The victoria county history a rich resource

Most of us have unfortunate brick walls in our family trees – those frustrating relations who seem to have appeared into the world as if from nowhere. Perhaps a person does not feature in the baptism

Crime has always been popular with family historians. We all love a rogue (up to a point, anyway), and finding out you’re related to one can lead to some interesting avenues of research. The more seri

The former historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland became Cumbria in 1974, at the same time taking bites out of West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Today the county’s archive service, Cum

I n 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That, at least, is what the famous rhyme tells us. Memorising such dates is a common experience of being taught history – a cliché superbly lampooned by the w

Researching Welsh roots can be a challenge, since you usually have to contend with the overlapping identities of ancestors amid the swirl of patronymic names, endless recycling of first names, and a l

KATHERINE COBB is a member of AGRA based in Somerset REBECCA PROBERT is professor of law at the University of Exeter STEVE THOMAS is a genealogist with over 20 years’ experience PHIL TOMASELLI is a mi