At The Archive we are delighted to welcome guest blogs from our users, which highlight a wealth of different research interests. This month, we are excited to feature a blog on researching queer history by Staffordshire researcher Rebecca Morris-Quinn. My name is Rebecca, I am a queer woman living in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. I’ve been interested in genealogy and history for many years, since I found out that I share a birthday with a great-great aunt, Olive (albeit over 100 years …
Genealogy & Family History
With the next census fast approaching in England and Wales, we thought we’d delve into the history of the census, and the changing attitudes towards it from its inception in 1801 and throughout the nineteenth century. From initial fears and suspicions, to feelings of pride and honour, our newspapers chart the evolving attitudes to the modern British census, and how it was depicted in popular culture, in poetry, illustrations and even on the stage. So read on to discover more …
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At the British Newspaper Archive, we have started to digitize international newspapers from the British Library. These rich titles explore the story of the British Commonwealth, from the time when the sun didn’t set on the British Empire through to states gaining their independence. At times, the subject of the newspapers brings us face to face with the stark and sometimes inhuman reality of colonialism and the legacy of the British Empire across the world. Below we will explore some …
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If you’re interested in the history of Yorkshire, you’ve come to the right place. The Archive currently holds over 70 titles from ‘God’s Own County.’ From Barnsley to Batley, from Ilkley to Keighley, from Sheffield to Wakefield, The Archive has 76 historic Yorkshire newspapers all available to search, which works out at being over 300,000 pages in all. These newspapers range from those that cover the entire county (like the Yorkshire Evening Post), to those with a more regional focus (take for example, …
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This week we have added 103,570 new pages to The Archive, with an impressive 6 brand new titles joining our collection. In addition to these new titles, we have updates to 9 of our existing publications. In all, our new pages this week cover 120 years of history, and span the towns, cities and countryside of England, Scotland and Wales. This week sees a brand new addition to our Leicestershire newspapers. The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Gazette covers the area around the market town, and was a weekly …
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Using newspapers for your Scottish genealogy research Do you find yourself daunted at the prospect of researching your Scottish ancestors? Keep the heid! There exists a fantastic array of records that can get you further along in your family history research. The main problem, however, is access. Much of what exists has not been ditigised, and for those that have been, many are not indexed. It is overwhelming figuring out where to search and what records, if they were created, survive …
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Anyone starting to research their Irish heritage has heard the story: ‘all of their records were destroyed in 1922’. The destruction of the Four Courts on 30 June 1922, which housed the public records office, was a huge loss… but! with digitisation, Irish family history is getting easier by the day. Sites like our sister site Findmypast are opening up new avenues of research by digitising a wide variety of sources, and many of their Irish collections are free! Newspapers …
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In May, The British Newspaper Archive participated in #AncestryHour, a Twitter event which takes place every Tuesday 7 pm BST organised by @Ancestryhour. Each week, the community gathers to discuss the latest news in the genealogy world, give expert advice to novice researchers, and share stories of their recent genealogy discoveries. In a special #Ancestryhour, @BNArchive answered questions live on twitter about our site using the hashtag #AskBNA. We had a wide range of questions and responses. If you didn’t …
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During our first ever webinar, we have over 600 questions from more than 3,500 registered viewers. It was incredible to get so much feedback and interaction from our viewers. Here we will share a sample of the questions from our webinar event. Didn’t get a chance to see the webinar? Watch the event now. (The discount offer is no longer valid) Questions Sometimes I try to find a name in the newspaper archive and it says there are no matches. Why …
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This week thousands have assembled at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in Birmingham to demolish those brick walls, learn new tricks of genealogy, and hear about the latest news of family history. Most of us have searched the newspapers for obituaries, but much more can be revealed about our ancestor’s lives than the memorials at their death. Today, we will take a look at the divorce courts, bankruptcy notices, illegitimacy cases, and committee minutes. The mid- to late …