We’re only a few days into the year: chances are that you have already given up on that New Year’s resolution you made last week. If so, then you’re in good company: a 2018 YouGov poll of the UK population suggested that less than a quarter of people who make resolutions actually keep them.… Read the rest
Tag: family history
Christmas Competition: The Historic Occupations Quiz
Our Historic Occupations Christmas Quiz ran throughout December 2020 – thanks to all those who took part! Although the competition has now closed, you can still try your hand at the questions simply for the fun of the challenge. Scroll down to enjoy the quiz as many times as you like.… Read the rest
Explore Your (Digital) Archives: 4 Amazing Websites to Broaden Your Genealogy Horizons
It’s the last week of November: the time of year when we celebrate Explore Your Archive week. If you’re a keen user of social media, you may have noticed a number of posts using the #ExploreYourArchives hashtag in recent days. This initiative from the Archives and Records Association aims to raise public awareness of the value of our archive and heritage sector, and encourage us to engage with all the wonderful resources they have to offer.… Read the rest
Record Clustering Analysis Using Excel (A Tutorial)
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
Negative Space: Making Your Genealogy Gaps Work For You (and your family tree)
How do you feel when your genealogy research hits a brick wall: frustrated, demoralised, perhaps downright bewildered? Sometimes what you need is a fresh perspective on your family history to kickstart your research process.
Review: Burning the Books
We now find ourselves well into autumn here in the UK; the weather is starting to turn and colder, darker nights beckon – the perfect time to be curled up in front of the fire, reading a good book. With this in mind, today’s post makes a slight departure from my usual “research methods” postings, but is highly relevant to the worlds of genealogy and history.… Read the rest
Walking in their Footsteps: Maps and the Family Historian
The best stories always start with a map. Whether I was in Narnia or the Hundred Acre Wood, Middle-Earth or Treasure Island, the books of my childhood were ever the richer for having a map at the front, ready to help me navigate those magical worlds.
For me, the maps fascination has never subsided, and I know I’m not alone in this.… Read the rest
Lost in Genealogy: Seven Steps to Battling Bias
Today, we’re going to talk about the elephant in every genealogist’s research room. It’s one we’ve all spent some time with, whether we realise it or not. And what’s more, this particular elephant tends to divert our research when it shouldn’t. At its worst, it can stampede us right off course.… Read the rest
Summer Lovin’: Marriage Trends Over the Generations
… Read the restSpring 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.
Asking the Right Question: Part 3
Picture this scene: you absolutely love chocolate cake and have decided to bake your own. You’ve even bought a cake tin especially for the purpose. You’re thrilled. You can’t wait to get started. Whenever you look at the tin, you think, “that’s the chocolate cake tin”. It’s become so fixed in your mind as the chocolate cake tin that it doesn’t once occur to you to use it to make other flavours of cake: lemon, coffee, blueberry, vanilla…and so there’s a whole load of things you end up missing out on.… Read the rest