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

CONTRIBUTORS

THE THRILL OF THE TRAIL

Letters

Who Do You Think You Are?

What's On

PICK OF THE MONTH

Cheshire councils approve new archive centres

Volunteers complete cataloguing of Second World War POW records • Rosemary Collins reports on data releases and genealogy news

NEWS IN BRIEF

CAN YOU HELP?

Records from the Girl's Day School Trust released online

Over 3 million

GOD SAVE THE KING • Alan Crosby uncovers details of coronation celebrations in historical records

WILLS AND PROBATE A COMPLETE GUIDE • Katherine Cobb presents our unmissable guide to locating and using English and Welsh wills and probate records

PREROGATIVE COURT OF CENTERBURY • Katherine explains the importance of the PCC to family historians

HOW TO USE THE FIND A WILL WEBSITE • Searches for post-1858 English and Welsh wills can be made using the government website Find a Will at probatesearch.service.gov.uk

EDWARD SALTER'S WILL, 1705

FINDING WILLS AND INDEXES ONLINE • Katherine recommends these six websites for wills and indexes

GLOSSARY • Here are definitions of some technical terms that you may come across

SOLDIER'S WILLS • If your ancestor died serving in the Army, they probably left some kind of will

GET TO GRIPS WITH IRISH SURNAMES • Nicola Morris explains the origin of common Irish family names, and how they have evolved

SURNAME ORIGINS Ten of the Irish surnames that we are familiar with today have interesting etymological origins in the ancient Irish language

RESOURCES • Take your research further

'MY MILITARY RELATIONS ARE MY HEROES' • Martyn Guy is very proud of the family members who served during the Napoleonic Wars, the Second Boer War and the First World War, and helped rebuild West Germany after the Second World War.

RESOURCES • These three sites helped Martyn uncover his relatives’ service

EARLY CONVICT TRANSPORTATION • British convicts were sent to America and the West Indies, not just Australia. Paul Blake explains the range of records that early transportation left behind

JAMES WALLIS THANE • Paul has researched a convict transported for assault and robbery

BOND, 1720 • This bond of transportation for seven years is held at London Metropolitan Archives and available digitally on Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk)

HOW TO SEARCH LONDON LIVES • Paul explains how to find your ancestor within the vast digital archive London Lives 1690 to 1800 (londonlives.org)

RESOURCES • Take your research further

CANADA • Jonathan Scott picks the top sites to research Canadian kin ahead of a new census release

EXPERT'S CHOICE • Penny Allen is a Canadian librarian in London who runs the site UK to Canada Genealogy (ukcdngenealogy.blogspot.com)

GO FURTHER • More websites to uncover Canadian connections

VALUATION ROLL, 1915/1916 • This valuation roll for Govan, Glasgow, has been digitised by the National Records of Scotland and is available online at ScotlandsPeople (scotlandspeople.gov.uk)

SCOTTISH VALUATION ROLLS • Chris Paton describes a resource that can help you to track down elusive Scottish relations – and many of the records are now online

RESOURCES • Take...