Category Archives: research

We Need To Talk About Ancestry

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Or … How The Major Commercial Genealogical Websites Are Killing Family History Research As a full-time professional researcher, I depend heavily on the resources that I’m able to access online, particularly those databases provided by the major commercial websites. Without … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research, Soapbox | Tagged ANcestry, documents, family history, genealogy, parish registers, research, tribbles | 25 Comments

A Draper’s Tale

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Thomas Port, my great great grandfather, was born on 22 August 1822 in St Pancras, London. There is, however, no official record of his birth or baptism – at least none that I have ever been able to find. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, Local History, research, Stories | Tagged Birmingham, buckingham, Draper, family history, genealogy, Key Hill Cemetery, research, Smethwick, Soda Manufacturer, Thomas Port | Leave a comment

Birth or baptism?

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Lifelines Research

A couple of weeks ago, I was searching for some baptisms on Ancestry’s London Parish Register Database, when I noticed something odd. I’d just done a basic search for anyone with the surname ROGERS and the parents’ names William and … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research, Soapbox | Tagged baptism, birth, database, documents, family history, genealogy, research | 1 Comment

The Darkest Day

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Lifelines Research

The date is Tuesday, 29 January 1895 and Edinburgh is in the grip of a snowstorm. In fact, the whole country is suffering; snow fell uninterruptedly for 12 hours in Birmingham yesterday and London is experiencing temperatures of 15° Fahrenheit … Continue reading →

Posted in Local History, research, Stories | Tagged census, Edinburgh, family history, genealogy, measles, registration, research | 3 Comments

Walls Come Tumbling Down

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Brickwalls are an inescapable component of every family historian’s world. If you think about it, every line you’ve ever researched starts (or ends, depending on which way you look at it) with an individual whose parentage is unknown. So, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research | Tagged documents | 7 Comments

Just trying to get by…

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Lifelines Research

The pressures of society weighed heavily on our ancestors; in particular, the expectation that they should live good, God-fearing lives and that they should conform to the beliefs and values of the Anglican church, particularly when it came to matters … Continue reading →

Posted in research, Soapbox, Stories | Tagged deceased wife's sister, family history, genealogy, illegitimacy, Kent, Legislation, Marriage Act 1835, prohibited degrees of kindred, Tithe, tithe maps, tithes, Transportation | Leave a comment

The Annals of the Annals

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Lifelines Research

An investigation into the early history of the Annal/Annand family in South Ronaldsay, Orkney The Annal surname appears to have originated separately in two parts of Scotland; in Orkney (specifically the island parish of South Ronaldsay) and in Fife (St … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, Local History, research, Surnames | Tagged Annal, One-Name Study, orkney, South Ronaldsay | 2 Comments

Where have all the women gone?

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Lifelines Research

To mark International Women’s Day I wanted to have a look at the key records that we use to research our English & Welsh family history, and to consider how those records routinely under-represent the roles played by our female … Continue reading →

Posted in research, Soapbox | Tagged family history, Florence Nightingale, genealogy, International Women’s Day, research, Women's History | 9 Comments

Conjectures, traditions and the search for the truth…

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Sir Denner Strutt, Knt., was of Little Warley, of which place he was created a baronet in 1641; he suffered severely from the arbitrary exactions of the parliament in the time of King Charles the First, being compelled to pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, Local History, research, Soapbox, Stories | Tagged antiquarians, antiquaries, family history, genealogy, Henry William King, John Wodehouse, Little Warley, Sir Denner Strutt, Thomas Wodehouse | Leave a comment

52 Ancestors – 52 Documents

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Lifelines Research

Throughout 2020 I’ve been tweeting my own take on Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 52 different types of document relating to 52 different ancestors over 52 weeks. Now I’ve put all 52 tweets together in one … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research | Tagged Ancestors, ANcestry, documents, family history, genealogy | 6 Comments