Category Archives: research tips

I’ve been so busy over the weekend. My two teens were away which meant I had time to myself! This happened to coincide with free access to the newspaper collection on Find My Past!

I’ve added a few interesting characters to my family tree and it has jumped from 584 to 623 people in the last two weeks! Eeek. Some of the people led quite extraordinary lives and/or had unusual names, which meant there was a lot of information to be found about them. I was also able to search the free newspapers to find out even more. Newspapers certainly add a new dimension to endless census and BMD data.

Free access to the newspapers ends today which is good for me, as I really need to concentrate of downloading my data from Ancestry. I do feel I could manage it by the end of the year, and then I will have to go back and make sure I have an up to date list as I started out there were only 321 people in my tree – which means I’ve added over 300 people in 8 months!

Previous posts:

Week 34

Week 26

Week 21

Week 19

Week 18

Week 13 update

Week 12 update

Week 6 update

Week 5 update

Week 4 update

Week 3 update

Week 2 update

Week 1 update

The problem with Ancestry

I have missed a few updates due to the summer holidays. We have been lucky to have had a few trips away but that doesn’t mean I have forgotten my family history. We even managed t0 squeeze in a quick trip to the pretty church at Birdham in Sussex to see where some relatives got married back in 1827.

I have been slowly plodding away and downloading my documents. Somehow I have 553 people on my tree, which is a major jump from the 512 people in Week 19! Not sure what happened there.

Previous posts:

Week 21

Week 19

Week 18

Week 13 update

Week 12 update

Week 6 update

Week 5 update

Week 4 update

Week 3 update

Week 2 update

Week 1 update

The problem with Ancestry

A few weeks have passed and I have been plodding away at downloading and sorting my family history records. I have only added 8 people to my current family tree on Ancestry but these are all well researched and I am confident in the records I have collected (some of the Ancestry hints are really bad records!).

As well as saving historical records I sent off for some BMD certificates for close family as it felt strange not having these. It also helped to fill in some information and add connections I didn’t previously have.

I enjoyed watching the recent D-Day commemorations and was hoping to find some new information as so many family history sites were free over the weekend. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to find anything. I have a couple of relatives who fought in the Second World War but have not been able to access their service records yet.

Previous posts:

Week 13 update

Week 12 update

Week 6 update

Week 5 update

Week 4 update

Week 3 update

Week 2 update

Week 1 update

The problem with Ancestry

Thanks to all the paperwork I found last weekend I’ve been busy scanning and saving over 100 documents. It was quite fun looking back at my old research and I found letters I wrote, including one from 1990 when I was just starting my research whilst still at school!

It was interesting to see the letters because now everything is via email and I haven’t kept any of them, and I also make less enquiries as so much can be found online. I also came across lots of research I had forgotten about and done again, reminding me how valuable this project is to save everything in the right place. I am still keeping paper documents, but it is much easier to find digital versions on my laptop.

As well as the scanning I did a little saving of Ancestry documents. I merged some duplicate entries and added a few and the total number of ancestors stands at 504 people.

Previous posts:

Week 12 update

Week 6 update

Week 5 update

Week 4 update

Week 3 update

Week 2 update

Week 1 update

The problem with Ancestry

I’ve had a little Bank Holiday push to get some more records saved and organised. My people count has now increased to 500 people and 72 photos and I’m being firm with myself and trying not to add any more people from branches .i.e siblings and their children. I’m also not adding any of my own photos as I really want all my research on my own site.

We also sorted out a cupboard and I found a few certificates I had lost, thank goodness for Bank Holidays.

Previous posts:

Week 6 update

Week 5 update

Week 4 update

Week 3 update

Week 2 update

Week 1 update

The problem with Ancestry

I completed the Stage 1 family history course with the Society of Genealogists which was really good.  I’ve now completed the Stage 1 and Stage 3 so I’m thinking I will sign up to the Stage 2 course.

Last week I spent a lot of time learning about Marianne Nantes, the first wife of Henry Harper. His second wife was Julia Young, sister of Alfred Young, my 2xgreat grand father. I should not have become side tracked by Marianne Nantes but she had a fascinating life, about 9 children, and an infamous father (Henry Nantes, look him up).

Previous posts:

Week 5 update

Week 4 update

Week 3 update

Week 2 update

Week 1 update

The problem with Ancestry