The recording of today's webinar by Paul Milner FUGA, MDiv, "Lloyd’s of London: its history and its records for shipping" is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

My ancestor, Leonora Quayle, was born in 1763 on the Isle of Man. She had moved to Liverpool by the age of 27 where she married and then ultimately died in 1850. I imagine she would have taken her Manx accent with her to Liverpool.

Have you ever wondered what your English ancestors sounded like when they talked? England has many regional accents. One hundred years ago there would have been even more. 

While it may not be possible to know exactly how your ancestor spoke there is a way that we can get an idea. The British Library has 287 sound recordings in a collection called "Survey of English Dialects." 

The recordings were created by the University of Leeds under the direction of Harold Orton between 1950 and 1961. The goal was to capture "folk-speech" from rural areas in order to preserve the sound of regional accents. The collection is sorted alphabetically by county. Under each county you may find multiple recordings for individual towns. The speakers are mostly men but there are some women too.

I found a recording from the Isle of Man. Here's an 1958 recording of "Amanda [who] expresses her dismay at the lack of discipline she sees in children." Perhaps she can give me a clue as to what my ancestor, Leonora, sounded like.

Perhaps your ancestors come from the south of England in Cornwall. In this audio clip from 1963 "William talks about his early working days on the farm and compares modern working conditions and food production with those of his younger days." To the non-British ear this recording is probably much easier to understand the first one.

Or maybe your ancestor came from Lancashire, home to the cities of both Liverpool and Manchester. Here "Three fisherman remember the fisherman's strike of 1926..." This recording was made in 1954.

Explore the recordings included in the Survey of English Dialects and discover how your ancestor might have spoken!

Need help tracing your English ancestors? Check out our many English genealogy webinars in the Legacy library!

Marian Pierre-Louis is a genealogy professional who specializes in educational outreach through webinars, internet broadcasts and video. Her areas of expertise include house history research, southern New England research and solving brick walls. Marian is the Online Education Producer for Legacy Family Tree Webinars where she produces online genealogy education classes. Check out her webinars in the Legacy library.

The recording of today's webinar by Paul Milner, "Effective Use of England’s National Archives Website" is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free.

Webinar Description

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour and 31 minute recording of "Effective Use of England’s National Archives Website" is now available to view in our webinar library for free.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 1,661 classes of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 6,157 pages)
• On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
• Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
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• Use of the playlist, resume watching, and jump-to features

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Print the 2021 webinar brochure here.

Every Friday we're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscribers a new bonus webinar just for them! This Friday enjoy "How the Industrial Revolution Changed the World" by Kirsty Gray. 

How the Industrial Revolution Changed the World

Starting in Britain in the mid-eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution transformed the world and the way in which millions of people lived. Its effects were more revolutionary than any other development in human history since the discovery of agriculture more than 5,000 years ago. The lives of ordinary workers and their families were radically changed as patterns of work and trade were transformed and goods came from farther afield. This webinar serves to ‘set the scene’, detailing the effects of industrialisation on people and cities in England.

About the Presenter

Kirsty is a professional genealogist and ‘people finder’ who runs her own research company Family Wise Limited. As a freelance author, she has published articles in family, local and social history magazines and handbooks across the globe. She has been researching the story of her paternal West Country family for many years and, having realised in the late 1990s that her eccentric hobby was called a surname study, co-founded The Surname Society (registering the Sillifant surname) in 2014 to meet the needs of surname studiers in the 21st century. Kirsty published Tracing Your West Country Ancestors in 2013 and is a founder member and was initially Chair (now Secretary) of the Society for One-Place Studies, an international society for family and local historians.

 

Although a relative youngster in the field of genealogy, Kirsty has been involved in family history for over two decades and has lectured on various stages from local to international, on land and at sea. Kirsty has been featured on Qui-Etes Vous? (Who Do You Think You Are?) in Canada, researching the English roots of the opera singer, Marc Hervieux and in 2016, one of Kirsty’s successful adoption stories of 2015 featured on the second series of the BBC’s Family Finders. Having traded in her day job as a school teacher to follow her passion, Kirsty is widely sought after as a family history tutor, lecturer and motivational speaker around the world.

 

See all the webinars by Kirsty Gray in the Legacy library.

 

Not a member yet?

Legacy Family Tree Webinars provides genealogy education where-you-are through live and recorded online webinars and videos. Learn from the best instructors in genealogy including Thomas MacEntee, Judy Russell, J. Mark Lowe, Lisa Louise Cooke, Megan Smolenyak, Tom Jones, and many more. Learn at your convenience. On-demand classes are available 24 hours a day! All you need is a computer or mobile device with an Internet connection.

The recording of today's webinar, "Are you Lost? Using Maps, Gazetteers and Directories for British Isles Research” by Paul Milner is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

Webinar Description

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 30 minute recording of "Are you Lost? Using Maps, Gazetteers and Directories for British Isles Research" is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. 

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• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 985 classes, 1,263 hours of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 4,428 pages)
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• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
• Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
• Ability to view which webinars you are registered for
• Use of the playlist, resume watching, and jump-to features

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year

Click here to subscribe.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Print the 2019 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

Every Friday we're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscribers a new bonus webinar just for them!   This Friday enjoy three webinars on English reseach by Paul Milner. If you're not a member, remember the webinar previews are always free.

Making Sense of the English Census

Learn the how to perform searches in and utilize the information contained in the 1841-1901 English census returns. See the value of and how to access the growing number of indexes. See the value of pre-1841 census lists.

England’s Quarter Sessions Records

The Quarter Sessions began in the 14th century and did not end till late in the 20th century. These courts served both a judicial and an administrative function within the counties and created a vast store house of records. Learn how to access published and original records. Learn about your ancestors in all levels of society, justices of the peace, criminals, badgers, ale house keepers, parish officers and more.

Finding Your 17th Century Ancestors in England

Identify the best genealogical resources, original and published, to use for 17th Century research in England, and how to jump the gap created by England’s Civil War.

About the Presenter

Paul Milner, a native of northern England, is a professional genealogist and internationally known lecturer with 30 years’ experience, specializing in British Isles research.

 

Here’s the backstory about Paul:

 

Paul was raised on the West Coast of northern England. A mining engineer with a degree from the Cambourne School of Mines in Cornwall, England, he came to the U.S. in 1975 to get his graduate degree at the University of Wisconsin. He has been in the U.S. ever since, and in 2008 he became a dual citizen of both countries. In the intervening years, Paul received two graduate degrees and traveled widely throughout the world.

 

Paul has been designing genealogy workshops, writing books,  and lecturing for over 35 years. He holds an advanced degree in Theology and is particularly knowledgeable about the church and its role in record keeping. As a genealogist he speaks on a variety of topics relating to research in the British Isles, migration to North America and research methodology.

 

He is the 2018 recipient of the Utah Genealogical Society Fellow Award.

 

He is currently the book review editor of the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois Newsletter (BIGWILL) and is the former book review editor of the FGS FORUM.

 

Paul is a past board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois.

See all webinars by Paul Milner in the Legacy library.

 

Not a member yet?

You've done it!  You have traced your ancestors back to the immigrating ancestor and discovered (or confirmed) your ancestor immigrated from England. 

Now you are ready to begin your genealogy research in the English records.

Do you know what records for your English ancestors exist? What records should you look in first? Where are those records housed?

Let's explore where to start your English genealogy research.

Begin the Search for Your English Ancestors

As with any new-to-you records, take time prior to the start of your research to familiarize yourself with record collections. Know the answers to questions such as 

• What time periods and locations do the records include?
• What type of information does the record include?

Knowing answers to these questions ahead of time prevents you from wasting valuable research time searching for information that was not recorded or was lost over time.

English Census Records

Most genealogy researchers are familiar with census records making these a great place to start your research.

English census records began in 1841 and were taken every 10 years.  Census records actually began in 1801, but prior to the 1841 census, the census records did not include the names of the individuals. The 1911 census is the latest census accessible to the public.

Keep in mind as you explore the English census, an individual's age may be rounded down to the nearest "5". This practice of rounding an individual's age will be a new concept for US researchers as they begin the hunt for their English ancestors.  For example, in the 1841 census, a female aged 24 years will be listed as 20 years of age. Children less than 15 years of age are enumerated with their correct age. You'll find English Census records available on all the major subscription sites (see resource list at the bottom).

Civil Registrations

Remember the year 1837!

Civil registrations of births, marriages and deaths (BMD) began in 1837 resulting in a national index. If you find your ancestor in the civil registration index, you can then order a copy of the actual certificate.

England and Wales Birth Registration Index (Source: FamilySearch.org)

The England and Wales Birth, Death, and Marriage Registration Indices can be found on FamilySearch.org.

Parish Registers

If you are researching ancestors prior to 1837, turn to the parish records. Going back to their beginning in 1538, these can be a gold mine for the genealogy researcher.

Parish records were created and kept locally by the vicar recording baptisms, marriages and burials. Typically, parish records were kept chronological order. The tricky part of researching parish registers is knowing which parish your ancestor lived in and which county that parish was located in. Many parish registers have been indexed, transcribed or digitized. 

Beginning in 1598, copies of the parish register known as the bishop's transcripts were sent annually to the parish bishop. These make good substitutes for damaged or missing parish registers. If you fail to find your ancestor in the traditional parish records, check the bishop's transcripts.

Passenger Lists

Passenger lists are another resource to find your English ancestors. Genealogy researchers are both thrilled and frustrated by the variety of information found in these records. Earlier passenger lists may provide only minimal information on passengers, while later passenger lists can contain quite a bit of information on individual passengers. From example, the 1920's passenger lists out of the UK asked for the last known UK address!

1923 UK Passenger  List for the Aquitania (Source: FindMyPast.org, courtesy of The National Archives, London, England)

Resources For English Records

Watch this Legacy QuickTip video - English Resources in Legacy Family Tree

In this Legacy QuickTip:
- Recording Quarter dates for vital records in the United Kingdom
- Adding English timelines to the Chronology View
- English gazetteer links in Research Guidance

Resources for English records include:

• Find over 16 English webinars on Legacy Family Tree Webinars!
• FamilySearch.org - Find available English records here. (free)
• FindMyPast.org - Large collection of British and Irish records (subscription based)
• MyHeritage - (subscription based)
• Ancestry.com -  (subscription based)
• The National Archives of England & Wales - Start here to see exactly what they have and what they do not have. Also, learn what they have online and what is available only offline.
• The British Newspaper Archive - Hundreds of historic British and Irish newspapers (Subscription required)

Not sure where your American ancestor immigrated from? Find strategies for researching your immigrant ancestors in Where Did My Immigrant Ancestors Come From? 

___________________________________

Lisa Lisson is the writer, educator and genealogy researcher behind Are You My Cousin? and believes researching your genealogy does not have to be overwhelming. All you need is a solid plan, a genealogy toolbox and the knowledge to use those tools. Specializing in southern US research and finding those elusive females, Lisa is passionate about helping others find resources and tools to confidently research their genealogy. Lisa can be found online at LisaLisson.com , Facebook and Pinterest.