For over 500 years, between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Justices of the Peace were the embodiment of government for most of our ancestors. The records they and other county officials kept are invaluable sources for local and family historians, and Stuart Raymond's handbook is the first in-depth guide to them. He shows how and why they were created, what information they contain, and how they can be accessed and used.Justices of the Peace met regularly in Quarter Sessions, judging minor criminal matters, licensing alehouses, paying pensions to maimed soldiers, overseeing roads and bridges, and running gaols and hospitals. They supervised the work of parish constables, highway surveyors, poor law overseers, and other officers. And they kept extensive records of their work, which are invaluable to researchers today. As Stuart Raymond explains, the lord lieutenant, the sheriff, the assize judges, the clerk of the peace, and the coroner, together with a variety of subordinate officials, also played important roles in county government. Most of them left records that give us detailed insights into our ancestors' lives. The wide range of surviving county records deserve to be better known and more widely used, and Stuart Raymond's book is a fascinating introduction to them.

Tracing Your Ancestors in County Records: A Guide for Family and Local Historians

Reference

Raymond, Stuart

Genealogy

Pen and Sword Family History

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 is an excellent introduction to this key area of family and local history research – it is a book that all family and local historians should have on their

Tracing Your Ancestors’ Parish Records: A Guide for Family and Local Historians

History

Europe

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? They 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 them. 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. They offer factual evidence that no genealogist or local historian can afford to ignore. In a series of concise, fact-filled chapters he 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.

The Wills of Our Ancestors: A Guide for Family & Local Historians (Family History from Pen & Sword)

Lancashire Genealogical Bibliography: Registers, Inscriptions and Wills

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

Federation of Family History Societies (Publications)

Londoners' Occupations: A Genealogical Guide

Norfolk Genealogical Bibliography

Parish Registers: A History and Guide

The Family History Partnership

Trades and Professions the Family Historians Guide

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