The Dead Sleuth

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The Dead Sleuth Ancestral Hawkshaw. Research Fiend and Genealogist for Hire Sleuthing YORK and Beyond. Sometime Speaker and Storyteller. THE – determiner. DEAD – adjective. Hello!

Jobbing Grave Hunter as THE GRAVEYARD SQUIRREL. Denoting a person that is already or about to be mentioned. No longer alive. SLEUTH – noun. A person who investigates mysteries. Is there a mystery within those gnarled branches and fallen leaves of your family history tree? Are you intrigued or perplexed about the history of your ancestors? Or are you in search of that final resting place of an ancestor within Yorkshire and beyond? My name is Tee and I am your genealogist, writer, and grave hunter here at THE DEAD SLEUTH. THE DEAD SLEUTH is a registered company located in the City of York offering professional genealogical services for those looking to solve the riddles and absurdities of their own family history. With access to a wealth of local repositories and archives throughout York, Yorkshire and beyond – I work with those who need an experienced and dedicated history sleuth by their side as they embark on a fascinating journey to uncover the lives of their ancestors. From genealogical advice, family history research, probate transcription, archive retrieval, to photography, lineage reports and ancestral storytelling – THE DEAD SLEUTH offers a rich menu of research services. And as every research commission is as unique as the person who is requesting it – I offer a FREE initial thirty minute consultation to ensure that I am the perfect sleuth for my client. THE DEAD SLEUTH also offers bespoke ancestral tours for visitors who are curious about understanding their family history in the context of location and would love to walk in the footsteps of an ancestor, visit the place they once called home or stand at the foot of their grave in a quiet churchyard. And, if I’m not in search of a missing ancestor or poring over the details on a newly discovered death certificate or trawling through the parish records in search of a burial entry – I’ll be wandering among the tombstones somewhere with notebook and camera in hand. As a enthusiastic taphophile with an interest in tombstone symbolism – I also undertake grave hunts with the use of parish records and newspapers as the location and image capture of the resting place of our ancestors can be a poignant piece of the jigsaw. In the absence of a marked grave I can also research, and photograph the surrounding vicinity in which an ancestor rests. I share the tales and triumphs of family history and of my wanderings among the tombstones in search of the unquiet dead as THE GRAVEYARD SQUIRREL. I am also a public speaker and am happy to chat with eager ears and curious minds about the tales of Victorian criminality, tombstone tourism, sleuthing those elusive ancestors and fallen women. Passionate about the benefits of Ancestral Healing – I also work alongside those who are seeking to understand, reveal and free inherited grief and trauma from their family histories. And with my love of family history, storytelling and Victorian crime – I am the founder of THE POLITE TOURIST which offers unique walks through the unquiet streets of York, Scarboro’, Leeds and beyond. You can find me at the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the Genealogical Speakers Guild. See YOU on the other side?

Before the morning had ended on Monday January 2 in the year 1815 - the poet Lord Byron had been joined in matrimony to ...
02/01/2026

Before the morning had ended on Monday January 2 in the year 1815 - the poet Lord Byron had been joined in matrimony to one Anne Isabella Milbanke at her family home at Seaham Hall in Seaham County Durham.

* SPOILER ALERT *

Alas, they were NOT to live happily ever after!

📸 The silk pelisse purportedly worn by Lady Byron for her marriage captured by Tee Bylo at Fashion Museum Bath

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New Years Eve. The view from my world as I stand in the shadow of Lord Byron's former matrimonial home at Piccadilly in ...
31/12/2025

New Years Eve. The view from my world as I stand in the shadow of Lord Byron's former matrimonial home at Piccadilly in London.

And, if these cream stone walls could talk - would the tales of those winter months of 1816 be told as the poet's year-long marriage imploded and an exile overseas beckoned?

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Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas. 🎄            🔍
24/12/2025

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas. 🎄

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"Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." ~ Edna Ferber.And, in the delightfully seasonal DECEMBER publication of The ...
08/12/2025

"Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." ~ Edna Ferber.

And, in the delightfully seasonal DECEMBER publication of The Yorkshire Dalesman magazine - I muse upon the final month of the year, an ancestor unveiled and the untold tale of a ghost of Christmas past.

Now, I feel like indulging in a mince pie or two...

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‘Tis the day for more sleuthing into the working life of my Victorian protagonist and architect, one Charles Toft Newste...
01/12/2025

‘Tis the day for more sleuthing into the working life of my Victorian protagonist and architect, one Charles Toft Newstead who in the year 1874 was instructing his trusty Excavator with his recipe for CONCRETE!

For the curious among us, this bed of concrete to be ‘well rammed’ was composed of ‘5 parts of broken bricks and 1 part of the best stone lime freshly burned’.

Despite the grand designs of the Cherry Burton Rectory for the Reverend Charles Melville Pym (1834-1889) and his family - alas, life at the rectory was far from idyllic.

But that is for another tale!

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Tis nearly the season!And for those in search of a festive stocking filler - why not treat the history sleuth in your li...
20/11/2025

Tis nearly the season!

And for those in search of a festive stocking filler - why not treat the history sleuth in your life with the new book about MICKLEGATE in YORK from Clements Hall Local History Group?

Although Micklegate is infamous for its many inns and taverns - there is SO more to discover about this 'Great Street of York' within the pages of this book.

You can snaffle a copy of this fascinating book at Waterstones York Clements Hall Local History Group and The Amnesty Bookshop York..

P.S. As a contributor to this book with my tale about the parish rectory and a priest with delusions of grandeur - it will be of no surprise to learn that there was a twist in the research tale!

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The decision to work with a genealogist as you embark on a fascinating journey to uncover the lives of your ancestors ca...
17/11/2025

The decision to work with a genealogist as you embark on a fascinating journey to uncover the lives of your ancestors can be exciting - but, it can also prove daunting.

But when those long-lost ancestors finally reveal themselves?

I STILL feel a buzz like no other!

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As the final hour of my desk and kettle duties on behalf of York Family History Society approacheth - no more will I go ...
13/11/2025

As the final hour of my desk and kettle duties on behalf of York Family History Society approacheth - no more will I go a’ sleuthing in this sweet spot.

Although our YFHS Research Room here in York will close the doors forever on Thursday November 20 - I will be relieved of my desk and kettle duties for the final time at 4pm today.

The cabinet of trusty parish registers, my faithful tea cup and I wish you a fond farewell.

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'At the going down of the sun and in the morning,We will remember them.' ~ Laurence Binyon
11/11/2025

'At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.' ~ Laurence Binyon

Remember! Remember?In the NOVEMBER publication of The Yorkshire Dalesman magazine  - I muse upon sleuthing the 'missing ...
10/11/2025

Remember! Remember?

In the NOVEMBER publication of The Yorkshire Dalesman magazine - I muse upon sleuthing the 'missing infants', the meaning of ancestral inheritance and a legacy of murder.

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Where there’s a Will - there IS a way!If you need a guiding hand researching or deciphering a Last Will and Testament - ...
06/11/2025

Where there’s a Will - there IS a way!

If you need a guiding hand researching or deciphering a Last Will and Testament - help is at hand.

Why not let your fingers do the talking and tap a message to tee@deadsleuth.com?

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‘Is this Guy Fawkes you burn in effigy?Why bring the traitor here? What is Guy Fawkes to me?'On this day November 5 in 1...
05/11/2025

‘Is this Guy Fawkes you burn in effigy?
Why bring the traitor here? What is Guy Fawkes to me?'

On this day November 5 in 1605 Guy Fawkes burst forth into English history as he was found in the bowels of the House of Lords dreaming of a Catholic rebellion, surrounded by 36 barrels of gunpowder.

In November 1812 and 207 years after Guy Fawkes had been denied his dream of a glorious Catholic emancipation, the disgruntled and disgraced “barrel of gunpowder” Lady Caroline Lamb was participating in her own unique celebration at Brocket Hall.

Unable to accept that her affair with Byron was finally over she enacted revenge by burning a straw effigy of the noble poet on a large bonfire.

DANCES WITH BONFIRES at regencyrecondite.com

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Address

Heslington

YO10 5DD

Website

https://graveyardsquirrel.com/, https://teetomb.com/

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