Create a master index of bmds for a surname

Before the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales in 1837, it is the parochial registers recording the baptisms, marriages and burials of our ancestors

This is one in a series of articles; the intention is to provide an overview of useful family and local history records in existence, covering the period 1066-1485. Each article can be enjoyed as a st

We all know that transcription errors can get in the way of research, but sometimes they creep in in the oddest of ways. Like most family historians, I like to have the three main dates for my direct

QMargaret Woodhall (née Smithson), born c1827 Liverpool (according to the 1851 census), was the sister of my great grandfather, James Murray Smithson, born c1835 in Edinburgh. Their father was William

The first series of WDYTYA? aired in 2004, and I started working on the programme two years later. My first episodes were broadcast in 2007 and featured rower Matthew Pinsent and actor John Hurt, and

To some of us, post-1945 seems like yesterday – but if you are a younger researcher, this era could encompass several generations of your ancestors. More recent research is an important part of everyo