Let's face it, when you're researching a family and you discover that the direct ancestor was born around 1820 in Ireland, your heart sinks a little. The prospect of getting a line back to the 16th century is somewhat dead in the water. And then you discover that the person's father was in the army!

Did you know that there was formerly a small part of the county of Kent, on the *north* bank of the River Thames? Two detached parts of the parish of Woolwich (the area is still known as North Woolwich) were subsumed into Greater London in 1965. #MappyMonday @natlibscot.bsky.social

In 1936 my paternal grandparents moved into a brand new house in Carrick Knowe to the west of Edinburgh. The house was part of a new development and these two maps from 1932 and 1938 illustrate the impact of the new estate on the landscape. #MyFamilyHistory52Maps #2 6" maps Edinburgh Sheet III.SW

While giving my talk on Crime & Punishment last night it occurred to me what a great source the witness statements found in the Quarter Sessions records are for the voices of 'ordinary' people. It's not often you get to hear them, particularly when it comes to 19th Century working class women.

A busy start to the year. Yesterday I wrote a piece for @familytreeplus.bsky.social and today I'm preparing for my first talk of 2026. I'm proud to be delivering the opening session of the @sogorg.bsky.social course on Crime and Punishment portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/1... It's not too late to book

I’m in the library for my first writing day of 2026. My target is 1800 words for @familytreeplus.bsky.social by the end of the day, for the April instalment of the Family Tree Academy… #AmWriting

A relatively rare example of a marriage licence being granted to the prospective bride rather than the groom, possibly because the groom was a mariner and away at sea although the couple married two days later. Interesting also that Sarah's bondsman was a 'John Doe' - so she was on her own in this!

To mark my birthday, here's where I spent my first few days on this planet back in 1961... the Elsie Inglis Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh.

One of my proudest achievements of 2025. In the first picture is a bundle of documents as it appeared when I collected it from the document counter. The second picture is the same bundle of documents after I'd opened it up, looked at the documents I was after and put it all back together...

A new project for 2026 #MyFamilyHistory52Maps #1 Map of the Bushey Hall Estate, Hertfordshire, 1685 This is what the place I live looked like nearly 350 years ago. The future site of my house is towards the top of the map, by the right hand row of trees. Bushey Hall has long since gone...

A belated Happy New Year from me and this festive-looking Redwing. Photo taken at Summer Leys Nature Reserve, Northamptonshire, 31 December 2026.

As a young woman, my granny worked for Boots in Edinburgh. In 1919, she (and, presumably, other Boots employees) received this Christmas card from Jesse and Lady Boot. Thankfully, my granny was the sort of person who kept things like this…

Out of Office: ON Email Inbox: EMPTY Christmas Festivities: COMMENCED Hope you all have a great one!

It's perhaps not the most extensive pedigree but if they were your ancestors you'd love to have this little part of the tree confirmed. I couldn't resist looking for the three marriages which were marked as 'not registered' two of the three, thanks to the wonders of the internet are now findable!

I defy any self-respecting family historian to spot this in a bundle of Chancery documents and not to have a quick peek - even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the case you're working on! "Pedigree of the Heirs at law of Jeremiah Ives deceased" I guess you want to see what I found...

I am so excited to show you the cover for my new book, Genealogy Methods and Techniques - A Practical Guide to Research, due for publication Feb-Mar 2026 but available for pre-order now. www.professionalfamilyhistory.co.uk/writing-on-g... #Genealogy #FamilyHistory #Methodology #PublishedAuthor

And we’re off… #ThreeFilmsOneDay #TheLordOfTheRings #LOTR

Most Orcadians are clear about one thing. You can call their homeland 'Orkney' or 'the Orkney Islands' but NEVER 'The Orkneys'. Quite what they would make of early 18th century cartographer Herman Moll's use of the term 'Orkneyshire' I really wouldn't like to say... 😱 #MapMonday #MappyMonday

Very disappointing… I was hoping for a Nintendo Switch but it was just a bunch of old documents!

It’s Christmas! 🎅

A bright start to a rare Saturday visit to Kew…

James Bond: Licence To Marry... 💒

For #MapMonday here's a detail from John Warburton, Joseph Bland and Payler Smyth's 1724 'New and correct mapp of Middlesex, Essex, and Hertford-shire' showing my part of Hertfordshire. If there was a 'You Are Here' arrow it would be just to the south of 'Bushy Hall', then owned by the Ewer family.

Historical Buildings Research Tips #329 Sometimes you can just about make out a date on one of the walls of an old house...

Looking for those ideal Christmas gifts…particularly for the history lover in your life!? I have the answer! 😄😉😁 #historybooks

Calling all family and local historians! It may not say so on the tin, but this is for you. Context, context, context…

#GenHour - Aged 16–35 and passionate about genealogy? Proposals are open for NextGen 2026, SoG + @federationfhs.bsky.social online conference. Submit by 12 July 2026: [email protected] Free workshop to help you prep: From Passion to Presentation, 7 July, 8pm BST. More info: sog.org.uk/nextgen2026

I've just found this wonderful statement from an officer who was promoted from the ranks during the Peninsular War in 1810: ... During the war I had the honor of being four times wounded (though only once returned so, by my own desire Not willing to alarm my wife at home) ... #JustAFleshWound

I like to keep an eye on the servants when I'm researching wealthier families. I might be wrong but I always get the feeling that seeing the same names over several censuses suggests that the family were decent employers. I've just found a servant who was with the same family in 1891, 1901 and 1911.

Does anyone know how to find out if someone who died in Virginia (USA) in the last twenty years or so left a will and if so, how would I go about getting a copy of the will?

I came across something I'd never seen in a parish burial register before; a child described as 'of Silent birth' - clearly a still birth. And now it's occurred to me that the German for silent is 'stille' (Stille Nacht = Silent Night) the term 'still birth' has taken on a more powerful meaning... 😢

I was looking at some of my mum's Berwickshire ancestors over the weekend. They were always on the move from one farm to another but they never moved too far from their ancestral homeland around the town of Duns (Dunse). This 1771 map by Andrew Armstrong helped to trace their movements. #MapMonday

I'm getting ready to do my final talk of 2025. I'm live online at 18.30 with a family history webinar for Family Tree Magazine. I'll be talking about the importance of getting to know the legislation behind the records that we use... @familytreeplus.bsky.social

OK, I admit it. I have a tendency to over-capitalise in my writing. I find myself writing Administration Act Books than administration act books. Is that wrong? Does it make me old fashioned...? #AmWriting

One of this week's tasks is to transcribe this Chancery document - all 121 lines! So far, it hasn't been as bad as I was fearing and it's all been made that much more manageable by this spelling of the word 'receipt'. I mean, why shouldn't you spell it 'receight'?

In many respects, my assistant isn’t actually helping me that much…

An early start today. I'm off to Hoddesdon to do my last in-person talk of the year. I'm speaking to the Lea Valley U3A Family History Group at 10am and I'll be giving them my most popular talk - you know, the one about our lying ancestors... #MyAncestorWasALiar #Genealogy #FamilyHistory #U3A

📢 ICYMI A few days ago, I published the 27th episode of Setting The Record Straight. This one's only five minutes long so put the kettle on, make yourself a cuppa and put your feet up while you learn all about the tricky subject of enparishification* * I made it up www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCU-...

We need to talk about enparishification… Does your research lack detail? Are you unsure about where your ancestors actually came from? Can you tell the difference between a village and a parish of the same name or do you often conflate the two? If you answered ‘yes’ to those questions, watch this…

Registration for the Scottish GENES Webinar "The Godly Commonwealth: Discover Scottish Church Records", this Sat 29 Nov, 7pm (UK), is £10, via us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... (A recording will be available for a week after, and there will be a handout) #genealogy #Scotland

It's here! 📢 Just 371 days after publishing the last episode, I proudly present to you Episode 27 of Setting The Record Straight! And it's all about that habit we sometimes have of enparishification. Yes, you heard me right. Enparishification... #SettingTheRecordStraight youtu.be/XCU-Jy3PQuQ

It's one year and six days since I released Episode #26 of #SettingTheRecordStraight I think it's time for Episode #27. Don't you...? #ComingSoon #WatchThisSpace #Enparishification

Is it too late to get our money back on this cat? I think I’ve still got the receipt somewhere?

I've often come across references to Whitefield's Chapel or Tabernacle in Tottenham Court Road in the course of my professional research but I'd never been aware before that there was a family connection. My 4xGt Uncle & Aunt, Joseph & Elizabeth TRUMAN were buried there in 1798 & 1789 respectively.

A new discovery from the weekend. My 4xGt Uncle, Joseph Truman, moved to London from Lacock in Wiltshire around 1770. He eventually settled in Marylebone where he died in 1798. I now know exactly where he lived - at 10 Ogle Court, highlighted on this detail from Horwood's 1792-99 map. #MapMonday

Today, I'm going to do a bit of research on a part of my own family. John Joseph Lawson (my 2nd cousin 4x removed) is one of my most fascinating relatives. He and his father, James, were successively the Printers of The Times and in 1839, he was imprisoned for publishing libellous material. 1/2

Not a bad way to spend a cold and blustery winter afternoon. I'm live on Zoom at 14.30 speaking to the Hertfordshire Family History Society - which is less than an hour away. So, I suppose I should stir my stumps...

One of the people I'm researching for a client at the moment served in the Royal Navy between 1803 and 1814 and one of the ships he served on was HMS Canopus. I already knew that Jane Austen's brother, Francis, was the Captain of the ship but it was nice to find his signature on the muster rolls!

Celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday with the Society of Genealogists this December. Talks on Jane’s life, family, and legacy from leading genealogy experts. Book now: www.sog.org.uk/events

I've spent the morning sorting through 681 document images from yesterday's trip to @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy I think I need a break...