Brickwalls: in theory... and in practice

AUDIO CONTENT TAP HERE To tune in to

First Dr John Burt bursary award announced by AGRA

Dr Sophie Kay has been announced as the first recipient of the John Burt Bursary award

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN WHAT WE CALL OUR GRANDPARENTS: NEW RESEARCH

Independent consumer research released by emporia Telecom shows the names that Brits use for their grandparents reveal marked differences across the country

ROOTSTECH ROUND-UP

We take a look at some highlights of the world’s largest online genealogy event, RootsTech, which recently welcomed well over one million participants from more than 225 countries around the world

Quaker Women’s Petition 1659 added to FindMyPast

Did your 17th-century female ancestor campaign for religious tolerance in England? A new release from FindMyPast reveals a snapshot of 7,000 women in 1659

12 million newspaper pages now available at newspapers.com

Ancestry has announced that more than 12 million historic UK newspaper pages from over 200 UK newspapers have been made available on Newspapers.com

Distilling and brewing magazine is a ‘treasure trove’ of historic adverts

New to British Newspaper Archive is Distillers,’ Brewers’ and Spirit Merchants’ Magazine, published in Glasgow from the late 19th century and addressing the distilling and brewing industries across Great Britain and Ireland

43,000 historical Scottish prison records released by Scottish Indexes

In a continuation of their Scotland’s Criminal Database project, Glasgow based genealogists Emma and Graham Maxwell of Scottish Indexes have released an index to a further 43,000 historical Scottish Prison records

Large-scale redevelopment planned for British Library site at Boston Spa

Plans to create a ‘modern and sustainable’ home for the UK’s growing national collection at Boston Spa in Yorkshire have been revealed, after planning permission was granted by Leeds City Council

GET MORE FROM THE 1939 REGISTER

TheGenealogist has updated the 1939 Register with a new detailed mapping feature and an additional 258,000 individuals

5.8M records from JewishGen published at MyHeritage

MyHeritage has recently published 5.8 million records from 28 collections from JewishGen

SCOTTISH HOUSE HISTORY

TRACING

TEN STEPS TO FINDING JOHN ARMSTRONG

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Plenty of other family trees concurring, but without enough evidence to convince us that all really is as popular opinion seems to indicate. Here professional genealogist Susie Douglas shares some of the useful lessons to note when tackling a longstanding research block and trying to get to the truth of the matter

ANOTHER BRICK IN YOUR WALL?

Chris Broom shares some ideas on breaking through your brick wall, inviting us to think differently about our research obstacle, seeing the puzzle afresh and maybe through another person’s eyes…

Postcards from the Front

Simon Wills looks at how to analyse your ancestors’ postcards, especially those which came from soldiers in the First World War, decoding the censors’ marks, deducing dates and more

Did she fall or was she pushed?

Heather Nicol recounts an unsolved tragedy from her family history, as she attempts to discover the circumstances surrounding the death of her 3x greatgrandmother Sarah Mitchell

L AW & THE FAMILY HISTORIAN

YESTERYEAR’S LAWS FOR TODAY’S RESEARCHERS

IMPROVE YOUR PALAEOGRAPHY SKILLS

The Family Tree Academy is here to help you grow your genealogy skills. The aim is to help teach more about the search skills and source know-how needed to step up your family history research. In this issue, Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal shares advice on how to tackle the reading of handwriting, and decoding of documents: those essential twin skills we all need to master in order to study manuscripts effectively

TWIGLETS

...DOWN ON HIS LUCK

A SUMMER TO remember

Sisters Judith Sexton and Frances Marshall share their experiences of a joint family history trip last summer, to find the places associated with their 1830s ancestry

YOUR DNA WORKSHOP

ENLISTING DNA ON YOUR FAMILY HISTORY QUEST

TASK OF THE MONTH

ARE YOU MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR 23ANDME RESULTS?

RECLAIMEDJANES

My tired myopic eyes squint at my phone screen. I know I really should go to bed. But I can’t. I can’t step away. It ’s midnight, everything is quiet and still, and I am reading. Natalie Pithers of GenealogyStories reflects on the recent #ReclaimJane event

Spotlight on...REIGATE AND DISTRICT FAMILY HISTORY GROUP

Rosemary Creasey introduces a family history group that aims to offer both online and on-site help and advice to those with ancestors in Reigate and surrounding areas

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Where might a missing baby be? Q

WHERE WILL YOUR READING TAKE YOU?

Workhouses of Wales and

Your letters

From house history clues, to transcription troubles... & DNA solutions -all in one letter!

Our roving rural ancestors

This month, Diane Lindsay raises a glass to her rural forebears, as she tries to pin down highly mobile families and the oft-changing street and building names of pre-1920s villages