Newspapers are a fabulous source for family historians. You can be confident at least one family member will be named in the pages of newspapers in some capacity. From national stories to local notices newspapers carry details not found in traditional family history sources. In this blog post learn what these papers have to offer you in your search for your British and Irish ancestors. In our previous blog post, we outlined some of the main uses of newspapers for …
Genealogy & Family History
Newspapers are an invaluable resource for researching your family history. Contained within their pages are tens of millions of reports, advertisements, and notices that can help you break down brick walls and tell richer stories about your ancestors. The Archive works with the British Library and publishers to bring you 300 years of newspapers from the UK and Ireland. Get the most out of our historical newspapers with these hints and tips. What newspapers do we have? We add more …
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We followed Amanda Holden’s journey of genealogy in last night’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are?. She kick-started her research by searching for one of her ancestors on The British Newspaper Archive. Amanda’s mum, Judy, who had been working on their family tree, had been having difficulties finding out the last name of Collin’s wife, Radgoude, Amanda’s 5th great-grandmother. But, thanks to Amanda’s discovery on The British Newspaper Archive, she now had a new trail of clues to …
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In this month’s ‘behind the scenes’ blog post, Scott and Andrew from The British Newspaper Archive’s scanning team tell us about their trip to London to attend Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE. ************** Welcome to the second update from the newspaper scanning team in Boston Spa, Yorkshire. We are now in full operation and working to the high standards that the original Colindale team set for us. Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE In February, we …
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The lovely people at Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine have sent us this special offer to share with you: *********************** Try five issues for just £5! Build your family tree and discover your ancestry with Britain’s best-selling family history publication. Packed with practical advice, from getting started in genealogy to expert tips, Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine shows you how to build your family tree using online resources, such as the census, as well as where …
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Introduction and background We love hearing about your discoveries in The British Newspaper Archive. John Bland of the Lincolnshire Family History Society dropped us a line to tell us about his family history research in The British Newspaper Archive. John has been researching the millers and blacksmiths in his family (research that involves learning about major legislation such as the Enclosures and the Corn Laws) and, thanks to The British Newspaper Archive, has just learned that one of his ancestors also …
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‘Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour…’ John Milton died at his home in Bunhill, London, on 8 November 1674 – he was 65. To mark the bicentenary of Milton’s death, many Victorian newspapers published articles about the great poet – ahem, almost as if they were anticipating the arrival of a’Who Do You Think You Are? type of newspaper series. In ‘The Standard’ newspaper, we found a terrific article about Milton, including a section on his genealogy. Included …
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We’ve said it before, but hearing your wonderful stories about what you’re finding in The Archive make us feel like we’re travelling to Canterbury with a motley crew of ancestor-finding pilgrims. The latest family history pilgrim to share her story is Emma Jolly, a genealogist from London, who has been researching her ancestors from the Birmingham area. Emma has been finding newspaper stories that offer a fascinating insight into the personalities of her forebears. In particular, we love the colourful …
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We’re often moved by the amazing stories you tell us about what you’ve been discovering in The Archive. Jan Barlow, a professional genealogist based in SE England, recently tweeted to tell us about some of the stories she’s been finding about her family ancestors in the BNA. Poignantly, Jan’s research has uncovered some very sad facts regarding the many dangers of the workplace during the Victorian era. Jan has written a fascinating article about her “bus driver’s holiday” ancestral research, …
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We love hearing stories about what you’ve been finding while rummaging around in the Archive. Pollie Scott, a family history researcher from East Yorkshire, has been finding dozens of fascinating stories in the Archive about her ancestors. And not only stories, for on her most recent visit to the Archive, she found a photograph (pipe in hand and standing in front of a very rickety-looking biplane!) of an ancestor who served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War One. Poignantly, this is …