What secrets does the census hold?

Welcome

Take that first (or next) step – dig deeper, search

HOW TO BE AN ORGANISED FAMILY HISTORY SEARCHER

Professional genealogist and local historian Susie Douglas shows you how, by keeping it simple, you can create an up-to-the-minute, efficient and affordable system for organising your family history. As Susie says: ‘Be tech savvy – not a tech slave!’

Sleuthin g my Welsh ancestr y

Life-long history teacher, family historian and author Keith Gregson is all-too-familiar with his family tree. But when his eldest son moved to Wales, and needed to prove his Welsh credentials in the light of English-Welsh rugby matches, it was time for Keith to delve deeper into a specific branch of his family tree and trace his Welsh roots

What to search & where to look for it!

Are you just starting your family history, or wishing to brush up on your online research know-how? Mike Bedford is on hand to help. Here he’ll take you on a whistle-stop tour of essential sites to search to find clues, collect records and grow your family tree

Back to the schoolroom

Settle down at the back please! Today we’re going to learn about the teaching profession in the 1800s to help you track down your Victorian school masters and mistresses in England and Wales. Richard Willis is here to explain

NEWS

Karen Clare reports on the latest genealogy news. Got

DEAR KAREN

Karen Clare chats about great-grandparents and long-lived ancestors, a mystery poem and a very apt surname in this issue’s fascinating collection of stories shared by fellow family history addicts

The baby in the canal A grieving widow’s desperate act

Family history researcher Lisa Edwards shines a light on the tragic story of a young First World War Army widow convicted of concealing the loss of her baby, and finds it was not an unusual crime in wartime Britain

Twiglets

Diarist Gill Shaw charts the rollercoaster ride of researching her family history

A trip to my Spanish homeland

Never in her wildest dreams did Elaine O’Donnell ever imagine what an exceptional path she would take in search of her maternal Spanish roots…

Spotlight on… The Beresford Family Society

Ralph Beresford introduces the Beresford Family Society, a busy and active group that aims to bring together all who bear the name Beresford, and find every Beresford a ‘home’ in one of its many family pedigrees

Books

Karen Clare takes a look at some new titles of interest in the world of family history

DIARY DATES

Find or post diary dates at www.family-tree.co.uk/Events

Your letters

Memories shared, frustrations aired and useful tips to boot…

The prodigal piece

A lesson to all of us to keep looking…Diane Lindsay has recently discovered a new maiden surname for the family tree, and she is DELIGHTED!

ANALYSING AND SYNTHESISING DATA

This month, in her ongoing series, Julie Goucher looks at analysing and synthesising data…

The lunch hour genealogist

Being busy doesn’t mean you have to neglect your favourite hobby, you can still learn in your lunch break! Squeeze just 60 minutes of family history into your daily routine and you’ll soon start to see your tree blossom. It’s time to tuck into Rachel Bellerby’s genealogy treats

Your questions answered

With our panel of experts Jayne Shrimpton, Mary Evans, John Dewis, and Steven Smyrl

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

In this issue’s Techy Tips column, genealogist and web guru Paul Carter explains in simple terms what a domain name is, and reviews the Family History Musings by Marian blog. Use his top advice to create or improve your own blog

Discovere answers to last issue’s challenges How did you do?

Find out the answers to last issue’s Family Tree Academy challenges. Our Academy tutor David Annal explains all

Join the Family Tree Academy & become a skilled family historian

The Family Tree Academy is specially created to help you discover more about the records, resources and research skills you need to become the best genealogist you can be! Read on to join in with Family Tree Academy challenges

Unit topic: Electoral registers & poll books

Lists of names are a family historian’s dream and there’s

This issue’s Theme is el ectoral registers & poll books

Now it’s time to put your research skills to the test. Have a look at the following documents and answer the questions below. The solutions aren’t always in the documents themselves; sometimes you’ll need to look at other sources to find the answers

Tracing lifeboatmen

Simon Wills shows you how to trace some of our bravest ancestors, who volunteered to save the lives of others at sea in all weathers

Taken a DNA test? Now what?

DNA tests grow ever more popular and can lead to fascinating new insights about your ancestry. There is a lot to learn, but help is at hand with Karen Evans’ practical advice for making so much more sense of your DNA