Welcome to the Family History Social

When researching your family tree, to really get a feel for how our ancestors lived and what important events happened in their lifetimes, other sources of information are often required. In Victorian times, an excellent source was the Illustrated London News, the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper. Founded by Herbert Ingram, a printer from Nottingham ,he moved to London and started the paper in 1842. The first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. Herbert Ingram initially wanted a paper that concentrated on crime reporting, but his partner, Henry Vizetelly, convinced him to cover more general news of the time to appeal to a larger audience. With articles mainly covering the capital but also covering events abroad including conflicts and wars, it gives an interesting snapshot into life at the time and the journalistic take on big events of the time. By 1863, The Illustrated London News was selling more than 300,000 copies every week, much higher circulation figures in comparison to other British newspapers of the time. Using larger circulation newspapers or more local regional newspapers, it's possible to find out information about the life and times your ancestor experienced and even if they appeared in the local papers. If they were famous, reputable at a certain skill or well known, there's a chance they may have appeared in the local newspaper. My subscription to TheGenealogist has enabled me to get a flavour of events in Victorian times with the increasing numbers of newspaper issues they have now available online. They have recently added issues for the decade from 1870 to 1879. This means there is now a collection available from 1842 to 1879 giving a real feel for newsworthy events in the  mid part of the century. Examples of what can be viewed. I've listed a couple of the screenshots to show what is available on TheGenealogist. Around the time of The Great Exhibition the Illustrated London News devoted a number of pages to the exhibition and the main people involved. Below is a page taken as a screenshot from the newspaper.

A Christmas issue...

More specific articles, this one is looking at the celebrated French chef, Alexis Soyer.

It's definitely worth working your way through the newspaper articles- just to add a bit more background to how your ancestors lived, it helps give you a feel for how things were for them all those years ago!

Linking together the life of a relative can often be a difficult and time consuming task if you don’t have much prior information to go on… however, I've found with my subscription to TheGenealogist that this process can be a whole lot simpler with its unique ‘SmartSearch’ facility.  This has been further enhanced by the addition of 14 million newly transcribed death records from 1960 to 1983 to add even more power to the search feature. With the total of 26 million death records for England and Wales from 1960 to 2005 now available on TheGenealogist, using the unique ‘SmartSearch’ feature, I've discovered we can now go from the death record from 1960 to 2005, to a birth record, to finding the parent’s marriage to tracing siblings in very easy steps. The team at TheGenealogist tell me by Christmas the records should stretch back to 1930 adding even more power to our fingertips! As an example, I've used one of the newly transcribed death records on TheGenealogist to see a prime example of how the new records can really benefit your family research. I’ve taken the records of legendary T-Rex guitarist and vocalist, Marc Bolan, who tragically died in 1977 at the age of 29.

His real name was Mark Feld which we can now use to search the death records on TheGenealogist.

 

The ‘SmartSearch’ facility allows us to jump straight to his birth record which links to his parents and potential siblings. Mark didn’t have a brother or sister but we can find full details of his parents Simeon and Phyllis (including marriage record below) which allows us to move onto the next stage of the family tree.

In my opinion, the 26 million death records now transcribed on TheGenealogist really enhances the ‘SmartSearch’ feature. From a death record it’s now easy to jump to past generations with just a few mouse clicks. You can now start your research with just the basic data and still find results quickly. Searching is now quicker and easier than ever.    

As a keen user of the family tree software, RootsMagic,  I was pleased to find out this week that the newly updated Version 6 has now arrived in the UK. It comes with a number of handy new features and the improvements are good enough to keep it up there with the best of the family tree software currently on the market. RootsMagic is ideal for both the newcomer and experienced researcher, I've found it produces great looking family trees, charts and reports. It's invaluable to those family historians who wants to keep everything nicely organised. So what are the new features? With my brand new copy, which I 'road-tested' this week, I found the following features stood out the most for me: Online Publishing -the software can create visually attractive, dynamic websites with pedigree, family and individual views as well as supporting notes, sources and media. Combined with the free My.RootsMagic.com hosting service, your family history has an online home with just a quick click of the mouse. Live Timeline View - A live-edit panel on RootsMagic's timeline view makes this one of the most powerful editing features. Make corrections to your data while viewing it in context with other family members' life events. I found this feature very useful. Find Everywhere- with just a single search you can now find every record in your file containing the text you want. Quickly find people, families, notes, sources, places, to-do items, research logs and more. You can then edit those records directly from the search results.

WebTags- attach links to websites for any person, source, citation, place or research log item and instantly jump to a web page tagged to a record. CountyCheck Explorer - look up a county, state, or country from a multi-national database. It can even show you historical county boundaries. This is particularly useful for keeping an eye on those confusing UK county boundary changes over the years which can throw a family historian off the scent in their ancestor search.

  RootsMagic Version 6 is now available from Genealogy Supplies For those that recently purchased Version 5- there is a special offer of free upgrades for those customers that purchased after 21st August 2012. Please contact S&N Genealogy Supplies on 01722 716121 for more details.

Tracing your family tree can often lead to some fascinating discoveries, surprising everyone in the family.  Some discoveries are good, some can be very tragic. As we approach the 11^th November and Remembrance Day, we take a look at one family and how the war altered their family history. Using the ‘smart search’ features on one of the research websites I use- TheGenealogist.co.uk , we demonstrate how technology can help us remember those heroes of yesteryear.

This is a comprehensive way to trace your family history online through the years. The sophisticated ‘master search’ facilities allows us to follow a family and get a snapshot of their lives. With this example, we take a look at the family of Benjamin Freke, a family butcher from Bristol. Born in 1871, using the Master Search facility on TheGenealogist we find him.

From the 1901 Census listed here, we find the records of Benjamin’s two children, Frank and Albert. From here, we can find the birth record for (Benjamin) Frank Freke born in 1899.

Frank and Albert (pictured above) are again picked up on the 1911 Census, as can be seen from the genealogy website I use:

In 1911, Frank is now 12 and still classed as a scholar with his younger brother and probably destined to work in the family business in Bristol. On the census, he is listed by his middle name ‘Frank’ rather than his first name Benjamin, which can often confuse researchers. Frank was growing up in troubled times and with the dark clouds of war gathering, he would find himself by 1917, at the age of 18 obligated to join the fight against Germany. The next fact we find about Frank is his listing on the research website where we find he was tragically killed in 1918 at just 19 years old. We search in the ‘World War 1 Deaths’ section and find the details for Benjamin Frank Freke.

Private Benjamin Frank Freke is tragically killed in 1918 as is confirmed in the war death records as documented online.

Using online family history research websites can help you find the heroes in your family. Using modern technology to find information about your family can lead you to discover things about them you never knew, including tragedies such as this one where a family loses a son in the Great War.  

If you live near to a major town or city, or are a determined genealogist, chances are you will have visited family history fairs that are staged around the U.K.

Organised by local and regional family history societies, the fairs feature data products and other items of interest to both the keen amateur and professional family history researcher. Books, maps, Data CD's and advice and guidance is available aplenty from the numerous stalls.

The great thing about family history fairs is that information is available from both the 'host' society on local genealogical matters and also societies from other areas of the UK that attend the fairs. This gives the researcher the opportunity to ask for (and buy) information on areas of interest relevant to their family history. It's also a useful exercise if you've hit that research 'brick wall' and are struggling to know which direction to turn next. Asking a local expert can make all the difference and help you overcome that research hurdle.

The typical family history fair will also feature guest 'talks' and occasionally the presence of companies that provide products and services that can be used by the family history researcher. The talks are well worth attending, providing informative, useful information that can only help you in your research. Often the talks are given by leading 'personalities' in the industry, such as Nick Barratt who formerly assisted on the BBC 'Who Do You Think You Are?' programme and Mark Bayley, Head of the Online Division from TheGenealogist.co.uk who provide nuggets of help and advice for the family history researcher. As well as the local family history fairs, there is also the major fair, held at Olympia in London. Organised by 'Who Do You Think You Are?, it is by far the largest and features the widest selection of genealogical products and services available. As the online method of research is becoming more commonplace and more essential for the researcher, it is worth taking advantage of the show 'offers' that are often available at these events. You will often see a special discount available for online subscriptions to family history research websites and it's worth taking advantage of these offers. Just look out for the stands at your next local show, often they can demonstrate how the website works and what records it contains so you get a feel for what the site looks like.

If you're unsure if there's a family history fair near to you, it's worth a Google search to find your local city/town/ county society and they will have a page dedicated to when the next local fair is scheduled. Then enjoy your visit! The current schedule published so far for Family History Fairs for 2013 is: 2013 January Sun 27th       Bracknell Family History Fair (Bracknell) February Sat 16th      FHS of Cheshire Family History Fair (Northwich) 22nd to 24th  Who Do You Think You Are? Live (Olympia) March Sun 3rd       Merseyside & Cheshire Family History Fair (Port Sunlight) Sat 16th      Harrogate Local & Family History Day (Harrogate) April  Sat 13th      City of York Family History Fair (New Earswick) Sat 27th      Family History Fair (Pudsey) May Sat 4th        Gloucestershire FHS Family History Fair (Gloucester) Sat 11th      Sussex Family History Fair (Haywards Heath) Sat 11th     Scottish Association of FHS's (Galashiels) Sun 19th     Kent Family History Fair (Maidstone) June Sat 1st        Sheffield & District FHS Family History Fair (Sheffield) Sat 29th     Yorkshire Family History Fair (York) September Sat 7th        The National Family History Fair (Newcastle) Sat 21st      The Yorkshire Group of FHS's (Doncaster) October Sat 5th        Oxfordshire FHS Open Day & FH Fair (Woodstock)    

Strategies when your family history research hits that brick wall. Review the Research that you have previously got together Information that you may have found a few years ago that may include names, dates or other details that now provide clues, given new facts that you've since uncovered. Organising your files and reviewing your facts may uncover just the clue to move you onto the next stage. Go back to the original source You may have kept the names and dates from that old census record, but did you also keep track of other information that was to hand such as ‘years of marriage’ and possibly even the ‘country of parent's origin’ if your family moved internationally? Or, perhaps, in error, you misread a name or a family relationship? Be sure to go back to those first records you kept, making complete copies and noting down all clues – they may all come in handy in later research. Widen your search When you're stuck on a particular ancestor, good practise is to widen your search to other family members and neighbours. When you can't find a birth record for your ancestor that lists his/her parents, maybe you can locate one for a brother or sister. Or, when you've lost a family between census years, try looking for their neighbours. You may be able to identify a migration pattern, or a wrongly mis-indexed census entry that way. Often referred to as "cluster genealogy," this research technique can often get you past those brick walls that had proved so troublesome.

Question your data & verify accuracy Many brick walls occur simply from data that is incorrect. In other words, the sources you’ve uncovered may be leading you in the wrong direction through their inaccuracy. Respondents not telling the truth on Census Forms/ Birth, Marriages and Death records was possible, as was information such as their correct age or whether married or not. Attitudes were different back then and many people felt very uncomfortable divulging true personal information. Also, published sources often contain transcription errors when being noted down. Try to find at least three records to verify any facts that you already know and then judge the quality of your data results. Check possible name variations used Your brick wall may just be something as simple as looking for the wrong name. Variations of last names and ancestors using middle names or even ‘nicknames’ can really complicate research, so be sure to check all manner of spelling options and possible variations. The 'all in one' search facility and phonetic search options on TheGenealogist helps enormously to find those people who may have used middle names or names easily misinterpreted on census documents- on TheGenealogist we can see an example of this with the records of a Benjamin Freke.

Search record results for Benjamin Freke on TheGenealogist Know Your Geography Even though you know that your ancestor lived on the same street, you may still be looking in the wrong county for your ancestor. Town and county boundaries have been subject to change over time as populations grew or council boundaries changed. Keeping up with geographical changes can help break down those brick walls! The many boundary changes and other changes to administrative areas mean that some local advice can save you a lot of time and frustration. The South West of England, as an example, has gone through a number of administrative changes over the years- such as the abolishment of the county of Avon in 1996. This created the authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, City of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. To the person unfamiliar with the local area, research can become very confusing but it highlights how boundaries in the UK have changed from time to time. It is always worth getting some local guidance from a local Family History Society for example, in the first instance. Seek out help- there’s a number of sources available! Fresh eyes and a fresh perspective can often see beyond brick walls, so try running your theories by other researchers. Use a specialist forum like – www.roots-forum.co.uk  Post a query on a website ‘help’ forum such as www.thegenealogist.co.uk/forums  Also, check with members of the local historical or genealogical society, they can possibly offer advice and guidance. Be sure to include what you already know, as well as what you'd like to know and which tactics and methods you've already tried so those helping you do not waste time duplicating effort.

During the process of researching your family history, it is easy to mix up records if they are not recorded or stored carefully. Some researchers like to draw their family trees by hand or download blank charts, but the most popular method  is creating a family tree digitally, either using a software package or via one of the main online subscription websites. Although the main online family tree research sites offer increasingly more advanced functions, there is still a great demand for family tree software, especially when it comes to producing charts and storing large amounts of information about each ancestor. The various software packages have much in common: each has slightly different capabilities and system requirements and prices are fairly similar. Of the selection of family history software, RootsMagicUK ticks all the boxes for good value and great features. Now in its fifth updated version, the software can be run off a USB stick, allowing you to update your research from any PC. This software also creates superb wall charts and integrates with research sites. It is the top rated program in numerous reviews and articles which emphasise RootsMagic's ease of use and powerful features. This programme is ideal for novices. It boasts great book reports and allows you to upload pictures in narrative reports. The latest edition comes with seven free data CDs. RootsMagic has one of the most user-friendly interfaces and comes with a clear, concise instruction manual. A taste of RootsMagic UK - User friendly screens and clear, concise reports

There are other quality examples of family tree software such as Family Historian and Family Tree Maker - all popular amongst both amateur and professional family historians - but I find RootsMagic to be the one for me. I purchased my copy from S&N Genealogy supplies, you can order a copy here.

For those researchers looking for an affordable way to access both census and civil registration data, the UK Census Online site (www.ukcensusonline.com ) can offer a good start point in your online research efforts. The new site offers access to all the censuses for England and Wales from 1841 to 1911 and available birth, marriage and death indexes for those countries since 1837 (currently up to 2005). Whilst there are cheaper monthly packages available, the UK Census Online site offers the cheapest annual subscription package available. All of the census data at the site is available as searchable transcripts and high-quality original page images. A feature of the new site is a keyword search facility, available only to subscribers. Non-subscribers can use a basic search, which for censuses provides age, jobs and place of birth in the results for free. The ability to find an entry by just a few search terms like place or occupation makes it easy to refine a search. You can use the keyword search to find the record of an ancestor much the same way as you would find a website using Google. You enter search terms into one box and results are shown in an extract form. As you transcribe the whole record, you can see each result’s full details before having to click to view the image, thus saving a huge amount of time trying to read the handwritten entries. The keyword refinement also allows you to have extremely relevant results. In a comparison with other sites, the UK Census Online offers a number of favourable features.  For example, ‘Ancestry’ hasn’t transcribed occupation or the street address in the pre-1911 Census and can’t use as many refining terms. ‘Findmypast’ doesn’t provide the range of options or the keyword search facility. More details can be found here – www.ukcensusonline.com

Tracing your ancestors can start to get more difficult before 1837. This can be when many  people hit that 'brick wall' and they start to struggle with their family history research. However, it is possible to get access to information before Civil registration  records began and census information was recorded. Civil registration (or the recording of births, marriages and deaths) started in England and Wales in 1837, Scotland in 1855 and Ireland in 1864, but the parish records of baptisms, marriages and burials go back much further than this- the very earliest record dates from 1538. Whilst not as detailed as civil registration records, the parish records can often allow us to go back so much further and keep tracing our ancestors. Also, for those families who did not attend mainstream church, the non conformists, such as the Methodists, Quakers and Presbyterians amongst others, records are available for these groups too. Parish records have generally been accessed by family historians through the relevant local or county archive. However, now it's easier than ever to access both parish records and non conformist records. UK family history websites now have many records that can be found online without having to leave your home! One in particular, TheGenealogist, now provides access to over 12 million official non conformist and parish records, a good selection of records to help with family searches!  Some examples of what can now be found online are listed below: Firstly, a parish record from 1773-

However, if your relatives followed a non-conformist faith, TheGenealogist is increasingly adding more records that may contain the relatives you are looking for. Here is an example of the search results (please click on the screenshot to get a larger, clearer image) :

An interesting development over the last couple of years for the family historian has been the availability of DNA testing to assist in tracing ancestral lineage. It's become both more available and less expensive and can really help with research. In the U.S. in January, Life Technologies Corp. introduced a new machine to to map an entire human genome for $1,000 in just one day, according to The Wall Street Journal. Following on from this, Family History Research Companies have started offering DNA tests on a smaller scale. Here in the U.K., a British website, TheGenealogist has started offering these DNA tests to the public to help trace family lines.

It's a new feature that can help both amateur and professional family historians. Beginners can jump straight into family history and potentially see some significant results in a very quick time. It is also useful when the family history researcher hits that 'brick wall' in their research. When you research a line, there's only so far back you can go before the paper trail ends. With DNA testing, it is possible to bridge that gap and get past those brick walls. Many thousands of users have taken advantage of this service in the U.S. already and the demand is increasing in the U.K. as people decide to take their family history research that step further. Many people are interested in genealogy but don't have time to research their full family history themselves. Now you learn more about your family line than they ever thought possible. DNA testing in the UK starts from around £60 and more information can be found here.

Has anyone taken advantage of DNA testing yet in their family history research?