I was recently alerted to the publication of the Manchester Collection – an array of records offered by the Manchester City Council’s Libraries Information and Archives. The records are an awesome genealogical resource for those whose ancestors may have Manchester connections, especially during the Victorian era. Even if you have no ancestors from Manchester, the collection provides a glimpse into Victorian life, so lovers and students of history will benefit as much as genealogists. The collection includes;

There are very few of us in the western world whose family did not originally come from somewhere else. Unless you’re a Native North or South American Indian, you will have an ancestor who was an immigrant. That makes a whole lot of us, and so learning how to identify and trace our immigrant ancestors is an important aspect of genealogy. If we don’t find them, our trail runs cold, and we are left with a family tree barren of …
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I recently had the pleasure of visiting with some of my relatives in Bolton, England. The weather was a bit gloomy as the English weather can sometimes be, but Bolton is a city rich in history, and with a formidable industrial past, that couldn’t help but warm my heart. It’s a blue-collar city, and the inhabitants reflect that hearty down to earth character that makes it a pleasure to tuck unto a rich beef stew or share a few glasses, …
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"What a Witch" my friend as he slammed down the phone in disgust. Apparently the customer service representative from his mobile operator he had spoken with was having a bad day! His comment got the wheels of my genealogical mind a turning however, and I thought; "What if one of my ancestors was a witch"? It is not as impossible or as far-fetched a possibility as one might think. In fact, anyone having ancestors from Europe or New England during …
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An unusual question you might say, but hopefully you’ll find the answer interesting. The short form of that answer is yes, of course, but the long version sheds much more insight into Ireland, its people, and its colourful history. The Emerald Isle as we all lovingly know her was populated and civilized by the Celts for at least a thousand years before the ninth century. The Celts lived peacefully on their island home at least until the year 795 when …
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So often we get caught up in our daily schedules and workloads that we forget to take time out to have a bit of fun. This can also be true of our genealogy projects, and I’m guilty of this, as are many other genealogists. We get so concerned with finding facts and deciphering dates that we forget to have fun with genealogy. I was recently reminded of how much fun genealogy can be when I was searching for online archives. …
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I was once hot on the trail of an ancestor, and had narrowed down my search to the Irish census reports. I was convinced I would soon have another confirmed relative in my family tree, when much to my dismay, I discovered that the census reports I was convinced I would find him in were destroyed by fire and explosion during the Irish Civil War in 1922. What was I to do? The first thing I did was panic –, …
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Though the following may seem to be obvious, they are mistakes that are commonly and constantly made by researchers, especially beginners. All genealogists make mistakes, and will continue to do so, but there is a difference between honest blunders and serious, avoidable errors. As I pen this blog, I can’t help but laugh, as it is mostly from personal experience that I write. At first I was especially excited to find out if I was related to some famous person, …
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