Geoff opened with
‘I’m stuck, how often have we heard
that plaintive cry’ and of course we all
have heard it, indeed some of us have uttered it
ourselves on a number of occasions.
He went on to
cover reasons why we might be stuck and the
various ways to get started again:-
- Ask yourself
‘What do I really need to find, what
time period and where do I need to look’.
- Sort out
also if your ancestor was an agricultural
labourer, or top of the tree, so that you
won’t waste time looking in the
wrong places
- Trace and
purchase death certificates to ensure
that the person lived beyond childhood.
Geoff went on to
explain about migration, how lawyers, vicars and
doctors often moved long distances, but
agricultural labourers were only likely to move
approximately ten miles from their birth place in
order to find work. He suggested we decide our
starting point and then gradually look further
afield within the chosen area and to use the
parish map which shows where your parish is
situated. Is this near the county boundary, so
did they move into the next county.
Use research
books/indexes and registers such as -
- Phillimore’s
Atlas and Index of Parish Records - C.R.
Humphery-Smith.
- Marriage and
census indexes for family historians - J.S.W.
Gibson & E. Hampson.
- Genealogical
Research Directory - K.A. Johnson & M.
R. Sainty.
- School,
university and college registers and
histories - in the Library of the Society
of Genealogists
Look also at
- Poor Law
Union Records
- City Livery
Companies
- Register of
One-Name Studies
- Bishops
transcripts and marriage licenses, bonds
and allegations
It’s
possible your ancestor might not have been
Church of England, so look at the Non-conformists
registers.
Another place to
look might be Specialist Indexes to various
trades and occupations if your ancestors trade is
known.
I have only
touched the surface of this presentation, with so
much information too numerous to cover this was
an informative, interesting and pleasant meeting,
which I am sure gave those present many new
avenues to pursue in the interests of tracing
their family tree.
