Atlantic Crossings

by Philip Westwood

A series of articles written to help people in America and Canada who are researching ancestors from the U.K.

Scotish Records
Scotland came to Civil Registration later than England and Wales on I Jan 1855. However , the range of detail given makes the Scottish certificates and registers much more useful and informative than those for England and Wales.

The Lincoln-Blair Affair
What connects the current British Prime Ministers family with Abraham Lincoln and his crazed assasin John Wilkes Booth ?

World War One Ancestors
Over 5 million people served in the Forces from the British Isles. War Memorials in almost every City, Town and Village in the UK record the names of the many who didn't return.

Newspapers in Family History Research
Newspapers began to appear in the late Seventeenth Century and became more widespread in the early Eighteenth Century.

United Kingdom Census Returns
They are of immense use to genealogists as they provide a "snapshot" of a household every 10 years.

National Records at the PRO
Is likely that your Ancestors will feature here somewhere.

Parish and Non Conformist Records
Few Parish Registers survive before 1597 and some of the early Registers are written in Latin.

British Wills and Probate Records
Wills are an excellent often overlooked genealogical resource.

Civil Registration System
Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.