This is the story of the Lancaster family, important for me because I have been researching my family history for fifty years. I have a personal interest in it: I am a part of it. What I have discovered about my maternal ancestors from Pateley Bridge in Yorkshire is something that future generations may wish to retain, something that neither names and dates in a family tree nor memorial stones in a cemetery will relate. The lives of the people who emerged out of old documents, archives, and oddments of family memorabilia deserve to be remembered. For current and future generations of the family, this story is about knowing who they are, for we all carry with us some similarity to our forebears, passed down through our genes or traits learned from our parents. For others, it may serve to provide another perspective on history.

Christopher Wright