Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine not only explores the stories behind the popular BBC genealogy TV series, but also helps you uncover your own roots. Each issue is packed with practical advice to help you track down family history archives and get the most out of online resources, alongside features on what life was like in the past and the historic events that affected our ancestors.

Welcome

SARAH'S TOP TIP • Online records can open the door to more records hidden in the archives

CONTRIBUTORS

Letters

HOLIDAY MEMENTO

Who Do You Think You Are?

What's On

PICK OF THE MONTH

Ancestry adds Hampshire records

Trove's future secured with Australian government funding

NEWS IN BRIEF

CAN YOU HELP?

Findmypast adds Second Boer War records

The Stone of Destiny

SUMMER IN THE CITY • Alan Crosby remembers his grandfather’s fond memories of a vanished world

PARISH CHEST RECORDS • The fascinating range of records that our ancestors' parish church kept can shed light on their lives, says Judith Batchelor

CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS, 1734 • The church required labour from many of our forebears, as these accounts make clear

OVERSEERS OF THE POOR ACCOUNTS, 1723 • The local parish supplied vital poor relief for our impoverished ancestors

SETTLEMENT EXAMINATION, 1792 • Settlement examinations can provide key information about migrants

BASTARDY WARRANT, 1786 • Bastardy documents can help you break down illegitimacy brick walls

RESOURCES • Online help for parish-chest records

MEET THE CELEBRITIES • Rosemary Collins celebrates the long-awaited return of Who Do You Think You Are? to BBC One and iPlayer

‘I HAVE THREE HERO BROTHERS ON MY TREE’ • Finding one outstanding member of your family is inspiring enough, but Peter Day has discovered three brothers whose exploits take some beating, says Claire Vaughan

RESOURCES • These key sources helped Peter shed light on the brothers’ lives

ROMAN CATHOLIC RECORDS • Stuart A Raymond explains how to find over 300 years of records of English and Welsh Catholics

REGISTER OF CATHOLIC ESTATES, 1717 • After the first Jacobite Rebellion, ‘Papists’ had to register their estates. The registers are held locally, but abstracts are held at The National Archives (FEC 1). This example is from TNA FEC 1/1292 and is online at Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk)

CARDINAL NICHOLAS WISEMAN 1802 - 1865 • Wiseman played a key role in the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England

EXPERT PICKS • Stuart recommends these websites for finding Catholic records

RESOURCES • Take your research further

COAL MINING • Jonathan Scott unearths sites for researching coal miners

EXPERT'S CHOICE • Brian Elliott is the author of Tracing Your Coalmining Ancestors (2014) as well as Miners in the Great War (2023)

GO FURTHER • More online resources to help your research

CRISP'S MARRIAGE LICENCES • Paul Blake explains why you may be in luck if your ancestors married in the south-east of England in the 18th and 19th centuries

MARRIAGE LICENCE, 1795 • This record from Munimenta Antiqua – Marriage Licences is in ‘London, England, Crisp’s Marriage Licence Index, 1713–1892’ on Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk). The allegation and bond also survive in the records of the Bishop of London, and are on Ancestry as well

RESOURCES • Take your research further

Did my grandfather die at sea? • Our team of experts offers tips and inspiration

Where were my grandparents laid to rest?

Where did my Charters ancestors originate?

When was this child photographed?

What happened to Mary...