Cambridgeshire man ancestral castles found

The sandy hair is Mr. Baxter’s great-great-great-grandmother, the darker ponytail is his great-grandmother

John Devine Three sand-colored braids, approximately 30 cm long, with a single dark brown ponytail of similar size underneath. They were arranged on a light wooden table. — The sandy hair is Mr. Baxter’s great-great-great-grandmother, the darker ponytail is his great-grandmother

Not everyone has the chance to physically touch their ancestors, but Richard Baxter did – in an unexpected way.

Mr Baxter (47), from March, Cambridgeshire, was cleaning his late mother’s house in the city when he looked into a bedroom wardrobe and came across two brown paper bags.

He said he made a discovery he couldn’t quite believe: hair from his great- and great-great-grandmother – and it was in perfect condition.

Baxter said he now plans to preserve the locks – some dating back to 1897 – for “posterity”.

Richard Baxter has said he is “pleased” to have his long-dead relatives’ hair reunited

John Devine/BBC A breathtaking photo of Richard Baxter. He has a thin black and gray beard and mustache, and his dark hair is combed back. He is wearing a dark sweater and a black shirt underneath. She is standing in a room with light, smooth floral wallpaper. — Richard Baxter has said he is “pleased” to have his long-dead relatives’ hair reunited

“My mom told me years ago that this hair was thrown away,” Baxter said.

“I saw these curls as a child and remember my grandmother telling me that the sandy ones came from my great-great-grandmother.”

Ann Walton (née Bailey) was born in Somersham in 1847 and lived in Whittlesey. She married the builder Benjamin Walton.

Baxter expressed his belief that Walton built many of the properties that still stand in Whittlesey today.

It is believed that her hair was collected and preserved as a souvenir after her death in 1897.

Ann Walton (née Bailey). Baxter said he was told her sand tresses were taken away after her death in 1897.

Family contribution Victorian sepia photograph of Ann Walton. She has light brown hair tied in a bun. She has a dark dress with a high collar and puffed sleeves, a bodice and a white shirt underneath. — Ann Walton (née Bailey). Baxter said he was told her sand tresses were taken away after her death in 1897.

In the second paper bag, Mr. Baxter found a much darker, thicker “ponytail” – remarkably similar to the one he had worn several years ago.

“It was retweeted that it was the castle from my great-grandmother, Emma Marie Walton.”

She was born in 1877 and died in 1910 and also lived in Whittlesey.

Baxter said: “We were told that around 1908 she got a job as a nanny in Montague Street, Bloomsbury.”

He was told that his great-grandmother’s photo was taken around the time she got a job in London because the position required her to have shorter hair. The ponytail was then cut off.

Emma Marie Walton grew up in Whittlesey and became a nanny in Bloomsbury around 1908, a job that required her to have shorter hair

Family Contribution Black and white photo of Emma Marie Walton with sepia head and shoulders. She has short, dark hair combed over her forehead, no jewelry or makeup, and a dark top visible on her shoulders. — Emma Marie Walton grew up in Whittlesey and became a nanny in Bloomsbury around 1908, a job that required her to have shorter hair

Baxter said he will keep the locks “for posterity” and while other family members and friends think it’s “a little weird,” he said they are part of his life and he’s “very glad he has them” – especially after thinking they had been thrown away years ago.

“Escape the Decay”

Robert Bell, curator at Wisbech and Fenland Museum, said keeping locks of hair as a memento of both the living and the dead had been common for centuries.

“The choice of hair as a physical memento of a person is likely due to the chemical composition of hair, which helps it avoid decay of the rest of the body.

“The trend of creating keepsakes from the hair of the deceased reached its peak with the Victorians, who placed strands of the hair of their deceased loved ones in jewelry such as lockets and brooches.

“While I am familiar with jewelry and small envelopes containing strands of hair, I have never seen braids as long as those of Mr. Baxter’s ancestors,” Mr. Bell added.