From the 1700s until the 20th Century, the antecedents of Cornelius Clarke and Kate Skinner forged their lives through war, labour, toil, and heartache. Our ancestors and their related families have been involved in most of the world's major events; from the Napoleonic Wars to the conflicts of the 20th Century, from the slums and destitution in England to advances in labour and politics, from the agricultural fields of Ireland and Scotland to the Industrial Revolution in England and the atomic bomb, from Carlisle to Canada, and from New York to California, their stories are our stories.