British emigrants to America in the 1600s

Setting sail with hope in their hearts for a better future

It’s been quite a year hasn’t it –

Earliest humans stayed at ‘oldest hotel’ in America 30,000 years ago

A cave in a remote part of Mexico was visited by humans around 30,000 years ago – 15,000 years earlier than people were previously thought to have reached the Americas

New owner for Ancestry

Global investment firm Blackstone has acquired Ancestry from Silver Lake, GIC, Spectrum Equity, Permira, and other equity holders in a deal worth $4.7 billion

Save the dates for next Family Tree Academy conferences

Dates for the second and third Family Tree Academy conferences, in association with Family Search, have been announced

BattleofBritain80thanniversarytobecommemoratedbySkyHistory

Sky History has announced it will release a series of exclusive Battle of Britain programmes to mark this year’s anniversary

Explore 1.7M records more easily on the new CWGC website

The new CWGC logo, which stands alongside the

Supporting people and the planet at Cornish Mining World Heritage Site

The team at the UK’s largest World Heritage Site have released a new management plan that aims for sustainable development over the coming years, whilst protecting the site’s historic assets

Discover the mystery of the Havering Hoard

London’s largest ever Bronze Age hoard is now on display to the public for the very first time at the Museum of London Docklands

150 years of archives to be revealed

The team at the Kirklees office of West Yorkshire Archives Service is celebrating after news of a £40,000 National Archives grant that will enable them to deliver an ambitious project cataloguing 150 years of local democracy

New records help find your Australian forebears

TheGenealogist has added a set of new resources

Explore thousands of early 20th-century Hounslow records

TheGenealogist has released the records of over 33,000 individuals for the Hounslow area into its property ownership and occupancy record set: The Lloyd George Domesday Survey

Back to school!

As the nights draw in, the genealogy community

YOUR FREE RECORDS

The Genealogist At Family Tree we’ve teamed up

The Mayflower story

As we mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage, Simon Wills explains who the Mayflower pilgrims were, why they left England for the New World – and the challenges that faced them in their new land

Mayflower modes

Dress historian Jayne Shrimpton examines documentary evidence to help us picture the Pilgrim Father community as they travelled to the New World

Chelsworth’s Secret

Lasting fame is hard to achieve. For every mighty warrior, whose deeds live on in legend and song, there are 500 that history forgot. A child of the village of Chelsworth, Suffolk became a founding father of Melbourne, yet no pictorial record of him exists in Australia. Margaret Lee tells his story, and hopes that someone might help her find the missing portrait and family heirlooms in Britain

Dear Paul

Let me start this edition of Dear Paul with the answers to the ‘History Fun’ facts that I set you in the June and August issues

Your DNA Workshop

TAKEN A DNA TEST? Now what? Welcome to

AFRICAN DNA

Dr Penny Walters looks at the possibilities provided by DNA tests for tracing African DNA and considers what this might mean for someone’s sense of identity, and the role of our ancestors – as enslaved people or even slave traders, in our shared past

GENEALOGY WITHOUT BORDERS

Chris Paton takes a look at the international genealogy scene and how the worldwide diaspora can assist with our family history

Time for a computer tidy up!

Top tech tips for getting your family history files organised with genealogist and web developer Paul Carter

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 find out how to join in with Family Tree Academy challenges

Learn about palaeography

Discover tips to help you learn how to read old handwriting

Documents In Depth -#9 -Post-1813 burial register

Printed burial registers were introduced on 1 January

Your Family Tree Academy Document Challenges

Now it’s time to put your research skills

How did you do?

Discover how you got on with last issue’s challenges. Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal gives the answers below

BUILDING THE STORY OF YOUR ANCESTORS

Nick Thorne delves deeper into some unusual records to prove a case of mistaken identity in a published book

BOOKS &co 

A selection of the latest family history reads with Helen Tovey & Rachel Bellerby

Your questions answered

With our experts Jayne Shrimpton, Graham Caldwell, Mary Evans & Karen Cummings

Spotlight on... Northumberland & Durham Family History Society

Joyce Jackman, Chairman of Northumberland & Durham FHS, explains how the society can help anyone with roots in this region, with a wealth of resources to explore that can’t easily be found elsewhere

Twiglets

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

Your letters

Salutary reminders of the rewards in store when we check our sources thoroughly

YOUR ADVERTS

ANCESTRAL RESEARCH l AYRSHIRE & SOUTH WEST SCOTLAND.

WhatdidourTudor ancestorsreally think about?

Diane Linsday ponders whether the questionable activities of Henry VIII and his colourful courtiers ever reached the ears of our rural Tudor forebears