Product Description
Sooner or later, all genealogists encounter elusive family members: those who appear as if from nowhere; those who disappear without trace and those who vanish for a long period, only to re-emerge later. Ancestors who lurk, parentless, in the top branches of our family tree, or who are apparently still alive at the age of one hundred and sixty are likely to be migrants.
This book describes many research paths that you can follow and sources that you can consult, in your quest for that migrant ancestor. If you are successful, you will have found a new piece of the puzzle that is your family's history. Unfortunately, there is no 'magic wand' but adopting a problem-solving approach and following the many suggestions in this book, may help to break down the brick walls that mobile ancestors often leave in their wake.
Although it involves work, seeking out migrant ancestors is worthwhile; they often have the most interesting stories to uncover. In this volume, you will find advice for locating missing vital records for British family members and advice for those seeking immigrant and emigrant ancestors. There are also lists of useful books and websites for those who need more detail.
If, having exhausted all the suggestions in this book, your ancestor remains stubbornly elusive, you can at least be rest assured that you have tried everything that you can to find him.
Contents:
1. Getting Started
- Introduction
- Who did people move?
- Investigating migrants
2. Finding Vital Records
- Missing marriages
- Marriage records
- Missing births or baptisms
- Alternative sources of information
- Missing deaths or burials
- Warning
3. Employment Related Moves
- Mobile occupations
- Other employment related moves
- Employment records
4. Suggestions for Locating Elusive Ancestors
- Explore the extended family
- Explore the name
- Tracing those whose moves were enforced
- Press the restart button
- Explore the area
5. Moving In
- Waves of immigration
- Finding the origins of immigrants
- Why move in
- Records of immigrants
6. Moving out
- Reasons for emigration
- Records of emigration found in the United Kingdom
- Overseas records
- Final word
Further Reading
Some Useful Websites
Index
Pages: 36
01302 288722
