That Was A Year That Was

The online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, receives a lot of criticism for inaccuracy. To an extent this criticism is warranted, there are some bogus entries. However, Wikipedia is a good starting point for further research. It is particularly useful for adding background to your research because of it's pages devoted to the events of specific years, or … Continue reading That Was A Year That Was →

Some Weekend Muzak

This song will be familiar to anyone who was around during World War 2. It was a favourite of my maternal grandmother and she played it so often my younger brother became quite taken with it. As soon as he heard the opening bars he would jig about in time (or so he thought) to … Continue reading Some Weekend Muzak →

Isles of Scilly – a place my ancestors called home

My great, great, great, great grandfather, James Thomas Shipley was born on the island of St Marys in the Isles of Scilly in 1805. Like his father John Shipley, James worked as a gig pilot, a perilous job which involved rowing out to sea to meet incoming ships, climbing aboard - often using nothing more … Continue reading Isles of Scilly – a place my ancestors called home →

Family History Mystery – Can You Help?

Are you familiar with old (17th century) Dutch, or old English place names? If the answer to either question is yes, please pop over to this thread on the Ancestry message boards and share your wisdom about the meaning of the sentence "van Absin in Engelt". It appears to mean 'from Absin in England'. If … Continue reading Family History Mystery – Can You Help? →

5 Reasons why a family historian needs a blog or website

There are numerous websites which offer members the facility to upload a gedcom file and create an online family tree, so some might ask whether there is any point to creating and maintaining a stand alone blog or website. I say yes, and this is why: 1) Visibility: It's more likely to be found. I've … Continue reading 5 Reasons why a family historian needs a blog or website →