Summa Genealogica

No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.   - John Donne When researching our ancestors, especially as amateurs, it can be easy to focus on records that pertain to our family alone - birth, marriage, and death certificates; censuses; parish registers; wills, and so forth. These documents are the backbone of genealogy, and that process of finding records directly concerning our ancestors can often feel the most productive and rewarding. However, we may be overlooking a goldmine of genealogical insight if we neglect to study local and social history! This first part of the article will discuss why  we should be interested in local history, the second part will discuss where  we can look for sources of local history. Why Local History Matters Without understanding the world as a whole, and the localities our ancestors inhabited, especially as we go further back to pre-census and -statutory times, we can only ever have p...

The Edinburgh Central Library and the National Library of Scotland have organised another Family History Fair, taking place this October, Friday 24th, in the George Washington Browne room of Edinburgh Central Library. This year the Fair and the talks take on a miltary theme: " Using archive material which documents aspects of Edinburgh during the 1940s & 50s, we'll have a look at life in the city as it recovered in aftermath of World War Two. In these years much new housing was needed for the growing population, as were schools. Rationing remained for some time but there was growing hope, as the capital began to boom." (From VisitScotland ) There will also be tables with various organisations, including the Scottish Genealogy Society. You can find tickets to the event at the Scottish Genealogy Society's website, here . It is a great opportunity to come along, meet some interesting people, and learn some local history, something of vital importance to genealogical ...

Ancestry have begun legal action in an attempt to obtain the millions of Scottish family history records held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS). From:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy50gn5353zo ~~~ Luke Gibson is a professional genealogist in Scotland, and a member of the Association for Professional Genealogists, and the Scottish Genealogy Network.

For the first time, on Sunday coming, the Association of Professional Genealogists are holding a global gathering, open to members and non-members alike, but mainly aimed at those with an interest with joining or becoming a professional genealogist. The meeting will be from 4pm to 5pm EST.  https://members.apgen.org/Calendar/moreinfo.php?org_id=APG&eventid=147804 The link to view the event page and sign up for the meeting is above! ~~~ Luke Gibson is a professional genealogist in Scotland, and a member of the Association for Professional Genealogists, and the Scottish Genealogy Network.

The Will of William Faithfull of Overton, Innholder, 1737. [1] William Faithfull was an innkeeper at the New Inn (later the Poyntz Arms, now the Overton Community Centre ) in Overton, Hampshire, who married on the 2nd September 1727 Elizabeth Jones, at Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire. He was buried on the 6th March 1737 at Overton, Hampshire. This places his date of death between the 3rd of March 1737 (when his last W&T was written) and (probably) the 5th of March 1737 (the day before his burial). He was father to William Faithfull (1729-1782, m. Martha Chamberlain), who in turn was father to Rev. John Faithfull (1752-1824, m. Patty Boyter, daur. of Joseph Boyter, organist in Salisbury), who in turn were grandparents to the more famous Rev. Valentine Grantham Faithfull . --- In the Name of God Amen I William Faithfull of Overton in the parish of Southampton Innholder being in sound and perfect Mind and Memory, praised be God, Do make and Ordain this my present last Will and Testamen...

After suffering a catastrophic series of cyberattacks earlier this month, the Internet Archive and its various features are coming back online, slowly but surely. This is welcome news, as there is a truck-load of useful publications and resources that are available for genealogy on the Internet Archive. Keep updated with what features are coming back online and are available again at the Archive's blog, here: https://blog.archive.org/ .