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

GET IN TOUCH

CONTRIBUTORS

Letters

Who do you think you are

10.7 million Scottish records published on Findmypast

Staffordshire records added to more websites

CAN YOU HELP?

NEWS IN BRIEF

Public appeal helps RHS identify 19th-century botanist

TNA lifts visitor restrictions

Site targets young family historians

Museum of the Year nominees praised for response to Covid-19

AGRA podcast returns

Fold3 adds WW1 burial cards for US soldiers

What’s On

A LIFE LOST TO HISTORY • Alan Crosby uncovers the story of the forgotten woman behind a gravestone

TIPS FROM THE TEACHERS • We asked 21 genealogy tutors to share some of their favourite tips to get the new academic year off to a flying start!

RESOURCES • Sign up and learn from the best

THE HISTORY OF SURNAMES • Harry Parkin, the editor of a new dictionary of British surnames, explains everything you need to know to avoid research mistakes

HOW SURNAMES CHANGE • Surnames can change in a number of ways. Here are some you may encounter

CASE STUDY

RESOURCES • Take your research further

‘MUM AND I MET OUR LONG-LOST COUSINS THANKS TO GENEALOGY’ • In 1897 a fatal accident in India led to three siblings being raised separately. Richard Nichols tells Gail Dixon how he uncovered their story and tracked down some of their descendants

RESOURCES • Three sites to help you research your British ancestors in India

THE BIG PICTURE • Celebrating our ancestors caught on camera

Q & A • Our team of experts offers tips and inspiration

PICTURE ANALYSIS

Why can't I find any birth records?

MILITARY PICTURE ANALYSIS

QUICK TIP

MY FAMILY ALBUM • Send us your favourite images for a chance to win photographic software worth $49.99. Here Wendy Sutherland from Ilkley, West Yorkshire, introduces some of her relations, including a voluntary nurse in the First World War

YOUR PROJECTS A FOCUS ON THE PAST • Jon Bauckham learns how volunteers in Barrow-in-Furness are uncovering hidden stories within a vast photographic archive

GET INVOLVED

WALES • There are countless resources on the menu for researching Wales, writes Jonathan Scott

EXPERT’S CHOICE • Beryl Evans, research services manager, the National Library of Wales

GO FURTHER • Nine more websites that you can’t afford to miss

Berwick Bridge account book, 1611–1614 • Linda Bankier from Berwick Record Office shares a series of financial records that document the construction of a Northumberland landmark

VISIT US

IRISH PETTY SESSIONS • Chris Paton explains how to research your Irish ancestors who had minor brushes with the law

COURT REGISTER, 1865 • This record of a petty session in Raphoe, County Donegal, is from an order book held by the National Archives of Ireland and is available online

RESOURCES • Take your research further

GOVERNESSES • Felicity Day shares the stories of the women employed to teach in private households

GO VISIT • Head to Yorkshire to research the most famous governesses in fiction

HOW TO FIND YOUR GOVERNESS ANCESTORS • These crucial sources may reveal that one of your forebears was employed as a...