Zazzle binder from OldeWorldGifts: Isola Bella III, Lake Maggiore, Pie...

The perfect place for keeping your treasured family tree and important records and documentation. Family tree binders featuring vintage photochrom prints from around the world - choose one where your ancestors come from. Easy to customize to show your own family name.

This binder features a picturesque image of Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore in Piedmont, Italy.

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Family Research - Tips and Hints #1

One of the most important resources you can use for researching your family tree is your family and they should be where our family research starts.

A good place to start is with your parents - ask them for information about their own births, places where they lived growing up, marriage information and see if they have easy access to their own birth and marriage certificates. Ask them about their parents and try to get as much information from them as possible. If possible, talk to your grandparents - they may have much more information to share and give you keys to searching further back in your family tree.

Write down all the information they give you - this is the key to good genealogy research. Check this against any official records they may have.


The key to building your family tree is having a good base - solid and reliable. From this base, it is much eaiser to continue to research and trace your family tree back through the generations.

Family Reunion Invitations

One of the great things about researching your family tree is that it often puts you in contact with family members you may not have seen for a long time and gives you the opportunity to share information with everyone.

A few of my extended family are also researching the family tree, and the sharing of information has been a definite bonus. It wasn't until a family reunion that we all realised the common interest in our ancestry.

Here's a sample of the great family reunion invitations available on Zazzle - which is easy to customise to suit your own occasion.

Family Tree Reunion Invitation-+ 

by NightSweatsDiva

Free Geneology Resources - Hugh Wallis

One of the resources that I have used consistently throughout my family research is the International Genealogy Index (IGI) available at www.familysearch.org - I generally use it as one of the first places to find information and then move to other sources if I think I am on the right track.

One of the limitations of the IGI is the inability to search by surname only unless it is a single batch or an entire country. This can be frustrating if you are looking for siblings and do not know their names and results for an entire country can be very time consuming to scroll through.

Hugh Wallis has developed a way of using IGI which allows you to locate the batch numbers based on country, country, town and date ranges for births/christenings and marriages. This has become an invaluable resource in my genealogical research and has allowed me to find family members of my tree I may otherwise have never found.

His site can be found here - I am sure that you will find it as useful as I have if you are researching ancestors in the British Isles, America and Canada.

Common Mistakes in Genealogy Research #2

We all have those wonderful family stories passed down through the generations, such as links with nobility or a famous historical figure. While these stories hold some fascination, it is important not to accept the story as fact - we must search for evidence that may either prove or disprove the theory.

Growing up, I was always told that our family had links with the Scottish nobility. As a child, I accepted this story as fact and would tell anybody that would listen that I was a descendant of royalty.

My father's paternal ancestors were in Scotland, but were in Ireland prior to this. The story was that the Duke of Hamilton's daughter ran away with the Irish coachman (my ancestor). A fairly dubious link, but a link to nobility nonetheless! 

I was always intrigued by this story and previous attempts by my parents and extended family members to trace our family tree had uncovered a Margaret Hamilton who married my Irish great-great-great grandfather. But it always seemed to stop there.

I have tried many avenues to see if there is any link between our Margaret Hamilton and the Duke of Hamilton, but have yet to uncover anything that would prove the family story. Conflicting places of births given in the Scottish Census for Margaret has made it even more difficult. So for now, it remains a story - an intriguing story, and one I haven't given up just yet. One day I hope to either be able to accept the story as fact or completely dismiss it, until then I will keep looking.

So, no matter how tempting it is to assume the family story must be true, it is always important to look for the facts.

Genealogy is T-R-E-E-rific!

Researching your family tree is addictive and once you are bitten by the bug, it is difficult to let it go. There are a number of stores at Zazzle which have designs on a wide range of products dedicated to people who love genealogy. Visit gedcom, one of the great stores on Zazzle, to see the wonderful designs they have for the keen genealogist.
gedcom

Genealogy is T-R-E-E-rific! by gedcom

Common Mistakes in Genealogy Research #1

One of the most common mistakes people make when researching their family histories, is assuming that their family name is only spelt one way and discard records and information which include variations to the spelling of the surname.

In an earlier post I have talked about the variations of my grandmother's surname, McCluskey - these included the variations of McClusky, McLusky and even McListy. While the first two variations are quite obvious, I ignored the McListy variation for some time... then one day I looked further into the information these records held and had enough corroborating evidence to know that it was my grandmother's family in those records. 

If I had totally ignored this variation, there is one whole branch of my grandmother's family that I would never have known about. I am still waiting patiently for the release of the 1911 Scottish Census and it will be interesting to see what variation of the name pops up there.

Variations of surnames turn up everywhere in my family tree - even my maternal grandmother's surname has two variations - Barratt and Barrett. I have yet to find any other variations, but I am also struggling to get past my great great great grandfather in that line, so perhaps I need to be widening my search to include other variations.

So, if you are stuck on a part of your tree and nothing seems to be coming up in any of your searches, perhaps you need to expand to other variations of spelling - this might just hold the key to the next branch of your family tree.

Genealogy Addict

For those genealogy addicts out there, this would have be the perfect shirt. As soon as I saw it, I could relate to it (and I'm sure my partner could too!)

Once you are on a roll, it is terribly hard to tear yourself away from the research - hours and hours in front of the computer, scribbling down notes, comparing it to other information you have, bits of paper everywhere, numerous cups of coffee... sound familiar?

Coffee Computer Genealogy by jmkgifts

Visit jmkgifts to see the huge variety of genealogy designs they have available on a wide range of products.

New Links List - Free Resources

Genealogy for All is keen to create easy to navigate lists of links to the resources found throughout these pages. The intention is to not only provide links to each of the site and available resources, but also be able to provide some information about them.

So, while the pages of this site will provide information on each of the sites, Genealogy for All is creating link lists on the left hand side, which will be available on each page. So if you want to quickly click through the links, they are easy to find.

We have created the link list for 'Free Resources' which will be added to as the 'Free Resources' page grows. Other link lists will be added as those resources grow.

 

Free Geneology Resources - Rootsweb.com

The 'Free Resources' page has been updated to include Rootsweb as a resource for your family tree research. This is primarily a community for people to connect who have common ancestry.

There are a range of resources, including Rootsweb Surnames List (RSL), the World Connect Project and user-contributed databases. As with all user-contributed databases, it is important to verify the information through official records (if possible) - just because it is on the web, it does not mean it is correct.

I have used it on a few occasions as part of my genealogical research and it has helped point me in the right direction for looking for more information. While some of the information has been correct, there have been occasions when it hasn't. If you keep this in mind, there is no reason why this cannot add to your family tree research.

Information Exchange

Genealogy for All is keen to provide links to places where people researching their family histories participate in exchanging information. This can be particularly helpful and assists in keeping the costs down in tracing your ancestors... and you may just find a long lost relative in the process. 

Genealogy for All is keen to build a resource for these information exchanges, so please feel free to let us know of any resources you are aware of and we will be happy to add it to the list.

Visit the Information Exchange page to see if there are any which may help you in your research of your family tree.

Convicts in the Closet

Family histories often hold hidden secrets, skeletons and untold stories. These hold great interest and intrigue for the family researcher but also great frustration. These skeletons are frustrating as it is extremely difficult to get accurate information from those who may hold some insights. 

As a family researcher, how many times have you probed your relations for information and received responses along the lines of "nobody ever spoke about it", "we heard whispers, but never knew for sure", "my mother told me it didn't concern me"? 

For many people, it is discovering that they are descendants of convicts. For many Australians, this is not so unusual if their ancestors in Australia go back at least four or five generations. There is much interest now in tracing convict ancestry and much of the stigma has disappeared. There are numerous avenues now for tracing your convict roots and Genealogy for All is keen to develop a list of such resources.

We are always happy to include resources that you have found, so if you are aware of a great site, please let us know and we would be happy to include it. Visit the Convict Ancestry page of the blog to see this growing resource list.

Free Geneology Resources - Family Search

Family Search

www.familysearch.org

A great site for searching for information for your family tree which is free. This service is provided through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and includes information for births/christenings, marriages and deaths for many countries. Census information is also available, with a wide range of new indexes being added due to the Indexing Project (which anyone can volunteer for - a very worthwhile project and very rewarding!)

There is a wide range of resources available on the website - free online classes, free family history software as well as a number of databases which are reasonably priced.

There are also Family History Centres around the world and their website allows you to search by country for their location.

I have used this website extensively for family research for Scotland, England and Australia and have found it very useful. There is another great source which can be used in conjunction with this family search indexes, which makes it even easier to use, which will be added very soon.

Visit the 'Free Resources' page regularly to see the soon to be growing list of free genealogical resources for all those keen family tree reseachers. If you know of resources which could be added to the page, please feel free to let me know.

Family History Treasures

We found this great binder for storing all the important information for your family tree. The binder can be customised with your family name and a photo of your ancestors. The perfect gift for the keen genealogist.

Visit tnbackroads on zazzle for more information.

View "Family History" by tnbackroads

To view other family tree binders from a range of amazing designers and artists, visit Zazzle. There is something there for everyone!

Free Genealogy Resources

Genealogy for All is developing a comprehensive list of free resources for the keen family researcher. It will be continually growing list of resources, making use of our experiences in researching a number of family trees. We will also include resources that we stumble across in our genealogy research, but may not have extensive knowledge of or experience in using.

Whenever possible, we will include feedback on the ease of use or the extent of information available on the site. If we have listed something and you would like to add to the feedback on that site, please feel free to leave a comment. If you know of a great free resource that is not included in the list, please let us know and we would be happy to include it.

As this will be a continually growing list, make sure you visit often to take advantage of all the free resources available to research your family history.

Peter McCluskey - The Lost Ancestor

My great grandfather, Peter McCluskey, has proven to be one of the most elusive members of my family tree on my father's side. In fact, my research into that particular side of the family line almost comes to a full stop once I get to him.

Here are some things I do know:

• Born 6 March 1865 in Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland (I have verified this against the BMD for Scotland).
• His parents are Patrick McCluskey (born c.1832 in Derry, Ireland) and Mary McCarron (born c.1832 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland). There are a number of variations of Mary's surname, including McCarrow.
• In the 1881 Scotland Census, he was living with his older brother, Hugh, Hugh's wife, Anne, and their son, Patrick. The were living in Thorntons Row in Carluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland and he was a coal miner.
• On 18 February 1891 he married Mary Gardner in Peebles, Peebleshire, Scotland.
• In the 1891 Scotland Census, he was still living in Thorntons Row in Carluke and was a coal miner, but living with his wife, Mary.
• In the 1901 Scotland Census, he was living with his wife and 5 children (Mary, Cornelius, Peter, Agnes and Annie) in Cowie Road Greenyards in Bannockburn, Stirlingshire, Scotland and he was a coal miner hewer.
• A further two children were born early in the first deacde of the 20th century: Martha and John.

From this point on, all becomes very difficult when trying to locate Peter McCluskey. His wife died in 1906 and the trail goes cold.


Family stories suggest that my grandmother, Agnes, was sent to a convent with her sisters after their mother died. As my grandmother is no longer with us, I am unable to verify this information. I am anxiously awaiting the release of the 1911 Scotland Census in 2012 to see if this holds any more information on what happened to the children following the death of their mother. 

My father was not even aware of the existence of his Uncle John, the youngest of the children, so that leaves even more questions unanswered. As he was still a baby when his mother died, was he adopted out? Were the other children so young that they didn't even remember him?

I cannot find Peter in the 1871 Scotland Census. His own mother died when he was two years old. His own experience of losing his mother at such a young age mirrored by his own son, John.

I cannot find an entry in Scotland's BDM index for the death of Peter McCluskey. What happened to him after his wife died in 1906? Will the 1911 Census provide any information on his whereabouts five years later? Was he still alive? Was he near his children? 


The McCluskey name varies considerably on any documents and census materials - variations include McLusky and even McListy, which means at times they have been incredibly hard to track down.


I hope the release of the 1911 Scotland Census brings some answers or perhaps someone will come across this blog who already has the answers. I would love to share the information I have with anyone researching this family line!

Winston Churchill - Random Genealogy Case Study

Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, British Prime Minister 1940-1945 and 1951-1955

By searching the England and Wales Free BMD, a birth record is found for Winston Churchill in the October quarter of 1874 in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England (Volume 3a, Page 695). 

In the 1881 England Census, he was living at 29 St James Place, London with his parents, Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill, and his younger brother, John (aged 1). Lord Randolph was listed as being a Member of Parliament, and they have a number of domestic staff. It is obvious that they were living in a prestigious area of London when noting their neighbours were royalty, high ranking military officials, barristers and other Members of Parliament.

The census provides us with additional information, which is of use to trace Churchill's family line further back. Lord Randolph is shown as being 32 years of age and born in Chelsea. Lady Randolph is shown as being 26 years of age and born in New York, United States. His brother, John, was born in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland.

The 1891 England Census shows Winston living his mother, his brother, Jack Strange Churchill, and his maternal grandmother, Leonard Jerome (Clara Hall) at 34 Barnstead Manor, Chevely in Cambridgeshire. Again they have a large number of domestic staff.


His grandmother is shown as aged 67, a widow, and born in Rochester, United States. Lady Randolph's birthplace is shown as Brooklyn, United States. His father is not listed at the residence, however his mother is not listed as a widow, so at this point in time we can assume that he is alive but not staying at the residence at the time of the census.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Random Genealogy Case Study

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, famous English civil engineer. 

 He was born on 9 April 1806 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England and christened on 1 November 1806 in Saint Mary's in Portsea, Hampshire. His parents were Marc Isambard Brunel and Sophia Kingdom. He married Mary Elizabeth Horsley on 5 July 1836 in Kensington, London. He died on 15 September 1859. The above information was easily found by searching the International Genealogy Index (IGI) at www.familysearch.org

In the 1841 census, Isambard was living at High Street, St Peter and St Paul in Somerset. He was 35 years of age and a civil engineer. He was not living with any other family members, although we know from above that he was already married at that time. Other people living in the same street included merchants, a surgeon and a solicitor, indicating that it was an affluent area. Further investigation showed Isambard's wife, Mary, in a hotel in Salt Hill, Buckinghamshire (now in Berkshire), with their son, Isambard, aged 4.

The 1851 census provides even more insights into the Brunel family. They were living at 17 and 18 Duke Street, Westminster St Margaret, Middlesex. Living in the home was Isambard, Mary, Lady Sophie (Isambard's mother) and their three children, Isambard (13 years), Henry Mark (8 years) and Florence Mary (3 years). They also had a governess, a butler, a kitchen maid, a lady's maid, two nurses, three housemaids, a housekeeper and a cook. Their next door neighbour was Thomas Greene who was a Member of Parliament.

Isambard died in 1859, and by searching death/burial indexes, we were able to find that he was buried on 20 September in All Souls Cemetery.

Clifton Suspension Bridge II, Bristol, England by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, which was taken towards the end of the 19th century. This bridge was one of Brunel's famous designs. Photograph courtesy LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-08048).

A Love of Family History

My love of family history has developed slowly over many years - and like so many other people, it comes too late to benefit from the oral histories of grandparents and extended family. Even my parents struggle to remember everything I would like to know - so I am left with snippets of information, half stories, family ghosts and far too many questions.

The growth of genealogical information on the internet has helped my quest considerably and I have become linked with distant relations - and with that comes a sharing of family history and a yearning to know much, much more.