Unearthing Family Tree Mysteries

The intriguing characters in these real family history mysteries include an agricultural labourer who left secrets behind in Somerset when he migrated to Manchester, a working-class woman who bafflingly lost ten of her fourteen children in infancy, a miner who purportedly went to 'live with the Red Indians' and a merchant prince of the Empire who was rumoured to have two wives. This book shows how a variety of sources including birth, marriage and death certificates, censuses, newspaper reports, passports, recipe books, trade directories, diaries and passenger lists were all used to uncover more, and how much can be detected by setting the characters from your family tree in their proper historical backgrounds. This book is an updated edition of Ruth Symes' previous book, titled 'Stories From Your Family Tree: Researching Ancestors Within Living Memory' (2008). AUTHOR: Ruth A. Symes is a freelance writer and historian. She has published several other genealology and history titles and is a regular features writer for a range of magazines including Family Tree UK, Who Do You Think You Are? and Discover Your Ancestors. Ruth's blog can be found at: 100 illustrations

“"The stories are well-illustrated with examples of records and also photographs of Symes's ancestors (or others in similar situations) showing work or living conditions... This book is easy to read and designed to get you thinking about your own ancestors--I thought of my ancestors in many similar situations and sources."”

"Overall, this is a book that can help the researcher think a bit more about how to utilize newspapers in their research, and the most effective ways of doing so."-- "Your Family History" (7/1/2016 12:00:00 AM)
"Ruth's book gets to the glorious core of what family history research is all about, so sit down and enjoy the read for pleasure or pick out nuggets of wisdom to provide a framework for pursuing your own family discoveries."-- "Family Tree" (8/1/2016 12:00:00 AM)
-- "FGS FORUM"

After a career in academia and editing, freelance writer and historian Ruth A. Symes now writes for several genealogical magazines including Family Tree Magazine and the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? magazine. She lives in Manchester with her husband and young daughter. This is her fourth family history book.

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