Author: Richard Backhouse

August 6, 2021

New one-stop-shop for family historians as Hampshire Genealogical Society creates new base in county Record Office Finding out more about your ancestors is set to get easier as Hampshire Record Office in Winchester becomes the new home of the Hampshire Genealogical Society – with the Society’s volunteers and Record Office staff together offering a one-stop-shop […] – read more…

March 15, 2021

Has your research taken you back beyond 1837? Are you challenged by the writing you see when viewing original documents of yore? Are some of those documents written in Latin? Why not try some online tutorials to help you? Here are a few suggestions… The National Archives at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/…/reading-old…/ Ancestry at https://support.ancestry.com/…/Tips-for-Reading-Old… FindMyPast at https://www.findmypast.com/blog/help/tips-for […] – read more…

March 15, 2021

Census returns were copied at speed. Hence they are full of abbreviations and symbols. Here are some of the most common… DITTO/DO/” You will quickly become familiar with the ‘ditto’ sign meaning ‘same as above. It is often denoted by ‘do’ or a ditto mark (“). You may find, for example, a head of household […] – read more…

March 5, 2021

Chairman Paul Pinhorne is extremely pleased to announce that the HGS has agreed with Hampshire Archives and Local Studies to relocate its Research Centre to the Hampshire Record Office in Winchester. This will allow HGS members and others interested in family history to use both our resources and expertise whilst having convenient access to Hampshire […] – read more…

February 16, 2021

Do you want to display your family tree on a chart? Here are a variety of styles to choose from which you can draw up for yourself, in some cases download from the internet for free or, if you want a more professional look, purchase from genealogy suppliers. Click HERE for printable pdf file. See how […] – read more…

February 14, 2021

You may find details of your ancestors in the Births, Marriages and Deaths sections of local newspapers: Births may just be an announcement of a new baby’s arrival but, if your ancestor was ‘of the middling sort’, there may be more detail about the baby’s parentage Sometimes there are detailed reports of weddings, including what […] – read more…

February 14, 2021

Look for him in muster rolls but don’t always assume the first person you find with his name is actually him! Usually, however, if two soldiers in the regiment had the same name, the parish where each was born will be noted alongside his name which will help you identify your man. The General Service […] – read more…

February 14, 2021

In various formats, directories have been published for over 300 years and offer unrivalled information for both family and local historians. However, information gathering took some time. A directory dated 1871 was probably correct only in 1870 and even then should not be relied on too heavily as being precise, accurate or comprehensive. Ordinary working […] – read more…

February 1, 2021

What is the purpose of taking a census? It certainly was not originally intended to help would-be genealogists! Run by the Office of National Statistics [ONS] and completed every 10 years since 1801, this year it is on Sunday 21st March. They say they are making it easy for everyone to take part because you […] – read more…

January 25, 2021

Our research team at the University of Newcastle (Drs Shaw, Donnelly, Burke and Parkes from the School of Education) are conducting research into family history and DNA testing and its impacts on people’s understanding of themselves and their place in history, as well as some general demographic information. To this end, we are conducting an […] – read more…