Maureen Vincent-Northam - Trace your roots

Maureen Vincent-Northam began researching local history in the 1980s. Shes worked on a variety of projects with other writers, as well as in a local government department, and has contributed to newspapers, magazines and ebook workshops.

Her fascination with the past, and a bent for detective work, led to her involvement in genealogy. A family history researcher for over ten years, shes helped scores of people worldwide to link up with their ancestors.

For more information visit her website at:

www.maureen-vincent-northam.co.uk

Trace Your Roots

Published by:

Greatest Guides Limited, Woodstock, Bridge End, Warwick

CV34 6PD, United Kingdom

www.greatestguides.com

Copyright by Greatest Guides Limited 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotation in a review.

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Thank you.

eISBN 978-1-907906-64-0

To Ken and Elsie Kilminster,
the best parents I could have wished for.

Contents

Foreword

Never before has genealogy been as popular as it is today, but what is it that makes us so inquisitive? Perhaps its a family legend of royalty connections, a secret linked to a notorious forebear, or simply a burning curiosity to know who we really are.

Whatever the reason, there are intriguing ancestors and plenty of them in everyones family tree. Think of it like this: for every generation we go back, we double the number of our direct ancestors two parents, four grandparents, eight great grandparents, and so on. By the time we reach the 16th century, we could each be looking for over one thousand people!

But, for me, genealogy isnt just about drawing up a pedigree with a long list of names that go back to the year dot. Its about widening our knowledge of the times our ancestors lived through, finding out what they did, and getting to know the sort of people they were. By doing this, we bring our own unique history to life.

In my role as a researcher, Ive shared in peoples joys and frustrations; had a great deal of fun, and met some wonderful people and a few eccentrics along the way! Ive been asked to prove connections to several famous people in history, from British monarchs to pioneers of the American Wild West. But all of my clients have had one thing in common a fascination for discovering their personal genealogy.

Everyones family history is different. The tips in this book will show you the best tricks of the trade for finding your British ancestors; how to begin your research from scratch; what the most useful records are, and where to find them; what to do if you get stuck; and how to create your very own archive.

Youre about to set off on a remarkable quest

Good luck and happy hunting!

There are few things more satisfying than building your family tree even if you do find a skeleton or two lingering in a closet! But what if your ancestor began life in the British Isles, how do you set about tracking them down? People left the old country for a variety of reasons economic, religious, or to find a better life for themselves and their families. Then, of course, there were those who didnt leave by choice, but who were shipped out to the British colonies as convicts.

Many thousands of Americans, Canadians and Australians have a British family line, so the first section of this book takes a peek at some of the more useful resources to help track down where in the U.K. your pioneer ancestor originally came from.

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, STOP

Utilize all the available resources in your home country to first establish where your family members originated. Many British records are kept in local repositories, making it vital that you discover your ancestors exact location. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are divided into dozens of counties or regions, each comprising numerous towns and villages, with the main towns having a record office holding the local archives for that particular district.

MAILING LISTS

Before you travel the long road back to the old country, check out some online mailing lists. These could supply vital information about your ancestors by connecting you with folk whove already researched family lines that tie-in with your own.

http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com

MOVING THE BOUNDARIES

There is nothing the powers-that-be like better than to shift things around. The county boundaries of many places in the U.K. have been altered over the years, with towns first appearing in one county and then another, so do be aware of these anomalies when looking up your ancestors place of origin.

FREE CHARTS ANYONE!

The lovely folk at the Ellis Island website will provide you with free, downloadable charts and forms, which are great for keeping a record of your discoveries. Charts include: Pedigree Chart, Family Group Sheet and Passenger Arrival Log.

http://www.ellisisland.org/genealogy/genealogy_charts.asp

SHIPS LISTS

The Ships Lists website has a zillion links for anyone interested in tracing their immigrant ancestors!

www.theshipslist.com

LINKS WITH IRELAND

And for your Irish immigrant ancestors, check out the Irish Times website.

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm

STARTING POINT: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NATURALIZATION RECORDS

Sometimes naturalization papers can be more enlightening than searching through ship passenger lists. These records can highlight an immigrants place of birth and previous address, along with the date of arrival in his adopted country.