Here at Family History Social, we've just received the latest e-mail news from S&N Genealogy Supplies with the latest developments.
Firstly, there's news of the new release of nearly 500,000 Royal Navy and Merchant Seamen Ship Crew records on TheGenealogist, now available to view.There's also some great offers on archival products and new data CDs now available.
There's an article on royal babies and the new series of Who Do You Think You Are? and a special research offer to subscribe to TheGenealogist available for a limited time. It’s all available here.
It's good to keep up to date with latest family history developments and here at Family History Social we find the fortnightly Email News from S&N a good, informative read.
The latest email features special special offers, new record releases enabling you to trace your railway ancestors, Jewish ancestry and also major parish records additions. There’s also details on the forthcoming new series of Who Do You Think You Are? and the new comedy programme ‘Family Tree’. It’s all available at http://www.genealogysupplies.com/email_news.htm
Our surnames and how they have developed in Britain is a subject that interests many genealogists. At Family History Social we came across this useful guide to English surnames on About.com
If you've always wanted to know a bit more about your surname, this is a handy article. The article covers English surnames as we know them today, passed down through generations, which began in England as early as the 11th century. There's more on the article available here.
Following the addition of the 'Cornwall Railway Worker' records, TheGenealogist has announced a further addition of more railway workers from other companies in England and Wales, bringing the total to nearly 1.5 million workers from one of Britain's biggest boom industries in the 1800s.
With details on their job roles, it's a useful insight into how our ancestors lived and worked.
The new records encompass all levels of railway worker from train driver, guard, signaller, office staff to labourers to station controllers, literally anyone involved in the functioning of the railway.
The records are all fully searchable and are a unique new resource. There's more details at TheGenealogist
Was your ancestor a tradesman? Or did they own a local business or were viewed as one of the pillars of local society?
Chances are they are listed in one of the Kelly's Directories or to term it correctly, the Kelly's Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory. The idea of Frederic Festus Kelly, the Directories were the Victorian equivalent of the Yellow pages of modern times and as well as businesses, they included postal addresses of local gentry, landowners, charities and other facilities in a local area.
The directories are an important source of local research and are increasingly available online to view. TheGenealogist has a sizable collection now available online to view and has recently added the following directories to its collection.
Cumberland 1929 Kelly's Directory
Lincolnshire 1933 Kelly's Directory
Dorset 1912 Kelly's Directory
Hampshire 1912 Kelly's Directory
Herefordshire 1900 Kelly's Directory
Shropshire 1934 Kelly's Directory
Somerset 1897 Kelly's Directory
Suffolk 1916 Kelly's Directory
Westmorland 1929 Kelly's Directory
Wiltshire 1912 Kelly's Directory
The directories are available to view to all Diamond and Gold subscribers of TheGenealogist. If your ancestor ran a local business it's well worth a look!
The Freke Family outside their family butcher business
Latest news from The National Archives is the appearance of their Chief Executive and Keeper, Oliver Morley, who will be on hand on three separate occasions in July to answer any questions on the future direction and management of the TNA and also to respond to any other views us family historians may have on The National Archives.
On the 2 and 18 July 2013, Oliver will be available in person to answer questions and on the 23 July will take part in a webinar on the TNA website. There's more details available including how to book on the events at the TNA website.
The latest email newsletter is now available from S&N Genealogy. Have you seen it? The issue is the special Father's Day edition with some great Father's Day offers and an article on the history of Father's Day.
There's also a feature on the forthcoming Wiltshire and York Family History Fairs and information on the new record releases on TheGenealogist. If you aren't receiving the Email News you can register for it here.
A handy tip for all those new to family history research is always be alert to the fact an ancestor could appear on a census listing more than once. If your ancestor moved around a bit, or lived an unconventional lifestyle there is always the chance they may have ended up listed in the census more than once.
A case in point is that of daring early aviator and showman, Samuel Franklin Cody. American born but living and working in Britain around the turn of the 20th Century. Before becoming employed by The British Army, he worked with his family on a wild west show and regularly toured around Britain and Europe. Samuel Cody then became interested in aviation and subsequently became one of the leading pioneers of British aviation.
Samuel Franklin Cody, leading aviator and showman
However, around 1901, the Cody family, with their show and their lifestyle, inevitably meant moving about quite a bit which may explain his two entries in the 1901 census. Both entries are from the Cheshire census and it looks like the Cody family may have had two temporary places of accommodation as they took their show around the North West of England. Both Samuel (senior) and his son Samuel Frank Leslie Cody appear listed on the 1901 census records in the screenshot below from TheGenealogist.
Samuel Cody 1901 census entries on TheGenealogist
This famous example shows what can occur so always look out for those duplicate records!
One of the latest podcasts available from The National Archives covers that all too frequent problem for family historians- hitting those genealogical brick walls. This podcast from Dave Annal provides some strategies to help you get around those brick walls and dead ends in your research.
Dave Annal pays particular attention to getting the most out of online databases and advanced techniques such as 'family reconstruction'. If you'd like to find out more you can listen to the podcast at the TNA website hereDave Annal worked at the National Archives for ten years, at the Family Records Centre and at Kew. He is now a resident expert on Your Family History magazine.
Our weekly book review takes a look at Family History for beginners by Karen Foy. This book is a perfect introduction to looking into your family tree. For the beginner, it has some ideal tips on the best way to go about researching your family history.
Looking firstly at how to get the most information from living relatives, to working your way through the large amount of census data to the ideal ways to store the data you collect, the book is the ideal companion those embarking on the fascinating hobby of family history research.
The book concludes by looking at the next level of research, beyond birth, marriages and deaths and the census records, illustrating what other records are available to get access to. Looking at areas such as occupations, emigration and military records, the book gives the beginner the knowledge to start their research in the most effective way.
The book is available from S&N Genealogy Supplies priced £14.99 from their website.
