Historian David Olusoga has teamed up with online genealogy service Findmypast to tell the story of his ancestor George Ewart, who shot and killed a man on the streets of Victorian Newcastle in 1896.
The story of Olusoga's great-grandfather, George Ewart, begins on September 10, 1896.
On that dreary day, Ewart, 64, was confronted by a 42-year-old man, Daniel Gray, on the corner of Dalton Street in Byker, Newcastle.
In broad daylight, Ewart shot Gray at close range with a revolver, Gray died instantly, and Ewart was tried for murder.
But there's an interesting story behind this incident.
Ten years ago, Ewart was the victim of an assault by Gray following a minor misunderstanding.
The assault left Ewart losing not only her eyesight but her livelihood and sent her into a downward spiral of deteriorating mental health.
For the next ten years, Ewart remained obsessed with revenge against Gray.
The story was published as part of a new podcast series by Findmypast called “Has Justice Been Served?”
Unlike your typical true crime story, this podcast provides access to the historical record, allowing listeners to evaluate the facts and form their own opinion on whether a just verdict was reached in a historic criminal case.
In the first episode of the series, listeners will learn about the evidence alongside co-hosts David Olusoga, criminologist Professor David Wilson and professional genealogist Jen Baldwin.
History buffs can listen to their analysis and judge for themselves: Was justice served?
Mr Olusoga said: “Millions of people in the UK have ancestors involved in crime, either as victims, perpetrators or witnesses, and for many this will be a most moving way of finding out about their ancestors.”
“Newspaper reports provide a wealth of detail about their cases, their lives, their experiences.
“I don't believe we should feel pride or shame based on what our ancestors did.
“We should empathize with them and recognize how these events have affected generations that followed.”
“In the case of my family, this is a tragedy that put my ancestors on a new trajectory that has led to who I am today. So for me, this is a very vivid, very moving piece of history.”
Upcoming episodes of the podcast will cover a range of historical crimes, including a double poisoning, a brutal murder, the suspicious death of a woman who was found unharmed, and a gentleman who was fatally injured whilst hunting in Scotland.
Listeners can listen to the podcast on Findmypast’s new collections feature, which compiles detailed records of historical events, outcomes and court cases into “case files.”
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It is free to access at www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved and anyone with an interest in history and crime solving can follow and share the verdict on social media using the hashtag #wasjusticeserved.
The podcast, “Was Justice Served?” is available to download from Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast providers.
For more information visit www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved
