A Feminist Family History in Three Generations

About A Feminist Family History in Three Generations

From the fishing lanes of Newlyn, Cornwall to generations scattered across the world, this new podcast series traces the lives, labour, and legacy of one Cornish family from a feminist perspective. Family tree: https://www.thinkthreeways.com Theme Music by Tawipop from Pixabay, Interval Music by HoggyArt from Pixabay Many thanks to the technicians at BCU’s Parkside Media Studios for their support of this project, particularly to Peter Crowther and Dan Whitehouse.

Publisher

Kate Carruthers Thomas

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Sept 2026

Latest episode

28 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

6 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Sept 2026

   2. A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS

   In the second series of A Feminist Family History, Dr Kate Carruthers Thomas shares insights into her research on three generations of the Kelynack family of Newlyn, Cornwall, spanning three generations from 1860 to 1950. She highlights how social, economic, and gender roles evolved within a changing community, emphasising women's experiences and family dynamics. There's a family tree at Series 2 - A Feminist Family History in Three Generations (https://www.thinkthreeways.com/podcasts/series-2-a-feminist-family-history-in-three-generations/) A Roof Over Their Heads This episode explores how three generations of the Kelynack family lived in their homes in Newlyn and Detroit. Dr. Kate Carruthers Thomas uses census records and household detail to show how domestic space, labour,and gender roles shaped family life from 1881 to 1940. Listeners will hear about the cramped fishing cottages of Church Street in Newlyn in 1881, the changing household patterns of the next generation in 1911, and the very different world of a Detroit bungalow in Highland Park, Detroit, USA in 1940. Across all three homes, the episode asks how class, work, migration, and women’s unpaid labour shaped everyday life. Key Sources: The Detroit Bungalow (https://detroitarchitectjournal.blogspot.com/2012/04/from-detroit-bungalow-to-ashanti.html) Ford Highland Park Plant | Detroit Historical Society (https://www.detroithistorical.org/learn/online-research/encyclopedia-of-detroit/ford-highland-park-plant) The Newlyn Clearances, part I: the Gwavas Estate – ‘among the monstrosities being condemned by architectural experts’ | Municipal Dreams (https://municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2019/01/01/newlyn_clearances_i/) Did you know? ... About 'Rosebud' & the Newlyn Clearances? - Newlyn FISH Trust (https://newlynfishtrust.org.uk/did-you-know-about-rosebud-the-newlyn-clearances/) Sagar-Fenton, M. (2003). The Rosebud and the Newlyn Clearances. Truro: Truran Segregation and White Flight in Detroit (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/12b84ab10e734e72b59beac8df64c903) The Great Migration (1910-1970) | National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/migrations/great-migration) The Newlyn Fishing Riots of 1896 – Kernow Goth (https://kernowgoth.org/cornish-heritage-and-culture/cornish-seafaring-fishing/the-newlyn-fishing-riots-of-1896/)

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   3. LIFE CHANCES

   In the second series of A Feminist Family History, DrKate Carruthers Thomas shares insights into her research on three generations of the Kelynack family of Newlyn, Cornwall, spanning three generations from 1860 to 1950. She highlights how social, economic, and gender roles evolved within a changing community, emphasising women's experiences and family dynamics. There's a family tree at ⁠Series 2 - A Feminist Family History in Three Generations⁠ (https://www.thinkthreeways.com/podcasts/series-2-a-feminist-family-history-in-three-generations/) Life Chances This episode follows the Kelynack family through three erasto show how health, illness, healthcare, and women’s reproductive lives changed over time. Kcompares child mortality in the 1870s, working-class healthcare in 1911, and the growing but still limited world of contraception and infertility treatment in the 1920s and 1930s. The episode discusses the pressures ofpoverty, the impact of infectious disease before antibiotics, and how medical knowledge expanded while access remained unequal. Key Sources: ⁠National Insurance Act 1911 | Policy Navigator⁠ (https://navigator.health.org.uk/theme/national-insurance-act-1911)⁠Jose Harris⁠ (https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/12416/jose-harris) Private Lives Public Spirit: Britain 1870-1914 ⁠History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy - Western Union⁠ (https://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/WesternUnion/index.htm) ⁠Marie Stopes opened the UK’s first birth control clinic 100 years ago – she was also a eugenicist⁠ (https://theconversation.com/marie-stopes-opened-the-uks-first-birth-control-clinic-100-years-ago-she-was-also-a-eugenicist-157182) ⁠Poor law but better care - British Society for the History of Medicine⁠ (https://bshm.org.uk/poor-law-but-better-care/) ⁠Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918⁠ (https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Spanish-Flu-pandemic-of-1918/)

3. 

   22 Sept 2026

   6. LILLIAN'S STORY

   In the second series of A Feminist Family History, DrKate Carruthers Thomas shares insights into her research on three generations of the Kelynack family of Newlyn, Cornwall, spanning three generations from 1860 to 1950. She highlights how social, economic, and gender roles evolved within a changing community, emphasising women's experiences and family dynamics. There's a family tree at Series 2 - A Feminist Family History in Three Generations (https://www.thinkthreeways.com/podcasts/series-2-a-feminist-family-history-in-three-generations/) LILLIAN'S STORY Discover the story of Lillian Smith Kelynack, a woman whose life spanned from 1894 to 1975, showcasing the evolving social roles of women, the impact of war, and the importance of overlooked personal histories. This episode weaves together insights on family traditions, societal shifts, and women's roles across three generations of the Kelynack family in Cornwall and beyond. Key Sources: Crampton, C. (2018) Shedunnit.  Surplus Women Transcript (https://www.shedunnitshow.com/surpluswomentranscript/) D-Day Landings - Falmouth Official (https://www.falmouth.co.uk/d-day-landings/) Horn, P. (2009) My ancestor was in service. London,Society of Genealogists. Lomax, P (ed.) (2018) Newlyn At War. Newlyn Archive

4. 

   22 Sept 2026

   5. DEPARTURES

   In the second series of A Feminist Family History, Dr Kate Carruthers Thomas shares insights into her research on three generations of the Kelynack family of Newlyn, Cornwall, spanning three generations from 1860 to 1950. She highlights how social, economic, and gender roles evolved within a changing community, emphasising women's experiences and family dynamics. There's a family tree at Series 2 - A Feminist Family History in Three Generations (https://www.thinkthreeways.com/podcasts/series-2-a-feminist-family-history-in-three-generations/) Departures Discover the stories of emigration within the Kelynack family, exploring why they left Cornwall, their destinations, and the experiences they encountered seaborne and on arrival. This episode also delves into the broader context of Cornwall’s emigration history, gender roles, and the impacts on those left behind. In this episode: The long history of Cornish emigration since the 18th centuryPush and pull factors Personal stories: Joshua Kelynack emigrates to South Africa in 1902 and Lois Pollard follows him to Cape Town in 1904 William Kelynack emigrates to the United States in 1923 and returns to marry his wife Annie in 1929. The couple return to Detroit. The impact of emigration on families, communities, and Cornwall itself Key Sources: Cornish carols: Heritage in California and South Australia | Institute of Cornish Studies | University of Exeter (https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/centres/ics/research/cornish-diaspora/cornish_carols/) Cornish diaspora - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_diaspora) The Cornish Diaspora | Institute of Cornish Studies | University of Exeter (https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/centres/ics/research/cornish-diaspora/) Cornish Mining in Australia - Cornish Mining World Heritage Site (https://www.cornishmining.org.uk/about/mining-in-cornwall-and-west-devon/mining-around-the-globe/cornish-mining-in-australia) Detroit History | City of Detroit (https://detroitmi.gov/departments/detroit-history) District Six, Cape Town | South African History Online (https://sahistory.org.za/place/district-six-cape-town) Ford Highland Park Plant | Detroit Historical Society (https://www.detroithistorical.org/learn/online-research/encyclopedia-of-detroit/ford-highland-park-plant) History Of The White Star Line | Historic Denver/Molly Brown House Museum (https://mollybrown.org/history-of-the-white-star-line/) International Pasty Festival - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Pasty_Festival) ''Nineteenth-Century British Female Emigration Societies'' (https://hal.science/hal-03873834v1/document) Solnit, R. (2011) A Book of Migrations. London: Verso. The Cornishman (newspaper) - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cornishman_(newspaper)) The Great Migration (1910-1970) | National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/migrations/great-migration) Union-Castle Line - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union-Castle_Line)

5. 

   22 Sept 2026

   4. SCHOOLDAYS

   In the second series of A Feminist Family History, DrKate Carruthers Thomas shares insights into her research on three generations of the Kelynack family of Newlyn, Cornwall, spanning three generations from 1860 to 1950. She highlights how social, economic, and gender roles evolved within a changing community, emphasising women's experiences and family dynamics. There's a family tree at Series 2 - A Feminist Family History in Three Generations (https://www.thinkthreeways.com/podcasts/series-2-a-feminist-family-history-in-three-generations/) School Days This episode follows school experiences acrossthree generations of the Kelynack family, moving from Newlyn, Cornwall in 1881 to Mousehole in 1921 and then to Highland Park, Detroit in 1950. It shows how schooling expanded over time, but also how class, gender, and familyexpectations still shaped what boys and girls could do with that education. Key Sources: Elementary Education Act 1870 - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_Education_Act_1870) Lomax, P (ed.) (2012) Newlyn at School 1846-1946. Newlyn Archives

6. 

   22 Sept 2026

   1. INTRODUCING THE KELYNACKS

   In the second series of A Feminist Family History, DrKate Carruthers Thomas shares insights into her research on three generations of the Kelynack family of Newlyn, Cornwall, spanning three generations from 1860 to 1950. She highlights how social, economic, and gender roles evolved within a changing community, emphasising women's experiences and family dynamics. Introducing the Kelynacks In this episode, Kate introduces the three generations of Kelynacks who will feature in this series. The family have a long history in Newlyn's fishing industry, an industry which depends on all family members to sustain it. Meet Margaretta and Thomas Kelynack, their eight children and twenty-two grandchildren. There's a family tree at Series 2 - A Feminist Family History in Three Generations (https://www.thinkthreeways.com/podcasts/series-2-a-feminist-family-history-in-three-generations/) Key Sources: Cornish diaspora - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_diaspora) The Cornish Diaspora | Institute of Cornish Studies | University of Exeter (https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/centres/ics/research/cornish-diaspora/)

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