Imagine researching your family tree and finding that your ancestor may have been involved in a major historical event. According to an article in the UK Daily Mail, Christopher Stevens did just that when he uncovered information that suggested his ancestor had known a sixth and final victim of Jack the Ripper.
In December 1888, a woman named Rose Mylett – aka Drunken Lizzie – was found killed in the East End. Stevens ancestor – a coroner named Thomas Chivers – was tasked with handling the corpse. During his investigation, Chivers saw something the police had missed – a massive cut around the victim’s throat and bruises in the shape of a man’s fingers. While they initially attributed her death to exposure, eventually the police came to agree that Drunken Lizzie had been murdered. Within days, her death had been linked to the Whitechapel murders.
Historians generally don’t include Mylett among the canonical victims of Jack the Ripper, but that’s beside our point. We like the story for its speculative juices – what if you discovered one of your ancestors was involved – even tangentially – in a notorious historical event? Think about where they might have been or with whom they could have been involved. Research major events that occurred in their lifetimes and imagine how they could have been connected. Alternatively, take some time to rethink what we know about significant stories like those of Jack the Ripper or the sinking of the Titanic. What additional information might we uncover if we had the means? What happens next?
