family history | The British Newspaper Archive Blog - Part 3

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The Homeward Mail – News from the East

The British Newspaper Archive brings you news from India, China, and further East during the height of the British Empire.  The Homeward Mail from India, China and the East was first published in 1857 by Messrs. Smith, Elder, & Co. and provided Britain with news from its colonies in the East.  The publishing company also produced the first Dictionary of National Biography and worked with major authors such as Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Alfred Tennyson, and Arthur Conan Doyle.  Along

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How to search The British Newspaper Archive for a person’s name

Newspaper articles can provide incredible detail about peoples’ lives, whether you’re looking for your ancestors or researching a particular character from history. Watch this short video tutorial or follow the steps below to see how you can search the newspapers for a person’s name:   Search for a person’s name –>   Searching newspaper articles for an ancestor or person from history   Enter the name of the person you’re looking for in the search bar at the top of the homepage. Put a

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Join us for a week of prize giveaways, starting on Saturday 27 December

We’ll be giving away some fantastic prizes and celebrating the different types of research our newspapers can help with next week. Simply check The British Newspaper Archive’s Facebook page at 12pm (GMT) every day from Saturday 27 December – Friday 2 January to take part.   Visit The British Newspaper Archive’s Facebook page   Win some great prizes with The British Newspaper Archive There are lots of exciting gifts on offer, whether you’re interested in genealogy, local history, studying World

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Twiggy on Who Do You Think You Are? – Grace Meadows in the newspapers

Twiggy used historical newspapers during her WDYTYA? episode to research the life of her great-great-grandmother, Grace Meadows.   Grace Meadows charged with stealing bank notes The York Herald printed the following article about Twiggy’s ancestors on Thursday 9 July 1874. Grace Meadows and her 14-year-old daughter Lucy were charged with stealing ‘three Bank of England notes for £20 each’ from Lucy’s employer. The newspaper article states that Twiggy’s ancestors were initially discharged as there was no evidence. Grace Meadows was said

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Meet the Product Director of The British Newspaper Archive

Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at The British Newspaper Archive? We sat down with Product Director Ian Tester to find out who he is and what he does.   What does your job involve? I’m responsible for growing the business in all its myriad forms. My role covers marketing, building a better product, tweaking the pricing, choosing newspapers that we think will be of most interest and generally keeping everything running smoothly. Less excitingly, it also involves balancing

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Family tree research: How newspapers can help

Newspapers are a fantastic resource for family history research. They can reveal incredible details about your ancestors.   View 3 newspaper articles for free   You’ll find millions of pages from local British and Irish newspapers at The British Newspaper Archive. They date from the 1700s to the 1950s. Register a free account and the first three newspaper articles you view are on us.   Create a free account     Find a photo of your ancestor   Lisamarie has

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Behind the scenes: Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE

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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Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine special offer

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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The ‘new game of badminton’ in India

Did you know that badminton originated in India? Versions of the game had been played by local children for years and it was adopted by British military officers stationed there. We’ve found this charming illustration of ‘the new game of badminton in India’, printed in The Graphic in 1874: View the whole newspaper page The Graphic – Saturday 25 April 1874 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.   British in India family history records If you’re interested in

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Your newspaper discoveries: Ordered to be detained during Her Majesty’s pleasure

Gordon Martin recently got in touch to show us what the newspapers have helped him find out about his great-great-uncle Charles Alfred Martin. We love hearing about your finds, so please do let us know what you’ve discovered by emailing [email protected] ************** Charles Alfred Martin I had long known the existence of great-great-uncle Charles, the youngest child of a seaman born in Magdeburg, Prussia who served on HMS Achille at the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805. His father had arrived

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