If your ancestors lived in London at the end of the 1800s, the digitized Booth poverty maps provide fascinating insight into neighborhoods and standards of living in the city. The maps form part of Charles Booth’s, Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London, a study conducted between 1886 and 1903. Booth was a Victorian philanthropist and a successful businessman.I have several ancestors who lived in London during that time, so I decided to see what could be gleaned about their … [Read more...]
Finding the Gold in Original Family History 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.First, Locating Digital RecordsIn today’s digital world, information is often accessed through search engines that scan indexes. These … [Read more...]
The Basics of Tracing Your English Ancestry
Learn the basics of tracing your English ancestry with our tips and tricks.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 … [Read more...]
Exploring Your Genealogy: The Ordinary and the Extraordinary
When exploring your genealogy, you may come across ordinary aspects of our ancestors day-to-day lives, yet these details can seem extraordinary to us.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 … [Read more...]