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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Genealogy Matters Magazine has a Rising Research category for articles showing how you found, evaluated & connected the evidence. An Author's Note tells what rests on records and what on inference. Free preview of the October issue: gmmagazine.aflip.in/6ea1760229.h... #AncestryHour #GenHour

gmmagazine.aflip.in

Sneak Peak Genealogy Matters Magazine October 2026

Sneak Peek of the October 2026 issue of Genealogy Matters Magazine.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Thank you so much for sharing Jan. Much appreciated 💐

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Page one of Mary's 1860 recipe book isn't a cake. It's how to keep the woollen moth out of your blankets: cloves, rhubarb, cedar shavings, tied in a bag. A recipe book was never only about food. tinyurl.com/frkhcpx2 #VictorianHistory #FamilyHistory #socialhistory

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Reposted by Helen Parker-Drabble

Society for One-Place Studies @oneplacestudies.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Any women in your #OnePlaceStudies who were “neither wives nor widows” as a result of being deserted by their husbands? What were their stories? #OnePlaceWednesday

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I've goven up with hard drives and their corruption episodes...

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

ooh exciting, I love it when the stars align 🎉

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Old school, but I love it. Whatever gets it done!

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Nothing better than time with children. Hope you get back for some work soon🙂

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Deserted in 1859, denied divorce by the court, Mary Allott spent fifty years as neither wife nor widow, a status Victorian law had no word for. Her recipe book is where she kept going. Prelaunch open now, follow to be notified. tinyurl.com/frkhcpx2 #VictorianHistory #GenHour #AncestryHour

The front cover of a Victorian notebook. The boards are covered in brown and dark-green marbled paper, heavily worn, with pale flecks where the surface has rubbed away and a torn patch at the lower right corner. A plain, darkened spine runs down the left edge, scuffed with age, with two small pink marks near its foot.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Mary Allott was deserted by her husband in 1859, aged twenty-three. She opened a notebook that spring and wrote in it for the next fifty-two years. Three volumes recovering her life now on Kickstarter prelaunch page live now www.kickstarter.com/projects/hel... #GenHour #AncestryHour #WomensHistory

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: Mary: A Victorian Life Recovered in Three Books

The Recipe Book · Her Life · The Victorian Kitchen

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Reposted by Helen Parker-Drabble

Society of Genealogists @sogorg.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

🕓 Dr Colin Chapman – Your Ancestors, Population & Birth Control portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2... Come for the genealogy. Stay for the air conditioning. 😎 #Genealogy #FamilyHistory #GenHour

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Reposted by Helen Parker-Drabble

Society of Genealogists @sogorg.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

#GenHour 🥵 Too hot to think? Escape the heatwave with the coolest family history day in London! ❄️ Join us on 6 Aug in our air-conditioned, canalside Resource Hub (or Zoom) for 2 talks: @davelifelines.bsky.social Lying Bastards: Exploring the Impact of Illegitimacy portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2...

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Thank you, Devizes. Last night I spoke to the Wiltshire Family History Society about my father, Harry, and what hospital separation did to children of his generation. The feedback this morning: people taking it home to their own families. He asked me to tell it. Last night it was heard.🙏 #GenHour

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

In 1937 my father, aged two, was taken from his mother at a hospital appointment. Seven weeks before she saw him again. Tomorrow I’m in Devizes Wiltshire Family History Society, Nursteed Centre, Nursteed Road, Devizes SN10 3AH on what separations did to children. Free, open to all, 7.30pm. #Devizes

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Many people who develop a stiff-upper-lip style grow up with messages such as: "Don't cry." "Get on with it." "Be strong." "Nobody wants to hear your problems."

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

An avoidantly attached person might think: "I'm upset, but I shouldn't need support at all." The outward behaviour can look identical to other behaviour...

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Mmm, it is similar to the internal working model of many avoidantly attached individuals. But a securely attached person might think: "I'm upset, but I can handle this right now and seek support later if needed."

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I'm so pleased your parents were able to visit and you could go into the garden.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I think so. I make the point in an upcoming talk, 'What Did Hospitalisation Do to Our Ancestors? Understanding Psychological Inheritance Through Geneatherapy'-'many doctors...handed to nannies as babies & sent to boarding. It is likely they had felt this separation, and learned to call it normal.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I write a lot about what gets passed down. Knowledge is the first step, then acceptance you did the best you could and then changing what you can. You might like to read some of my articles: helenparkerdrabble.com/blog/

helenparkerdrabble.com

Blog - Helen Parker-Drabble | Author | Speaker | Former counsellor | Family historian

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

A 1935 directory listed where Britain sent its disabled children. It recorded the hospital it sent Harry aged 2 to in 1937. It had no line for the steel cot, the toy he wasn't allowed, the mother who couldn't follow. What the records kept & what they left out: tinyurl.com/f378bczf #GenHour

tinyurl.com

1935 Directory of Orthopaedic Institutions for Family History

The 1935 Directory of Orthopaedic Institutions shows where Britain sent its disabled children. It can help you trace an ancestor's hospital.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I'm so sorry this happened to you. No, separation issues happened to tens of thousands of children and we're not talking about it. That's one of the reasons I published ‘Yet’: A Story of Triumph over Childhood Separation, Trauma, and Disability. payhip.com/HelenParkerD...

payhip.com

Helen Parker-Drabble Shop

I’m a former counsellor turned family historian, exploring how the past continues to shape the present. My work blends psychology, genealogy, and social history to uncover the unseen emotional threads...

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I'm so sorry you haven't found anything. Have you looked everywhere? I don't know what period you're looking at, but it might be worth downloading my free search guide: helenparkerdrabble.com/directory-or...

helenparkerdrabble.com

1935 Directory of Orthopaedic Institutions for Family History

The 1935 Directory of Orthopaedic Institutions shows where Britain sent its disabled children. It can help you trace an ancestor's hospital.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I'm so sorry this happened to you Paula.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Thanks for the invitation to speak and the encouragement and compliments for pursuing a forgotten part of disability history. It was wonderful to be with people who take such accounts seriously.

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Reposted by Helen Parker-Drabble

Rebecca Stanley @genealogrebecca.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

As a reminder for #GenHour.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Before antibiotics, bovine tuberculosis destroyed children's bones across Britain. They were taken from their families, left outside in all weathers. No toys. No books. No education. 'Yet' tells one child's story. It has just won a Silver from the Nonfiction Book Awards. #FamilyHistory #GenHour #TB

Nonfiction Book Awards Silver Winner seal alongside the cover of 'Yet' by Helen Parker-Drabble, featuring vintage photographs of children in hospital beds and on crutches.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

A two-year-old pulled from his mother's arms at a hospital appointment. Years in plaster. Told he would never amount to anything. He proved them wrong. Harry's story is in the May issue of @whodoyouthinkyouare — four pages, on sale now. #FamilyHistory #WDYTYA #Genealogy #GenHour #Ancestry

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Happy 141st birthday, Grandad. Walter Parker was born 18 April 1885 into a family shaped by loss. I loved him, but he was distant. It took a decadee of research to understand why. I wrote a book about it. helenparkerdrabble.com/books/a-vict... #FamilyHistory #VictorianHistory #GenHour

Vintage black-and-white family photograph taken around 1974 showing Walter Parker, wearing glasses, a shirt, and a waistcoat, holding his rescue cat, Felix, beside his smiling granddaughter. She is wearing a hand-knitted cardigan, homemade skirt, daisy-patterned blouse, and white knee-high socks. They are standing in a narrow brick passage between traditional two-up, two-down houses on Edmund Street in central Sheffield, Yorkshire.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

In 1937, a two-year-old boy was admitted to a Sheffield hospital and spent much of his childhood there. He carried the shame for decades. Tonight I'm presenting his story at an international conference. Sign up for free chapters + 30% off my eBooks: tinyurl.com/3rhck37j #familyhistory #genhour #TB

A black and white photo of Harry Drabble, aged about 18 months old, wearing a hand knitted jumper, sat in a bright toy red metal car.

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Reposted by Helen Parker-Drabble

A Few Forgotten Women @afewforgottenwomen.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Would you like to help with our next research project? #WomensHistory #FamilyHistory #Genealogy www.fewforgottenwomen.com/post/forgott...

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Thank you so much Brbara, that means a lot.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

‘I Can’t ... Yet’. How a Collaborative Family Narrative Transformed Understanding of Childhood Institutionalisation. 1 of many presentations. 'Narratives of Impact: Connection & Belonging' is a free conference 2 April, in person + online. tinyurl.com/mw54jnjs #GenHour #FamilyHistory #AncestryHour

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Before antibiotics, thousands of British children vanished into hospitals for years. Cold wards. No toys. No parents. Their suffering was policy. 'Yet' tells their story. 🔵 tinyurl.com/2794f9zw #GenHour #DisabilityHistory #AncestryHour #FamilyHistory #Genealogy

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

They are tricky! It helps that I explore family history through a psychological lens 😊

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Stories passed between generations can create belonging. 'Narratives of Impact' is a free conference 2 April, in person + online, and may be worth signing up for. Worth registering, especially if sessions are recorded. I'm presenting. tinyurl.com/mw54jnjs #GenHour #FamilyHistory #AncestryHour

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

CW: Victorian medical misogyny Diagnosis for disobedient women: hysteria. 'Treatment': forced institutionalisation, sedation, loss of rights. When Mary pursued divorce, she risked 'mad' label. Victorian medicine pathologised resistance. helenparkerdrabble.com/coming-soon-... #VictorianHistory

helenparkerdrabble.com

Mary: A Victorian Life Recovered in Three Books - Helen Parker-Drabble | Author | Speaker | Former counsellor | Family historian

Victorian recipe book biography: Mary Allott's true story of abandonment, scandal & survival through 280+ recipes in 1860s Sheffield. Women's history meets culinary archaeology.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Yes, it's so hard. I try to stay grateful that I had my parents as long as I did. Writing and publishing about them helped. But now the writing is done I'm grieving anew.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Victorian law: women were incubators. Before 1839: Fathers had ABSOLUTE custody rights. Mothers had NONE. Children belonged to him. Small reforms 1839 & 1873: → Mothers could petition → BUT only if they proved 'moral fitness' → Fathers still presumed fit tinyurl.com/3faz9fah #VictorianHistory

tinyurl.com

Mary: A Victorian Life Recovered in Three Books - Helen Parker-Drabble | Author | Speaker | Former counsellor | Family historian

Victorian recipe book biography: Mary Allott's true story of abandonment, scandal & survival through 280+ recipes in 1860s Sheffield. Women's history meets culinary archaeology.

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Remembering Mum, Doreen Drabble 😭 (1938-2002) on the eve of 88th birthday. I felt closer to her when I writing about her in my my book about Dad, 'Yet' A Story of Triumph Over Childhood Separation, Trauma, and Disability. Now I feel the loss of them both again. Taken too soon, sorely missed. 💔

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

1861 census: Mary 'married'—but alone. Husband in NZ with mistress. Son with paternal grandmother. Christiana later testified AGAINST Mary in court. Victorian 'support' = men in control. helenparkerdrabble.com/coming-soon-... #VictorianHistory #Genealogy

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

The 1861 census showed Mary Allott as 'married'. Her husband? New Zealand. Her eldest son? Living with his grandmother streets away. Mary's story shows us the pain. 'The Recipe Book That Sustained a Life' coming soon. Find out more and join the waitlist helenparkerdrabble.com/coming-soon-...

Black-and-white fashion plate showing a young woman standing facing forward, wearing a wide crinoline-style skirt and a coordinating mantle or shawl. The skirt has a pale hem decorated with evenly spaced ribbon bows, while the darker overskirt and mantle are edged with deep pleated trim. The woman’s hands are clasped at her waist over the mantle, and she wears a striped, high-necked bodice beneath. Her hair is dressed close to the head, and the image is framed by the printed caption “SUMMER DRESS AND MANTLE” with the publication title “THE FASHIONS AND PRACTICAL DRESS INSTRUCTOR” at the top. helenparkerdrabble.com

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Helen Parker-Drabble @helenpdrabble.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Wow, they left early. My Drabble ancestry goes back to the 1500s in Bradfield, Sheffield. My granddad Walter Parker bn 1885 emigrated from Thorney, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire to Canada 1907 and returned to Sheffield in 1930s. A published the 1st part of his story 'A Victorian's inheritance'.

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