http://xml.sandn.net/images/feedlogo.JPGhttp://xml.sandn.netRegularly updated genealogy information in the UK. Includes general information and news, information about online information, updates from family history websites, reviews of genealogy products, and more.http://xml.sandn.neten-gbCopyright (c) British Data Archive92article.php?id=92Newly digitised marriage transcripts are now available at TheGenealogist, with records as far back as 1837 due to be online by September.

Newly digitised marriage transcripts are now available at TheGenealogist, with records as far back as 1837 due to be online by September. The current records span over 50 years between 1930 and 1983, the total number of records over 55 million. The transcripts are fully searchable by name, partner's surname, date and county. This way of searching is much quicker than having to wade through each index image for each quarter in each year.

20 Jul 2010http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk91article.php?id=91The non-conformist and non-parochial records held by The National Archives have now been digitised. The final series of records is now complete and available to search on www.BMDRegisters.co.uk, or as part of a subscription to www.TheGenealogist.co.uk.

The non-conformist and non-parochial records held by The National Archives have now been digitised. The final series of records is now complete and available to search on www.BMDRegisters.co.uk, or as part of a subscription to www.TheGenealogist.co.uk. There is a hidden treasure of people from every walk of life that may not be recorded elsewhere and that can now be easily and freely searched. This unique record set contains a wide variety of records covering non-conformist records, early birth registries, Maternity Records, Fleet Marriages, Burials, Overseas BMDs, BMDs aboard ships and British Churches abroad. Covering the period 1654 to 1950. The Non-Conformist records cover Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Protestant Dissenters, Congregationalist, Presbyterians, Catholics, Unitarians, Quakers (Society of Friends), Dissenters, Royal Chapels and Russian Orthodox. Many famous writers, entrepreneurs, social reformers and political leaders are within these records which before the project was completed would have taken a lifetime to search. The Fleet Marriages alone have proved a stumbling block to many researchers when browsing the microfilm. John Titford, author and speaker, found his missing relative within just a few minutes of using the site.

10 Mar 2010http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk90article.php?id=90In the cut-and-thrust world of genealogy websites, one stands out for its friendly ethos and impressively broad range of content: The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist. co.uk). It's easy to see why the site was voted Census and BMD site of the year...

The site has perhaps the widest range of data available, too – everything from a database of the Knights of England going all the way back to 1127, to civil registration indexes from as recently as 2005. You might expect the firm behind such a large site to be a huge, faceless corporation, but what’s all the more impressive is that it’s a family-run business. Nigel and Sue Bayley set up the sister company, S&N Genealogy Supplies, back in 1992, and since then have expanded the business year after year – their three sons all work for the business, one of them writing the innovative web code behind many of The Genealogist’s unique features. A genealogy business that’s all about family – what could be more appropriate? But why should you use The Genealogist? 1 - Images & transcripts Various sites offer large collections of census data, but The Genealogist is the only one that has both transcripts and original page images for all the censuses for England and Wales from 1841 to 1901. Census transcriptions provide you with much more information than a mere index – they're fully searchable and give details for all the family members. They take the hard work out of trawling through thousands of pages of handwritten census material. They provide information as clear, typed text, searchable by forename, surname, age, occupation, relationship to head of household and birthplace. All this data is stored as plain text, which means that even if you don’t have a broadband connection, you can get to it quickly. If you do have broadband, you'll enjoy the benefit of seeing the original census images. 2 - 1000s of parish records Parish records are the most important source of information for family historians prior to civil registration beginning in 1837, and in many cases they date back to the early 1500s. Few other websites have managed to gather together a significantly large collection of them. The Genealogist transcribes original parish records and produces searchable databases of baptisms, marriages and burials and, where permission is granted, even makes images of the original pages available. Much of this work is undertaken in conjunction with family history societies around the country. The complete collection of WP Phillimore’s 19th century transcriptions of marriage and other records is available here. In total, The Genealogist has parish record transcripts for 21 English counties, and parish records taken from printed books for 28. 3 - Nonconformist records Parish records, important as they are, only cover standard Anglican churches. The Genealogist has led the way in providing easy, searchable access to nonconformist records, too. These cover Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Protestant Dissenters, Congregationalist, Presbyterians, Unitarians and Quakers. They're invaluable for research prior to census and BMD records. The data includes images of early birth certificates and registers, which cover baptisms, marriages and burials. These records and images are unique to The Genealogist and can only be found on this site and its official sister site, www. BMDregisters.co.uk. 4 - Wills & testaments Wills are a valuable source of genealogical information. They can give details of family members, places of residence and burial, as well as revealing fascinating details about your ancestors' possessions. A new feature for The Genealogist is the Wills and Testaments Index Viewer. To date, this provides access to will indexes for Bristol, Edinburgh,Leicestershire, Northampton and Yorkshire, with dates from the 16th century (14th for Yorkshire) to the 18th. There’s also an Irish Wills Index for 1536-1810 and more than 460,000 indexes and original page images for Prerogative Court of Canterbury probate jurisdictions from 1384-1858. 5 - SmartSearch The Genealogist’s new SmartSearch function makes it easy to find recent BMDs. SmartSearch is a new way of searching the birth, marriage and death data for 1984 onwards. It utilises an intelligent search system to perform a reverse look-up. 6 - Directories Various directories have been produced for well over 300 years and can prove to be an invaluable source of information about local communities. The Genealogist has many directories available, from 1677 to 1905 and covering 39 counties from England and Wales, plus a recently added collection of 1905 directories from Ireland. If you're researching ancestors alive at the time of the 1911 Census, directories from that era have been helpfully grouped into a special, easy-to-search ‘Circa 1911’ collection. 7 - School registers Registers from secondary, further and higher education are generally recent additions to genealogy collections, and The Genealogist has once again led the way with a diverse collection. Available at the site are registers for nearly 20 educational institutions around England and Scotland, including Eton and Rugby schools, and Aberdeen, Glasgow, Oxford and Cambridge universities. There’s also an official list of registered teachers from 1917. 8 - Landowner records You'll find a 19thcentury tax survey at The Genealogist, which provides an index to all individuals who owned land of one acre or more in 1873. It’s arranged alphabetically by county, and you may find holdings in more than one. It provides the name of the owner, the town or village where the land was located, how much land they owned and its estimated rental value. The data covers all of Britain and Ireland. 9 - Military records The Genealogist can help with military research, too. In addition to Army and Navy lists for World War I, there’s a Navy list for 1944, and a Roll of Honour covering both World Wars. Records include detailed biographies with portraits and information on birth date, birthplace, father’s name, education, career, and circumstances of death. The data comes from the National Roll of Honour, British Roll of Honour and De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour (including photographs), with over 1.5 million records included. For WWII, the site also has some notifications of deaths of members of the British Armed Services, prisoners of war, civilians, internees and deaths through lost aircraft, plus records covering deaths in Japanese and German internment camps. 10 - Surname maps The Genealogist’s BMD index includes the fascinating and useful ability to produce a Surname Distribution Map for any year from 1851 to 2002. This is a great way to see where you may get the best research leads and how families dispersed. This feature is also available for the censuses from 1841 to 1901 – use it, for example, to find where your ancestors lived before the boom in population and rapid expansion to towns and cities caused by the Industrial Revolution. 11 - TreeView: The site's tree builder The Genealogist helps you build your family tree and more. Includes different views for your family tree, source list, advice, import/export for GEDCOM files, a printable version of your tree, and easy ways to add new names. 12 - Unique search tools Along with the unique SmartSearch system for birth, marriage and death indexes, The Genealogist has powerful search tools to help you find ancestors in the censuses and BMD records that are unavailable elsewhere. The new phonetic search system, for example, is based on speech patterns and the idea that surname variations generally sound the same despite wide variations in spelling – this feature is only available at The Genealogist. You can also search the site for groups of forenames where a surname may have varied over time. 13 - Keeping trackof your research The Genealogist’s handy Research Log feature lets you keep details of the people you’ve found while searching through the site’s databases. You can add records to your research log from the census transcripts, plus BMD records from 1984 onwards, and parish record transcripts will be available soon. 14 - Free credits when you volunteer The Genealogist's sister site, www.ukindexer.co.uk, lets you register as a volunteer to help maintain the site's reputation for high quality data, as well as expand the collections. You can do as little or as much as you like, and you can earn free subscriptions or credits to use at The Genealogist. 15 - Great value for money The Genealogist packs a huge amount into its terrific subscription options. A Personal Plus account is only £55.95 a year and gives you 800 credits to spend – you can even carry these over to the next year if you don’t find time to use them all. Or there’s Personal Premium – for just £78.95 a year, this gives you unlimited access to everything at the site!

04 Dec 2009http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk89article.php?id=89We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who died fighting for our country, and November 11th is the time when we remember those who died in the Great War of 1914 to 1918, the 'War to end all wars'.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who died fighting for our country, and November 11th is the time when we remember those who died in the Great War of 1914 to 1918, the 'War to end all wars'. It was the largest conflict in history and involved 70 million people from different countries, backgrounds, religions and race. Just about every family was affected by this war, including the famous Charles Darwin, whose grandson Erasmus Darwin was killed in the second battle of Ypres. Searching in the Roll of Honour on TheGenealogist.co.uk gives three results for Erasmus. The first is an official GRO death entry, which provides a reference number to order his death certificate, and also a link to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, which then provides details of where he is buried. The second entry comes from De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, which contains 25,000 records, 7000 of which also have a portrait photograph. Erasmus’s death on 24th April 1915 is recorded along with his rank, regiment, photograph and profile. The profile section is a biography often provided by family and friends and is intended as a tribute and memorial. The third entry for Erasmus is from the Bond of Sacrifice records, which covers officers who fell during the war, and also gives details of rank, regiment, date of death and a short profile. The National Roll of the Great War is a tribute to the men, and also women, who survived and died in the First World War. It has 14 volumes in total, and given that it is only a selection of the people involved, it just demonstrates how many lives were affected by the tragic events of 1914 to 1918. You can view The National Roll of the Great War on TheGenealogist.co.uk in the ‘Roll of Honour’ section, along with the British Roll of Honour which remembers officers who fell during the war. Entries can include a biography of the officer, information on the circumstances of the death, their education and immediate family that were left behind. Some of these can include a portrait photograph. Also available is the Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth Memorial Register, which remembers both officers and men of the Royal Navy who died at sea, with their rank and place of service, details of immediate family and date/circumstances of death. When we think of war records we immediately think of those who fought and died, but the new RG32 records now available on TheGenealogist.co.uk also contain births of British citizens in France and other countries across the world during the first and also Second World War. The RG32 records are part of the exclusive BMD Registers collection, and can be found in the non-conformist section. These records contain Births, Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths and Burials abroad, and on British as well as foreign ships, of British subjects. It also includes certificates issued by foreign registration authorities and documents sent by individuals to the Registrar General. For the Second World War period it includes some notifications of deaths of members of the services, prisoners of war, civilians, internees and deaths through aircraft lost in flight, as well as births and marriages that took place around the world. The internet has now opened up a whole world of records that were previously hidden away in archives, and although the original record itself is important, being able to see the information they provide in the comfort of your own home is of enormous use, and will keep the message alive that the mistakes of the past should not be repeated, and the tremendous bravery of our ancestors should never be not forgotten. So as we remember the 15 million people who gave their lives for us in the First World War, remember also the soldiers still alive in the UK today who have fought for us and who still continue to fight for us. The Royal British Legion provides financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces, and their dependants. Please make a donation to their cause at www.poppy.org.uk and wear your poppy with pride.

04 Dec 2009http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk88article.php?id=88Over 38,000 overseas marriage records have been added to the existing collection of overseas civil registration records available at BMDRegisters.co.uk

Over 38,000 overseas marriage records have been added to the existing collection of overseas civil registration records available at BMDRegisters.co.uk, which were previously only available on microfilm at The National Archives. These records cover British subjects who married abroad, including records of British soldiers in France, Holland and Flanders around the time of the First World War. Many of these had been Prisoners of War. Also included are register from British churches abroad.

26 Nov 2009http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk87article.php?id=87A new resource, the Miscellaneous Foreign Marriage Returns 1826-1921, has now been added to BMDRegisters.co.uk, and to all-inclusive subscriptions to TheGenealogist.co.uk.

A new resource, the Miscellaneous Foreign Marriage Returns 1826-1921, has now been added to BMDRegisters.co.uk, and to all-inclusive subscriptions to TheGenealogist.co.uk. It includes 38,000 names from certificates from British embassy registers, military marriages (those serving abroad), and foreign authorities and churches. Many of the records can show multiple generations of a family.

15 Sep 2009http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk86article.php?id=86Recent additions to TheGenealogist.co.uk include 110,000 entries to the National Roll of Honour which lists First World War biographies.

Recent additions to TheGenealogist.co.uk include 110,000 entries to the National Roll of Honour which lists First World War soldiers' biographies, a London 1910 post office directory, and 1881 census transcripts for Anglesey, Brecknockshire, Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire, and more. They are also continuing to add Wills and 1911 data.

29 Jul 2009http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk85article.php?id=85Version 4 of this popular family history package was released in late March. For the latest review, go to To read the full review go to www.genealogyreviews.co.uk/yftMay09_RM4.htm.

RootsMagic 4: One of the best family history programs out there. We featured RootsMagic 1 in the very first edition of YFT back in 2003 and concluded it was an excellent program for recording your family history. Six years later, version 4 confirms the program's reputation for only having major releases when significant new capabilities have been added, and not just because the calendar has flipped to a new year. In fact, the list of improvements for RM4 looked so good we were keen to see if it could match our expectations. To read the full review go to www.genealogyreviews.co.uk/yftMay09_RM4.htm

03 Jul 2009http://www.genealogyreviews.co.uk84article.php?id=84John Titford finds the marriage of a ancestor he had been looking for for over twenty years.

I had been looking for the marriage of a ancestor of mine for over twenty years. Thomas Hasted, a cloth scourer of Fenchurch Street and a freeman of the Clothworkers' Company, would have married a lady with the first name of Mary some time in the late 1730s. I must say that I had always thought that he must have gone in for a Fleet wedding, but I lacked both the courage and the time to wade through the voluminous original registers at the National Archives. Yet there he was on the new web-site, identifiable in a flash: Thomas Hasted, bachelor, `scourer' of St Catherine Cree Church (in Leadenhall Street) and Mary Stevenson. spinster, were married at the `Shepherd and Goat' on Fleet Ditch by John Gaynham, the so-called `Bishop of Hell', who entered the details in his grubby little notebook. The marriage took place in 1737. Now Thomas Hasted had begun an apprenticeship in 1733, and apprentices were not allowed to marry during their term. Thomas was not made free of the Clothworkers' Company until 1740, and - like many others with something to hide - he had married secretly, no questions asked, during his apprenticeship. Success, then, after twenty years of fruitless searching. - John Titford The above is an extract from the letters page of Family Tree Magazine Fleet marriages are just one of the unique sets of BMD records going back the the 17th century available on www.TheGenealogist.co.uk and www.BMDRegsiters.co.uk.

19 Jun 2009http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk83article.php?id=83"RootsMagic v4 is bristling with new features, major and minor, matching or exceeding its mainstream competition. Its versatile reporting and publishing are better than many."

RootsMagic 4 is the premier genealogy software. Available exclusively from S&N, there are three UK editions, to suit every pocket. Created specifically for the UK by Bruce Buzbee, RootsMagic UK edition is powerful, yet easy-to-use, genealogy software. Its intuitive interface lets you publish your family history in a variety of ways: as charts, reports, books and even online. "RootsMagic v4 is bristling with new features, major and minor, matching or exceeding its mainstream competition. Its versatile reporting and publishing are better than many. RootsMagic To-Go is a milestone in portability." - Recommended, IT Reviews May 09

19 Jun 2009http://www.rootsmagic.co.uk82article.php?id=82TheGenealogist.co.uk have been continuing to add the 1881 Census to their large collection of transcripts, the latest additions including Dorset, Cornwall, Staffordshire and Northamptonshire, with the remaining counties to be added soon.

TheGenealogist.co.uk have been continuing to add the 1881 Census to their large collection of transcripts, the latest additions including Dorset, Cornwall, Staffordshire and Northamptonshire, with the remaining counties to be added soon. As well as Army Lists ranging from 1806 to 1920, TheGenealogist offers a wealth of crucial family history records, including some unique sources you won't find elsewhere. Users of the site enjoy the largest collection of census transcripts for England and Wales, plus complete BMD indexes going back to 1837, with innovative search features that make it easier to find your ancestors. Recent additions include Non conformist records, Roll of Honour records, parish registers and wills, with more being added at no extra cost to existing subscribers.

19 Jun 2009http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk81article.php?id=81A wealth of new records can now be accessed with a subscription to www.thegenealogist.co.uk. The records include the first upload of the PPC wills, the 1881 census with images, maternity and burial records, overseas BMDs, parish records and more.

A wealth of new records can now be accessed with a subscription to www.thegenealogist.co.uk. The records include the first upload of the PPC wills, the 1881 census with images, maternity and burial records, 550,000 overseas BMDs, quarter of a million parish record transcripts and a roll of honour database with over a million records. TheGenealogist.co.uk's TreeView facilities have also been expanded: now you may upload photos and link them, to display them with the records for multiple family members and events, by simply using the 'Add image' button. The 'Add a friend' button will just as easily allow you to share your tree with family and friends, so that they may view it online. These records and facilities add to their existing key family history databases, such as the census and BMD records, making it a great one-stop website for you research - with no price hike either. Annual subscriptions still cost from as little as £4.66 a month.

24 Apr 2009http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk80article.php?id=80Before 1754 many marriages were not performed in parish churces due to the need for people to get around the need for banns and other petty regulations. The favourite alternative venue was the Fleet Prison.

Before 1754 many marriages were not performed in parish churces due to the need for people to get around the need for banns and other petty regulations. The favourite alternative venue was the Fleet Prison which was outside the jurisdiction of the Church of England. It is though that around 230,000 marriages were celebrated thre by the 1740's before legislation was tightened up by Hardwicke's Marriage Act 1754 (which said that weddings had to take place in an Anglican church). Fleet marriages were heavily frowned upon by the Church, though were valid in law. The practice was banned with the introduction of Hardwicke's Act 1754, which required a license to be granted or banns to be called, although some ministers did continue to practice them illegally for a time. The Fleet Registers collection held at the National Archives (called RG7) has now been made available by S&N Genealogy Supplies on their websites www.bmdregisters.co.uk and www.thegenealogist.co.uk.

08 Apr 2009http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk66article.php?id=66The pay-per-view site BMDRegisters.co.uk has added 'Quaker' (Religious Society of Friends) registers to the website.

The pay-per-view site BMDRegisters.co.uk has added 'Quaker' (Religious Society of Friends) registers covering 1578 to 1841 to its existing collection of Methodist, Baptist and other Nonconformist registers.

02 Jul 2008http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk65article.php?id=65S&N Genealogy Supplies are now running GENfair on behalf of the Federation of Family History Societies.

S&N Genealogy Supplies has won the bid to run GENfair on behalf of the Federation of Family History Societies, and are now hosting the website and using the latest database technology. The new site is live and welcomes both old and new customers.

02 Apr 2008http://www.genfair.co.uk64article.php?id=64The National Archives has launched a new site that aims to help people with their research in the years before compulsory registration in 1837. The records are currently for categories RG4 and RG5, which are non-conformist registers.

The National Archives has launched a new site that aims to help people with their research in the years before compulsory registration in 1837. The website (www.BMDRegisters.co.uk) was launched at 12 midday on 14th September, and holds over six million birth, marriage and death records from previously unpublished registries. As many of them exist together for up to three generations of the same family, the records have been hailed by users as exceptionally useful. The records currently online have been digitised from TNA microfilms for categories RG4 and RG5 - non-conformist registers from the Wesleyan Methodist Metropolitan Registry and Non-parochial registers from 1567 to 1858. Over the next year, others will be added from 11 categories - this is not a site to be missed, and is essential for finding your ancestors that were non-conformists.

21 Nov 2007http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk63article.php?id=63In the years before compulsory registration, you need to turn to parish records. This new website that has been launched by The National Archive allows you to search records from 1567 to 1858.

In the years before compulsory registration, you need to turn to parish records. This new website that has been launched by The National Archive allows you to search records from 1567 to 1858. It holds over 6 million birth, marriage and death records from previously unpublished registries.

24 Sep 2007http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk61article.php?id=61Stepping Stones, the York-based company that was set up in 1996 to put census and directories on CD and DVD has been bought by S&N Genealogy Supplies.

Stepping Stones, the York-based company that was set up in 1996 to produce genealogical CDs and DVDs, including census returns, trade directories and wills, has been bought by S&N Genealogy Supplies. This brings the S&N Catalogue to over 2,300 products.

10 Aug 2007http://www.stepping-stones.co.uk49article.php?id=49A short extract from 'Celebrities of the Army', a book written in the 19th Century.

The following is an extract from "Celebrities of the Army", published by S&N Genealogy Supplies. "The war in South Africa has made and consolidated several notable reputations, but, perhaps, no single officer will have come out of it with greater accession of both popularity and professional esteem than the gallant cavalryman who is commonly know as "B.P". A few years ago Baden-Powell was chiefly known as a smart and resourceful Hussar, who had done good work in Zululand in 1888, and was a recognised authority on polo, pig-sticking, and sport generally. The son of a well-known Oxford professor, he had entered the 13th Hussars at the age of 19 in 1876, had been adjutant of his regiment, A.D.C at the Cape, and Assistant Military Secretary at Malta, and had won the Kadir Cup "after pig" at Cawnpore. But he did not come to the front as a campaigner until the Ashanti Expedition of 1896, when he was employed on special duty in charge of native levies, and, incidentally, by the Daily Chronicle as a Correspondant. His letters to the latter were afterwards expanded into a volume entitled "The Downfall of Prempeh", which proved him to possess considerable literary and descriptive power. Indeed his intellectual capacity, apart from soldiering, is very marked, and in singing, painting, and amateur acting, as well as in literature, this versatile sabreur takes keen pleasure when not engaged in the sterner pursuit of hunting men." You can find more about this product at www.genealogysupplies.com.

12 Mar 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk48article.php?id=48Within the regimental system, soldiers and officers are posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty.

Within the regimental system, soldiers and officers are posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty. A regiment is likely to include: - a symbolic colonel-in-chief (often a member of the royal family), - a Colonel of the Regiment or "honorary colonel" who protects the traditions and interests of the regimental family and insists on the maintenance of high standards, - battle honours (honours earned by one unit of an administrative regiment are shared by the whole regiment), - ceremonial uniforms, - cap badges, - and regimental marches and songs. More information about regimental standards and cap badges can be found at ArmyLists.org.uk

12 Mar 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk47article.php?id=47Headwear is one of the defining items of military clothing. The colour signifies which part of the army a soldier belongs to, and the headwear carries the Corps or Regimental badge.

Headwear is one of the defining items of military clothing. The colour signifies which part of the army a soldier belongs to, and the headwear carries the Corps or Regimental badge. Military Head Dress includes, but is not limited to: Busby - a military head-dress made of fur, worn by Hungarian hussars. Shako - a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually peaked, sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with some kind of ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise, and often has a feather, plume, or pompon attached at the top. Bearskins - a tall fur cap worn as part of the ceremonial uniform of several regiments in the British Army (most notably the five regiments of Foot Guards). More information about military head dress available from ArmyLists.org.uk.

12 Mar 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk46article.php?id=46Records of army officers were kept as early as 1702. So if you are searching for a particluar army list you know has some vital information that you need for your research, there are many products to choose from.

Records of army officers were kept as early as 1702. These lists named the officer, their regiment, and usually the date they received their current commission and when they retired. The first official Army list was published in 1740 and since 1754 they have been published regularly as annual lists (1754-1879) and quarterly lists (1879-1922). Since 1939 they have been classified and not available to the public. An outline of an officer's career is usually fairly easy to discover from official army lists. The most important information is usually organised by regiment, so if you need to trace a military ancestor, you aren't going to get very far without their regiment details. An army list can give you much more detail, and can usually provide the key to accessing a soldier's various documents relating to their appointment and service. (These documents can then be accessed via the Public Record Office). If you are searching for a particular army list you know has some vital information that need for your research, there are many products that you can choose from. S&N Genealogy Supplies has a large range of military records.

12 Mar 2007http://www.genealogysupplies.com/45article.php?id=45Lawrence Edward Grace Oates saw military service during the Second Boer War, as an officer in the dragoons. He can be found the the 1900 Army List.

Lawrence Edward Grace Oates was born in Putney in 1880, and educated at Eton College. He saw military service during the Second Boer War, as an officer in the dragoons. He went down in history for his famous last words, "I am just going outside and may be some time." In 1910, he applied to join an expedition to the South Pole, and was accepted on the strength of his experience with horses and his ability to make a financial contribution to the expedition. On the way back from the pole in March 1912, the party faced very difficult conditions. After the loss of one man, Oates became severely frostbitten and weakened more quickly than the others. His slower progress coupled with the unwillingness of his three remaining companions to leave him behind caused the party to fall behind schedule. Eventually Oates, recognising the need to sacrifice himself in order to give the others a chance of survival, left the tent to die in the blizzard, saying: "I am just going outside and may be some time". However, it was too late, and the remaining men perished eleven miles short of their food depot. Oates's body has never been found. When he was serving in the army, he was very likely to have been listed in an Army List. After checking the Army List for 1900, he was found on the 'Index to Officers on the Active List'.

12 Mar 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk/44article.php?id=44The three Bronte sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - grew up with their brother Branwell in Parsonage House in Haworth, Yorkshire. They can be found in the 1841 Census.

The three Bronte sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - grew up with their brother Branwell in Parsonage House in Haworth, Yorkshire. Their childhood was blighted by the deaths of their mother from cancer, and their elder sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, from tuberculosis. Their father Reverend Patrick Bronte was understandably a somewhat melancholy character, and the children depended on writing stories to entertain themselves. Creating sophisticated sagas about imaginary countries and kingdoms, they developed literary skills which they took with them into adulthood. Parsonage House - The home of the Brontes Parsonage House famously stands within an area of expansive moorland, which they were allowed to roam on as children, and which would have given their imaginations free rein. The harsh landscape formed the inspiration for the windswept, treacherous moors immortalised in Emily's most famous work, Wuthering Heights. All three worked occasionally as governesses, and in 1841 we can see that Charlotte is working away in this capacity whilst Emily and Anne remain at home. They all disliked the job, and Charlotte and Anne both wrote novels (Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey) which describe its perils, and the general pressures on women of their social standing during this period. They could marry, find work as a governess or servant, or remain with their families- but couldn't easily achieve a meaningful independence. Their writing allowed them to explore and document this situation. Ironically, due to the restrictions of the time, their poetry and novels were published under the male pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell - three brothers rather than sisters. Their works are very different, but share common strengths of innovation and vision, particularly Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, which both received a decidedly lukewarm reception on their initial publication, but are now hailed as classics. All three are to be found on the 1841 census, but Emily died of tuberculosis in 1848 and Anne of an unknown illness a year later, and only Charlotte appears, back in Haworth, in 1851. She died in 1855, having revealed her true identity as the author of Jane Eyre only a few years previously. With that information in hand, I set out to look for their census records in the Yorkshire 1841 & 1851 Census CD sets purchased from British Data Archive. I looked up Charlotte Bronte on www.TheGenealogist.co.uk by doing a search under the 1841 Yorkshire census transcripts, and immediately found her. I decided to view an image of the census record and found her to be living at Upper Road House. The search results informed me that I could also find this record on the CD set (CD 28, HO107 / 1313 / 7, folio 13). After my success with Charlotte, I decided to tackle the other two sisters, Emily and Anne. I searched for Emily first, again on www.TheGenealogist.co.uk, loaded up the census image, and found her living at Parsonage House with her sister Anne and their father Patrick. The search results showed me that I could also find this record on the CD set (CD21, HO107/1295/6/, Folio 41).

12 Mar 2007http://www.yorkshirecensus.co.uk42article.php?id=42Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that the species came about through evolutionary change.

Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. Darwin developed an interest in natural history while studying first medicine, then theology, at university. His 1859 book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (usually abbreviated to The Origin of Species) established evolution by common descent, which means that all organisms on Earth are descended from a common ancestor or gene pool. In recognition of Darwin's pre-eminence, he was buried in Westminsted Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton. "I began by doing a BMD Image Search in Death Records, using the BMDindex.co.uk website. I knew Darwin died in Bromley in 1882, so I set the year to 1882. I then typed in his forename and surname, and clicked search. However, I did not know which month he died in, so searched through the images until I found him. I found him in the April - June death records (below), and a closer look reveals the volume number and volume page number which can be used for ordering certificates (below). After researching Charles Darwin, I found that he died on April 19th, so I am certain that this is the correct death record."

12 Mar 2007http://www.ukburials.com/41article.php?id=41Throughout their 20 month courtship and before getting engaged, Robert and Elizabeth exchanged around 600 letters. This is how their marriage record was found.

Elizabeth Barrett was born in 1806, and at the age of 15 she injured her spine in a fall. When her brother died in 1838, she seemingly became a permanent invalid, and spent that majority of her time in her room writing poetry. In 1844, Robert Browning wrote to Elizabeth, admiring her poems, and over the 20 months courtship and before getting engaged in 1845, they exchanged around 600 letters. However, Elizabeth's father disapproved of the courtship and the couple wed secretly before running off to Italy. In Italy, Elizabeth's health improved and the couple had a son, Pen, in 1849. Elizabeth died in 1861 at the age of 55, and Robert and their son returned to England. It was then that Robert became recognised as a poet like his wife, and he has been honoured as a literary figure ever since his death in 1889. "I began by doing a BMD Image Search in Marriage Records, using the BMDindex.co.uk website. I knew they were married on September 12th 1846, so I set the year range to 1846. I then typed in 'Robert' in forename and 'Browning' surname, and clicked search. As I knew which month they were married in, I scrolled to the the 'Jul-Sep' records, and clicked to view the image. I found Browning, Robert easily, and a closer look reveals that they were married in Marleybone. The volume number and volume page number were also included, which can be used for ordering a certificate."

12 Mar 2007http://www.ukmarriages.org/40article.php?id=40Sir Frank Whittle (1907 - 1996) was a Royal Air Force officer who invented the Jet engine. This is how his birth record was found.

Sir Frank Whittle (1907 - 1996) was a Royal Air Force officer who invented the Jet engine. He was only 21 when he first mentioned the idea of turbo-jet propulsion to his employers, the Air Ministry. He patented the idea in 1930, but had to let the patent drop as he did not have sufficient funds for its renewal. In 1934 he arrived in Cambridge and completed his degree in only two years, gaining a first. During his time at Cambridge he was still engrossed in his idea of jet travel. He was immensely encouraged by his tutor at Cambridge and by Melvill Jones the Head of Aeronautical Engineering. Fortunately, as his time at Cambridge was coming to an end, three of his colleagues, retired RAF pilots, suggested setting up a development company. Thus Power Jets was formed. "Finding Frank Whittle's birth record was simple. I began by doing a BMD Image Search in Birth Records, using TheGenealogist.co.uk website. I knew Whittle was born in Coventry in 1907, so I set the year range to 1907. I then typed in his forename and surname, and clicked search. However, I did not know which month he was born in, so searched through the images until I found him. I found him in the April - June birth records, and a closer look reveals that he was born in Coventry, and the volume number and volume page number are given which can be used for ordering a certificate."

12 Mar 2007http://www.ukbaptisms.co.uk/39article.php?id=39Ever wondered what the difference between a name index and a transcript was?

The difference between a name index and a transcript is that in a transcript, all the useful fields have been transferred to the database and are available to search, not just the names and ages like in an index. Transcripts are more useful as finding aids than the simpler name indexes, as they give you more parameters to combine in your search. Transcripts also offer a useful advantage to users without Broadband who find that services based heavily on image downloads too slow to use. They minimise the number of pages you have to download and view to find the correct entry, but you should still check the original page image to confirm the accuracy of the transcript for yourself.

11 Mar 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/38article.php?id=38Not every piece of information is obvious to the casual observer, so to make sure that you extract every useful piece of information from the census page.

The front of each census enumeration book contains a standard section explaining how to complete the records. More useful is the page describing the streets and places recorded in that book, as they often provide clues to the route the enumerator took, often helping you locate a property. Large streets may fill several books which may not be contiguous, and the routes often detour up side streets and alleys. The books also contain a chart which the enumerator filled in with the figures he totalled at the bottom of each enumeration page. These statistics are the ones which could be easily collated for early release to government. Every page holds the details of up to 25 individuals divided over a number of full or partial households. Entries do not always include full addresses, so knowing a specific address for your ancestors doesn't always help. The page header contains information about the general location and includes area information on the district, ward or township, the enumerator filled out whatever information was appropriate. An odd page may be missing or torn, but generally TheGenealogist has complete records for all places. How the Page is Numbered: Always record the full reference to an entry, even if you make copies for your files, so that it can be found again by anyone consulting your research. The full reference consists of four sections, a Class number, Piece number, Folio number and page number. For example: RG13 / 51 / 122 / 21. RG13: Class number - The National Archives class reference number, here indicating the year 1901. It appears with the Piece number on a label on every image. 51: Piece number - The enumeration books are bound into volumes containing up to 200 sheets for archiving. The bound volume is referred to as a Census Piece and given a unique number. Each book page holds details of up to 25 individuals and a single enumeration book contains 20- 40 sheets. 122: Folio number - As each book making up a Piece has identical pre-printed page numbers and there can be many books bound in a complete Piece, page numbers reoccur. To uniquely identify every sheet making up a Piece, it is stamped with another number in the top right hand corner, next to the page number. 21: Page number - As the Piece and folio numbers are unique, it is not really necessary to record the page number. The combination of the Piece and Folio numbers provide reference to a single sheet containing no more than 50 people, so the page number only narrows it down to one side of that sheet, or 25 people.

11 Mar 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/37article.php?id=37Many people don't realise that the census page images we see are actually transcripts of the household census forms, the details were copied into the books by the enumerators.

Many people don't realise that the census page images we see are actually transcripts of the household census forms, the details were copied into the books by the enumerators. This provides several opportunities for mistakes to occur, firstly as they tried to decipher the writing on the household forms, which were later destroyed. Illiterate or barely literate ancestors may not have understood the form or even know with any accuracy the answer to the questions. They may have been suspicious of this government prying into their affairs and been less than honest in their answers. Just as today, a certain percentage manage to avoid being included, either deliberately or accidentally. With the possibility of errors and misinformation creeping in from the very outset, you should always use your own judgment when assessing the information from the census, it may be completely accurate, but you will often find discrepancies.

10 Mar 2007http://www.londoncensus.co.uk/36article.php?id=36Published in 1930, this is a guidebook to Newquay in Cornwall - the references to individuals are in the many advertisements for hotels, etc.

The Homeland Handbooks was a series begun in 1896 to provide information about local areas in Great Britain. This volume about Newquay in Cornwall and the surrounding villages was published in about 1930 and includes a contemporary Ordance Survey map, a town plan and details of excursions, a short history of the town and details of local industries. This is a guidebook, not a directory, so the references to individuals are in the many advertisements for hotels, such as Breezeland, which offers 'The best English cooking nicely served at seperate tables' and is under the personal supervision of the proprietess Miss Elford. The CD is published by S&N Genealogy Supplies.

10 Mar 2007http://www.genealogyreviews.co.uk35article.php?id=35Once the maker of the will has died, his/her executor must have the will 'proved'. You can trace ancestors back even further using these records.

Probate records are wills. Once the maker of the will has died, his/her executor must have the will 'proved'. A copy was made of the will into a register and a fee was generally charged for this. In some cases where the executor was reluctant to pay this fee the will was still deposited but was then known as an 'unregistered' will - equally valid in law. In general the more wealthy the deceased, the higher the court asked to prove the will. Once proved the executor must carry out the bequests made in the will. Wills can be a valuable source to the genealogist since they need to identify the beneficiaries. If a will was disputed then it was adjudicated by the Chancery Court. To find a will, check indexes at County Record Offices or at the Public Record Office. You could discover the following from a will: - An inventory (list of all property of the deceased) which can give you some indication of the status of the deceased - A lawyer-made will, although only the wealthy could afford this - The names, married names and location of children, grandchildren and brothers and sisters. You can also see whether the wife was given her bed - this usually meant that she was to remain in the house. Also, if a son was given 1 shilling, this usually meant that he had already been provided for. Interesting Facts about Probate Records: - Children over the age of 14 (boys) and 12 (girls) could make wills to dispose of personal property until 1837. - Lunatics, slaves and prisoners (other than debtors) could not make wills. - Wives could not make wills except with the consent of their husband. Widows could make wills however. - Traitors and suicides could not make wills, their property was confiscated by the state. - Roman Catholics could not make wills from 1700. This law however gradually lapsed.

10 Mar 2007http://www.parishrecord.net33article.php?id=33Palaeography is the study of old handwriting. At first glance, many early records look illegible to the modern reader.

Palaeography is the study of old handwriting. At first glance, many early records look illegible to the modern reader. This could be for a number of reasons: - Latin is used. - Unfamiliar style of writing - Faded ink - Pages stained with mould. - Odd and incorrect spelling, e.g. Smythe for Smith - Numbers written in Roman Numerals. - Months partly written in Roman Numerals, e.g. October written as VIIIber - Punctuation not very good or not used - Capital letters only user for important words On many of the census pages the handwriting is hard to read. If you are having difficulty in reading a name the first thing to do is look at other entries to get a guide to how the author writes various letters. It can take a while to "get your eye in" as to how a particular enumerator writes. First names are more readily recognised and so gives a basis as to what letter shapes an enumerator uses. If a name is particularly difficult you will need to break it down into a range of names from the possible letters. Here are some more tips for you: Letters such as p, f and q normally have straight descenders going below the line. Letters such as y, g, j are likely to have loops to the left where as letters that swing to the right could be f or q. Look for the crosses on t and the dots on j and i. Look for straight strokes of l. Consider all the information given about the family to verify you have found the person you are looking for. Don't forget: early census material may show a different surname spelling to a later one; as literacy improved these variations reduced.

8 Mar 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/32article.php?id=32Monumental Inscriptions (the writing on gravestones) can tell you alot about an ancestor, but you'll probably find more information in a burial register or death record.

Monumental Inscriptions (the writing on gravestones) can tell you alot about an ancestor, but you'll probably find more information in a burial register or death record, than you would wandering through a graveyard peering at headstones. If you know the location of the grave, however, it may be useful to visit the grave and record the inscription for future use or reference. You may even find other family members in the same graveyard. In some church yards, you may find that grave markers have been cleared to make the graveyard easier to maintain. In this case, you can always check the burial registry at the cemetary.

8 Mar 2007http://www.bmdindex.co.uk/31article.php?id=31A census was taken every 10 years from 1810, but were only useful to genealogists as of 1841.

A census was taken every 10 years from 1810 but, the census taken between 1810 and 1831 were of little use to genealogists since they recorded only the numbers in each household. From 1841 the census is of use. The census was taken from midnight on Sunday/Monday as follows: 1841 Census - 6 & 7th June 1851 Census - 30 & 31st March 1861 Census - 7 & 8th April 1871 Census - 2 & 3rd April 1881 Census - 3 & 4th April 1891 Census - 5 & 6th April 1901 Census - 31st March & 1st April Details recorded in the 1841 Census: - Address (vague) - Names - Age: (a) 15 and under exact age, (b) over 15 recorded to the lowest 5 years e.g. someone age 56, 57, 58 or 59 would be recorded as 55. - Occupation of each individual - Whether born in this country - recorded as Yes/Y or country of birth Details recorded in the 1851 - 1901 Census: - Road, street, number or name of house - Whether the house is inhabited or not - Name and surname of each person - Relationship to head of house - Married/Unmarried - Age last birthday - Profession - Whether employed or not - Place of birth - Whether blind/insane/feeble minded - Details about whether the house was being built (1901 Census ONLY) - If the individual was working at home (1901 Census ONLY) It is possible to obtain more recent information from the census. You will need to provide the exact address and name, give your reason for requiring the information, prove you're a descendant and if anyone on the record is still alive, get their permission to obtain the data.

6 Mar 2007http://www.londoncensus.co.uk27article.php?id=27As we have seen, both Civil Registration and Census Returns run out when you get back to c.1840, and rarely provide information relevant before 1800. At this stage you need to turn to Parish Records.

As we have seen, both Civil Registration and Census Returns run out when you get back to c.1840, and rarely provide information relevant before 1800. At this stage you need to turn to Parish Records - these date back to 1538 when Cromwell, at the Court of Henry VIII, ordered that every wedding, baptism and burial should be recorded. Early records were made on paper but from 1558 parchment was used, and the older records were supposed to have been copied, although some never were and have been lost. From 1597 a second copy had to be made and sent to the Bishop - these transcripts are often in better condition and written more legibly. There may be gaps in Parish Registers between 1553 and 1558 and the Catholic Mary Tudor was on the throne, and between 1642 and 1660 during the English Civil War and Commonwealth. It is worthwhile investing in Parish maps for your relevant counties - these not only mark the boundaries of each parish and show adjacent parishes (very useful for tracking mobile ancestors!) but can also give dates that registration began in each parish formed before civil registration. One such atlas can be found at GenealogySupplies.com, called the Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, is a popular book which gives over 1800 maps and details of how to locate both original parish records and copies of them. In 1783 a stamp duty of 3 pence was imposed on every entry, although paupers were exempt. Tax evasion naturally occured, with a decline in working and middle class entries, but a marked increased in pauper's entries. The Act was repealed in 1794, and declared unsuccessful. By an act of 1812 baptisms, marriages and burials were entered in seperate, specially printed books, eight entries per page and including more information. Baptisms included Father's occupation and Mother's maiden name. Marriages included parish of origin of both paries, names, status (e.g. bachelor, widow, etc), ages, signatures/marks, and those of two witnesses. Burials included age, occupation and abode. Between 1678 and 1814 an affidavit was required to be sworn that the deceased was buried in wool or a fine of £5 was given. Marriages are either by banns or by licence. Banns are found in the parish register, the couple's intention to marry being read on three occasions in the parish churches of both the bride and groom. If you know where the groom lived just before the marriage, this record will tell you of the parish of the intended bride, which is normally where the wedding took place a few weeks later. Licences were sometimes handed to the couple marrying, and have not always survived, though a search can be made for its bond or allegation, which will give information of value, names of those who stood surety, as well as the names of bride and groom and place of marriage, and sometimes occupations of the sureties and groom.

5 Mar 2007http://www.parishregister.co.uk26article.php?id=26A short article on a war correspondant's journey to the front, from The War Illustrated magazines.

Issue 111 of The War Illustrated starts with an article by a correspondant covering 'An unauthorised visit to the front'. In this article, war correspondant F A McKenzie tells of his journey to the front. After arriving in Dunkirk, McKenzie was taken to a French colonel who told him that he was not allowed to stay, as the area was under siege. Nevertheless, with the help of a guard, he managed to get to Furnes, where he came close to death from German shelling. The interesting events during McKenzie's travels are embellished with descriptions of the war damage, lack of supplies, bedraggled refugees and survival under fire.

4 Mar 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk25article.php?id=25Phillimore has played a huge part in the transcription and printing of marriage register, and by the time he died he had covered over 1200 parishes.

W.P. Phillimore, born William Phillimore Watts Stiff, was the son of Dr Stiff, a Nottingham Doctor. He later took the name Phillimore from the family of his grandmother. While educated as a lawyer, he was also a publisher of books. In later life, he began to transcribe marriage registers, which he later printed in book form. When he died in 1914, he had covered 1200 parishes from different counties in 200 volumes. He founded Phillimore & Co. Ltd in 1897, which have been publishing British local and family history for over a century. Phillimore Marriage Records are a series of books published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Phillimore & Co. Ltd. They cover marriages from various parishes from each county, however there may be some omission as some of the registers have not survived. In some counties, the coverage of parishes is very good, whereas in other counties just a few parishes were transcribed - most counties do not have every parish transcribed. The original parish records are usually stored in a county record office. These can be viewed by the public, but the archivists are reluctant to allow handling of these old and unique books.

3 Mar 2007http://www.parishregister.co.uk24article.php?id=24Enoch Arnold Bennett was a Novelist, born in Staffordshire. You can find him in the 1871 Staffordshire census at the age of three.

Novelist Enoch Arnold Bennett was born in the Potteries, Staffordshire. The Potteries were a group of six towns (later to become Stoke-on-Trent) and Bennett used his experiences in these places as influence for his writings. His father changed career from pawnbroker and clother to soliciter, and he is believed to have encouraged Arnold (as he was known) to follow in this footsteps, but Arnold moved to London and started writing for magazines. His first book was published in 1898 and A Man From the North earned him enough income to start writing full time. He went on to write 30 novels, and numerous non-fiction works. Bennett's writing style was often criticised as being weak, but he was not shy to admit that he wrote for an income as well as pleasure, which may have upset come of his contemporaries. His most successful works included Anna of the Five Towns, The Old Wives' Tale, and Clayhanger. Several of his books were adapted for the screen. The 1871 Staffordshire census shows Enoch A Bennett at the age of three, living with his family and servants in Shelton (RG10/2866 page 113). The 1871 Census for Staffordshire is available on CD from British Data Archive.

3 Mar 2007http://www.britishdataarchive.com/23article.php?id=23Directory Resources are both a research tool and a valuable insight into the lives of your ancestors and what governed their lives.

Directory Resources are both a research tool and a valuable insight into the lives of your ancestors and what governed their lives. Pigot directories start around 1820 and cover the major professions, nobility, gentry, clergy, coach and carrier services, Taverns and Public houses of the areas. Entries include the name, trade and address. Slater directories tend to be larger than the Pigots and cover the 1850s in a similar manner. Watkins Directories of London competed with Pigot and Kelly and produced directories that show occupations and go street by street showing residents. Bulmer Directories have a larger history section than others, normally before the directory information. In Kelly's directories residents will also be listed. There are sections on each major town and surrounding villages, with a history of the area in a great deal of detail as you would find in a gazetteer. Information on the main trades, the chief land owners, the type of soil and even the coverage dates of parish registers can also appear. The later Kelly directories from 1890 onwards contain more residents and these are sometimes put in a section called Court Directory. Finally the Post Office Directories in the 1900's gave fairly complete listings for the residents and tradespeople of an area.

2 Mar 2007http://www.genealogysupplies.com/22article.php?id=22With the use of personal computers becoming more widespread, the best way to make the parish records easily accessible to the general public is to transfer those records from micro-fiche and film to CD-ROM.

With the use of personal computers becoming more widespread, the best way to make the parish records easily accessible to the general public is to transfer those records from micro-fiche and film to CD-ROM. ParishRecord.co.uk searches for Parish Records on CD, giving you a results list and enabling you to view results by county. The CDs found contain images of the original Parish Records. Parish Record images can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat browser provided with the CDs. They are bookmarked by area, enabling the user to locate their particular area of interest and the sub-district or piece number which covers that area. Once images are displayed on your screen, you can zoom in and out, move the image around, and even rotate the image 90 degrees, something that can be useful when printing.

2 Mar 2007http://www.parishrecord.co.uk/21article.php?id=21'BMD' stands for Births, Marriages and Deaths records kept by the General Register Office (GRO) of England and Wales, part of the National Office of Statistics (NOS).

BMD stands for Birth, Marriage and Death records kept by the General Register Office (GRO) of England and Wales, part of the National Office of Statistics (NOS). These records have been kept by law since 1837, detailing every birth, marriage and death recorded in England and Wales since that date. These records are also used to issue birth, marriage and death certificates Information in a Full Birth Certificate This will give you date and place of birth, full name and maiden surname of the mother, forename(s) and sex of the child the informant's name, address and relationship to the child, full name and occupation of the father if married to the mother (or if he attended with the mother and signed the registration entry) from 1969, the place of birth of both parents. Information in a Marriage Certificate This will give you date and place of marriage, marital status of the bride and groom whether by banns, licence or certificate, current address and occupation of the bride and groom, names and ages of the bride and groom names and occupations of their fathers ('full age' indicates that the person was over 21) names of witnesses. Information in a Death Certificate This will give you name of the deceased occupation, or the name and occupation of the husband, if a married or widowed woman date and place of death name, address and family relationship if any of the informant, given age date and place of birth, usual address and maiden name if a married or widowed woman (but only from 1 April 1969) cause(s) of death.

1 Mar 2007http://www.bmdindex.co.uk/20article.php?id=20Details and information on ships at sea, in ports abroad and at home, including Hospital Ships from the 1861 census.

This compendium of nine discs contains details and information on ships at sea, in ports abroad and at home, including Hospital Ships from the 1861 census. Ships are indexed with their whereabouts and census reference. A scanned image of the original census pages may then be viewed. Entries giving details of name, rank or occupation, marital status, age, and place of birth. The pages are bookmarked every 10th folio.

1 Mar 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/18article.php?id=18A short article from Issue 88 of The War Illustrated on the use of trains in the War.

The ability to move troops, equipment and supplies easily during wartime is crucial and can drastically affect the outcome of a conflict. During the First World War, trains were used for this purpose by most countries. Not only did they quickly distribute troops, but they also delivered mail and parcels from home, which would have improved the soldiers' morale, as would transportation home on leave. The use of trains by all sides is discussed in this edition of The War Illustrated (Volume 4, number 88, 22 April 1916). Mobilisation of the troops is covered, as is the use of engineers to build and maintain tracks.

15 Feb 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk17article.php?id=17Covering towns, villages and parishes of these three counties comprehensively.

The Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk 1858 Post Office Directory covers the towns, villages and parishes of these three counties comprehensively. A short description of each place is followed by an alphabetical list of private residents and businesses. Other snippets include details of carrier services, schools and post offices and court directories. The CD, published by S&N Genealogy Supplies, is fully searchable and includes three county maps plus illustrated advertisements.

1 Feb 2007http://www.genealogyreviews.co.uk15article.php?id=15Daniel Albone is famous for inventing the Ivel tractor, and is said to have changed the world of agriculture. He can be found in the 1861 census at the age of only six months.

Daniel Albone was born in Biggleswade in 1860 and at a young age he was introduced to the world of engineering. Albone built on his skills and opened the Ivel Cycle Works in 1880, named after the nearby river. Here he invented and produced the Ivel safety cycle and developed one of the earliest women's safety bicycles. He was also a successful competitive cyclist and won the national championships five times. In the late 1890s Albone started working on motor cars and motorbikes, but probably his most famous invention was the revolutionary Ivel tractor. Its lightweight three-wheeled design is said to have changed the world of agriculture, and it quickly became apparent that this invention would soon replace the need for horses in the fields. The Ivel tractor was exported world wide and a few restored working samples can still be seen today. We can find Daniel in the 1861 Census for Bedfordshire at the age of only six months. (RG9/996, folio 58b, page 116). The CD set for the Bedfordshire 1861 Census is available from British Data Archive.

28 Jan 2007http://www.britishdataarchive.com/14article.php?id=14Acknowledging the void left in England after numerous men went to fight in World War I, and the changes in the lives of women.

The War Illustrated magazine was a 'weekly picture-record of events by land, sea and air' of the First World War, from 22 August 1914 to 8 February 1919. 'The manless homes of England' article,(Volume 3, number 65, The War Illustrated, 13 November 1915) acknowledges the void left in England after numerous men went to fight in World War I. Cicely Hamilton (right) discusses the effects of this great rediction in manpower and the changes in the lives of the women, who had to work to fill the gap in society. An example of this is given in the changes in teaching. Not only did women become teachers, but books and newspapers were written for women. These were just two of the repercussions of the war. Also mentioned was the expected rise in women who worked to earn their living and, with that, the expected increase in female influence over industry.

17 Jan 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk13article.php?id=13A new database covering the deaths of British Service Personnel throughout the world during the second World War, brought to you by TheGenealogist.

A database covering the deaths of British Service Personnel throughout the world during the second World War is now available at TheGenealogist.

9 Jan 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/12article.php?id=12Phillimore's Marriage Indexes can help you track your ancestors back to the 18th century.

These parish records of marriages - with, for some parishes, baptisms and burials - were transcribed by volunteers, edited by W.P.W Phillimore and Frederic Johnson and published by Phillimore and Co. in the latter part of the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries. Produced by S&N Genealogy Supplies, the CD-ROMs contain scanned images from the printed page, enhanced to improve readability. The images are easy to read and print clearly. All text can be searched and names and part-names easily found. When a name is located, the appropriate page is displayed and the name is highlighted. Each volume is on a single CD-ROM disc. Parishes on that disc are listed on the CD cover. As some counties were covered in much greater depth than others, there are 26 volumes for Cornwall, two for Devon, 22 for Nottinghamshire and two for Kent. Very few northern counties are included.

6 Jan 2007http://www.genealogysupplies.com11article.php?id=11Transcripts and Indexes for all counties in England, Wales, and the Channel Islands (including original images) for census years 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, and 1891 now available on TheGenealogist.co.uk.

Transcripts and Indexes for all counties in England, Wales, and the Channel Islands (including original images) for census years 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, and 1891 are now available on TheGenealogist.co.uk. These transcripts and indexes include: Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Brecknockshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridge, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Carnavonshire, Channel Islands, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdon & Rutland, Isle of Man, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Westmorland, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire.

5 Jan 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/10article.php?id=10Find where your ancestors lived before the boom in population and rapid expansion to towns and cities caused by the Industrial Revolution.

Find where your ancestors lived before the boom in population and rapid expansion to towns and cities caused by the Industrial Revolution by using Surname Maps. The maps show how surnames spread over time, and these can be useful if you are not sure where to start looking for your ancestors. These maps are also available for BMD records.

5 Jan 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/9article.php?id=9The original magazine was a 'weekly picture-record of events by land, sea and air' of the First World War.

"Reviewing this CD on the eve of my visit to Ypres/lepers is coincidently appropriate. The nine CDs in the S&N Genealogy publication contain the 233 digitally enhanced and indexed issues of The War Illustrated. The original magazine was a 'weekly picture-record of events by land, sea and air' of the First World War, from 22 August 1914 to 8 February 1919. It is unashamedly patriotic, but when you're fighting a war, that's to be expected. Notwithstanding the propaganda, the magazine contains an amazing history of the period, an introduction by HG Wells and plenty of illustrations and photographs. The cover price was 2d which enabled most working-class families to read it, and many did. I can remember seeing copies for sale in second-hand bookshops in the 1950s. Now I wish I's bought some of the magazines so I'm delighted to be able to see the complete collection in digital format." - Sean Brady

1 Jan 2007http://www.armylists.org.uk8article.php?id=8Search census records, birth, marriage, death and parish record indexes, London directories, plus four specialist indexes at The Genealogist website.

Search census records, birth, marriage, death and parish record indexes, London directories, plus four specialist indexes at The Genealogist website. You can view the contents either by taking out an annual subscription or by using the pay-per-view scheme. With so much variety it is a website well worth taking a look at. The Genealogist has the largest collection of census transcripts on the internet. Here is a breakdown of sources on The Genealogist: Birth, Marriage, Death indexes, 1837 - 2004 A complete index of civil registration records, as published by the General Register Office (GRO). It is in database format and has images of the original indexes 1837 - 1983, plus the computerised indexes from 1984 which allow you to search a five-year period. Your search results are shown by quarter (i.e. Jan-Mar) and surname range (i.e. Bri-Bur), with the pages that may contain your entry. Census Indexes 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901 Indexes take the hard work out of going through several pages of handwritten originals. The census indexes on The Genealogist are available to search by county. As well as searching for surname, forename and age, it also allows you to include nicknames and a variants option on surnames. You can also opt to exclude records with no age. An advanced search allows you to search by district. Census Transcripts 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901 These provide information from the original census pages as clear, typed text. You are able to search by forename and surname within a county and census year. On the advanced search you can also use the occupation and many other fields, including district, relation to head of household, birth county and street address. You can then view the image, see the entire family or the head of household. See the website for detailed coverage. Parish Records Search records from over 1,100 English parishes, most of which are transcripts of Phillimore's Marriage Indexes. For some areas, these date back as far as 1558 and you can search by church or parish. They are currently adding new databases to this collection, as part of a major transcription project. Directory Records A variety of directories covering london in the second half of the 19th century. Specialist Indexes: Crew List Index Project (CLIP) A fully searchable database with over 270,000 records taken from crew lists and agreements and log books. Details include name, age, place of birth and ship. English and Welsh Landowner Records 1873 Over 300,000 records of owners of one acre or more of land. Details include name of owner, town or village where owner lived, extent of land and gross estimated rental. You can search by county or surname. Knights of England 1127 - 1904 A two volume publication enabling you to search for knights in England - plus Scotland and Ireland, too. Search via names or 'other words'. London 2005 Electoral Roll Names, addresses and postcodes of over three million Londoners. SPECIAL FEATURES With the Genealogist's SmartSearch tool you are able to search for the birth registration of a child, using the father's surname or the mother's maiden name. The Genealogist's 'Reverse matching' tool means that you may locate details for each partner in a marriage. Surname distribution maps available on The Genealogist help you analyse your family origins. The Master Index allows you to do a search on a name and then bring up a list of sources where you can find references.

1 Jan 2007http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/7article.php?id=7We usually think of 'celebrity' as a modern invention, but who were the figures of public interest in the 19th Century - the celebrities?

We usually think of celebrity as a modern invention, but this collected biography of the great 19th century soldiers shows who were the figures of public interest at the height of Britain's imperial power. The CD contains scanned images from a book written by Commander Chas N Robinson, RN, and includes biographies of 72 high-ranking and prominent soldiers in the armies of the British Empire. It includes well-known figures such as Baden-Powell and Kitchener, and others whose names are now forgotten. Each man has a single page of text and a single colour portrait. This publication will be useful to anyone with an Interest in the British Army in the late 19th century. The scanning is high quality and the CD is easy to use. Available from S&N Genealogy Supplies.

19 Dec 2006http://www.armylists.org.uk/6article.php?id=6In the 19th Century, a career as a physician was a highly respected following for a man. Yet it was considered outrageous for any woman to pursue a career in that profession.

In the 19th Century, a career as a physician was a highly respected following for a man. Yet it was considered outrageous for any woman to pursue a career in such a traditionally male-dominated profession. Despite this, some women were determined to succeed. Born in 1836, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson wanted to become a doctor from an early age, but still met with great resistance when applying to medical institutions, all of which denied her entry. She was finally permitted to attend Middlesex Hospital as a nursing student, but was deeply unpopular, particularly after an incident in which she was shown to be the only student able to answer the lecturer's questions. As a result she was barred from attending by other students. In 1865 she took and passed the Society of Apothecaries' exam, as the regulations didn't state that women couldn't sit it. Immediately afterwards, the society changed its rules to forbid women from taking the exam - a discouraging example of the mindset she was up against. Still determined to become a doctor, she travelled to France where she finally gained her degree from the University of Paris. She married in 1871 and combined having children with her ongoing career - founding the New Hospital for Women in London, and subsequently the London School of Medicine for Women. In 1876 a government Act declared that all women should be allowed to enter the medical professions - an Act almost certainly influenced by her achievements. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson can be found in the 1851 Census for Suffolk.

16 Dec 2006http://www.genealogysupplies.co.uk5article.php?id=5The 1851 Census includes the records for Knebworth House, the 'stately home of rock', which has welcomed acts such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Queen.

The 1851 Census for Hitchin, Hertfordshire (HO107/1709-1710) includes the records for Knebworth House, the 'stately home of rock', which has welcomed acts such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Queen. The Lytton family have owned Knebworth House, which began life as a red brick tudor manor house, since 1490. The house was greatly altered by its most famous resident, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who added a heavy gothic element to the building. Edward, who because an MP in 1831, was also a popular writer of his day, publishing novels such as Pelham, Godolphin, and The Last Days of Pompeii. He also had a talent for coining a memorable phrase, notably 'the pen is mightier than the sword' and 'in pursuit of the almighty dollar'. Edward succeeded to Knebworth in 1843, and often invited illustrious friends from literary and parliamentary circles to stay there, including Charles Dickens. If you take a look at the 1851 Census for Hertfordshire, you can find E Bulwer Lytton listed as a baronet and proprietor of land employing 25 labourers. (HO107/1709, folio 302). Census sets are available on CD from British Data Archive.

13 Dec 2006http://www.britishdataarchive.com4article.php?id=4An interesting article on how to use trade directories in your research, written by Genealogy Expert, David Tippey.

Trade Directories have been produced for well over 300 years and can prove to be an invaluable source of information about local communities. As well as information about individuals, they also provide a wealth of general background information. For the periods before the census was available, they provide a snapshot of communities and their principal inhabitants, and the later ones are extremely useful tools for locating ancestors in the census. The very first known directory of London merchants was published in 1677 and the Guildhall Library holds one of the major collections for the whole country, with London directories from 1736 onwards. The end of the 18th century saw the publication of the first national trade directory, with the unlikely title of Bailey's Northern Directory, published in 1781. However most of the examples that you will come across and find most useful, date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was the great upsurge in trade brought about by the industrial revolution and the growth of the British Empire that boosted the publication of directories in the 19th century. County directories were published up to the Second World War and town directories continued to be published up to the 1970s, but with the widespread adoption of the telephone in the latter half of the 20th century, the original form of the trade directory disappeared to be replaced by the Telephone Directory and Yellow Pages. Outside of London, the early directories tended to cover large areas of the country, but as they grew in size these were then split into single County and large town or city volumes. They were published by many companies including; Pigot's; White's; Slater's and Baines, but it's the name Kelly's that most people recognise. Frederic Festus Kelly became His Majesty's Inspector of Inland Letter Carriers and took over the production of the Post Office London Directory in 1835. By 1845, Kelly's had started to produce provincial directories that were eventually to cover every town and village. Many of these were still being printing until the early 1970s, still arranged in more or less the original format. The Post Office London Directory managed to keep going the longest, finally ceasing publication in 1991, and an internet business directory still carries the Kelly name today. As printed directories are only intended to have a life of a few years, they were cheaply produced and the out of date ones would be discarded. In consequence they are relatively rare and expensive. With few copies in circulation, they are generally only to be found in the reference libraries and local archives of the areas they covered. This has meant that they were difficult to consult unless you lived in or visited the area of your research. The current trend to republish many of the early directories on CD has made this useful resource easily accessible to many more family historians. The format of the directories was established with the first 18th Century publications and remained fairly standard until the 20th century. Entries for a town usually start with a topographical account and often an historical preamble. They may well describe the local industries and include details of the local markets and transport facilities as well. Directories can provide a wealth of background information about an area, and you can find descriptions of churches, schools, charities, lists of people involved in local government, population statistics, details of local newspapers, advertising and sometimes maps too. Directories produced in the 20th century have often lost the historical and topographical content in favour of advertising, which was even added to the outside covers and the page edges. The general introduction to each town is then followed by listings of the local worthies - landowners and gentry; clergy; doctors and lawyers and possibly their widows. Only then do you get the lists of people in trade. Unless your ancestors fit into one of these categories their names are unlikely to appear in the early directories, as they don't include any labourers, servants, shop assistants, clerks or other employees. As you move through the 19th century however, directories start to include street directories and surname listings for heads of households and so gradually included a much wider section of the population who weren't "principle inhabitants" or trades people. Villages and hamlets had scant coverage in early directories, often receiving only a brief mention with one or two names, attached to the entry for the nearest sizeable town. The Universal British Directory of 1791 contains only 8 entries for the nine townships comprising the parish of Kirkby Malhamdale, despite the parish records showing plenty of trades people. However by the end of the 19th century many directories contained not only extensive listings of the professional and trades people, but also listed the heads of households, often with their professions, ordered into both street and surname indexes. Trade directories were not always accurate or complete, so always try to corroborate the information you find. There are errors and spelling mistakes and new editions were sometimes based on old ones or even other publications. Some people would not want to be included, and it's not clear, especially with the early directories, whether or not you would have to be a subscriber to be included in the listings. A few copies of directories were available as fiche, but once PCs, scanners and CD writers became relatively cheap and common, the range of directories available to the home researcher blossomed. Most publications are scanned and prepared as Adobe Acrobat files, a cross platform format that allows the scanned images to be viewed on virtually any computer. Some are just supplied as bitmap image files, but these are not as easy to use. Acrobat is a more elegant solution and allows the author to provide links and bookmarks to make navigation easier. Some republished directories make use of the Acrobat search function to find entries. However this is based on a background OCR version of the text that cannot be edited. As anyone who has used OCR knows, it isn't perfect, and works much better on the later publications with good print quality. So if you don't find what you are looking for with the electronic search facility, don't give up, try again, using it just like you would the original book. Finding likely ancestors in a directory is a great help in finding them in the census, where much more comprehensive information about the household can be found. For that reason it's a good idea to search directories that are available close to the census years. Even if they have moved, it provides an area to base a search on and you may find other relatives still living nearby. Identifying the area they lived in, especially in a large area of population, will also help to identify likely churches whose records you can search for family events. The directory entries will also provide you with lost of local information that help you add some meat to the bones of your research, so they are well worth seeking out.

6 Dec 2006http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/3article.php?id=3Navy Lists contains additional information beyond naval officers and the dates of their seniority, which takes the careers of some back into the late eighteenth century.

Navy Lists contains additional information beyond naval officers and the dates of their seniority, which takes the careers of some back into the late eighteenth century. This information includes personnel working in the Civil Department of the navy. the dockyards and medals awarded to ships and individuals back to 1793, which covers the period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and the great sea battles of the early nineteenth century. The medals both with and without officers in their ancestry. Rates of pay for all naval personnel, both serving and retired, are given. This product is available from S&N Genealogy Supplies.

1 Dec 2006http://www.armylists.org.uk/2article.php?id=2Those inspired by November's Remembrance Day events to research their military forebears have a wealth of information available to help them.

Those inspired by November's Remembrance Day events to research their military forebears have a wealth of information available to help them. A good starter is the Second World War Army, Navy, R.A.F. and Indian Services Staff Deaths CD, which contains the name, rank, service number or rating, unit or branch and year of birth of the men and women who died during the war. It does not include service details, but there are references to original documents, where available, to enable further research. The volumes of the National Roll Of The Great War list, by geographic area, some of the men and women who fought in the First World War, including both casualties and those who survived. Each individual's service is briefly summarised, carefully distinguishing between those who 'volunteered' and those who 'joined', as a result of conscription. Home addresses are included. It's a mine of information for the family historian, giving many leads to follow up. Men and women who did war work in factories are also covered so a complete picture of an entire family's service can be reconstructed. The Great War, which was an early part-work, was published during the War. Illustrated with photographs and maps, it recounts the progress of the war, enabling the family historian to understand the political and military tactics of the time. The patriotic tone and emphasis on the enemies' shortcomings while minimising Allied errors is understandable, given the date of writing. What is particularly welcome, however, is the scope. Today, most people think only of battles in France and Belgium but events in all the many countries caught up in the conflict are examined. It was truly the first war to involve much of the world.

1 Dec 2006http://www.armylists.org.uk/1article.php?id=1As anyone with ancestors in the London area knows, research there can be a nightmare. There are different records offices for the City of London, Westminster, and Greater London. So what's the best way to do your research?

As anyone with ancestors in the London area knows, research there can be a nightmare. There are different records offices for the City of London, Westminster, Greater London, parishes in the pre-1888 counties of Surrey and Kent, as well as a multitude of local history libraries. If a family moved only a few streets, it can mean decamping from one repository to another to track them. This is time-consuming enough for Londoners but for those elsewhere the time and travel expenses are multiplied. Two of S&N's publications go some way to overcoming the obstacles for those working on the mid-nineteenth century, when people were flooding into London from all over the country. The London 1852 Directory can help to pinpoint where an ancestor lived because it would have been compiled in the census year. The set of two CD-ROMs making up the London 1851 Census should locate him or her in this important census, the first to require place of birth. The 31 discs include a street index. The whole of the 1851 census for London, digitised from microfiche and supplemented where necessary from the original books, is included. As there is no complete index, S&N are encouraging people to help produce one by including an Excel spreadsheet in this pack and showing which areas have been already done on their website. S&N also have a CD-ROM containing the 1851 index at its current state, which can be accessed for the same price at TheGenealogist. Some areas have been indexed and are available from the volunteers that created them, usually local family history societies. Even if your ancestors were not skilled enough to be included in the Directory or you don't know exactly which street they lived in, clicking through a district of the census at home is certainly preferable to traveling to the FRC to use the microfilms. It will also probably be cheaper than making several trips to London if you live outside.

24 Nov 2006http://www.genealogysupplies.com/