Millie Castleton 19th Century, Biography

The Essex: The Black Spot and The return home.

The Men of the Essex where in dire circumstances by January of 1821. Out of the three whale boats that had been transporting the crew on their difficult journey, one had been blown out of sight and the remaining two had succumbed to eating the flesh of fallen crew mates to survive.Owen Chase’s and his … Continue reading The Essex: The Black Spot and The return home.

Millie Castleton 19th Century, Historic Figures, Social issues

Anne Lister:The Diaries that shocked the Country

Anne Lister, a landowner who is best remembered because of her letters and diaries. She broke the expectations of her time and became a renowned businesswoman. What did it take for a woman to excel in these times? Anne was born as the second child of the notable soldier Jeremy Lister, but out of four … Continue reading Anne Lister:The Diaries that shocked the Country

Millie Castleton 19th Century, Exploration and discovery, Victorian

The Fate of Franklin: Early searches and evidence.

Another installment in our Franklin series, this time we will return to Britain to look at the mounting concerns of the people and the early search missions. https://videopress.com/v/7Z1dbVNI?preloadContent=metadata Additional notesMany of these rescue missions took letters and tokens from relatives of the lost crew in the event they were found. Sophia Caracroft sent letters for … Continue reading The Fate of Franklin: Early searches and evidence.

Millie Castleton 19th Century, Exploration and discovery, Historic Figures, Victorian

The Fate of Franklin: Skeptism and the Beechey island camp.

https://videopress.com/v/sZs7Nhrx?preloadContent=metadata John Torrington, John Hartnell and William Braine' Additional notes on Torrington, Hartnell and Braine: Hartnell’s autopsy was performed with an inverted Y incision. This suggests it may have been rushed as this method allows faster access to organs but is less ‘tidy’ and harder to reintern the organs. Although there was no formalized way … Continue reading The Fate of Franklin: Skeptism and the Beechey island camp.

Millie Castleton 19th Century, Exploration and discovery, Victorian

The Fate of Franklin: Preparations and goals.

There is something very human about being drawn into mysterious parts of history, those events that leave an unsettled feeling that begs for more research in order to try and solve the mystery by piecing together any information that can be gathered. Frustratingly this process can take years. Even Decades or centuries. Even modern techniques … Continue reading The Fate of Franklin: Preparations and goals.

Millie Castleton 19th Century, Exploration and discovery, Victorian

The forgotten career of James Fitzjames.

History is a patchwork of great people and events, ones that amaze us to this day. Rightfully so, we preserve and remember the endeavors of the people who came before us. However, I am continually haunted by what is forgotten or, worse, escapes historic record. For every hero we remember there are thousands that gradually … Continue reading The forgotten career of James Fitzjames.