Making the leap backward from the United States to England during colonial times can be difficult. There aren’t those lovely modern passenger lists to use to determine the identity of the family left behind, places of birth, and family or friends who have already immigrated. But, if you are fortunate, and know one or two key pieces of information about that colonial ancestor, Findmypast has some great databases which can help you to make that leap across the pond.Let’s imagine your ancestor … [Read more...]
A Discovery in India
Completing genealogy research in India leads to surprising discovery for one of our clients. Shared with permission.Though genealogists and those interested in genealogy reside around the globe, much of the genealogical world today is Eurocentric. This means that research, resources, and the collections of major websites are heavily devoted to records of European countries and those settled by Europeans (including large portions of both North and South America). There are several reasons for … [Read more...]
The Basics of Australian Research
Australia is one of the world’s largest immigrant-based countries, meaning that the majority of the people living there have family trees that originate from somewhere else. Thus, unless someone is a descendant solely of Australian aboriginal peoples, most research will ultimately end up working back to European origins.Because of this, Australian research is similar to research in other immigrant-based countries such as the United States and Canada. It can be divided into two stages: … [Read more...]
Finding the Gold in Original Records
When conducting genealogical research, it is vital – and also extremely fun – to collect as many records as possible regarding the research subject in order to gain a fuller picture of the life of that individual. This applies to all types of records, such as birth and death certificates, censuses, obituaries, church records, and ship manifests, to name a few.In today’s digital world, information is often accessed through search engines that scan indexes. These indexes are created when … [Read more...]
The Basics of Tracing Your English Ancestry
If you have ancestors from England, count your blessings. Thanks to that country's long history of early and consistent religious and government record-keeping, there are three major record groups for original research that are rich with genealogical information: church records, civil registration, and the census. While these documents were not originally designed with future genealogists in mind, they are nevertheless perfect for our purposes.In personal research, I used these three sources … [Read more...]
The Ordinary and the Extraordinary
Genealogy is hot.In 2012, ABC News ran a headline that said, “Genealogy Becomes $1.6B Hobby.” One reason for this trend is that we seem to have an innate need to know what extraordinary things our ancestors accomplished - even those who may be considered ordinary on a large scale - and we learn that through genealogical research.Look at this 1841 U.K. Census, where Alfred and Anne Barker, both in their forties, lived together on Brick Kiln Lane in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. You … [Read more...]
