Are you curious if your family has a coat of arms that you may be entitled to use? Many people find a coat of arms fun to display at home or a family reunion. Although selling coats of arms by surname has become a popular business, in most cases, they were granted for individual use only. While a coat of arms could be inherited, it could only be transmitted from father to son. Have you ever wondered if your family has one? What is a family coat of arms? A coat of arms is a hereditary … [Read more...]
5 Keys to Finding Scottish Ancestors with Genealogist Jamie Kay
We sat down to learn more about finding Scottish ancestors with one of our professional genealogists, Jamie Kay. Here's what we learned about Jamie and how to research your own Scottish heritage. The Challenges of Finding Scottish Ancestors I grew up around the corner from Aunt Dorothy, our family genealogist, and loved to hear our stories and see the photographs she had collected. My great-grandparents came to the United States from Scotland in the 1870s, so a quarter of my heritage is … [Read more...]
Researching Enslaved Ancestors in the former British Empire
Researching enslaved ancestors in the former British Empire is not as hopeless as it may initially seem. With well kept records and archives now available online, researching enslaved ancestors is possible. Here we share some strategies to aid in your research. The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery has created a wonderful beginning point for researching your enslaved ancestors. Their database has indexed many records, including a majority of the registers and … [Read more...]
Uncovering Hidden Jewels in British Isles Genealogy Research
Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Sharon McWilliams specializes in British Isles genealogy research. In this article, she discusses enlightening resources, or “hidden jewels,” in London that may help you trace your family history in the British Isles. The National Archives is now open to the public, but for those of us who can’t make the trip to Kew, there are millions of digital records available online at The National Archives Discovery Catalogue. Records that have been digitized can be downloaded … [Read more...]
British Genealogy Brick Wall Breakthrough: A Case Study
Legacy Tree Genealogists’ researcher Jamie Kay shares a case study that demonstrates how she resolved a “brick wall” to extend the ancestry of a client’s British grandmother, who was sent to Canada in 1877. (Shared with client permission.) A client recently asked for assistance in extending the ancestry of her grandmother, Helen Lilley, who was sent to Canada in 1877 from an orphanage in Glasgow by her maternal grandmother, Helen Gray. Helen’s father had passed away and it was said that her … [Read more...]