Family Tree UK

Learn how to trace your family tree! Every issue is packed with: family history research advice hands-on learning experiences to help you become an ancestor super-sleuth & step-by-step guides to show you the path to tracing the past. From vintage documents to the latest in DNA, we’re here to help you discover more! Get the latest in genealogy news, software, books, archives and expert answers. Plus enjoy those reader stories that remind what it means to trace your family story. Research & remember your roots with Family Tree!

What are your plans for 2024? • March issue of Family Tree is on sale from 9 February

Eagerly awaited Society of Genealogists new premises now open to the public • The Society of Genealogists has announced that the doors to its new London premises will be open to the public from January 2024, offering library and archive material

Destruction of post-1858 Wills of England and Wales proposed • On 15 December the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) issued a consultation document on the storage and retention of original will documents.

UNLOCK THE P OWER OF STORIES • RootsTech, the world’s largest genealogy conference has launched a social media challenge to share stories of the past, present, and future in the hope of inspiring others to discover their own family stories

Ancestor Photos shed a spotlight on individual lives • Ancestor Photos has a database of almost 20,000 named photos of Victorian men and women. Now entering their second year in business, the team show how, with a little research, a simple photograph can be expanded into a life story. See their case study below

QUEST FOR A PERMANENT HOME FOR FOLKLORE COLLECTION • A campaign to give a permanent home to a folklore collection gathered over a lifetime has received support via a crowdfunding campaign

Library move for Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain • The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) has announced the relocation of its extensive library from The Jewish Museum London to the Westminster Synagogue

1 .6 million military records added to TheGenealogist • The Genealogist has announced that it has added well over a million records to its military collections, including rolls of honour, medal awards and war memorial records

YOUR FAMILY’S STORY… IN YOUR OWN BOOK • The Storied platform has announced the latest addition to its portfolio: StoriedBook™

Ambitious project to create a family tree for a whole town • A project in a Northumbrian town has seen the creation of one family tree that includes every resident who has ever lived there

RootsMagic 9 ‘designed to access Ancestry and FamilySearch through their new more secure logins’ • As of 11 December 2023 access to Ancestry via third party software has changed

Trace your criminal ancestors: Scottish prison register entries reach 500,000 mark • Scottish Indexes have announced the release of 180,000 new records, a major milestone in their prison register indexing project, as the collection reaches half a million records from 38 Scottish prisons

DEAR PAUL • This month, Paul Chiddicks shares a selection of quirky genealogy gems and introduces his new ‘transcription corner’ – do you have any humorous or cringe-worthy transcriptions to share?

Family history: Health and wellbeing survey • The results of our survey contribute to the ongoing conversation about the value of writing about, and understanding the significance of, the lives of our ancestors

RESEARCHING EAST INDIAMEN • Richard Morgan takes a look at the history of these trading ships, from their early beginnings in the 17th century, through to the ending of the East India Company monopoly. If your ancestor served on board one of these vessels, you might be surprised how much information you can...