Tag Archives: genealogy

Who’s That Man?

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Lifelines Research

A slight, dapper man, with a small, neatly trimmed moustache, well turned out, sometimes carrying a cane and, more often than not, sporting plus fours and a natty pair of argyle socks, his eyes always staring directly into the camera. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local History, research, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged documents, Edinburgh, family, family history, family photographs, genealogy, history, writing | 4 Comments

Not Highly Rated

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Lifelines Research

The aim of this blog is to provide some background material relating to the issues raised in Episode 26 of my video series, Setting The Record Straight. The video and this accompanying blog take a look at an online database … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, digitisation, Document Sources, Local History, research, Soapbox | Tagged ANcestry, documents, family history, family-tree, Findmypast, genealogy, history, Rate Books, Really Bad Digitisation, Westminster | 1 Comment

31 Discoveries

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Lifelines Research

31 microblogs written and published during the month of August 2024, each one focussing on a different discovery that I’ve made over the years in my own family history… Thirty One I’d always known that my Grandma was illegitimate and … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, Document Sources, Local History, research, Stories | Tagged #31Discoveries, 31 Discoveries, Discoveries, family history, genealogy, gravestones, parish registers, research | Leave a comment

A Star of the Silver Screen and… the 1939 National Register

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Lifelines Research

Just in case anyone ever needs to know, if you want to get my attention, you could do worse than sending me a message that says: Hi Dave. I’m doing a bit of research at the moment on the 1939 … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, digitisation, Document Sources, Local History, research, Stories | Tagged 1939, 1939 National Register, Audrey Hepburn, Elham, family history, genealogy, Kent, research, the national archives, tna | 1 Comment

1924 – John Flynn

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Lifelines Research

It’s New Year’s Day, 2024. Traditionally, this is a time of year when we look to the future and I’ve been doing my fair share of that over the past few days. But as a family historian, my mind is … Continue reading →

Posted in research, Stories | Tagged ANcestry, Corstorphine, Edinburgh, family history, Flynn, genealogy, history, research | 15 Comments

Remembered Always

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Lifelines Research

Two years ago, I set myself the challenge of writing about an ancestor who died in military conflict, with the aim of publishing a Remembrance Day blog post to mark their life. In November 2022, I duly published the story … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research, Stories | Tagged Black Watch, documents, family history, genealogy, gravestones, Myanmar, research, Second World War | 5 Comments

A tale of the unexpected

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Lifelines Research

On 27 November 1826, the brothers, Robert, Walter, John and Alexander Robertson, presented an inventory of the personal estate of their father at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The brothers were described in the document as: Robert Robertson Herd at Bronsley, … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, Document Sources, Local History, research, Stories, Surnames | Tagged Berwickshire, census, Cranshaws, documents, family history, genealogy, Longformacus, parish registers, research, Robertson, Whitsome | 1 Comment

Our Ancestral Places

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Lifelines Research

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I’ve embarked on a virtual journey this year, tracking down the places connected with my ancestors’ lives (I’ve ‘borrowed’ my wife’s as well) and I’ve been tweeting about a … Continue reading →

Posted in Local History, research, Stories | Tagged 365AncestralPlaces, Berwickshire, census, documents, Edrom, family history, genealogy, Hedger, Local History, maps, research | 5 Comments

Welcome to the family

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Lifelines Research

Margaret Howland was born on 9 August 1906 at 46 Brunswick Street, Edinburgh, just off Leith Walk but south of the border with the ancient Burgh of Leith. Margaret was my grandma and one of the nicest and kindest people … Continue reading →

Posted in Local History, research, Stories | Tagged census, documents, Edinburgh, family history, genealogy, Howland, illegitimacy, measles, research | 9 Comments

A Moving Tale

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Lifelines Research

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I spent a day in London last week, pounding the streets in search of ancestors. Over the course of a long day, I visited four ‘live’ archives: the Bank … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, Document Sources, research, Stories | Tagged Doctors' Commons, documents, family history, genealogy, newspapers, research, Somerset House, wills | 4 Comments