Tag Archives: the national archives

Please Release Me…

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Lifelines Research

…being a very brief history of the releases of the English & Welsh census returns. We need to understand right from the start that the primary purpose of the census has never been to produce a resource for the benefit … Continue reading →

Posted in Local History, research, Soapbox | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Last of the Moultings

Posted on November 21, 2021 by Lifelines Research

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 →

Posted in Local History, research, Stories, Surnames | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Incorrigible & Worthless

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Researching the lives of our military ancestors can be difficult at the best of times but when it comes to retelling the stories of the seven million men and women who served in the British Army during the First World … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

The Joy of Tithes

Posted on January 12, 2020 by Lifelines Research

When it comes to the 1841 census, one of the greatest disappointments for family historians is that the addresses given, particularly in rural areas, tend to be frustratingly imprecise. More often than not, we just get the name of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Death, taxes and the voices of our ancestors

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Lifelines Research

The inspiration behind this post is twofold; firstly, the ongoing work of Dr Laura King, Dr Nick Barratt, Jackie Depelle and many others to encourage closer co-operation between academic historians and genealogists, but more immediately, a tweet by Hallie Rubenhold, … Continue reading →

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What would I have done?

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Lifelines Research

I’ve very much enjoyed reading all the recent blogs, tweets and news items marking the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Representation of the People Act (1918); that ground-breaking piece of legislation which gave the vote to women aged … Continue reading →

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A Wasted Day at TNA

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Lifelines Research

I’ve just got back from a wasted day at the National Archives in Kew. I set off this morning, full of hope that, with three very different cases to investigate in three very different sets of records, and a carefully … Continue reading →

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