Anthony Burton's concise and informative guide to British shipbuilding will be absorbing reading for anyone who wants to learn about its history or find out about the life of a shipbuilder and his family. In a clear and accessible way he traces its development from the medieval period to its peak in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and on into the present day. He describes how, at the height of its powers, it was of immense importance. It employed tens of thousands of workers, so a large proportion of the population today has some connection with it. And this great industry was also so widespread that wherever you move around the coast of Britain, you will never be far from a former shipbuilding center.This practical handbook will be an invaluable guide for family and local historians and for readers with a more general interest in shipbuilding. It introduces the variety of national and local records that are available for genealogical research and considers the many other resources that can yield fascinating information about the industry and those who worked in it.

Few previous publications have focused on Welsh family history, and none have provided a comprehensive guide to the genealogical information available and where to find it. That is why the publication of Beryl Evans's new Welsh family history handbook is such a significant event in the field. Her detailed, accessible, authoritative guide will be essential reading and reference for anyone who is eager to research ancestors from Wales. ?She describes the key archival sources and shows how the development of new technology, the internet in particular, has made them so much easier to explore. Drawing on her long experience of family history work, she gives clear practical advice on how to start a research project, and she sketches in the outlines of Welsh history, Welsh surnames and place-names and the Welsh language. ?But the main body of her book is devoted to identifying the variety of sources researchers can consult Ð the archive repositories, including The National Library of Wales, civil records of all kinds, the census, parish registers, wills, the records of churches, chapels, schools, businesses, tax offices and courts, and the wide range of printed records. ?Beryl Evans's handbook will be a basic text for researchers of Welsh descent and for anyone who is keen to learn about Welsh history

Birmingham, the cradle of the industrial revolution and the world's first manufacturing town, is an important focus for many family historians who will find that their trail leads through it. Rural migrants, Quakers, Jews, Irish, Italians, and more recently people from the Caribbean, South-Asia and China have all made Birmingham their home. This vibrant history is reflected in the city's rich collections of records, and Michael Sharpe's handbook is the ideal guide to them. ?He introduces readers to the wealth of information available, providing an essential guide for anyone researching the history of the city or the life of an individual ancestor. His work addresses novices and experienced researchers alike and offers a compendium of sources from legal and ecclesiastical archives, to the records of local government, employers, institutions, clubs, societies and schools. Accessible, informative and extensively referenced, it is the perfect companion for research in Britain's second city.

Every family historian has child ancestors, and childhood experiences and records are an essential aspect of research into a past life. That is why Sue Wilkes's detailed and accessible handbook is such a useful guide for anyone who is trying to find out about the early years of their forbears. In Tracing Your Ancestors' Childhood she explores the history of childhood and education and brings together information about relevant records and archives into one handy reference guide. She outlines ancestors' childhood experiences at home, school, work and in institutions, especially during Victorian times. In the opening chapter she reviews basic family history sources, then she discusses records of childhood in detail. Specialist archives, published sources, recommended reading and other resources and documents are covered. She focuses primarily on England and Wales and covers the years 1750–1950. The second part of her book is a directory of archives and specialist repositories. Databases of children's societies, useful genealogy websites, and places to visit which bring the social history of childhood to life are all included.

Explore the lives of your ancestors in the 'city of 1,000 trades' in this family and local history guide, dedicated to the city of Leeds. Learn how to find out more about the streets where your ancestors lived, where they would have gone to school and church and chapel, how they'd have spent their leisure time, what life would have been like for immigrants in the city, and discover more about the different trades in which your family members were involved. Leeds is home to many different archives and collections, from records of major companies such as Joshua Tetley & Sons, Burtons Tailors and Marks & Spencers, to street plans, photo collections and records of theatres and football clubs. Rachel Bellerby's handbook shows you how to get started with your research, building up an intriguing and colourful record of the city that your ancestors called home. It is an essential guide for anyone living in Leeds or with family connections to the city.

This fully revised second edition of Rosemary Wenzerul's lively and informative guide to researching Jewish history will be absorbing reading for anyone who wants to find out about the life of a Jewish ancestor. In a clear and accessible way she takes readers through the entire process of research. She provides a brief social history of the Jewish presence in Britain and looks at practical issues of research – how to get started, how to organize the work, how to construct a family tree and how to use the information obtained to tell the story of a family. In addition she describes, in practical detail, the many sources that researchers can go to for information on their ancestors, their families and Jewish history.

Tracing your Yorkshire ancestors using the internet has never been easier, with literally millions of records available to explore. But with so much material available, it can be difficult to know how to get started and what records to use. Rachel Bellerby's brand new guide is a follow-up to the best-selling Tracing Your Yorkshire Ancestors and is packed with up-to-date information on finding your Yorkshire forebears online. From the basics of birth, marriage and death, through migration and education, and looking at the tough times such as poverty and ill health, Rachel Bellerby guides us through the thousands of websites available, with tips and advice from family history professionals around Yorkshire. The themed chapters make it easy to decide what information you would like to find out and the best websites to use. With step-by-step guidance on smart searching and time saving tips, this guide has everything you need to enjoy the journey of tracing your Yorkshire ancestors on the internet, wherever in the world you live.

The recent past is so often neglected when people research their family history, yet it can be one of the most rewarding periods to explore, and so much fascinating evidence is available. The rush of events over the last century and the rapid changes that have taken place in every aspect of life have been dramatic, and the lives of family members of only a generation or two ago may already appear remote. That is why Karen Bali’s informative and accessible guide to investigating your immediate ancestors is essential reading, and a handy reference for anyone who is trying to trace them or discover the background to their lives. In a sequence of concise, fact-filled chapters she looks back over the key events of the twentieth century and identifies the sources that can give researchers an insight into the personal stories of individuals who lived through it. She explains census and civil records, particularly those of the early twentieth century, and advises readers on the best way to get relevant information from directories and registers as well as wills and other personal documents. Chapters also cover newspapers – which often provide personal details and offer a vivid impression of the world of the time – professional and property records and records of migration and naturalization. This practical handbook is rounded off with sections on tracing living relatives and likely future developments in the field.

The Boer War took place between 1899 and 1902, just 15 years before the start of the First World War. Some 180,00 Britons , mainly volunteers , traveled 6,000 miles to fight and die in boiling conditions on the veld and atop ‘kopjes’. Of the over 20,000 who died more than half suffered enteric, an illness consequent on insanitary water. This book will act as an informative research guide for those seeking to discover and uncover the stories of the men who fought and the families they left behind. It will look in particular at the kind of support the men received if they were war injured and that offered to the families of the bereaved. Some pensions were available to regular soldiers and the Patriotic Fund, a charitable organization , had been resurrected at the beginning of the conflict. However for those who did not fit these categories the Poor Law was the only support available at the time. The book will explore a variety of research materials such as: contemporary national and local newspapers; military records via websites and directly through regimental archives; census, electoral, marriage and death records; records at the National Archives including the Book of Wounds from the Boer War, the Transvaal Widows’ Fund and others.

Parish records are essential sources for family and local historians, and Stuart Raymond's handbook is an invaluable guide to them. He explores and explains the fascinating and varied historical and personal information they contain. His is the first thoroughgoing survey of these resources to be published for over three decades. In a concise, easy-to-follow text he describes where these important records can be found and demonstrates how they can be used. Records relating to the poor laws, apprentices, the church, tithes, enclosures and charities are all covered. The emphasis throughout is on understanding their original purpose and on revealing how relevant they are for researchers today. Compelling insights into individual lives and communities in the past can be gleaned from them, and they are especially useful when they are combined with other major sources, such as the census.Your Ancestors' Parish Records is an excellent introduction to this key area of family and local history research it is a book that all family and local historians should have on their shelf.