Fast-slow, fast-slow, fast-slow. Family history research often stutters along as we uncover our ancestors' stories one source at a time. Often we experience the story in non-chronological order, finding odd windows into their lives at random times depending on the particular sources we uncover - a little like that episode of Doctor Who where David …
The War Career of RAF Flight Sergeant Leonard Isherwood
The badge of the Royal Air Force In my previous article Researching WWII RAF Bomber Crew - The Tragic Story of Leonard Isherwood (familyhistory.car.blog/2021/04/20/researching-wwii-raf-bomber-crew-the-tragic-story-of-leonard-isherwood/) I explained how I had gone about researching the life and war career of my relation Leonard Isherwood despite not being entitled to have access to his service record. This article …
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Researching WWII RAF Bomber Crew – The Tragic Story of Leonard Isherwood
When I first started researching my family history I spent time with to my parents collecting as many family stories as I could. In one conversation with my Dad, he told me that my grandfather had a cousin in the RAF who had been killed early in WWII "on a leaflet raid over Germany". Dad …
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Goodbye 2020 – Why It Was My Crazy Genealogy Year
Looking back on 2020, I'm put in mind of Charles Dickens' opening of A Tale of Two Cities. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it …
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Four Genealogy Books That Will Improve Your Research
Christmas is coming and I always have a list of genealogy books to pass to Santa's Little Helper (a.k.a. Mrs Phil). Having spent over a year writing about genealogy methodology and research techniques in this very blog, I wanted to share with you what I believe are the four best books on the subject. WordPress …
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Understanding Genealogical Sources
Photo by Wendy van Zyl on Pexels.com When I studied history at school I was introduced to the concept of sources. There were exactly three types: Primary Source"An artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of …
How to Build a Research Plan
This picture by unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND Research can be defined as "a detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new) information or reach a (new) understanding"https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/research As family historians, we are constantly trying to discover new information and reach new understandings - it is inherent in what we …
What is Proof?
The end goal of all genealogical investigations is to establish proof, by which we mean a convincing, credible case for a specific ancestral identity, relationship, or life event. By thorough research in sources, we must find sufficient detailed, matching evidence to uncover and reconstruct relationships and events relating to our research target, and only our …
Linking Genealogical Evidence: A Method – Part 2
Being able to accurately and reliably link evidence from different sources to the same individual is a key skill which all family historians need to learn and master. In part 1 we looked the five factors which underpin evidence linkage: UniquenessCommunity SizeDistanceTime DifferenceContradictory Evidence In this concluding part we look at how to assess linkage …
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Linking Genealogical Evidence: A Method
Being able to accurately and reliably link evidence from different sources to the same individual is a key skill which all family historians need to learn and master. But there is very little writing out there to help people learn how to do this - and the vast number of poorly reasoned linkages in member …
What is Evidence?
Sources, documents, records, data, facts, information, evidence. They're similar terms and we family historians sometimes use them more loosely than we should. Of all these terms, the most vital, and perhaps the least well understood, is evidence. We all have implicit notions of what constitutes evidence, but it has a precise meaning in genealogy which …
Solving Tough Genealogy Problems
In this article I look at a structured approach to analysing and solving those challenging problems that occur in our family history research. It comprises six principal steps, which any genealogist can follow. Elsewhere in my blog you will find a four-part case study titled The Woman Who Fell From The Skies, so called because …
The Woman Who Fell From The Skies – Part 4
So you've found a strong candidate for your missing ancestor, but have you gone the extra distance to prove that they are the person you've been looking for? Have you considered tracing forward all the possible candidates to eliminate all bar one? Have you examined contradictory evidence and tried to resolve it? In the final …
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The Woman Who Fell From The Skies – Part 3
It is one thing to show there is a likely link between a person or family across two locations, but it is quite another to eliminate all the other possibilities. In this part of Seeing the Wood for the Trees I look at how to build partial evidence into a compelling case. Previously - I …
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The Woman Who Fell From The Skies – Part 2
Previously - In part 1 I introduced you to Mary Jane Hyland, my great-great grandmother. She married John Bowers in Warrington, Lancashire in 1894. I could find no prior record for her which constituted a convincing match and the 1901 census simply said she was born in 'Ireland'. My objective was to find a birth …
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The Woman Who Fell From The Skies
This has happened to every family history researcher at one time or another. While researching a branch of the family in a census, one consults the Place of Birth column to see the unhelpfully imprecise, yet definitive statement: "Ireland." My first thought was, "Terrific, I have some Irish heritage!" My second thought was, "Is that …
We Build Our Own Brick Walls
"A Brick Wall" It happens to us all. We're merrily researching a branch of our tree when we encounter a halt in progress. At first we think it's temporary, then after a period of searching, failing, thinking and more failed searches we label it as "A Brick Wall". It's a metaphor that is much (over) …
A new blog – well, who do I think I am?
Hi, my name is Phil. I'm a genealogist and I've started this little blog to share some of my findings and the things that I find interesting as I go through my journey of familial self-discovery. But Phil, I hear you say, there are hundreds, no thousands, of genealogy blogs out there. What have you …
Seeing the Wood for the Trees 