Let me introduce myself. I’m Sarah Murden, FRHistS, an independent 18th century historian and genealogist and have been described by others as a super sleuth.
I would describe myself very much as a ‘history detective’ and I never really know until I begin research where it will lead, hence the diversity of the articles. If possible, in each article I try to include at least one piece of new or little-known information, which means setting myself quite a challenge. It’s always very easy to take facts presented as being accurate, rather than double checking to be sure. Having checked them out I have quite often found that they lead you on a very different and unexpected journey.
I have co-authored five books for Pen and Sword Books :-
An Infamous Mistress: The Life, Loves and Family of the Celebrated Grace Dalrymple Elliott.
A Right Royal Scandal: Two Marriages That Changed History
A Georgian Heroine: The Intriguing Life of Rachel Charlotte Williams Biggs.
All Things Georgian: Tales from the Long Eighteenth Century
A History of the Dukes of Bolton 1600-1815
You can find out more about them in the ‘Books‘ tab above.
Where to find me on social media:
Bluesky: @sarahmurden.bsky.social
Twitter: @sarahmurden
Facebook: All Things Georgian
All Things Georgian 
Dear Sarah and Joanne,
Very interesting, thank you. It occurs to me that the Spanish keep their South American archives in Seville ; there could well be information about the mysterious ship from which Dido Belle’s mother was supposedly liberated/captured.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Archive_of_the_Indies
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Hi Tim, we’re delighted you enjoyed the post and we’ll definitely check out the Spanish archives, thank you for the suggestion 🙂
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In 1794 Mary Pattison Irwin began making rope in Pittsburgh US, operating under the business name John Irwin & Wife. To even be mentioned as Wife was a rarity in that era.
John had been severely wounded fighting with the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Mary was the person who managed every aspect of the business, from purchasing supplies, hiring workers, selling the product.
John died soon after they’d established their business, leaving Mary with 4 kids under the age of 12 & 4,000 miles from her homeland of Northern Ireland with a growing business.
But she persisted & the rope making became wildly successful as Pittsburgh established itself as an industrial hub and gateway to the West.
I don’t know whether Mary had trade cards, but she sure as hell had spirit!
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Wonderful site. Looking forward to reading much more!
Carry on!
Bro. H
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Thank you so very much for your kind words. I hope you continue to enjoy it 🙂
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Hi.
Thanks for your research and interesting articles.
Reading about Dido Elizabeth Belle and her descendents on your site.
You made no mention of what became of the Indian child of Dido’s son Charles and whether that line of her family had been possible to research & may have continued (continues)?
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Charles and Hannah had two daughters that I’m aware of, both were born in India, Ada (1837-1837) who died in India when only a few months old. The other was Lavinia Hannah (1838-1876), returned to England with her parents and went on to marry Dr James Dickinson Steele. Both girls are mentioned in the article.
I’m not aware of Charles having an Indian child, but perhaps you know of one? Given that he was in his early 40’s when he married it’s quite feasible that he fathered other children before marrying?
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I am trying to find more information on what clothing dyes were available in the 18th century. I very much enjoyed the post about green clothing dyes that you have here on the blog, but is there a source you can point to for other colors as well? For instance, I have heard of woad and indigo being used for blues, but how colorfast were these dyes before the invention of aniline dyes in the 19th century?
I am putting together a fantasy worldbuilding project that takes place in a fictional setting with 18th century clothing and technology and so I am looking into what dyes were used to make the brightly-colored uniforms that many militaries had for their soldiers.
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Thank you for your comments and question – these two books provide information about dyes and are available online, hopefully they will be of use to you –
https://books.google.co.uk/books?redir_esc=y&id=Oq5jAAAAcAAJ&q=green#v=snippet&q=lasting%20green&f=false
https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-gentlemans-companio_1735/page/(10)/mode/2up?q=dye
I’m not sure how colourfast these dyes were, but as many clothes have survived from that period, so I would assume they were relatively colourfast.
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An excellent blog, many thanks – thoroughly enjoyable and researched meticulously. My particular interest is in metalworking: particularly silversmithing in 18th century London. I find often the biggest challenge is correcting erroneous assumptions by one ‘researcher’ which are copied and pasted by others again and again. Your work, on the other hand, is thorough and original.
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Thank you so much for your kind words, they are very much appreciated 🙂
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Sarah, I enjoy your blog and thank you for allowing me to be a guest contributor. It is a delight to work with you in this regard. Your research skills are remarkable! I share mutual interests with your readers, as I am a member of The 1805 Club, a registered charity, founded in 1990 for enthusiasts and scholars of the naval history of the Georgian Era. The club website has helpful information for researchers. I am the principal editor for the club’s annual naval history journal, the Trafalgar Chronicle.
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Thank you so much, Judith and it’s always a pleasure to be able to host your guest articles 🙂
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