IN 1540, Henry VIII’s coins were made in the Tower of London. One of the Masters of the Mint was Ralph Rowlett, a goldsmith from St Albans with six children. I wondered: am I descended from Ralph? My Rowlett ancestors were Sheffield steelworkers, ever since my three-times great grandfather moved north in search of work. The trail goes cold in a line of Bedfordshire farm labourers in the 18th century, offering no evidence of a direct relationship.
My instincts as a mathematician led me to investigate this in a more mathematical way. I have two parents. They each have two…
