If you want to find out about Lancashires history & particularly if you have family links to the area & your ancestors lived or worked in the county then this is the ideal book for you. As well as helping you to trace when & where your ancestors were born married & died it gives you an insight into the world they knew & a chance to explore their lives at work & at home. Sue Wilkess accessible & informative handbook outlines Lancashires history & describes the origins of its major industries
- cotton coal transport engineering shipbuilding & others. She looks at the stories of important Lancashire families such as the Stanleys Peels & Egertons & famous entrepreneurs such as Richard Arkwright in order to illustrate aspects of Lancashire life & to show how the many sources available for family & local history research can be used. Relevant documents specialist archives & libraries background reading & other sources are recommended throughout this practical book. Also included is a directory of Lancashire archives libraries & academic repositories as well as databases of family history societies useful genealogy websites & places to visit which bring Lancashires past to life. Sue Wilkess book is the essential companion for anyone who wants to discover their Lancashire roots.
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Tracing Your Liverpool Ancestors provides a fascinating insight into everyday life in the Liverpool area over the past four centuries. Mike Royden introduces readers to the wealth of material available on the citys history & its people. In a series of short informative chapters he describes Liverpools history through shipping manufacturing & trade from the original fishing village to the present cosmopolitan metropolis of today. In each chapter he provides the history of a subject including relevant case studies & any further research he has. He then tells the reader the best places to visit to find information for themselves. The subjects that Mike covers in the chapters include the living conditions of people including poverty & the labouring poor health & the ravages of disease the influence of religion & migration education & the traumatic experience of war. He also shows how the lives of Liverpudlians changed over the centuries & how this is reflected in the records that have survived. Mike Royden is a leading authority of the history of Liverpool. He has been researching & writing for over 30 years & is a popular lecturer on the subject. Mike runs many family history websites & is author of a number of titles such as: Liverpool: Caring for Women babies in Liverpool- A History of Mill Road Hospital; A History of Liverpool Maternity Hospital The Womens Hospital Liverpool & a biography of Edward Rushton. ...

London is a key site for family historians. Many researchers seeking to trace their ancestry back through the generations will find their trail leads to London or through it. Yet despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy & the importance of London in so many life stories few previous books have explored the citys history or provided guidance on the research resources family historians can use to discover the life of a London ancestor. This is the purpose of Jonathan Oatess invaluable handbook. In a series of short information-packed chapters he describes the principal record offices archives libraries & other sources researchers can go to & shows how Londoners can be tracked through censuses registers & directories over the last 500 years. Then he explores key aspects of Londons history from a family historians point of view. Crime religion & education
- & the body of evidence associated with them
- are covered as is the historical trail left by taxation health welfare work & business. He looks also at the military & wartime records available in the city & at the records of immigrant communities who have had such a notable impact on the development of the capital. Each section introduces the reader to the relevant sources indicates where they can be found & offers essential advice on how this information can be used to piece together the lives of distant & not-so-distant relatives.

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What was a merchant seamans life like in the past what experiences would he have had what were the ships like that he sailed in & what risks did he run? Was he shipwrecked rewarded for bravery or punished? & how can you find out about an ancestor who was a member of the long British maritime tradition? Simon Willss concise & informative historical guide takes the reader & researcher through the fascinating story of Britains merchant service & he shows you how to trace individual men & women & gain an insight into their lives. In a series of short information-packed chapters he explains the expansion of Britains global maritime trade & the fleets of merchant ships that sustained it in peace & war. He describes the lives duties & tribulations of the generations of crews who sailed in these ships whether as ordinary seamen or as officers stewards engineers & a myriad of other roles. & he identifies the websites you can explore the archives records & books you can read & the places you can visit in order to gain an understanding of what your seagoing ancestor did & the world he knew. Simon Willss practical handbook will be essential reading & reference for anyone who is keen to discover for themselves the secrets of our maritime past & of the crewmembers & ships that were part of it. ...

Many family historians will come across direct links to ancestors who were affected by poverty. Yet despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy the history of pauperism & of poor relief has rarely been written about & no previous book has provided a guide to documents & records that family researchers can use to their trace their pauper ancestors. In this accessible & informative introduction Robert Burlison gives a vivid account of poverty & the poor. He identifies relevant records indicates where they can be found & offers essential advice on how this information can be used to piece together the lives of distant & not so distant relatives. ...

Whether you are interested in the career of an individual Royal Marine or just want to know more about the part played by the Marines in a particular battle or campaign this book will point you in the right direction. Assuming that the reader has no prior knowledge of the Royal Marines their history or organization Richard Brooks & Matthew Little explain which records survive where they can be found & how they can help you in your research. They also describe in vivid detail the evolution of the Royal Marines from the tentative beginnings of the service in the seventeenth century to their present position as a key part of the British armed forces. ...

Many family historians will come across direct links to ancestors who lived & worked in the countryside as farmers labourers landowners village tradesmen & professionals
- for most of us have rural ancestors. Yet despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy these people have rarely been written about with the family historian in mind. No previous book has provided a guide to the documents & records from medieval times to the twentieth century that researchers can use to find out about their rural ancestors & the world in which they lived. That is why this accessible & informative introduction by rural historian Jonathan Brown is so important. He describes the make-up of country & village society
- the farmers large & small the farm-workers the landowners & estate-owners & the local business people the tradesmen & merchants. At the same time he identifies & discusses the relevant national & local records indicates where they can be found & offers essential advice on how this information can be used to piece together the lives of distant & not so distant relatives. Tracing Your Rural Ancestors is essential reading for anyone who is looking for an insight into the history of rural life work & society.

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Increasingly congested public roads provide few opportunities to enjoy driving to the full & yet modern performance cars are the most exciting ever
- hence the booming appeal of track days. This extensively illustrated colour book contains all the information needed to enjoy track days to the maximum providing a sound introduction for complete novices whilst presenting advice & information which will prove invaluable to those already involved in the burgeoning track-day scene.
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Since its first publication twenty years ago Track Down Your Ancestors" has helped thousands of readers to take the first steps on their journey into their familys past. Now totally revised & updated in 2010 to include the latest on-line resources on the Internet the 1911 Census & changes at the National Archives. Delving into the past & discovering who your ancestors were where they lived & what their occupations were is a fascinating hobby that more & more people are choosing to take up. Over the years " Track Down Your Ancestors" has built up a fine reputation as the perfect place to get started
- now this new fully rewritten edition

Includes:: updated advice on using birth death & marriage certificates probate records census returns parish registers old newspapers The National Archives & many other sources to build up a picture of your familys past. The Internet has revolutionised family history research. Estelle now also

Includes:: comprehensive new advice on getting the most from online resources & the best way to keep all your information organised. Praise for the previous edition: A handy book at a very friendly price that will start new family historians off on the right track
- " Practical Family History". A comprehensive beginners guide to family history research
- cheap too
- " Your Family Tree" magazine."







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A valuable addition to the successful ' Aspects of Modelling' series this new book covers perhaps the most basic but most important aspect of the railway modeller's hobby after the construction of the baseboards the layout itself. Included in the book are an examination of a number of simple layouts & detailed explanations on how more complex plans can be developed. The book also shows the sort of compromises that have to be made when creating a layout in limited space & gives useful tips & guidance on avoiding common pitfalls. Fully illustrated this is a practical guide to getting track layouts correct & gives the very best technical advice for anyone starting out in railway modelling; it also provides much helpful guidance for the experienced modeller. ...