Recently I was searching an online index of probate records for information on one of my ancestors. I wasn’t absolutely sure of his first name, I only had an initial for him, and even that wasn’t absolutely certain as the records that I had got that information from were old and faded. I decided to see if I could match the data that I had by date. I new my ancestor had died in 1900, so I entered that date …
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Recently the headlines on the Yahoo.co.uk website have highlighted a few stories depicting the plight of certain groups of “English and Irish Gypsies”, or “Travellers” as they are otherwise known. The Travellers live outside of the realms of normal society, shunning what they deem to be an oppressive, conformist regime, and rather preferring to remain free from the shackles of permanent settlement and governmental red tape. As such, finding records for Traveller ancestors may be a bit more difficult than …
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Soundex and Miracode are important tools for locating elusive ancestors in census reports. They originated in the late nineteenth century, and both versions were used to index census schedules between 1880 and 1930. They are similar coding systems which use the first letter of a person’s surname along with three following numbers which represent the next three consonants in the name. Sounds simple doesn’t it? They really are quite easy to use and are a valuable genealogical tool once mastered, …
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It is important to understand the historical background of any era when conducting research, but even more so in Britain. It is even more so when seeking military records, as understanding how the British forces were organized at certain times can help you to know what records are available and where to find them expediently. A prime example would be the period of the British Civil War, which took place between 1642 and1649. This period serves as an important genealogical …
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In our eagerness to find our ancestors, we can sometimes spend too much time and energy looking in the wrong places, or even the right place but in the wrong sequence. We might also, because of our lack of understanding of the research process; overlook records that we were unaware might have revealed our ancestor. I for example, as a novice, began researching my immigrant ancestors using passenger lists. This I guess was a natural instinct for me. Coming from …
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Tracing your ancestor to a specific location only to discover that there are many individuals of the same name in that area can prove to be quite the genealogical challenge. Then you discover that they are all members of the same church during the same time frame. How can you find out which, if any of them are your relative? This is quite a common occurrence in genealogical research, especially before the twentieth century, yet there are certain steps you …
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Everybody has someone in the family who has a stash of old pictures somewhere; many are even labelled and identified. Most however have no information attached to them, and so a bit of detective work is necessary to reveal their subjects or locations. In spite of a lack of immediate information, old photographs can be of immense value in identifying people, and placing them in specific locations at particular times. The secret to using photographs in family research is to …
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In the eighteenth century, compared to the horrible conditions of the Workhouses and Poorhouses, Victorian Lunatic Asylums were models of social responsibility. One such asylum was the Bethlehem Hospital, a purpose built institution constructed for mentally ill and insane patients in 1776. Located at Moorfields in the nation’s capitol of London, it was locally known as Bedlam Hospital. The artist William Hogarth created a series of eight paintings known as “The Rakes Progress”, which provided a visual image of the …
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