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Your Family History

Few of us have famous ancestors. But in the same way as historians have widened their interests in recent years from Kings, Queens and Presidents to the history of ordinary people, genealogy offers us the opportunity to see how people 'just like us' lived their lives through the centuries.

Some amateur genealogists approach their search for ancestors along the lines of stamp collecting - simply filling in the gaps and recording basic data such as names, dates of birth and death, marriage partners and offspring. However, it is possible to go further and to build up a word picture detailed enough to understand something of ancestors' personalities, life histories and the circumstances in which they went about their lives. This can be seen as an opportunity to honour ancestors who mostly went unrecorded and to give them an element of immortality.

Social histories and the biographies of famous people can be a source of information about the lives of ordinary people. Agricultural labourers, coal miners, engine drivers, chimney sweeps all did certain things in certain ways at specific times and in specific regions. That is not to say that the lives of all agricultural labourers in, say, Somerset during the 1890s were the same, but they had a lot in common and there are recorded details of the typical circumstances of such people.

Understanding these aspects of social history will not only allow the researcher to understand why ancestors behaved in a certain way (moved, emigrated, etc.) but also offer the insight to predict what may have happened to a family member who 'disappeared'. For example, many individuals from the Welsh coalfields emigrated to the coal areas of Pennsylvania in the late 19th century.

Not everyone has the necessary set of skills to build a fully illustrated and referenced social history of their families, but a worthy attempt can be made by most educated people with a modicum of effort and organisation.

Previous page: Tracing Family History.

Next page: Family History Information.

Genealogy Articles

Tracing Family History
Your Family History
Genealogy Information
Organizing Family History
The Victorian Apprentice
The Victorian Character Reference
Victorian Appointments - including the Admiralty and Custom House
More Victorian Appointments - including the Inland Revenue, Post Office, Bank of England and East India House
A Victorian Domestic Servant
The Victorian Employment Relationship

Family Histories

Walter Walter Family - Babcary, Somerset
Lucy Penny nee Leach
Daniel Walter Family - Babcary, Somerset
Philip Walter and Susannah Trotman
William Gillett - Brailes, Warwickshire
John Gillett - Brailes and Cheltenham
The Family of Mary Walter and Edwin Oliver Locke
Albert Walter - Illinois
Hugh and Robert Walter - Kansas
David Walter - Babcary and Swansea
Family of Thomas Rosser of Coychurch, Glamorgan
Caroline Walter and William Whittle
Benjamin Walter - Slough and Eton
Gaius Penny Walter - Somerton and Southsea
Susanna Walter and Philip George Hayes
Jacob Walter and Eliza Gillett
Henry Walter - Liverpool
Jacob Walter - London and Liverpool
Harold Philip Mcleod Walter
Horne Family - Careby, Lincolnshire
The Horne Family of Combe, Oxfordshire
Caroline Williams - St Hilary, Glamorgan
William Thomas Davies - Brynaman, Glamorgan and Perth, WA
Davies Family - Lower Brynaman, Glamorgan
John James, Grosmont
James Price and Jane James - Cwmyoy and Grosmont
Tom James Price and Rosa Madia Thomas, Llanfihangel Talyllyn
John Walter Price and Lilian Jenkins, Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil
William and Mary Williams, Cayo
John and Susanna Davies, Llansadwrn, Cayo
Arthur Price and Elizabeth Ann Davies, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen
Thomas family, Oakfield, Llanfihangel Talyllyn
Prosser family, Talgarth
John Jones and Rebecca Thomas, Cwmaman
Thomas and Jemimah Jones - Brynaman, Glamorgan
Thomas Family - Banwen, Glanaman, Carmarthenshire
John Jones and Mary James, Clydau, Cilrhedin, Llanelli
Rees Rees of South Wales, Illinois and Iowa
Samuel and Sarah Jones - Llanelli, Ebbw Vale, Glanaman
Hannah and William D John - South Wales and Scranton, Pa
Daniel Jones and Anne Rees
Mary Jones and Watkin Williams
Lillicrapp Furrier
Barber Family of South Stoneham
Letter from Elizabeth Saffhill 1927
Saffhill Family Tree


Wills and Probate Records: A Guide for Family Historians

Wills and Probate Records: A Guide for Family Historians


Tracing Your Ancestors from 1066 to 1837

Tracing Your Ancestors from 1066 to 1837


The Genealogist's Internet

The Genealogist's Internet: The Essential Guide to Researching Your Family History Online


Family Photographs 1860-1945

Family Photographs 1860-1945 (Public Record Office Genealogist's Guides)


Family Photographs and How to Date Them

Family Photographs and How to Date Them


Writing Your Family History: A Practical Guide

Writing Your Family History: A Practical Guide



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