Summa Genealogica

When we are researching our family tree, we all want to build an accurate picture of our family history, with proven connections and links. When we begin genealogy, we all learn about the basic and well-known records - birth, marriage and death certificates; before civil registration, church and parish records; censuses... and so forth. These records that we find, whether online, in archives, private collections or otherwise, paired with educated, logical interpretation and analysis of the infomation and evidence within those records, then evaluating and tying those records together to form a proof argument, is the sole way we can build up that family tree with any certainty, or correctly. More frank researchers may say "genealogy without documentation is mythology", but they are not incorrect. Genealogy is addictive, and therefore in an over-eagerness to build a family tree "faster", the largest mistakes that beginners to research make is restricting themself to on...

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/ .

As it is the run-up to Remembrance Weekend, FindMyPast for the next few weekends are again making some of their records collections available to view for free, ending on Remembrance Weekend where all their collections will be free to view. This weekend (until Monday 21st), WWI records, the 1911 Census and BMD records on Findmypast are free to view! The next few weekends are: 25th - 28th October Newspapers on FindMyPast 1st - 4th November 1939 Register 8th - 11th November (Remembrance Weekend) All records on FindMyPast The WWI records (where they survive) are also fully indexed and searchable (with images) on Ancestry and well worth searching too. They can provide invaluable details about your serving ancestors. The 1939 Register, although very similar, and often refered to as a census, is not a census. It was taken at the start of WWII to provide an account of the British population, to aid logistics during the war. It doesn't state your ancestor's place of birth, but very usef...

As a history enthusiast, one of the things that I love the most about genealogy is the area where genealogy and history intersect, particularly in the medieval period. As you may know, for this reason I am a member of the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. I have written an article on the fascinating subject of Royal ancestry and Universal Common Ancestry, which I have posted here , where it will stay as a main page on my blog. I hope you find it informative and interesting; I plan to expand further on the subject in future posts, and eventually culminate with my undergraduate dissertation. Enjoy! Luke ~ Please remember that blogs are  protected by copyright, and you may not  simply copy and paste anything on this blog, not least my articles, and act as if it is your own work. If you wish to use my writing or work, I would be delighted, but it is a requirement  that you fully cite where you got it from my blog, provide a link to it, and credit me.

It's always good to see Ancestry adding more Northern Irish and Irish collections; this time it is a collection that contains records of the Freemen of the City of Londonderry between 1675 and 1945. From Ancestry:  The collection is comprised of the Register of Freemen (1700-1945), Extract Books (1675-1840), and Freemen Index (1793-1862). In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Freemen was the only organisation allowed to conduct business and own property within Londonderry. ... Detailed records from sixteenth and seventeenth century Ireland are scarce, so this collection can be invaluable in documenting your Irish ancestors. If you are unsure where to begin your search, start by locating your ancestor’s name in the Register of Freemen (1700-1945), an index organised alphabetically by the first letter of the surname. The Register will provide a year and entry number beside your ancestor’s name. Use the year to find the appropriate Freemen Index book, then the entry number ...

Avoiding Genealogical Pitfalls In the previous post, we explored how the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) provides a structured, evidence-based approach to ensuring our genealogical research is accurate, and how it is the gold standard for allowing us to reach accurate and sound conclusions in our research. Here, we are going to have a look at one pitfall that is easy to avoid and will contribute further to our genealogical search, that being an over-reliance, or complete reliance on Ancestry's Hints and Suggested Ancestors. Collaborative genealogy is certainly a wonderful thing, but it comes with risks. User-created trees are often put together by people who are just as eager to build their family history as you are—but that doesn’t mean they’ve done their homework, or are interested in taking the time to do the proper research necessary. Mistakes in others’ research can quickly become your own, and without proper verification, you could be building your tree on a shaky foundatio...

I began writing this article in an attempt to summarise a few ways in which you can ensure that the conclusions of your family history research are accurate and be content in the knowledge that you are building a family tree that is, as far as is possible to know, correct. However, when I put pen to paper and began drafting my ideas, I realised that one post will just not do this subject justice, there are many sub-topics and off-shoots that could be discussed. What about the FamilySearch "World Tree"?, how can Family Search be used to your best benefit?, what about royal ancestry?, how far can a family tree accurately be traced?, were just a few of the questions I am often asked and wanted to include in this article, but it would become a gargantuan and unweildly treatise, in which most of the information would probably be lost due to reading fatigue. Although I have tried to keep this article a more consise introduction to and explanation of the Genealogical Proof Standard,...

When researching our ancestors, one fascinating tool that offers both insight and interest is the ability to visualize the geographic distribution and density of their surnames. While surname distribution maps may not always provide direct genealogical information, they often offer clues about the geographical origins of ancestors and, occasionally, insights into the etymology and meaning of surnames. These maps can suggest regions where further research might uncover documents related to your family’s history. A particularly helpful resource for this is Barry Griffin’s surname mapping website ( barrygriffin.com ). Using data from the 1901 and 1911 Irish Censuses, Griffin has compiled distribution maps for thousands of Irish surnames. Not only can you search for a specific surname (including using wildcard searches like "M*cDonald" to return variations such as "McDonald" or "MacDonald"), but the site also allows you to browse the Top 100 Surnames by coun...

In the  previous post  we proved that Thomas Graves was the son of Storer and Mary Graves. In this post, we will take a look at Storer Graves' life, and in turn, prove his parentage. Marriages We first meet Storer in the baptismal records of his children through Mary, in Thurcaston, Leicestershire. The children are listed in the last post, and were all baptised between 1806 and 1820, in Thurcaston, Leicestershire. Therefore, we can expect to find a parish marriage record for Storer before 1806, which will tell us his wife's maiden name. We duly find the marriage of Storer Graves to Mary Hall on the 27th November 1803 in Thurcaston. [1]  This marriage record tells us that at his marriage in 1803, Storer was a widower, so he had been married before. And Storer also signed his name, demonstrating that he was literate. Searching for any marriages of a Storer Graves prior to 1803, we find a Storer Graves being married to Jane Clarke, both of the "South End of Mountsorrel" ...

In the first post, I explained that in this series I shall be tracing the ancestry of Thomas Graves, born c.1811, and baptised in 1815, in Thurcaston, Leicestershire. However, before we begin to move backwards up his tree, we will look at Thomas Graves, his life, family, and tragic death. Birth Unfortunately, we do not know the exact date that Thomas Graves was born, but the 1841 Census gives his age as 30, the '51 Census as 40, and '61 Census as 50, and all give his place of birth as Thurcaston - with such consistency, we can say that his birth was fairly likely to have been between 1810-11. He was eventually baptised on the 24th December 1815, in Thurcaston, Leicestershire, along with his siblings Benjamin and Mary Graves. [1]  His parents were Storer and Mary Graves (as we will see in Generation II), and Storer was a cordwainer at the time, someone who makes shoes from leather. Thomas's other siblings siblings were:  Ann Graves, baptised 24th Aug 1800, in Hathern, a ha...