Book Review: What's in a Surname by David McKie

This book starts with a look at 6 different Broughton villages in England. It looks at the common and very different surnames and how they have fared through time. It was a very interesting idea, but I nearly didn't make it past this chapter. However, I'm very glad I did.

Each chapter seemed even better than the previous, delving into ideas about surnames I'd not considered, but each enhancing the journey. From simple ideas, such as the reason for the spread of surnames (normally necessity), to learning that there weren't only warring clans - but actual warring surnames (such as the Tweedies vs, the Flemings). Eponyms provided an interesting discussion and was one aspect of surnames that I hadn't thought about - and yet is so deeply ingrained in society and the products we use; perhaps the reason it hadn't come to mind? A more sinister theme was the fad of changing your name to that of your political opponent as a way to confuse voters and perhaps increase the voting in your favour. This seemed to peak with a Hanoman and a Stansfeld becoming a Thatcher and a Regan.

The book taught me much in the way of terminology too, from daughtering out of surnames, to surgers, sliders, and stayers. Each phrase allowing me to better understand the basics of the world of onomastics - yet another new term for me.

All in all, this was a brilliant book that provided interesting and illuminating reading. The book left me with a greater sense of the importance of surnames, not just in general, but specifically. It also allowed an insight to what is actually in a surname - and that this is often not the obvious answer!

Book Review: Devizes by Lorna Haycock

Devizes is a history and guide book that provides a good grounding in the buildings, people and events from prehistory to around 1952.

The second edition is much improved (although the first edition was also good) and includes more instructive maps as well as a collection of colour plates in the middle of the book. The majority of the text remains the same, which is great because the book is highly readable. The book covers a wide history of the town and its development from being a satellite of the castle (which is where it got its name from: castle at the boundaries - castrum ad divisa) to being a popular market, and at times, industrial town. There are excellent photographs throughout, including an aerial view of Devizes on page 20.

Devizes is a town that I've always enjoyed visiting, so much so that I got married there in 2014 at the registry office located in Snuff Street. But, I've never really taken the time to learn about all the wonderful buildings there. The guide really came up trumps for this. Not being very mobile due to illness meant that I followed the guide via Google Street View with only a slight detour. The walking instructions are clear and the mix of text and photographs really help to appreciate this wonderful town.

This is a fantastic book to read and at 128 pages won't bog you down if you just want a primer (as I did). The guide is a great way to make the history of the town much more interactive. Definitely one to read whether you live in Wiltshire or are planning to visit.

Book Review: Tracing Your Ancestors Using the Census by Emma Jolly

This is by far, the best genealogy book I've read so far. Balancing historical context with practical,
hands on advice and analysis, this was a joy to read.

Book Review: How to do Everything Genealogy Second Edition by George G. Morgan

This comprehensive book; covering resources for UK, US, and Canadian genealogists, is organised into two parts.

The first is: Begin Your Family History Odyssey, which includes information on topics such as, balancing traditional and electronic research, organising and creating your family tree, placing your ancestors into context and how to locate vital records, as well as extending your research with advanced record types

The second part, Research Methods and Strategies, includes information on  resources such as indexes, as well as locating repositories on the internet, using a research log, online map resources, and how to plan a successful genealogical research trip.

Web Resources: Google Translate

If there's one tool that's a total necessity for people with an ancestry that spans multiple countries, then it's Google Translate.

Google Translate is a free online and app-based translator that can translate words, sentences, and whole blocks of text instantaneously. I will be discussing the web version as this is the one I use as a genealogy research tool.

Book Review: Solving Genealogy Problems by Dr Graeme Davis

Within the space of a couple of hundred pages, Dr. Davis provides a book that is not only a brilliant read, but also utterly insightful.

This book deals with specific brickwalls and potential solutions, for instance, how to find BMD marriages and different census solutions. This also includes finding, using, and what to expect from parish records and newspaper archives, along with other resources.

Web Resources: FreeBMD

FreeBMD is a website populated with Birth, Marriage, and Death records transcribed by volunteers FreeUKGenealogy project, which includes FreeCEN and FreeReg. As FreeBMD is the one that I frequently use, I'm going to concentrate on this part of the project.
and available for free to the public. It's part of the

This website is fantastic in its own right, but especially so if you don't have access to other sites such as Ancestry. BMD records between 1837-1983 are available, however the transcription is ongoing and not every record is available as yet. However, transcriptions are added regularly with November 2014 seeing 806,328 new records added increasing the amount of records to 308,090,800.

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!

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.