Tag Archives: parish registers

31 Discoveries

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

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A tale of the unexpected

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

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Six Days, Six Stones – Part 6: Astbury

This the last of six blogposts written and published on six successive days, in which I take a look at a particular ancestral gravestone that my wife and I visited on our recent road trip. You can read the other … Continue reading

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Six Days, Six Stones – Part 4: Longnor, Staffordshire

This is the fourth of six blog posts written after a recent road trip during which my wife and I visited a number of ancestral burial places. You can read the earlier instalments here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part … Continue reading

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Six Days, Six Stones – Part 1: Dorchester, Oxfordshire

To mark our 40th Wedding Anniversary, my wife and I arranged a six-day road trip, stopping off at various places connected with our families. Liz, my wife, is an enthusiastic family historian herself so she was very much a partner … Continue reading

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You Don’t Know What You’ve Got…

I realise that I’m running the risk of sounding like a broken record here but it seems like there’s always something else to say when it comes to assessing the work of the major commercial genealogical websites. Because it’s undeniable … Continue reading

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The Last of the Moultings

On 2 February 1974, a 72-year old woman called Gladys Elizabeth Moulting died in Canvey Island, Essex. I know very little about Gladys, except that she was the youngest of two children of George Henry and Harriet Amelia Moulting, that … Continue reading

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You Had One Job…

I’ll try to keep this brief. I’ve blogged a lot in the past few years about the problems with many of the databases on the major commercial genealogical websites and in particular the various county-wide English and Welsh parish register … Continue reading

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We Need To Talk About Ancestry

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

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So, what next?

Two weeks ago today, I sat down and composed a blog post entitled, Where Have All The Registers Gone? I referred to it as a ‘soapbox’ piece and my aim was to highlight what I saw as a serious problem … Continue reading

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