Think outside the box

All family historians hit brick walls, and this is the story of the techniques (and luck) that enabled me to overcome a tough challenge. My 3x great grandfather Thomas Hoskin lived on the beautiful Go

Sitting on the sofa next to my dad as he tapped away on Ancestry, I was instantly drawn to the mass of names, dates and places. The colourful graphics caught my eye and I couldn’t possibly resist. I a

A collection of educational records that are of great use to family historians is exclusively available on Findmypast (findmypast. co.uk). ‘National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870–1914’ (

Q I can’t find any information about my great grandfather, William Smith (1871–1907), before 1893. In the 1901 census, he declares himself to be William Thompson, a “Traveller CT”, born in Scotland. H

You have been thinking about researching your ancestry, your relatives are emptying out the cupboards to find old family documents to help, and the family stories are beginning to flow. But how should

There’s never been so many well-stocked sources of historic photographs online. We’ve tried to pull together some examples of regional image libraries, as well as useful nationwide resources. While ma