BOOKS & DATA DISCS
This month’s family history inspiration
Pen and Sword, 214 pages, £14.99
What do you do when your research has got back as far as 1837? Screech to a halt? Make a new master plan? Research in England and Wales can be more challenging pre-July 1837. Birth, marriage and death certificates are no longer available with all the personal information they offer; added to which the lack of surviving national census returns makes it harder to find a person’s place of birth.
Searching backwards from this point requires a completely different approach to get at the information. John Wintrip’s book aims to make you consider very carefully what you’re going to do next and plan your next move in the knowledge of all the possible alternatives both online and offline.
The book isn’t aimed at complete beginners; it’s not a step by step ‘ how to’ book, more a ‘ how to think about it’ book. Densely written in places, particularly in the first chapter’s listing of the potential challenges, it really comes alive when he describes searches he has completed or demonstrates a point through a case study. He’s very good on the perils of using transcripts and indexes, and there are useful chapters on names and social status. He stresses the importance of knowing the wider historical context while also enjoying simply browsing through parish registers for local information.
John Wintrip’s experience as a librarian shows in his detailed analysis of the various types of archival catalogue, both online and in local archives. You might have to do a bit more leg-work to explore pre-Victorian records but there’s a lot of information to be found if you know how to search – and this book should help you to do just that. Pam Ross is the author of Researching Your Family History and a member of AGRA