1920s wedding photo showing the bride and groom surrounded by immediate family outside a church

Ancestral Hide-and-Seek in the Roaring Twenties

Where were YOUR ancestors on the evening of Sunday 19 June, 1921? It’s not long to go now before you can find out. Excitement is building in the genealogy world as one of the most hotly-anticipated record releases in a long while edges closer to public view, promising to unfold countless family history stories across the nation and beyond.… Read the rest

Family History With a Flourish: Video-Mapping Your Ancestors

Single frame from a family history map of the British Isles. Coloured pulses in blue and yellow indicate the location of birth events for the paternal and maternal sides of the family.
Snapshot from a dynamic timeline in Flourish, yielding the bigger picture on a family’s geographical spread. Try video-mapping your family history to understand how all those branches came together to form you.

Imagine you’re at an art gallery, looking at a picture that’s caught your attention. But instead of seeing the entire masterpiece, you’re standing so close that your nose is practically touching the canvas.… Read the rest

Record Clustering Analysis Using Excel (A Tutorial)

Computer keyboard

In this short tutorial, we’re going to walk through the process of using Microsoft Excel to make plots for Record Clustering Analysis, or RCA for short. Even if you don’t have a Microsoft subscription, these instructions should work on the free, online-access Excel version included in Microsoft Office for the Web.… Read the rest

What’s Your Research Style? Power Up Your Family History with Record Clustering Analysis

NOTE: The methods in this article are designed for use with 19th and 20th century genealogical research in the UK, particularly England and Wales. Record Clustering Analysis is readily adaptable to other eras and jurisdictions though, so watch out for a follow-up article in 2021!

Pull up a chair, put the kettle on and let’s sit down for a think.… Read the rest

Summer Lovin’: Marriage Trends Over the Generations

Bride Ann weds her groom Antony, 2 June 1962. Photo: Mr James Ackerley, CC BY-NC 2.0.

Spring is here, the sky is blue,

Birds all sing as if they knew

Today’s the day we’ll say “I do”,

And we’ll never be lonely any more…

Dixie Cups, “Chapel of Love”, April 1964.
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