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

CONTRIBUTORS

SARAH’S TOP TIP

AN UNEXPECTED ANCESTRAL WEEKEND

Letters

Who Do You Think You Are?

What’s On

PICK OF THE MONTH • Spend a day exploring family history

Digitised Scottish newspapers published online

Ancestry wins contract to digitise Ministry of Defence records • Rosemary Collins reports on data releases and genealogy news

NEWS IN BRIEF

CAN YOU HELP?

Ancestry releases more than 200,000 records from Kensington and Chelsea

290,000

THE ARK OF HISTORY • Alan Crosby discovers the life of an 18th-century family from transcribing their wills

DNA YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED • Genetic genealogist Debbie Kennett reveals how to get the most out of your DNA test results

WHAT IS CLUSTERING?

ANCESTRYDNA • Debbie shares her expert advice for testing with AncestryDNA

CONNECTING MATCHES • Debbie reveals how you can solve your matching brick walls

UNDERSTANDING MATCHES • Debbie demystifies the science behind your DNA matches

TECHNICAL TERMS • These four words crop up a lot — here are their definitions

WHERE CAN I GET HELP?

FROM PAST TO PRESENT • Janet Few shares her expert advice for bringing your ancestor’s story to life whether your preferred medium is prose, videos, podcasts or even the embroidery on a quilt

5 TIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FAMILY STORY • Janet explains how you can find crucial historical details to make your narrative come alive, and source helpful online tools

RESOURCES • Take your research further

‘MY RELATION WAS THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER’ • When Gary Cooper decided to follow up a tantalising snippet he found out about his great grandfather’s cousin Fred, what he discovered was a whole new ball game.

RESOURCES • These resources helped Gary uncover Fred’s amazing life

20TH-CENTURY MERCHANT NAVY RECORDS • Simon Wills reveals how to make the most of the vast range of records available to research a Merchant Navy ancestor

WILLIAM HENRY GRIGSBY 1881-1935 • Simon explains how he solved the mystery of the seaman featured in our annotated document

EXPERT PICKS • These three sites are particularly useful for researching members of the Merchant Navy

IDENTITY CERTIFICATE • William Grigsby’s CR 10 card from The National Archives' series BT 350 is in the collection ‘Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1918-1941’ on Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk)

RESOURCES • Take your research further

HERALDRY • Jonathan Scott reveals the online resources that can help you uncover aristocratic roots

EXPERT’S CHOICE • Anthony Adolph is a genealogist and wrote Tracing Your Aristocratic Ancestors

GO FURTHER • More websites that can help your research

1862 LAND REGISTRY ACT • Paul Blake explains how to use a free online database containing details of owners of property in England and Wales in the mid-19th century

REGISTER ENTRY, 1862 • This entry from the ‘Register of Title to Lands on the Register’ is available at digitalarchives. landregistry.gov.uk/start/search-for-a-title and relates to a property in Rochester, Kent

RESOURCES • Take your research further

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

Is the disabled girl in this photograph Sarah...