Ancestors lost in the crowd?
New to family history research?
Perhaps these articles on our website may help:
Census 1841 - 1911
Birth, Death and Marriage Registration
The London Gazette
Newspaper archives
Trade Directories
Articles on the History of Essex, Researching your Ancestors,
and British History
Where did my surname come from?
Surnames involved in One-Name Studies
A useful resource for possibly identifying the geographic origin of a surname.
Researching your family tree is an interesting hobby, and for some it turns into an obsession with a determination to go back as far as they can. Some people move onto conducting a one-name study on their surname or family name and its variants. In other words, researching people who share the same surname.
One-name studies are obviously an impossible task with a surname like Smith, but an unusual surname can produce some interesting results with a chance of discovering that the name came from a particular area or even an individual village. The use of DNA tests in family history research has provided a boost to one-name studies.
A one-name study may also help a person who has reached a brick wall on their family tree. Collecting information on the surname may help to produce the missing piece of information needed to break down that wall.
For more information on one-name studies go to the Guild of One Name Studies.
