Posts by HLB

Fire Insurance Records

Fire Insurance Records. What an intriguing collection of resources for the family historian but it can take a bit of footwork to unearth. To help you to find out more about these records follow the links and find family history connections Some of these records have been made available through the hard work of volunteers…

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Workhouse Schools

The workhouse system
This entry is part 4 of 8 in the series Law - Poor Law

More than 50% of those in Workhouses were children of the poor and often orphans. The Workhouse system was far from perfect but Workhouse schools at least offered some hope for a better educated and informed future. One of the turning points from Old Poor Law and bad ways to social reform and the fight for better rights for the unfortunate in society?

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Warwickshire Tithe Maps 1838 – 1853

Tithe maps are a great underused resource, containing surname data. They are also good fun because you can relate past land use to todays. These are the tithe maps that have so far been transcribed for the county of Warwickshire

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Warwickshire Family History

Warwickshire UK, is probably best known around the world for it’s most famous son William Shakespeare. It is a fascinating county, largely rural to the south, the North became more industrial as the Industrial Revolution unrolled. It’s industrial heart contains a mixture of mining, clay and cement working, textiles and engineering. It is crossed by…

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Internal Migration

Internal Migration As family historians, one of our objectives is to try to determine where our ancestors originally came from. Another is to try and make sense of and follow their movements. We all have ‘lost’ ancestors, who seem to disappear or pop up in unexpected places! Understanding the social history helps us to make…

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British Prison Hulks New York Harbour 1776

During the American War of Independence, British prison hulks were moored in New York harbour. Many of the prisoners died on board these dismal and wretched ships. A list of some 8000 names of those who were on board can be searched online using the link To find other connections between your family history and…

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Bedfordshire settlement maps

If  you have family history connections to Bedfordshire then this site may well be of interest to you as it strives to cover all settlements in Bedfordshire using a variety of maps, including OS, tithe and enclosure maps. There are also useful photos along with descriptions of  old buildings and supporting photos. To find more…

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Captain Cook 1728 – 1779

An amazing wealth of geographical and scientific knowledge resulted from the expeditions undertaken by Captain Cook and his crew. They were pivotal in advancing Britain’s colonial aspirations

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