Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i Family Tree UK

In November 2024, free online collaborative tree-building website WikiTree reached a new milestone, with 40 million ancestors and cousins having been added to the shared online tree. Source citation is central to the WikiTree purpose, and members pledge to include source information for the details they add to the online tree. WikiTree membership currently stands at 1.1 million people working collaboratively on the tree. Of the 40 million profiles now on WikiTree, 14 million have DNA test connections. https://www.wikitree.com/…

Two new qualifications in genetic genealogy are launching at the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS) in late spring 2025. Each of these will be provided as self-paced, distance-learning courses, open to amateur and professional researchers. The courses will be tutored by Dr Sophie Kay. The Intermediate Certificate in DNA & Genetic Genealogy is a six-module qualification covering: autosomal, mitochondrial, X- and Y-DNA; analysis and problem-solving methods for genetic genealogy; ethics and best practice; and the history of genetics. The Advanced Certificate in DNA & Genetic Genealogy will see researchers design, deliver and report on a research project in genetic genealogy, and will be open to those who have successfully completed the Intermediate Certificate in DNA & Genetic Genealogy. ‘It’s a real pleasure to be launching these courses with…

I talk a lot about DNA. If you’ve ever been lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to be in a room with me and I am chatting about family history you probably know I can talk about it for a very long time! Once people know how avidly interested I am in DNA, people often ask me the same things … • What are the companies actually testing? • How can they tell you how you match with someone who is long dead? • How have they got the DNA from someone who died hundreds of years ago? • Why am I Scottish/Norwegian/Jewish on my test or why am I not Scottish/Norwegian/Jewish? Hopefully I’m going to answer those questions here, by delving into the science behind the tests. If you’re not…

The Channel Islands Family History Society (CIFHS) was founded in October 1978. Our main aim is to encourage research into genealogies and histories of families in Jersey and worldwide. We recently celebrated our 45 years in existence with a lunch at the Ambassadeur Hotel at which around 45 members attended. Initially it was hoped that there would be a Guernsey branch as well as a Jersey branch, however, this did not happen. We have retained the name CIFHS though our website address at www.jerseyfamilyhistory.org and facebook.com/groups.jerseyfamilyhistorysociety reflects our main focus. Our research collections Our reference collection is housed at the Jersey Archive, Clarence Road, St Helier, which opened in a new building in 2000. In June 2022 a small working group from the Executive Committee was convened to tidy up…

Forty years of family history research has involved long and serious hours in libraries and archives. The days of hauling ledgers off the shelves in St Catherine’s House and the Family Record Centre, are long gone: quarter after quarter of not finding what you are looking for, but then the joy of coming across the ‘missing piece’ which ties together a particular branch of your family tree to make all those endless hours of slog seem worthwhile after all. For those more recent researchers, brought up on finding so much on the internet, all easily accessible via indexes and search engines, it may come as a surprise that in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, if you wanted to find your ancestors in a particular place, you simply had to go…

I’m regularly asked by fellow genies about the software I use to organise my family tree. They’re usually curious as to which brand I use or would recommend, particularly when they’re beginning either to research their tree, or to transfer their paper records into electronic format. Many are surprised when I tell them that the family history program I use is free to download and use, and not on a website. They’re even more surprised to learn that there are quite a number of different companies which offer free versions of their full software package. Of course this is done as a marketing strategy, to get consumers using a product, from which they are frequently invited to upgrade. It’s a bit like using a free antivirus program (I use one…

Battling with birth and marriage research in the 1840s Q I would be grateful if you could advise me on the following please. Persons of interest: • William Page 1816-; • spouse Emma Dunsby abt. 1823-1906; • & son Thomas John Page abt. 1843/4-1893. Investigation into William & Emma’s marriage It would appear that William and Emma lived as man and wife from when their son Thomas was born in 1843/4, until their marriage in 1861, following their son Thomas’s adult baptism the previous year. Would there be any specific reason, religious or other, why they did not marry earlier (or why they only decided to marry when he was 18?), and is Thomas’s adult baptism prior to the marriage significant? It took me years to establish these facts, as…

Maybe it’s my reclusive side or the hand-me-down genes of my Yorkshire ancestors, eking out chilly livings on Wuthering Heights and On Greenhow Hill country. Born into an era of stone hot water bottles, fluffy eiderdowns and Winceyette pyjamas, grey days and dark nights, sleet on the windows and getting the cat in before dusk, winter holds no terrors for me. In fact it just gives me an urge to make stew and dumplings and an excuse to snuggle down with a gripping box set or a good book. (Or both – I’m a notorious multitasker.) And there’s always the present-day option of doing family history on my iPad, snuggled beneath an electric throw with the cat on my lap, or dare I say, in bed, with my feet on…

During the early 1800s an average of 1,800 vessels were wrecked, annually, off the British coastline. These disasters led to the establishment of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1824 and this year it celebrates its 200th anniversary Ancestry has partnered with the RNLI to celebrate 200 years of saving lives at sea by making thousands of the RNLI’s historic records accessible to the public. Simon Pearce, Family History Expert at Ancestry states: ‘We are thrilled to celebrate the RNLI’s 200th anniversary by digitising its invaluable records. This project not only honours the charity’s rich history but also makes these important resources freely accessible to everyone, allowing families and researchers to connect with their maritime heritage like never before.’ From crew cards of RNLI crew, records of rescues, to records…

Well-known for pushing the boundaries of genealogy technology, late November 2024, MyHeritage announced LiveMemory™ – the AI tool, using which you may create 5 second video clips – generated from a family history photo. LiveMemory will animate the subjects of the photo. Even where there are multiple people or animals in a photo, each can be animated. Importantly each MP4 file generated by LiveMemory will be watermarked as having been created using AI to avoid any confusion that the clips were genuine contemporary footage. https://www.myheritage.com…

And here she is … My 2x great-aunt, Catherine Mary Riboldi. This is the one and only known photograph of her, kindly sent to me by the Maison Ruinart Archives. I’ve been sitting staring at her picture for ages, wondering if she reminds me of anyone in the family. She has such a sweet, open, friendly looking face and I think there might be a slight resemblance to one of my cousins! Here, too, is her husband, Vicomte André Ruinart de Brimont, looking very dapper in his tweed suit and bowler. I’ve seen a more formal picture of a younger André online, but this one is full of character and I love it. Both photographs were taken on the same day, 21 May 1910. André would have been 48, Catherine…

Sooner or later, every family history researcher is likely to hit a brickwall. If you are a beginner, this can be pretty daunting. The answer may simply be to find out more about the “standard” sources – civil registration, parish registers and the censuses. But when that is not enough, what next? Let me see if I can help you. Step 1: Stop what you are doing! My start point may surprise you. For now, put the evidence that you have found so far to one side. Start by learning about the place where you have a brickwall and about what was happening at the time. Once you understand these things, you will be in a better position to search for and interpret the evidence. Learning about a place: key…

Book ideas Blood and Coal: The Story of a Nottingham Mining Family By Sue Harper, an Emeritus Professor of Film History. Spanning the 20th century, the book covers the story of her own family. (DB Publishing, 2024). Paperback £9.99; kindle £6.99, available from Amazon. One Crew: The RNLI’s Official 200-Year History By Helen Doe, foreward by the Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI. The bi-centenary history spans the establishment in 1824, stories from the 144,000 lives saved over the past 2 centuries, tragedies and innovations. Specific chapters are dedicated to the inter-war, Second World War, and post-war eras. (Amberley, 2024). Hardback £22.99 The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA By Roberta Estes of DNA-Explained.com and author of more than 1,700 articles about genetic genealogy. Covering Y-DNA, mitochondrial, autosomal and X-DNA, the…

George Robinson, a platelayer for Great Eastern Railways, came across a scene that left him deeply disturbed. On a chilly morning in late March 1914, George was walking between two adjacent train stations when he stumbled across a non-descript paper package. He could not resist the urge to explore the subject further, driven by his endless curiosity. With a gentle prod, he was taken aback by the sight of a newborn infant’s innocent face. Urgent summons Without any delay, he urgently summoned Police Constable John David Coppen from the nearby police station. George quickly provided his statement. The Police Constable alerted the local mortuary and transported the body of the newborn baby, a boy, for a postmortem examination. The air was heavy with a feeling of seriousness. A meticulous arrangement…

After years of frustration for those attempting to research their WWII service person’s record, which are 100% complete, but have only previously been released to proven descendants or under FOI application, The National Archives (TNA) have some good news at last! The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has commenced the transfer of the 10 million Army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel service records, dating between 1921 and 1946, to The National Archives for permanent preservation, beginning with the first tranche of 150,000. This will eventually include not only those pertaining to the Second World War, but those that relate to individuals who served during the First World War, but who opted to continue their service beyond 1921, including those who served only throughout the inter-war period and were discharged before the…

To help you on your way with our festive brain-teaser, here are some sites that you might want to use: General Register Office: https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ or on FreeBMD: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/ FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org Cornwall OPC (Online Parish Clerks): https://www.cornwall-opc-database.org Old Bailey Online: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org PCC Wills: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/wills-1384-1858/ Royal Navy Officers Service Records: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/royal-navy-officers-service-records-1756-1931/ FreeReg: https://www.freereg.org.uk/ Newspapers: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/searchnewspapers (go to Advanced Search and select ‘Free to view’) Please note: The National Archives’ resources are, at the time of writing, free to download. This may change in the future, 1 Can you find the birth registrations of these five former UK Prime Ministers in the GRO’s indexes? We’ve provided the dates of birth for the first three. Make a note of the year, quarter and district of registration as well as the volume and page number. a.…

Family Tree Plus is the ultimate family history community, brought to you by the team behind this magazine. The membership offers webinars, videos, a magazine archive, every new issue, and exclusive discounts and offers. Family Tree Plus webinars Members enjoy monthly webinars that dive deep into genealogy topics, techniques, and expert tips to help you uncover your family’s history. Plus, members have access to over 100 hours of on-demand video content, available anytime, anywhere, to expand your skills at your own pace! What webinars and videos are included? We offer three monthly club webinars along with at least one bonus talk – providing you with £40 worth of genealogy advice each month – that’s worth an incredible £480 per year! Each regular club webinar is recorded and added to your…

By delving into a single document you can extract information that produces facts and a springboard that provide the opportunity to connect anecdotes, objects and pictures, and to create a unique story of your ancestor. The single source in this example is a passport. Discovering the passport While helping my mother to locate a personal document I came across an old passport. As a genealogist I was immediately distracted by this surprise find. As I started to look through the pages, memories of stories my parents had mentioned over past years came to mind. I realised that I was looking at their first passport, which was used for the first of many alpine mountaineering adventures in their lives. I needed to know more, join up the dots and bring all…

On Wednesday the 30th of October, Helen the editor and I attended The National Archives for the launch of their post 1921 military record collections. This includes of course, the Second World War, which will be of particular interest to family historians given the huge amount of personnel involved, and the “total war” inclusivity of the conflict. In my piece to follow below I will answer some questions that have been put to me about these records, via online forums and Facebook groups, etc. First however I will cover a brief background to the records. Digitisation & digital access so far For many years the national repository of records, The National Archives, has given access to the various records of the military up to 1918. The last “new” records to…

Heather Brown asks: I am the privileged custodian of hundreds of family photos. Most of the people featured my mother was able to name and therefore date approximately, but two have eluded me for many years, and I would be extremely grateful if you could please help with dating them. Jayne Shrimpton answers: Both of these card-mounted prints are Victorian cartes de visite – a standard photographic format that could vary in size by a few millimetres, usually measuring in the region of 6.5 x 10cms. Professional UK studio photographers produced these popular photographs in large numbers from about 1860 until about 1910, although most surviving family cdvs date to between the 1860s and the 1890s. Your ancestor’s image in the first photograph is impossible to date closely from his…

AI & genealogy: pros & cons, threats & ethics … [Re: Chris Paton’s article on AI & genealogy, FT November 2024] Is it here to help us? Primarily it is here to make a profit, and it does that by providing what the customer wants, so when the dust dies down, and the unwanted offerings are culled, it should be to our overall advantage. More sources made readily available must surely be a good thing for us. Having read of AI being used to read old documents, I tried using Transcribus (www.transkribus.org) to transcribe a 17 C will. I used a scan of a microfilm of a pretty grubby original of three pages. I cut and pasted the image of the will into the website, and sometime later that day…