Sunday, April 8, 2012

Peter the Wild Boy at Berkhamsted

The 18th century liked freaks and in 1723 a young boy was found wandering in the woods in Hanover. It was believed he had grown up with no human contact and was therefore considered noteworthy. He spent the later days of his life on Broadway farm, near Bourne End, then part of Northchurch Parish, and Berkhamsted town.

I have posted an account of his life at Berkhamsted, originally written in 1782 or 1783, and published in Biographica Curiosa or Memoirs of Remarkable Characters of the reign of George the Third (1822).

The copy of the book I have illustrates another area where you can look for family history information. It came to me in a box of miscellaneous family items some 40 years ago - and has on the fly sheet the signature of a previous owner - my great great grandfather, John Gibbs.

No comments:

Post a Comment

This is the newsletter for the Genealogy in Hertfordshire Web site. Comments on this blog are moderated and may be transferred to the web site where appropriate. If you have a local or family history query you want answered you must use "Ask Chris" - See box in right hand column. Anonymous comments cannot be answered.