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From trailblazing women's history to unexpected ancestry discoveries, understand the past, one family story at a time.
Any experienced family historian knows how helpful an obscure name can be. We'll get only a few records when searching for rare surnames like Farah or Clutterbuck, whereas a search for John Smith will return hundreds of thousands of records (around 450,000, to be more exact). Middle names can help to narrow down broad search results - for example, there are only seven John Smiths in our collection with the middle name Pepper. But what about double-barrelled surnames? The trickiness of double-barrelled:…
Delving into our family history is a journey that connects us to our roots, allowing us to understand the stories and experiences that have shaped our identity. In the digital age, technology plays a pivotal role in aiding researchers, and one tool that's gaining prominence is ChatGPT. In this blog post, we'll explore what ChatGPT is, its limitations, and how it can be a valuable asset in the realm of family history research. What is ChatGPT?: ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art…
In the modern age of Google and Wikipedia, taking a book out of the library to find the answer to your burning questions may seem like a thing of the past. However, whilst online genealogical resources are great, sometimes a good family history book is all you need. From establishing a clear timeline and a pedigree chart to tracing female ancestors with changing surnames, all manner of tricky challenges face genealogists and family historians when they begin building the branches…
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…
“London is the place for me London this lovely city You can go to France or America, India, Asia or Australia But you must come back to London city”.“Well believe me I am speaking broadmindedly I am glad to know my Mother Country I have been travelling to countries years ago But this is the place I wanted to know London that is the place for me”.This catchy calypso tune was sung on the spot by Trinidad’s own…
If you’ve ever wondered, “how to find the history of my house”, the first question you might have asked is “who lived in my house?” But what can you do next? What about the house itself?You might want to find out more about what your house looked like years ago and what life might have been like in it. Here are my top ten tips to help get you started. 1. Examine house deeds and plans: You might be lucky…