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Genealogical Research
Ancestrography specializes in pre-census genealogy
and genealogical biography. There is a wealth of sources available
in local archives of which only a small proportion is yet online.
Research prior to 1841 (the first detailed census year) becomes
progressively more difficult and expert advice or completion will
often be of inestimable value; before 1733 many documents were in
Latin and we can help you jump this hurdle too. Projects undertaken
by Ancestrography in East Midlands archives (Derbyshire,
Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland); advice given for
projects throughout the UK.
Nottinghamshire was the home county of the Separatists who formed
the nucleus of the Pilgrim Fathers. Ancestrography is therefore well
placed to assist descendants of such "First Families" in thorough
research about their European ancestry. Mistakes have been made in
the past about the early settlers and can still be corrected by
careful use of extant sources in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire
archives.
Family trees and ancestral biographies compiled from all available
sources including census, parish registers, wills and inventories,
manorial records, poor law records, churchwardens' accounts and many
more. Set in the context of demography, local and national history,
and the history of the family, which is now an academic discipline
in its own right.
Summaries
of Ancestrography success stories
What I often
do is help people who have already traced back their family but
reached a dead end, having run out of obvious sources. Here are
some of my successes:
- Client had traced his ancestors back to a
marriage in 1616 but could find no earlier record in the
parish; I found out where they had come from (and
hypothetically why they moved) and found two earlier
generations including a change of surname.
- Client had gone back to a baptism in 1699 with no
earlier records for the surname locally; I spread a
wider net, looking for clues, found where they came from and
traced back another four generations to a will made in 1572.
- Client in New Zealand was stuck because an
emigrant ancestor who arrived in 1860 had lied about her age
when married in order to cover up the illegitimacy of
her eldest child (she had also lied about her own father's
name because she was herself illegitimate). I unscrambled
all the facts & motives and identified her and her
husband's families going back three generations further.
- An American client wanted to know about certain
relatives of the Pilgrim Fathers who had stayed behind in
Europe after 1621. I discovered where they lived and
proved that they did not return to their original home in
Nottinghamshire because they had sold up all their land
there in 1618 (probably to get cash for the Mayflower
venture).
- A client was stuck in the 19th century because
there were two individuals with the same name; I identified
their ancestor and then traced the male line back to a
couple married in 1606 - discovered four hundred years later
to the day!
- Two namesake settlers in 17th-century
Virginia had long been conflated into a single person; I was
able to identify them in English records and suggest how
they were related and so disentangle them!
- Several
"One Name Studies", finding all sources for a
particular surname in a county, in order to track down an
elusive migratory ancestor.
Latin and English documents transcribed, translated and fully
interpreted, giving you extra insights into your ancestors' lives.
If you would like this sort of professional help with your
project, e-mail Peter Foden at enquiries@ancestrography.co.uk.
Case studies
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Case 1
- Pushing back a generation before parish registers using manorial
records, deeds and wills.
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Case 2 - Birthplace puzzle solved using 18th century manorial court rolls.
Research elsewhere
Genealogical research often
spills over county and national boundaries. Peter has contacts
in other parts of England and Wales who are well able to undertake your
research in their regions. Please ask for Peter's advice by e-mail, or
follow these links:
Freda
Raphael, Historicalsearch (Derbyshire and adjacent
counties)
Pam
Buttrey (Greater London as well as Hampshire, Hertfordshire,
Essex and Merionethshire Record Offices). For an example of Pam's work, visit Salt
and Silk, to see details of Salt & Silk -
chronicles of the Aubreys of Clehonger, interpreted by
D Meredith McFadden.
Ancestrography can also recommend
other well-qualified researchers in East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk), Bath, Bristol,
Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire.
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