‘A DNA TEST HELPED ME TO TRACK DOWN MY CRIMINAL ANCESTOR’

MARGARET MILCHARD lives in Leominster, Herefordshire. She has been researching her tree for 20 years

Charlatan ancestors can lead researchers on a merry dance. Many changed their name or gave conflicting details on official records to avoid leaving a paper trail for the authorities.

Such relations may be challenging to trace but they are also intriguing, as reader Margaret Milchard has discovered. Her great grandfather George Morton was a painter and decorator, and his life was just as colourful as his