KEY SOURCES

ELECTORAL REGISTERS

As well as providing the names and addresses of registered voters, electoral registers can be used to plug the gaps between census years, because they were compiled annually. The London electoral registers that Andy used are on ancestry.co.uk, which also has similar records from Dorset, Glasgow and West Yorkshire. Findmypast.co.uk and thegenealogist.co.uk also have electoral registers.

GENEALOGY FORUMS

If you’re struggling with a brick wall, it’s worth posting the query online. Other researchers might be able to approach the problem from a different angle, and may even have a connection to the ancestors you are researching. As well as our own forum, rootschat.com is very popular.

ONLINE NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES

An article in a local newspaper could hold the clue to solving your brick wall – just as Andy discovered. Over 23 million pages of historic newspapers, including the Reading Mercury, can be searched at british newspaper archive. co.uk, with the same database also accessible via a Pro subscription to findmypast. co.uk. You should search newspapers. library. wales as well, which is free to access and contains stories from across Britain, not just Wales.