Media: BOOK - paperback, 76 pages
Author: C. Paton
Year: 2022
ISBN: 9781922935007
Other: 2nd ed., photos, index
Publisher: Unlock the Past

First released in 2016, this bestseller has now been updated and released as a 2nd edition.

So if you've decided that you want to trace your British and Irish family history, but have absolutely no idea where to start, this beginner's guide is for you.

In this book, genealogist Chris Paton takes you through the key record sets that will help you get underway with your family history research. He introduces you to the family history societies and archives that can assist your efforts, and provides a little context to the ancestral landscape within which your ancestors once lived, and into which you will soon be immersed. Along the way points out some of the major differences in record types to be found in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

In each chapter Chris also provides a steer towards further books or sources which can further develop your skills as you become more experienced with the subject matter, making this an invaluable introduction.

Contents:
Introduction
Acknowledgements
1. Researching your family tree
 - Documentary sources
 - Gateways
 - Record your finds
 - Gadgets
 - Brick walls
 - Overcome mistakes
 - Question everything
 - Make your ancestors real
 - Damn the rules!
 - Further reading
2. Civil registration records
 - Basic information
 - England and Wales
 - Scotland
 - Ireland
 - Further reading
3. Parish registers
 - Baptisms
 - Marriages and banns
 - Burials and deaths
 - Locating state church records
 - Records of church governance
 - Non-conformist churches
 - Further reading
4. Monumental inscriptions
 - English and Welsh burials and gravestones
 - Scotland
 - Ireland
 - Further reading
5. Censuses
 - What censuses contain
 - Online records
 - Scotland
 - Ireland
 - Census substitutes: directories
 - Further reading
6. Wills and testaments
 - Forms of estate
 - Probate and confirmation
 - England and Wales
 - Recent wills
 - Scotland
 - Ireland
 - Further reading
7. Maps and gazetteers
 - Modern maps
 - Ordnance Survey maps
 - Other maps
 - Gazetteers
 - Further reading
8. Occupations
 - Ancestral context
 - Understand the job
 - Newspapers
 - Dig deeper
 - Further reading
9. Societies, archives and libraries
 - Umbrella bodies
 - National societies
 - Special interest groups
 - Archives
 - Catalogues
 - Libraries
 - Further reading
10. Social networking
 - Social media platforms
 - Blogs
 - Message boards and forums
 - Family tree networks
 - Further reading
11. DNA tests
 - Types of DNA
 - Testing companies
 - Further reading
Appendix: The Crown Dependencies
 - Isle of Man
 - The Channel Islands
Index

ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK:
Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy - ebook