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From trailblazing women's history to unexpected ancestry discoveries, understand the past, one family story at a time.
A breakthrough event in more ways than one, the Queen's coronation on 2 June 1953 was watched live by an estimated 18 million people across the country. She was on the throne for 70 years, becoming the longest-reigning monarch in British history, before her passing in 2022.We've taken a deep dive into our historical newspapers to see how the 1953 coronation date was reported on across the United Kingdom. Anticipation of the coronation date: Queen Elizabeth II was appointed in February of 1952, after the sudden…
This week, we have significant additions to our National School Admissions Registers from the North of England, an entirely free-to-view photo collection, and a whole host of newspaper pages. Here's a rundown of everything that's new. National School Admissions Registers: If you have ancestors in Halifax, Yorkshire, then make sure to check out these new additions to our school registers.The four schools these records cover are Portland Road's Infant School between 1890-1904, Queens Road Boys Senior School 1904-1921, Queens Road Girls
Outlander begins with Claire Randall, a British Army nurse, being transported back to 1743 after a trip to Inverness, where she finds herself in the centre of the Jacobite uprising. She tries to warn them against rebellion, knowing it was doomed. But why, exactly, were the Jacobite risings sure to fail? How it all began...: There were some mutters of discontent across the country when James II and VII was due to become King in 1685. He was part of the 1.1% of…
The 1921 Census of England and Wales contains more than just information on the whereabouts of our ancestors. Often, people made political statements, doodled little pictures, or even listed their pets as family members. The beauty of an original, handwritten census return is in the details that a transcript doesn't contain.Take a look at the weird and wonderful things we discovered when digitising these records. 1. Find my pet?: If there was every any doubt that pets are as much a…
Ahead of the highly anticipated launch of the 1921 Census in 2021, we invited centenarians born in 1921 or before to come forward and be a part of the campaign to bring this piece of history to life. It was through this campaign that we met the wonderful Edwin Hunt. Born on 23 March 1920, Edwin was one year old when the 1921 Census was taken. He grew up as a child of the Golden Era, though his story perhaps weaves a different tale to the…
As a first-generation Australian on my father's side, I grew up not knowing my Irish family history. In my late twenties, I eventually met some Irish cousins and discovered that our grandfather had been murdered. It was the first I had heard of it. Information was sketchy and it was another 30 years before I discovered all the detail in Findmypast's online Irish newspapers. Search for stories in our newspapers and publications: Explore millions of digitised pages of newspapers and other…
The earliest historical Irish records, Ogam Stones and vellum manuscripts show that Ireland was a lineage society ruled by Clans.The history of Clans in Ireland needs to be considered when you're exploring the origin of your Irish name. Irish Clans: Clans were loose confederations of people that claimed common descent from a noble ancestor, the ancient kings or early settlers in Ireland. Membership of the Clan was by descent on the male line within four generations. Over time, this…
Female ancestors frequently did not create many formal records for us - their descendants - to find. Add to that a woman's maiden name changing with marriage. In the case of multiple marriages, that female ancestor may have more than one married name throughout her life.No wonder we struggle to identify or keep track of that great-great-grandmother. When searching for our female ancestors, sometimes it’s less about finding that one record naming her husband or parents and more about learning how…
Before you stands a statue of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns. Stuart Street is in front of you, while Prince Street and George Street branch out to your sides. In this city, you’ll also find Larnach Castle, bagpipes, traditional Highland dancers, malt whisky and haggis. If you haven’t guessed already, you’re in the centre of Dunedin, from the Scottish Gaelic Dùn Èideann, or Edinburgh. But you are not in Scotland. In fact, you are worlds away. Well, half a world…
For over 200 years, mudlarks have searched the exposed riverbed of the River Thames in London at low tide, looking for lost objects. Considered to be the poorest members of society, Victorian mudlarks in the 19th century scavenged for anything they could find which they could sell for a few pence.Today, mudlarking has become a popular hobby among history enthusiasts in London. Although I was born and raised in the United States, I moved to London in 2007 and became a…