Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy: The definitive reference guide to tracing your family history

Chart 3: Early Army Service Records (#litres_trial_promo)

Chart 4: Naval Service Records (#litres_trial_promo)

Chart 5: Merchant Seamen Service Records (#litres_trial_promo)

Chart 6: Royal Marine Service Records (#litres_trial_promo)

Chart 7: RAF Service Records (#litres_trial_promo)

Chart 8: Immigration (#litres_trial_promo)

Chart 9: Emigration (#litres_trial_promo)

Section Five: Key Resources (#litres_trial_promo)

Origins and Meanings of Popular Surnames (#litres_trial_promo)

Definitions of Historic Occupations (#litres_trial_promo)

Genetic Genealogy (#litres_trial_promo)

National Archive Profiles (#litres_trial_promo)

Useful Website Addresses (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Introduction (#ulink_b97e9127-9c5c-5980-9a8a-b8d312e371af)

Congratulations. By picking up this book, you have just taken your first step on a unique journey into your past, one that will gradually reveal lost generations of your family that you never knew existed; their place in history; and the path that has led you to stand here today, reading this. Thousands of others have started a similar voyage of discovery in recent years, each on a personal mission to reveal who their ancestors were, and what their lives were like.

One of the driving forces behind this phenomenon is the hit BBC TV show Who Do You Think You Are?, where every week a celebrity investigates their ancestral roots. Essentially a social history of Britain and its wider role in the world, the programme has stimulated millions of people to challenge their memories from school that history was a dull, academic subject and explore the past from a fresh perspective – that of their own relatives, rather than the politicians, generals and royals that tend to populate our textbooks. As a result, history becomes real, living and relevant; it’s a personal journey into the past, with your own relatives as the tour guides. Events that you might once have read about in a textbook suddenly take on a new meaning once you realize that your ancestors were there as eye witnesses or even participants. The most exciting thing of all is that everyone can trace their family tree – it’s not the exclusive preserve of those with privileged blood lines or aristocratic roots, but something that each and every one of us can do.

So why start looking into your family’s history? Traditionally the press have given genealogy a rather negative image. Indeed, one commentator was moved to write that family history was ‘self-indulgent navel gazing’. What utter nonsense! There are so many reasons why it is important to look into your family’s background, leaving aside the sheer joy of discovery that makes it such an addictive pastime. Perhaps the most important reason for starting is that you are going to discover more about yourself and your family, and gain a real understanding about where you have come from, who the main people were that shaped the fortunes of your family, and how small decisions in the past have had a knock-on effect over the years. In essence, every one of us is the living embodiment of the strands of personal history woven by our ancestors, all of whom contributed in some way to making us who we are today. In turn, their struggles to survive in a variety of changing conditions allow us to gaze into wider British social history, and ask questions about how we fit in. What was our class or cultural background? How did we fare in some of the great social upheavals in the past, such as the Industrial Revolution? Each generation faced a new challenge, and you can revisit these moments in time through your investigations.

‘Every one of us is the living embodiment of the strands of personal history woven by our ancestors.’

There is another important reason to set out on this voyage of discovery, namely to preserve these links with the past, which – once broken – are very difficult to repair. This is why, as you will see, you should always talk to your elderly relatives and record their stories, anecdotes and knowledge. It is a sad fact of life that we often take an interest in our past when it is no longer possible to talk to those who played such an important part in shaping it. Yet it is not just about preserving the past; by looking into your family’s background, you will be creating a legacy that can be passed on to future generations – children, grandchildren and those still to come. This is especially important in the digital age, when we are no longer creating the treasured artefacts that we now look for and preserve as keepsakes from years gone by – photographs, letters and postcards. Our means of communication – email, text, mobile phone – are instantly disposable unless we take active steps to preserve them, so it is just as important to record our thoughts and feelings now, or future generations won’t have the material to hand to understand us, or the people that made us who we are.

However, there are several myths about family history that you might have heard, and these need to be explained briefly. One misconception is that it is all about building a family tree as far back as possible. Whilst it is important to name ancestors and place them in history, the family tree is simply a map of your roots, showing you how your ancestors are related to one another. The real purpose of family history is to bring these names back to life by researching where they lived, what jobs they did, how their community changed over time, and the ways in which their lives were touched by local and national events. In many ways, the phrase ‘family history’ has rather outlived its use; instead, we should be thinking of ‘personal heritage’, as you’ll be creating a far richer, brighter and more interesting picture of your ancestors than a list of names on a page.

The second myth that needs dispelling is that family history can be done quickly via the Internet, and that all you have to do to track down your distant ancestors is log on, subscribe to a few websites, and you’ll have a family tree ready within hours. Sadly, this is completely untrue and misses the entire point of starting in the first place! As you will discover, there are certainly plenty of websites that will help you get started – and the datasets and databases that they contain continue to grow almost daily – and you will be able to achieve an amazing amount before you have to consider heading into an archive or museum. By putting the basic sources online, such as indexes to birth, marriage and death records, census returns and some wills, the process of constructing an initial family tree has been revolutionized. However, the Internet only provides a fraction of the resources you’ll need to flesh out the bones of your family tree and – as indicated above – bring your ancestors to life as real people who faced real challenges. This is where this book takes over, and leads you into the world of Britain’s archives, where there are original documents – often dating back centuries – that contain details of your ancestors’ lives, or were even written by them.

The aim of this book is to provide you with the relevant guidance, advice, information and inspiration to start out on this journey with confidence and realistic expectations. For the first time, a practical step-by-step tutorial for the beginner is combined with an overview of the basic sources you’ll need to get started, as well as the most comprehensive guide to the main family history topics that you’ll encounter as you progress: the brave men and women who took up the call to arms and served their country in one of the branches of the military; those who left the land and found work in a factory, ironworks or coal mine and therefore became the lifeblood of Britain’s industrial success on a world stage; the hopeful new arrivals coming to Britain to start a new life, at the same time as thousands more left these shores to emigrate to foreign lands that were brought into the orbit of the British Empire; or even those family secrets and hardships that our ancestors sought to hide from us. Furthermore, each section incorporates an overview of the social history behind the topic and surviving records that you’ll need to consult to track down your ancestors. Every chapter is illustrated with case studies from celebrities in the show, who have unearthed some amazing stories during their investigations. There are also two reference sections that offer practical research tips for the most common lines of enquiry; the meaning behind the top surnames and occupations you are likely to encounter; and detailed guides to the main archives in the UK and Ireland that you will have to visit to dig for information.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been involved with Who Do You Think You Are? from the start, as consultant genealogist for the first four series and appearing at the end of each episode in series 1 to help explain some of the research that underpinned the programme. However, I came to genealogy via a background in academic history – my PhD is in medieval history and I first joined The National Archives as a research advisor in 1996, although I’ve worked in the field of personal heritage for over ten years, ever since I became involved in the BBC’s House Detectives. In 2000 I started my own research agency, Sticks Research Agency, to provide historical research and consultancy for the media.

The fascination with one’s past still creeps into battle-hardened professionals, and even though I deal with other people’s family history research most of the time, I still get drawn back to the mysteries in my own background. My mother’s maternal lineage is completely unknown, thanks to my mysterious grandmother who has taken her secrets to the grave with her. All we are left with are some photographs, tantalizing stories of being spirited out of Europe on the eve of the First World War, and a connection with the American financier Arthur Chase. Nevertheless, it is still possible to make a surprising breakthrough, even when you think there’s nothing left to find. One recent discovery has revealed a paternal great uncle who was caught spying for the Soviet Union in the 1920s, which only came to light via a random trawl of The National Archives’ catalogue. His name appeared in some newly released intelligence files, and on inspection they contained a dossier over 100 pages long chronicling his activities, including photographs of him as a young man; his First World War service papers; surveillance notes and phone intercepts; and an account of a sting operation that was meant to incriminate him. The material also answered a long unsolved mystery surrounding his death, as it revealed that he had committed suicide at the point when he realized that he was about to be unmasked as a spy.

As you will find when you start work on your own family, each question that you answer will lead to a whole raft of new questions – one of the main reasons why seasoned genealogists have been working away for decades. At the end of the day, the history of your ancestors is your story to tell – so enjoy the detective process, the thrill of the chase, and happy hunting!

‘The history of your ancestors is your story to tell – so enjoy the detective process.’

How to Use This Book (#ulink_ba07ed2b-5c28-5a9f-9355-f50fc01c2038)

The Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy is the definitive, comprehensive guide to tracing your roots, and putting them into the correct historical context so that you fully understand not just who your ancestors were, but also the way they used to live. This book is split into five sections.

SECTION ONE

Section One concerns the preparatory stages you need to do before you even start logging on or heading to the nearest library, record office or archive – the sort of work you can do at home and with your family to hand. It includes gathering initial information from your family; organizing it into a family tree; setting your research goals; and working out which archives you’ll need to visit first. These are crucial steps to take, and are often skipped over by enthusiasts straining at the leash – often with disastrous consequences later on. Remember, perfect planning prevents poor performance!

SECTION TWO

Section Two introduces you to the key resources you’ll need to build and expand your family tree, in particular civil registration certificates of births, marriages and deaths; census returns; wills and probate documents; and parish registers. These will provide sufficient clues to bring your relatives back to life as real people who lived interesting lives. Many of these are now available online, and should be used as building blocks to construct a secure foundation for your research.

SECTION THREE

Section Three is where it all gets personal. By this stage you will have built your family tree, and this section provides more detailed information about the ways you can investigate the historical context surrounding the names you have uncovered. There are several subsections, each reflecting a major theme of British social history over the last few centuries, many of which are likely to have directly affected your ancestors. The main topics covered include military history, as it would be a great surprise if at least one ancestor wasn’t involved in the forces at some point; occupations over the ages; migration into and out of Britain; family secrets, since we all have a skeleton or two lurking undiscovered in the closet; and wider aspects of social history, such as working further back in time and looking for blue-blooded ancestors. What makes the book unique is that there is a history of each theme as well as a description of the records you’ll need to consult, where to find them and how to use them.

SECTIONS FOUR & FIVE

Sections Four and Five provide supplementary practical advice and support to help structure your work as it progresses. Section Four contains troubleshooting guides which take you along some of the most common lines of research step by step, such as searching for military ancestors, or those who entered or left Britain over the last few centuries; whilst Section Five provides profiles and meanings of some of the most frequently occurring surnames and occupations that you are likely to encounter during your research; information on genetic genealogy, where you trace distant relatives through your DNA; and information about the key archives, institutions and websites that you will visit or use during your work.

So, if you are a novice family historian and you want to get the best out of this book, don’t skip over Sections One or Two. More experienced researchers might want to focus on Section Three. And if you get stuck, head for Sections Four and Five to kick-start your research in another direction.

SECTION ONE (#ulink_bb819c96-99eb-5cc7-a915-275ff35e1ffe)

Getting Started (#ulink_bb819c96-99eb-5cc7-a915-275ff35e1ffe)

The aim of this section is to encourage you to take those initial steps! Family history can be daunting and many people are put off because they simply don’t know where to start. The chapters in this section will take you through the key preparatory stages, from talking to your family to building your family tree, setting your research goals (so that they are realistic!) and locating the best place to start your research.

CHAPTER 1 (#ulink_81525fad-e88a-5312-bf6b-eb43a8870630)

First Steps (#ulink_81525fad-e88a-5312-bf6b-eb43a8870630)

Every journey starts with a single step, and in the case of tracking down your ancestors your first step should be little more than a small pace. Your key resource is the knowledge contained within your family – biographical data, anecdotes and stories, personal documentation, and treasured family heirlooms, objects and artefacts. All of these can be used to build up a picture of your family in terms of acquiring facts such as ‘who is related to whom’, as well as an idea of what your relatives were like.

There are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself before you get stuck in, as the answers will determine the direction your research will take. So …

Why Do You Want to Start Your Research?