In this episode of Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast, Diana and Nicole continue their series on researching in England without parish records. They are joined by Jessica Morgan. Jessica is a genealogist specializing in British family research. The hosts and Jessica discuss using probate records to find family members, focusing on the differences between pre- and post-1858 records. They explain the court hierarchy in England and how to determine which court would have handled...
In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana interview Jessica Morgan, an Accredited Genealogist specializing in U.K. research. They discuss strategies for researching English ancestry when traditional parish records of baptisms, marriages, and burials are unavailable. Jessica highlights the value of parish chest records, which contain documents like settlement papers, bastardy bonds, and apprenticeship indentures. These records can reveal an ancestor’s origins, family relationships, and even their occupation. The hosts and guest...
This blog post completes our five-part series on records in England besides the usual baptisms, marriages, and burials. In part one, we looked at the parish chest; in part two, tax records; in part three, wills and probate; and in part four court records. Part five deals with Manor rolls – what they are and how to find them. Part 5. Manor Rolls You’ll find that as you research further back in time, fewer and...
Research in England typically uses baptisms, marriages, and burial records, but other records can shed light on our ancestors. In part one, we looked at the parish chest; in part two, tax records; and in part three, wills and probate. In part four of this series, we will explore court records and how to locate them. Part 4. Court Records A well-known, though often underused, resource for British genealogy is court records. The courts weren’t...
Our five-part blog series continues by examining another record type to consider when baptisms, marriages, and burial records can’t be discovered for our ancestors. In part one we looked at the parish chest, in part two, tax records, and this blog post will focus on wills and probate. Wills & Probate Another resource beyond the parish is probate records. Wills are incredibly useful in that they often name the surviving family members (i.e., heirs) of...
In part 1 of this series, we discussed records of the parish chest that can help our research. This blog post will feature tax records, a valuable resource beyond parish collections. One might think taxes aren’t helpful to genealogy since they only name the individual paying the tax: typically, the head of a household who met the tax’s qualifications (age, residence, ownership of property, etc.). But tax records are invaluable because they date much further...
Anyone researching their English ancestry knows how important parish records are. The British government began documenting births, marriages, and deaths in 1837, but before that, it was up to the Church of England to record the life events of its parishioners, typically in the form of baptisms, marriages, and burials. These records are essential for proving pre-1837 relationships and tracing your family back through time. But what if you simply can’t find your ancestor’s baptism,...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about conflicts encountered while researching our ancestor Harriet Huggett Kelsey and updating her profile on FamilySearch. Diana found conflicting information about Harriet’s birth year, with possible years of 1823, 1825, and 1826 from different sources. We discuss a conflict regarding the name and identity of Harriet’s twin sister Hester/Esther, with records using both spellings and even an indexed baptism record combining the two sisters’ names into “Esther...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about our ancestor Harriett Huggett (Nicole’s 3rd great-grandmother and Diana’s 2nd great-grandmother). Diana researched records for Harriett’s early life in England. She enjoyed finding a personal history written by Harriett’s granddaughter which provided wonderful details about Harriett’s decision to leave her wealthy situation. The history describes their difficult journey and Harriett’s adjustment to poverty in the Utah desert after being used to fine things in England. We...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about our ancestor, Mariah (Brockhouse) Beddoes who left her parents in England with her husband and two young daughters to join with other Latter-day Saints in Utah Territory. Mariah was born in Willinghall, England, and her father was a locksmith. She married William Beddoes, a miner, and they eventually had a family of 13 children. The stories about Mariah’s departure from England are heart-breaking. She left her...
