Obsolete Mayo Family History Website: Wayback Machine to the Rescue
In a couple of my blog posts (My County Mayo Family and The National Library of Ireland Catholic Parish Registers Website and Parish Registers: Brick Wall Breakers and Mystery Creators) I’ve referred...
View ArticleWhat a Difference a Year Can Make – Calendar Confusion
I spent last week recording data on my Family Historian software, ticking off another of my genealogy New Year Resolutions. It included a raft of 18th century parish register entries. Entering the...
View ArticleGrim Times for an 18th Century Coal Mining Family
The most common occupation in my family tree is “coal miner”. Unsurprising given my paternal and maternal West Riding roots. As a result I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching the history of coal...
View ArticleFinding your Brontë links
One of my Christmas holiday viewing highlights was “To Walk Invisible.” Sally Wainwright’s drama focused on the years between 1845-1848, with the four surviving Brontë siblings and their father all...
View ArticleChurching, Mortuaries and Baptism Fees: A Woodkirk Terrier
A series of five terriers dating between July 1770 and 1825 for the Parish of Woodkirk in West Ardsley provided a fascinating peek into the the the fees charged for various parish services. Terriers...
View ArticleTriplets and Two Sets of Twins – Combining Newspapers and Parish Registers
In 1834 Susan Gibson (née Rylah) made the news across England. The Leeds Times of 20 October 1834 typified reporting when it wrote: RARE NEWS FOR MALTHUS!! – A woman named Susan Gibson, of Earlsheaton,...
View ArticleTranscription Tuesday 2019 – Your Chance to Give Something Back to Family...
A date for your diary: 5 February 2019 is Transcription Tuesday. This annual event, launched by Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine in 2017, promises to be the biggest yet and it’s your chance to be...
View ArticleDon’t Let Parish Register Indexes and Online Searches Lead You Down the...
It’s so easy to rely on online parish register searches or transcripts and indexes for family history. But by putting absolute faith in them you could be missing out on so much more. Hopefully this...
View ArticleThe Hanging Heaton Vicar Scandal – How Newspaper Reports Can Supplement...
Passions were running high in Hanging Heaton in the summer of 1851. The vicar, Stephen Mathews, was attacked by a number of parishioners. Amongst the mob were Jane Halliwell who struck him several...
View ArticleA Very British Obsession: The Weather (and Some Ideas for Sources to Use for...
Like many other Brits, I can be ever so slightly obsessed with the weather. In fact a Bristol Airport commissioned poll back in 2018 suggested the average British person spends the equivalent of four...
View Article
