Research Considerations
Read essential advice for conducting thorough, accurate genealogical research with integrity. These articles cover avoiding common pitfalls, verifying sources, and understanding when to seek expert help.
Checking Taxation Records for Family History Research
One thing the Crown or the government has always done well is keep taxation records. Many other things might be lost, but for the most part, records of taxat...
Do You Need a Professional Genealogist?
Family history can become a long-term hobby as you try to go back through the generations to discover not only the names of your ancestors, but more informat...
Genealogy and a Criminal Past
Finding that you have a criminal among your ancestors can come as a shock. Most of us are law-abiding people, so the revelation of someone in the family who�...
Genealogy and Medical Records
As you can imagine, medical records have the potential to be a great source of information in genealogy. They are not only records of births collated from GP...
Genealogy And Military Records
A lot of people – mostly men, especially as you go back in time, but also women – have served in the different branches of the military. For some it was...
How Do You Know When You've Really Hit a Dead End?
Unless you’re incredibly lucky, or a member of a family that was granted a title centuries ago, sooner or later you’re going to run into a dead end as yo...
How Museum Collections Can Help You In Genealogy
Many people regard museums as simply dusty collections of old things that have no relevance to their lives. But that's wrong. There's plenty to be learnt at...
How to Deal With Conflicting Dates in Genealogy.
One of the most frustrating things that can happen when you’re researching family history is a conflict in dates, most commonly for births, but also someti...
How To Find And Use Medieval Genealogy Information
It's a given that the further back you go in your search for family history, the harder it becomes to find reliable genealogy source material that can help y...
How to Use Obituaries for Study
When working on a family tree you’ll obtain information from many different sources. One of the most useful, when you can find them, are obituaries. If the...
Latin In Church and Legal Records
For hundreds of years, Latin was the common international tongue of the educated. It was that way before the Normans conquered England in 1066, and remained...
Poor Law Records and Tracing Your Family Tree
The Poor Law Reform Act of 1834 changed the way the poor were cared for in England and Wales (although cared for might not be the best term, given how they w...
Researching British Genealogy from Abroad
It might be that you live outside Britain and want to look into the family tree with ancestors who were born and raised here. You might have emigrated yourse...
Sharing The Results Of Your Genealogy Research
No serious genealogy researcher is ever going to claim to have completed a family tree. All that's happened is that you've gone as far as you can in your gen...
Surname Variations When Tracing Your Family Tree
These days spelling is a very set thing - it's either right or wrong - and that's especially true of surnames, which both bind and define us, and give us off...
Taking a Genealogy Course
For those interested in family history but nervous about just diving in, taking a course in genealogy or family history can be an ideal introduction to the s...
The Family Bible In Genealogy
Most families don’t own a family Bible these days, but once you found them almost everywhere, and where they do still exist they can be a superb resource f...
The Importance of the 1911 Census
When the 1911 census was released online in January 2009, it was a momentous event. For anyone interested in family history, the release of an old census is...
The Importance of the Protestation in Genealogy
In the early 1640s, England was on the brink of Civil War between the King, Charles 1, and Parliament. It was a conflict no one wanted, and everyone tried to...
The Increase in Online Genealogical Resources
That tracing one’s family tree is big business isn’t exactly news. Genealogy has been one of the most-searched terms online for several years now, and th...
Tracing Ancestors Transported to the Colonies as Criminals
Many families have skeletons in the closet, a lot of which have probably been forgotten over the years. Perhaps the biggest one to discover is that an ancest...
Tracing Family History On The Female Side
Finding the branches of a female family tree can be much more of a genealogy challenge than following the male line. It means going back on the maternal side...
Tracing the Female Line in your Ancestry
Most people trace the male line in the family when they go back and look at their family tree. That’s perfectly understandable, as the surname comes down t...
Using Criminal Records For Family History Research
Let's face it, as much as we dread the idea of finding a criminal in our family history, there's also a thrill to it, too. It adds a bit of colour to what mi...
Using Geographical Maps to Trace Family History
Maps are very useful to a genealogist. Guides to parish boundaries, land ownership, railways and cemeteries are the kind of maps that are invaluable to anyon...
Using Local Libraries as Sources
Libraries and family history have become entwined in recent years. It’s almost impossible to go to the main library in a city or town that doesn’t posses...
Using the International Genealogical Index
The International Genealogical Index might well be the single best free resource for anyone looking into family history and putting together their family tre...
Using The Internet to Trace Your Ancestors
The Internet has been the single biggest boost genealogy has experienced. Genealogy is the third most-researched topic on the World Wide Web (after personal...
Utilising Local History To Research Your Family Tree
Genealogy is, after a fashion, a study of history. It's family history, and like all families, yours was affected by historical events, both locally and nati...
What's at the National Archive?
Sooner or later, anyone looking into family history in Britain is going to need the National Archives (and Scotland and Ireland both have their National Arch...