Book Review: Tracing Your Family History On The Internet by Chris Paton

Many books about Internet resources don't hold well over time. I've read other books that were published around the same time as this one (2011) and have found that many of the resources they point the reader to have vanished.

However, Chris Paton has compiled a book of resources and the vast majority of them are still online today. This shows me that it wasn't random searches that led to the inclusion of the websites in the book, but a good personal knowledge of the online genealogical landscape.

The book begins with a chapter on Gateways and Institutions - sites that cover national and local archives, as well as vendors such as Ancestry and Findmypast.

We then move on to Genealogical Essentials - the websites that are fundamental to anyone researching their family tree. From buying and sharing BMD certificates to gazetteers and heritage websites. Personally, I found the bulk of most helpful sites in this chapter.

The third chapter is entitled Occupational Records and includes things like Workers' rights, The Church, The Law and Business. I'll probably revisit this chapter when I delve more into the English side of my family.

The we move on to chapters with resources specific to each country the book deals with. Chapters on England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland also drill down to the country level. Before advancing to resources about Crown Dependencies and Empire and Migration.

The book closes with a short chapter on Social Networking - which I think is an important subject to cover. I find a lot of information whether general to genealogy or by specifically asking questions in Facebook groups and Twitter!

The book is written well and therefore easy to read, with web links emboldened and therefore easy to pick out from the descriptive text. There are a few screenshots scattered around to break up the text, but just be aware that over time the designs of the websites are likely to change - which is probably why only a few are provided and they tend to show the types of information that can be gleaned from the site shown.

This is a really interesting and well designed book. I found few new resources to add to my favourites list and where I found resources I already had; it made me feel more confident that I'm on the right track. The book also (inadvertently) prompted me to tidy up my bookmarks - something I've been meaning to do for some time!

Roy Brown's Birth Certificate

As I mentioned in a previous post, my wife ordered my Dad's Birth Certificate for me this Christmas. This was very important to me because not only did he die over 12 years ago, but we had a complex and inconsistent relationship over the years. So, I'm always keen to learn more about him; even if it's just little pieces of data.

So, what new things did it tell me about my Dad and the wider family?

Firstly, it gave me an address that I hadn't known about previously. I find it so exciting to add new homes to the map and see how individuals and families move around.

Secondly, it told me that my Nana had kept her married name. She was married before meeting my Grandfather and I had wondered if she reverted back to her maiden name (which is what my mum has done); but now I know that she remained a Winterton. It also tells me that she's a Housekeeper. I need to do some research, but I think that it means she was a house wife. I'm assuming this because the trend seems to be that only records of "Housekeeper (Non Domestic)" seem to related to working outside of the home - for example in a hotel or boarding school.

Thirdly, it tells me that my Grandfather was a Bricklayers Labourer. This is exciting as I didn't have a clue what sort of work he did!

Fourthly, but probably least importantly, I know that for whatever reason, 12 days passed before they managed to register my Dad's birth. This isn't surprising as I imagine that they were both busy, Grandad with work and Nana looking after my Dad and her other children.


I was hoping for an example of their handwriting. Sadly, it appears that this was filled in by the registrar. There may be a reason for this, but as I'm still new to this, I'm not sure what it is! If you have any suggestions: answers on a postcard - or in the comments below!

Web Resources: General Register Office

This year, for Christmas, I asked my wife to order me my dad's birth certificate. I didn't know much about his birth, so I thought that this would be a nice way of getting to know a bit more about him and to have the certificate for family members to see.

I had looked on certificate swapping websites (links below) and found that there were no certificates for my dad on there, so I headed straight to the GRO website.

Book Review: Essential Maps for Family Historians by Charles Masters

The author skilfully weaves his way through a miscellany of maps, from County Maps and Town Maps to Enclosure Maps and National Farm Surveys, making the undertaking of map reading interesting and accessible.