Blog - family history and ancestor stories.
January 24, 2020
People often ask us if we know where their surname originated from. There were no hereditary surnames in Britain in 1066 when the Norman Conquest took place. Surnames gradually became hereditary over the next 300 years. All surnames fall into one or other of four classes (alternative terms in brackets): 1. Local Surnames (Locational, Locative, Toponymic, Territorial, Landed). These are surnames derived from a particular […]
January 24, 2020
During more than 400 years, millions of Britons have emigrated to New England, USA and Canada. So it’s natural that we have many American clients enquiring about their ancestors from England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland. They left for reasons of push or pull. Most on the Mayflower in 1620 were religious pilgrims. Some went seeking a brave new world. Others had little choice about leaving […]
January 24, 2020
One of the great pleasures of family history is visiting where your ancestors lived. Millions of English, Scots, Welsh and Irish have gone to live in countries all over the world down the centuries. Closer to home, there are all those who migrated from one part of the United Kingdom to another. We have conducted research for people with British ancestors from many parts of […]
April 3, 2017
It’s that time of year again! The annual Society of Genealogists’ Who Do You Think You Are? Live event is taking place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from 6 – 8 April. This is the 11th show and has the range of attractions that have proved of such interest to both experienced and novice family historians alike. The Workshops feature an extensive number […]
March 20, 2017
A frequent question we get asked is “Can you please help me break down this brick wall?”. Problems come in all shapes and sizes such as the person you can’t find in the usual records, the one who seems to have disappeared and the lack of information about someone. Ways to solve such problems include analysis and logic, help from friends and relatives, creativity and, […]
March 19, 2017
In recent years, programme’s like Who Do You Think You Are have made us more familiar with the ancestry of famous people. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), the only US President to serve more than 8 years, has a fascinating background. Most people would guess that Roosevelt originates from Holland. Less well known, is that Delano comes from his mother’s side. Philippe de Lannoy arrived in New England […]
March 15, 2017
A natural question when someone first thinks about finding out more about their ancestors is “what will I get out of it?” It fascinates us how many different answers there can be to that question. Those who have watched “Who Do You Think You Are?” will know how varied people’s ancestors can be – rich or poor, from home or abroad, lucky or unlucky. Here […]
April 19, 2013
Every day, there is an ever-increasing volume of family research projects launched, and the media is now full of adverts promoting various ancestry programmes. Researching your family history can become lost in a sea of information, so how do you go about tackling the insurmountable, and what are your chances of success? Success in researching family history depends on the ancestors having done something that […]
April 18, 2013
Among the pleasures of family history are that it gives us a better understanding of the history of the times when our ancestors lived. It also makes the world a smaller place. Many of us have relatives who went abroad; or live overseas but have ancestors from the British Isles. Australia and New Zealand are, of course, two countries with very close connections with Britain. People have […]
April 11, 2013
Something that we frequently come across in family history research is ancestors who have left Great Britain to go abroad; and others who have left their homeland to come to Great Britain. This can be for reasons of push or pull. In other words, did they leave home because of factors such as persecution or famine; or go seeking a brave new world? Britons have […]
March 20, 2013
The Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries had profound effects on the social, economic and cultural conditions of Britain – and on family history research. We saw it represented in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Britain led the world in improvements in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology during the Industrial Revolution. By 1851, Britain had 40 % of the […]