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SOCIAL HISTORY » RESEARCH ADVICE » REVIEWS » PLACES IN FOCUS
Children at workWere your forebears robbed of their childhood?
Break down the brick wallsWhat to do if they’re not in the census
e great aviatorsResearch flying aces online
Issue No. 1 | May 2013
In association with
DISCOVER US}INSIDE THIS MONTH}}
Welcome to the first issue of Discover YourAncestors Periodical, the first digital-onlymonthly publication dedicated to family and socialhistory! You may already be familiar with ourannual printed edition available in newsagentsworldwide – if so, you’ll find a familiar feel tothings, as we build on the print magazine to lookat a wealth of subjects in depth; if not, come on in
and make yourself at home! Over the months ahead we’ll helpyou explore your roots – especially in the UK, but we’ll also look atconnections abroad – as well as understand what your ancestors’lives were really like. We’ll have a rich mix of useful genealogyadvice, tips on getting past brick walls in your research, andinteresting features by respected writers that will help to bringyour personal heritage alive. In our second print magazine one of our lead features explored
what our ancestors’ schooldays were like – this time we look at theother side of the coin: child labour. You’ll also find research adviceon births, marriages and deaths and the censuses, an explorationof exciting new data relating to pioneer aviators – and even a tripto a Tudor tavern. Do let me know what sort of subjects you’d liketo see covered in future issues, via [email protected]. Also, look out for free records every month at ourwebsite, www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk. Thanks for subscribing – we look forward to helping you on your
own historical voyage of discovery! Andrew Chapman, Editor
Welcome tothe Periodical
Editorial OfficeDiscovery Media GroupDiscovery House63 Dundale RoadTringHertsHP23 5BXT: (0)1296 631 273E: [email protected]: www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk
Advertising OfficeDiscovery Media Group, LondonT: (0)208 297 9073E: [email protected]
Editor-in-Chief: Andrew ChapmanDesign: Prepare to Publish LtdDesign concept: Satellite Creative
PublishersMark [email protected] [email protected]
Discover Your Ancestors Periodical ispublished by Discovery Media Group, UK. Allrights in the material belong to DiscoveryMedia Group and may not be reproduced,whether in whole or in part, without theirprior written consent.
The publisher makes every effort to ensurethe magazine's contents are correct. Allmaterial published in Discover Your AncestorsPeriodical is copyright and unauthorisedreproduction is forbidden. Please refer to fullTerms and Conditions at www.discovery-ourancestors.co.uk. The editors andpublishers of this publication give nowarranties, guarantees or assurances andmake no representations regarding any goodsor services advertised in this edition.
The annual Discover Your Ancestors bookazine, at over 160 pages, is available to purchaseas an App. Please visit www.pocketmags.comand search for Discover Your Ancestors. Alsoavailable directly via Apple iTunes and Google Play.
You can buy a printed version of the annual Discover Your Ancestors bookazine at all good newsagents in the UK (including WHSmith and Martin McColl) and overseas
(including Barnes & Noble). Or, if you prefer, you can order past and present issuesdirectly from the publishers, please see www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk and click on
‘Order print copies’ at the bottom of the page.
3 The flying aces: Aviators’ certificates are newly online5 Back to paper: Simon Fowler explains how to use theinternet to track down archives to visit in person
8 Suffer the little children: Sharon Brookshaw explores childlabour in the past
12 Reviews: Recent publications featured, plus an interview withebook bestseller Steve Robinson
14 A ruff crowd: Take a trip to a Tudor tavern17 Place in focus: Useful resources for Essex research18 Join the dots: Make the most of online BMD records20 Break the brick walls: Guidance on the censuses
DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS PERIODICAL | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 5
The fatal flaw in doing familyhistory through the internet isthe temptation to think that
everything is online. But it is not true. The National Archives (TNA)
estimates that only 5 per cent of itsrecords have been digitised. They arebeing slightly disingenuous, as all themajor sources for genealogicalresearch at Kew are now online,although there are still significantexceptions. These include Armyofficers’ records, Army and Navymuster rolls, Metropolitan Policeservice registers and Poor Law correspondence.
The proportion of records online atlocal record offices is rather lower –perhaps two or three per cent.However, this is changing rapidly, asthe big data websites index and scanparish registers and related material inthe parish chest.
But there are always going to berecords that the commercial dataproviders will never copy, becausethey are too difficult to digitise andindex. Court records – particularlyquarter and petty sessions – at localarchives, for example are name rich,but are hard to use, so won’tnecessarily be copied.
It can be hard enough to find whatyou want online, so you’d think itwould be much harder to discover
Simon Fowlerexplains how tofind records thataren’t availableonline yet... andthe internet canstill help theprocess
Back to paperRESEARCH ADVICE}}
what records are available where atBritain’s hundreds of archives. But infact it is dead easy – and it can all bedone online.
Did I say hundreds of archives? Imeant thousands, from internationallyimportant places such as The NationalArchives and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland to tinyrepositories such as Barings BankArchives, where you share a desk with the archivist. There are 400 alone in London.
Details of virtually all of them areavailable through ARCHON – aservice provided through TNA’swebsite (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon). ARCHON will give youan address, a link to the archive’swebsite, and details of opening hours.It is also up to date.
ARCHON won’t be any use if youdon’t know where the records are tobe found, or indeed whether theyexist. Fortunately there are severalnational indexes that can help. u
Subscribe Todayfrom only £12
� eGenealogist.co.uk/dyamagazine
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SOCIAL HISTORY » RESEARCH ADVICE » REVIEWS » PLACES IN FOCUS
Children at workWere your forebears robbed of their childhood?
Break down the brick wallsWhat to do if they’re not in the censuse great aviatorsResearch flying aces online
Issue No. 1 | May 2013
In association with
SOCIAL HISTORYRYR » RESEARCH ADVICE » REVIEWS » PLACES IN FOCUS
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Brerer akaka dowowo nwnwththt e brickckc wawaw lala llll sWhat to do if they’renot in the censuse grgrg erer atata avava iviv atata otot rsResearch flying aces online
Issue No. 1 | May 2013
In association with