“Almost every book on English research highlights the need to examine the wills of our ancestors. . . . [this book] gives us an easy to read detailed guide.” —FGS Forum What are wills, and how can they be used for family and local history research? How can you interpret them and get as much insight from them as possible? Wills are key documents for exploring the lives of our ancestors, their circumstances, and the world they knew. This practical handbook is the essential guide to understanding wills. Wills expert Stuart Raymond traces the history and purpose of probate records and guides readers through the many pitfalls and possibilities these fascinating documents present. He describes the process of probate, gives a detailed account of the content of the various different types of record, and advises readers on how they can be used to throw light into the past, offering factual evidence that no genealogist or local historian can afford to ignore. In a series of concise, fact-filled chapters, Raymond explains how wills came into being, who made them and how they were made, how the probate system operates, how wills and inventories can be found, and how much can be learned from them. In addition to covering probate records in England and Wales, he includes the Channel Islands, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland. This introduction is aimed primarily at family historians who are interested in the wills of particular individuals who are seeking proof of descent and local historians who are interested in the wealth of local historical information that can be gathered from them.

What were the principal causes of death in the past? Could your ancestor have been affected? How was disease investigated and treated, and what did our ancestors think about the illnesses and the accidents that might befall them? Simon Willss fascinating survey of the diseases that had an impact on their lives seeks to answer these questions. His graphic, detailed account offers an unusual and informative view of the threats that our ancestors lived with and died of. He describes the common causes of death—cancer, cholera, dysentery, influenza, malaria, scurvy, smallpox, stroke, tuberculosis, typhus, yellow fever, venereal disease and the afflictions of old age. Alcoholism is included, as are childbirth and childhood infections, heart disease, mental illness and dementia. Accidents feature prominently road and rail accidents, accidents at work and death through addiction and abuse is covered as well as death through violence and war.Simon Willss work gives a vivid picture of the hazards our ancestors faced and their understanding of them. It also reveals how life and death have changed over the centuries, how medical science has advanced so that some once-mortal illnesses are now curable while others are just as deadly now as they were then. In addition to describing causes of death and setting them in the context of the times, his book shows readers how to find and interpret patient records, death certificates and other documents in order to gain an accurate impression of how their ancestors died.

When award-winning television news anchor Cheryl Wills discovers that her great-great-great grandfather, Sandy Wills, was a runaway slave who joined the historic fight for freedom in the American Civil War, she embarks on a gut-wrenching search to learn more. Cheryl¿s journey leads her to a courageous ancestor who demonstrated the same courage that she knew in her beloved father, an intrepid New York City firefighter, who died when she was thirteen. Her father never knew his family¿s notable legacy. Told with deep love and brow-raising honesty, "Die Free" stretches from Haywood County, Tennessee, in the 1860s to New York City in the twentieth century. Cheryl shares the unvarnished truth about the Wills¿ family roots, ever entwined in passion, music, and faith. Cheryl also exhumes the spirit of her great-great- great grandmother Emma Wills, an illiterate lionhearted widow, who was discriminated against as she fought to obtain her husband¿s Civil War pension and unwittingly dictated her historic life, from slavery to freedom, in sworn depositions to a lawyer. The century-old pension papers become the Holy Grail for the newscaster who nails a scoop that has forever changed her life and that of future generations. A lesson in the pruning of one¿s imagination, "Die Free" takes readers on a haunting yet exhilarating ride through the side door of American history.

Wills and Other Probate Records is THE comprehensive guide to this popular area of family history.

Written by an expert geneaologist, this book guides beginners and experienced family historians alike through often complex historical records.

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 Ð it is a book that all family and local historians should have on their shelf.

What was a merchant seamans life like in the past, what experiences would he have had, what were the ships like that he sailed in, and what risks did he run? Was he shipwrecked, rewarded for bravery, or punished? And how can you find out about an ancestor who was a member of the long British maritime tradition? Simon Wills concise and informative historical guide takes the reader and researcher through the fascinating story of Britains merchant service, and he shows you how to trace individual men and women and gain an insight into their lives. In a series of short, information-packed chapters, he explains the expansion of Britains global maritime trade and the fleets of merchant ships that sustained it in peace and war. He describes the lives, duties and tribulations of the generations of crews who sailed in these ships, whether as ordinary seamen or as officers, stewards, engineers and a myriad of other roles. In addition, he identifies the websites you can explore, the archives, records and books you can read, and the places you can visit in order to gain an understanding of what your seagoing ancestor did and the world he knew. Simon Wills practical handbook will be essential reading and reference for anyone who is keen to discover for themselves the secrets of our maritime past and of the crewmembers and ships that were part of it.

Almost all of us have a tradesman or craftsman a butcher, baker or candlestick maker somewhere in our ancestry, and Adle Emm's handbook is the perfect guide to finding out about them about their lives, their work and the world they lived in. She introduces the many trades and crafts, looks at their practices and long traditions, and identifies and explains the many sources you can go to in order to discover more about them and their families. Chapters cover the guilds, the merchants, shopkeepers, builders, smiths and metalworkers, cordwainers and shoemakers, tailors and dressmakers, coopers, wheelwrights and carriage-makers, and a long list of other trades and crafts. The training and apprenticeships of individuals who worked in these trades and crafts are described, as are their skills and working conditions and the genealogical resources that preserve their history and give an insight into their lives. A chapter covers the general sources that researchers can turn to the National Archives, the census, newspapers, wills, and websites and gives advice on how to use them. Adle Emm's introduction will be fascinating reading for anyone who is researching the social or family history of trades and crafts.

Of all family history sources, death records are probably the least used by researchers. They are, however, frequently the most revealing of records, giving a far greater insight into our ancestors' lives and personalities than those records created during their lifetime.Celia Heritage leads readers through the various types of death records, showing how they can be found, read and interpreted and how to glean as much information as possible from them. In many cases, they can be used as a starting point for developing your family history research into other equally rewarding areas.This highly readable handbook is packed with useful information and helpful research advice. In addition, a thought-provoking final chapter looks into the repercussions of death its effects on the surviving members of the family and the fact that a premature death could sometimes affect the family for generations to come.

The new edition of the essential family history title: the only exhaustive guide to The National Archives holdings.