's, having recently docked at Southampton. I just rather like the thought of all the Staff at Tesco's having to pretend they are sorry, whilst secretly cursing me as they put everything back on the shelves. And dont be too sure about your descendants finding your buried treasure, look at Diana Dors - you can be a bit too clever, you know! OC

Oh goodie, Olde Crone, let me know when you plan your cruise - we could depart in style together! As for the kids not finding the treasure, I have thought about that. You see, I feel a bit guilty. I am having such a good time hunting down all these long lost ancestors, but by doing so, I am depriving them of the pleasure of doing it (unless of course they make a bonfire of my work and start again from scratch - but then I would definitely come back to haunt them!). So I thought they need a puzzle to solve for themselves. In fact, I might split the booty up and hide it in several different places, so they don't get it all at once. Not good for children having too much dosh too young. Make them work for it I say. And if they are too thick to solve the puzzles then they have no right to call themselves my children - I disown them. Tina

Have a look at the Old Bailey website, transcripts of many cases there. It was normal for women to be burnt at the stake but they were usually strangled before being burnt as in the report quoted. If they were pregnant then execution would be delayed until the baby was delivered. In the TV programme about 'The Floating Brothel', the case of a girl of 10 was sentenced to death for a minor theft was mentioned. She and other women were offered transportation to Australia but many of the women preferred death to Australia. MB

I wonder why I started this as i don't think i will sleep tonight thinking about it. You have to be sure that the quest you send your ancestors on costs as much as the fortune they discover. thank you for all your coments Caroline