Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2026 i Family Tree UK

In just 90 words, on a small piece of paper, with her health failing, Jane Austen penned her will – leaving everything to her much-loved sister Cassandra, bar £50 to her bankrupt brother Henry, and £50 to her brother’s housekeeper, Françoise Bigeon. The original will is available to view in the new exhibition; it is also available as TNA’s digital copy to view online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/stories/jane-austens-will/ Visitor information: Love Letters runs at The National Archives, Kew, from 24 January 2026 –12 April 2026. Entrance is free…

The Industrial Revolution led to a fundamental change in society across the UK, with people moving in their thousands from their rural homelands, seeking work in the manufacturing towns and cities that would come to typify Victorian Britain. And with the rapid influx of people came a pressing need for housing, a need that was met largely by building thousands upon thousands of cheap houses, providing little or nothing in the way of what we might think of as basic requirements for human life, warmth, light and comfort being in very short supply. As for running water, the best that most could hope for was a single pump in a courtyard, shared by scores of families trying to keep themselves clean and healthy. These courtyards were often no more than…

Tails it is, and I’m going with the Grindles. I don’t plan to spend forever on this line, but I’m keen to learn something, anything, about the family of my surprise 3x great-granddad William Grindle, apparent father of my illegitimate ancestor Thomas Tonge. With any luck, I can identify William’s parents and siblings, then see just how far back the Grindles go in the Lancashire village of Little Hulton. Well, that’s the plan, so let’s give it a whirl. First, I need a baptism and the Lancashire Online Parish Clerk project (lan-opc.org.uk) scores straightaway with a William ‘Grindall’ (ooh, another alternative spelling). Christened at the now-familiar Peel Chapel on 30 April 1815, he’s the son of George Grindall and Jenny, abode Little Hulton, occupation badger. Badger? Disappointingly not a man…

Whenever we start our family history research we can be quite excited at the speed of our initial discoveries, as they come at us thick and fast. Across time, as we push further back, challenges increasingly begin to present themselves on the research front, as inconsistencies and brick walls start to emerge, and as new finds begin to contradict already established ‘facts’. That honeymoon period When I first started over twentyfive years ago, I excitedly pushed my Paton surname line back in Perthshire to the late 17th century, convincing myself that my ancestors had all worked as craftsmen and merchants in the royal burgh of Perth. On another line, the Rogers family of the Perthshire parish of Little Dunkeld, I made similar ‘progress’ back to the same period, using parish…

It began with an election and ended just over 300 years later in a hail of bullets. Rulers of Russia from 1613 to 1917, the dynasty included such famed figures as Peter the Great – the westward-looking founder of St Petersburg – and Catherine the Great, yet ended in bloody revolution. The Romanovs gained their name from Roman Yurev (died 1543) whose daughter was the first wife of Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’) who was Tsar between 1547 and 1584. Her brother Nikita’s children then adopted the name ‘Romanov’ in honour of their grandfather, the father of a Tsarina. Fyodor I, the last Rurik ruler, died in 1598, after which the 15-year ‘Time of Troubles’ ensued (1598–1613), ending when an ‘assembly of the land’ (a ‘zemsky sobor’) elected Nikita’s grandson, Michael…

Eleanor Hart writes: This photo is from our Mystery Deans Album – a little book-sized, leather-bound album with a clasp, which came from the Dean side of my family. There’s a picture of a similar but slightly fancier album in Jayne Shrimpton’s How to Get the Most from Family Pictures. Our photo shows a youth or young man in workingmen’s clothing, I think a knitted jacket with a knitted waistcoat below. I wondered if he is an ancestor called Bryan Dean (1841–c.1920), pictured when he was young. However, I do have two other possible candidates: Joseph Dean (1852–1936) was brother to Bryan; Joe was a seaman all his life and was known to be fair haired and blue eyed. The other candidate is another brother, Thomas Dean (1848–1863), who died…

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Take the daily puzzle challenge and see how long a streaK you can accomplish. Work through all 28 rounds of Badges of the Brave to see how accurately you can match each distinctive emblem to the correct regiment. Or browse blogs from Findmypast: read the post by Ellie Ayton, for instance, covering ‘Ten 100-year-old predictions for 2026 that are scarily accurate’. Using the app, you can, of course, search historical record collections and build your family tree. Access to records will depend on having an active Findmypast subscription.…

Shared matches showing down to 8cMs at Ancestry (even without Pro Tools) Ancestry users have reported that shared matches are now showing down to 8cMs, even if they don’t have Pro Tools. This could be useful but don’t forget matches with these lower levels of shared DNA could be related too far back for identification, unclear where the shared DNA came from (MRCA) or even a false match. All tests at MyHeritage now processed as Whole Genome Sequencing MyHeritage have updated their processing timeline for the new Whole Genome Sequencing. All tests will now be processed using WGS. 13,000 new mtDNA haplogroups at FamilyTreeDNA FamilyTreeDNA has added nearly thirteen thousand new mtDNA Haplogroups. This will help with a greater understanding of ancient maternal ancestry. Jonny Perl’s first experiments with AncestryDNA…

After BMDs, census returns are among the first records we encounter when tracing our family history. They contain a wealth of information that helps us fill in many of the blank spaces on our family tree. However, the excitement soon fades when we discover that they are also riddled with mistakes, half-truths, transcription errors, and the occasional outright lie, as we are about to find out. The mystery of the ‘Mistress’ Who would have thought that one simple word, added to a census column, could cause so much trouble? Yet that’s exactly what happened with the conundrum Sara McMahon recently sent me. It concerns the 1851 Census return for a man named Benjamin Breeson and his family, living at 4 Charles Street, Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets, London. The household included…

On 30 September 1888, the body of Elizabeth Stride, one of Jack the Ripper’s victims, was discovered in Dutfield’s Yard, off Commercial Road in East London. Situated just over a mile to the east was the Queen Catherine pub, with 16 small, densely packed houses in the courtyard behind it, known as Queen Catherine Court. In his report for 1889, the medical officer for Limehouse declared Queen Catherine Court unfit for human habitation. I first came across Queen Catherine Court when searching for my ancestors in the 1871 Census and found that my widowed great-greatgrandmother, Mary Coveney, had lived there with her four children. Its houses were square in shape and noticeably smaller than those in the surrounding streets. As I bought birth certificates for my greatgrandfather and his siblings,…

You have taken the plunge and ordered a DNA test. It all seems exciting but rather daunting and you are wondering how to navigate all the new information that’s coming your way. I’ve been there! Below are some of the dos and don’ts I wish I’d known when I first started. Do some prior learning While you’re waiting for your results, use the time to understand what DNA testing is all about. I don’t mean going into every nuance of the science or reading every white paper the company produces (although you can if you want to). But visit their website and look for learning or knowledge hubs they may have created to guide you. There are also some wonderful videos on YouTube that discuss DNA testing step by step.…

The notorious actions of the 18th century pressgangs Q My ancestor, a pilot in Poole, had a son taken up by the press, and I’d like to know whether the son was let off, or whether he sailed away and never came back. I asked Dorset Archives some years ago whether they had any relevant records and they said they did not, so I have no idea where to start looking. BACKGROUND INFORMATION – A MERCHANT’S DIARIES The Poole and Newfoundland merchant, Isaac Lester, wrote very detailed diaries over a period of years, wherein he recorded his business operations, his correspondence, who he dined with and – most relevantly to my research and to my question here – his ships, their crews and cargoes and the men who piloted the…

I nearly ordered a tiara last week. Not a wedding tiara you understand, because I’ve had one of those for sixty-four years this month, and true to the story of my life, it slipped sideways throughout the service, providing an enduringly comic set of photographs for posterity to snigger at. No, the tiara I fleetingly toyed with was one of those diamond-encrusted, poke firmly behind the ear, headband types, that can’t go cock-eyed when one curtseys to the Queen. Not that I would, being firmly of a republican persuasion. Out of innate politeness I might extend a convivial handshake. It was on account of Lady Isabella Ethelreda Markham Harrington Skelton, who I learned from a recent email purporting to be from Ancestry, is/was my 12th great grandmother through my maternal…

The RAF Museum London based in Colindale has gained the National Autistic Society’s Autism Friendly Award, which supports businesses to be more inclusive for autistic people through providing accessible customer services, information and environments. It can be adopted by any customer facing organisation, including businesses in the retail, transport, arts, entertainment and leisure industries. The RAF Museum has worked closely with the National Autistic Society and consulted with autistic visitors and specialist advisors to improve its facilities, interpretation, signage, staff training, digital platforms and sensory experiences. Helen Tovey & Karen Evans report on news from the world of genealogy. Do you have a story to share? Please email helen.t@family-tree.co.uk…

The manuscripts include those relating to her youngest brothers Francis and Charles Austen, and the display examines Jane’s connections to the Royal Navy and the influence her brothers had in her works. The influence of her naval brothers’ careers and connections enriches Jane Austen’s writing, most evidently in Mansfield Park and Persuasion. In the National Maritime Museum’s (NMM’s) Caird Library there are manuscripts relating to Francis and Charles, who both served in the Royal Navy before and after Jane’s death in 1817. Francis was born a year before Jane and entered the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth aged 12; Charles, born a few years later in 1779 followed the same path. They served long careers in the Navy, Francis being made Admiral of the Fleet in 1863, aged 89, two…

The conference theme is ‘New Connections’, and a focus on topics of interest to younger genealogists is the goal. Presentations will need to be 20 minutes, followed by time for questions from the audience afterwards. They may be given live or pre-recorded. They may be made by individuals or by joint presenters (ie 2 or more). The presentation should be in English. The event organisers expect to be able to pay presenters through sponsorship, details to be confirmed. Accepted presenters under 18 years of age will be required to submit evidence of parental approval to take part prior to the event. How to submit your idea for a talk Proposals should be emailed to events@sog.org.uk and should include: • The presenters name(s), email address(es) and age(s). • Brief bio (approx.…

‘The reason being,’ continues Erica, ‘is a law, effecting descendants of Jews who had to flee Germany and give up their citizenship, giving them the right of return and to regain citizenship that was taken away from the previous generation.’ Since 1949 the reclaiming of German naturalisation by Jewish people had been a possibility, but it was not until the 2021 reform of the German Nationality Act that it has become a right of return, rather than a discretionary situation. ‘My father was German. He fled the Nazis with his whole family. He was very lucky. He was about 16/17 years old at the time and fled with his sister and parents from Frankfurt, via Switzerland, then London, eventually to Nottingham. Interestingly – and this is a bit about the…

We start this month’s final edition of ‘Transcription Corner’ with a confession, one that clearly highlights my complete lack of Scottish ancestry! In the October edition, I told you about David Annand, who was described as a 'Fartor’s Apprentice', which I assumed was a transcription error for 'Farrier’s Apprentice'. However, our sharp eyed Scottish readers were quick to set me straight. Many thanks to Gordon Williams, Sue Ikin, Steve Sandell, and Peter Edwards for pointing out that he was, in fact, most likely a 'Factor’s Apprentice'. The Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) describes a factor as: An agent or steward who manages land or house property for its proprietor; one who has charge of the administration of an estate. One of the joys and frustrations of family history research…

I found my ancestors in successive censuses and plotted their addresses on a map. If you are researching a particular house or court, you can search for it by entering the address in the ‘Keyword’: this will also bring up tax and electoral records, which help to fill in the gaps between censuses. Newspapers and court reports not only provided interesting stories about the occupants of Queen Catherine Court but also gave clues about its buildings. Putting together all the information from these, together with maps, the slum clearance plans and local photos made it possible to create a model of Queen Catherine Court, which shows just how densely packed the houses were. If you are interested in learning more about court housing, you might like to visit Birmingham’s ‘Back…

MEDIEVAL RECORDS FOR THE GENEALOGIST & LOCAL HISTORIAN 1066-1485 This is one in a series of articles; the intention of which is to provide an overview of useful family and local history records in existence, covering the period 1066-1485. Each article can be enjoyed as a standalone read, but the maximum benefit will be enjoyed by reading the entire series. This series of articles includes leads and resources for all countries within the British Isles, while the case study parish through the series was that of Stannington, Northumberland, north-east England. The series began in the July 2025 issue of Family Tree and ends this issue. This issue we will continue with information about key works of historical literature and a timeline of key dates from the period, which both make…

MyStories in practice I’ve been reading the article in Family Tree (FT November 2025 by Wayne Shepheard) about recording our research for other people in a readable and accessible way. Over the years I have made many attempts to make my research more accessible including writing articles for various Family History Society journals. This I realise has been a bit piecemeal with various stories scattered amongst many different societies mainly because my ancestors all came from different places including Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, Cowley village in Gloucestershire, Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire and London Middlesex. Nor did they conveniently stay where they were born as the whole family seems to have suffered from the migration bug! I’ve had great fun tracing their various possible journeys and comparing with our modern options i.e. car! Several…