About

 

Margaret I. Sottile, nee Smith, was born in Poulton-le Fylde, Lancashire in 1943. The family moved to Todderstaffe Hall Farm in 1955 after the death of her grandfather Thomas Smith. She graduated from Nottingham University with a B.Sc (hons.) in Agricultural Science in 1965 and graduated from the University of Georgia in America in 1971 with an M. Sc. in Microbiology. She made her home in America after her marriage to William Sottile and has two children.

Throughout her marriage she maintained her close family ties with frequent visits to England. She now resides near her family in Rockford, Michigan.

After retiring from a career in research she focused on her interest in the local history of the Fylde in Lancashire, the location of Todderstaffe Hall. For the past eight years she has researched the history of Todderstaffe and the historical events that affected the families who either owned the property or lived there as tenants and labourers.

The blog contains more details of the lives of some of the families who owned the farm, including the Barons of Halton, the Clifton family of Lytham Hall and de Lacy family , the Barons of Pontefract, who later became the Barons of Halton