Category Archives: Surnames

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 , , , | Leave a comment

Back From The Dead?

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Lifelines Research

This is the second part of the story of Stephen Willis, the Ramsgate hawker, and his parents, Stephen Willis senior and Ellen (née Foley). In the first part, we followed Stephen senior from his birth in Bishopsbourne near Canterbury in … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, Local History, research, Stories, Surnames | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Handle with care

Posted on May 16, 2020 by Lifelines Research

There’s been a lot of publicity this week around the decision by Oxford Reference to make their Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland freely available online for a limited period. Now, I’m not going to deny for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Surnames | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment