Family Tree UK

Learn how to trace your family tree! Every issue is packed with: family history research advice hands-on learning experiences to help you become an ancestor super-sleuth & step-by-step guides to show you the path to tracing the past. From vintage documents to the latest in DNA, we’re here to help you discover more! Get the latest in genealogy news, software, books, archives and expert answers. Plus enjoy those reader stories that remind what it means to trace your family story. Research & remember your roots with Family Tree!

What were their lives actually like?

NEWS

Found under the floorboards: 17th century schoolgirls’ treasures

New archive: Discover 900 years of Durham history at The Story • Sarah Yates, Communications Executive at Discover County Durham, shares the news.

HOW TO TRACE A HOUSE HISTORY • Family historian Chris Paton explores the many records that can help to trace the history of properties across the UK and Ireland

A new era in VICTORIAN EDUCATION • Gaynnor Haliday’s interest in how schools were set up, after the passing of the 1870 Elementary Education Act, led to her investigation into School Boards. Here she explains their role and impact on the education scene of our Victorian ancestors

THE EVER-ADVANCING WORLD OF Y & MTDNA & how it can help you • “As well as vastly expanding databases, the tests themselves have evolved to become more genealogically useful than before,” explains Martin McDowell, Education Officer at the North of Ireland Family History Society, adding: “If you were thinking that things have changed in the world of Y and MT-DNA in the last decade you’d be right.” So what are these changes, and in what ways can they help with family history research? Martin shows how.

DOWN TO Business • Gill Shaw raises a glass to the champagne house founded by her ancestor Catherine Mary Riboldi’s adoptive French family

A history of PAUPER BURIAL GROUNDS • Julie Johnson tells the poignant story of those so poor their passing was marked with the minimum of ceremony, and tells us how to find out more about the lives and deaths of our pauper ancestors in England

Getting started with a ONE-PLACE STUDY • Janet Barrie tells us about the joy and satisfaction of carrying out a one-place study, and gives us some pointers on how to go about tackling one

IT’S A FAKE! • This month, Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal examines the curious case of a forged marriage certificate, and asks how and why

Testing out the new ANCESTRY MATCH PAGE • Karen Evans has been testing out the Beta version of Ancestry’s improved match page, and takes us through its exciting new features

THE VICTORIA COUNTY HISTORY a rich resource • Stuart Raymond guides us through the history, content and future of the Victoria County History, a unique resource and a huge, on-going project, which has reached a 125-year anniversary

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED • Searching in the late 18th century: strong suspicions, but still not sure…

Uncover the clues and pass the stories on…

FAMILIES IN BRITISH INDIA SOCIETY CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY • The main aim of FIBIS (the Families in British India Society) is to help family historians research their British ancestors in India – something they have been doing successfully for 25 years

Photo corner • Costume historian and photo dating expert Jayne Shrimpton shares advice to help you date your unidentified pictures and so put names to the faces of the past

DIARY DATES • DISCOVER LEARNING EXPERIENCES TO ENJOY FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, PLUS ON-SITE EVENTS

Your letters • How about a simple set of categories for the family trees that we share? A reader shares how this would help us all

Passing on the joy...