This book offers practical guidance to the basics of researching a family tree, advice on how to go beyond this and discover more details of the lives of one's ancestors, and a general history of the development and distribution of surnames. Hey highlights those aspects of social history that are most relevant to family history research, and looks at wider avenues of possible research, such as the past and present distribution of surnames, the stability of certain families, the mobility of others, and the use of painting and photographs.

The Oxford Guide to Family History

History

Hey, David

Europe

Oxford University Press

Who were your ancestors? Where did they live? How did they earn their living? At what age did they marry, and how large were their families? Throughout the ages and across the world people have had a natural curiosity about their ancestors, but only recently have amateur historians begun to trace their forebears with such fervor and delight. Written by a leading authority in the field, The Oxford Guide to Family History is a practical introduction to finding out about your family. Much more than a guide to the mechanics of constructing a family tree, this helpful book suggests ways of broadening your own family research to look at what life was like for people of centuries past. Drawing on the oral tradition, financial records, gravestones, or census records, one may, for instance, learn how a family earned their living, what a person was like, or what religion they were. While many of the examples are based on British family histories, David Hey offers much practical advice on the basics of family research. He suggests, for example, that a family historian not start with some famous person who had the same surname back in the fifteenth century. The golden rule is to work backwards from the known to the unknown. Among basic sources for the beginner are municipal records, census records, and church registers. And Hey also points out that many surnames are intensely local in their distribution, and that as a result, tracing the geographical pattern of a surname is an important task, as it may lead towards the original home of the name. Offering practical advice such as how to get started, where to find records, and how to decipher early styles of handwriting, The Oxford Guide to Family History is essential to learning the most about your family history. Lavishly illustrated with pictures of family groups, houses, monuments, and archive records, here is an authoritative guide to this fascinating hobby.

Parenting & Relationships

Reference

This book combines linguistic and historical approaches with the latest techniques of DNA analysis and shows the insights these offer for every kind of genealogical research. It focuses on British names, tracing their origins to different parts of the British Isles and Europe and revealing how names often remain concentrated in the districts where they first became established centuries ago. In the process the book casts fresh light on the ancient peopling of the British Isles. The authors consider why some names die out while others spread across the globe. They use recent advances in DNA testing to investigate whether particular surnames have single, dual, or multiple origins, and to find out if the various forms of a single name have a common origin. They show how information from DNA can be combined with historical evidence and techniques to distinguish between individuals with the same name and different names with similar spellings, and to identifty the name of the same individual or family spelt in various ways in different times and places. The final chapter of this paperback edition, looking at the use of genetics in historical research, has been updated to include new work on the DNA of Richard III.

Surnames, DNA, and Family History

Redmonds, George

King, Turi

Historical Study & Educational Resources

If like many Americans you're curious about your roots, this Companion is the perfect guide to investigating family history in the British Isles. Edited by David Hey, a leading authority, the book provides helpful information for anyone enquiring into their English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh origins and for anyone working in genealogical research or on the social history of the British Isles. This fully revised and updated edition has been newly structured for ease of use, with an informative thematic essay section followed by an A-Z dictionary with more than 2,000 jargon-free entries, as well as detailed appendices which include further reading and up-to-date recommended websites. New essays for this edition are: "A Guide for Beginners," "Links between British and American Families," "Black and Asian Family History," and an extended article on "Names." With research tips, a full background to the social history of communities and individuals, and a special updated appendix listing all national and local record offices with their contact details, this is an essential reference work for anyone interested in uncovering and understanding the past.

The Oxford Companion to Family and Local History

Family History and Local History in England

Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd

Yorkshire from Ad 1000 (Regional History of England)

Longman Publishing Group

Local history in England

Considered to be the classic introduction to the subject, this third edition has been carefully revised and updated to take account of the developments in the subject, and includes an extensive newly compiled bibliography and twice the number of illustrations as in previous editions.

Local History in England

HOSKINS, W.G.

Routledge

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