Inspiration from Who Do You Think You Are?

This record shows Harry and Sara with two of their children: Andrew’s grandfather Samuel and his great-aunt Bertha. We see that Harry and Sara were born in Kielce, Poland, and that Harry worked as a printer at Leslie, Brownlie, and Co. If your ancestors were resident in England and Wales in 1921, you could learn where they lived and worked, their approximate birthdates, and where they were born. This is particularly valuable if, like Andrew, your ancestors migrated to England or Wales from another country.

Parish Records Extend Your Tree to the Next Generation

Parish records were first introduced to England by Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII. This means you can use these records to extend your English lineages back to 1538, and parish records exist for a number of Christian denominations. Comedian Diane Morgan (well known for her deadpan portrayal of interviewer Philomena Cunk) also appears in the latest season of Who Do You Think You Are?. Her great-grandparents William Jennings and Mary Ann Wild appear in the collection ‘Manchester, England, Non-Conformist Marriages, 1758-1937.’ This record reveals that William and Mary Ann were Baptist, and at the time of their marriage on 10 April 1909, William worked as a clog sole cutter and Mary Ann as a cotton weaver. The beautiful register entry also includes their fathers’ names and occupations, their addresses, and their original signatures.

Your ancestors’ marriage records will include the same information, and there is something particularly poignant about seeing their signed name (or if they were illiterate, their ‘mark’). You can picture them putting their pen to the register on one of the most significant days of their lives. Marriage records are also fantastic for learning the occupations of our female ancestors, who sometimes stopped working (or no longer had their occupations included in official documents) after they married.

Local Collections Add Colour to the Story

Research in Ireland can be challenging, primarily because a fire at the Four Courts in Dublin on 20 June 1922 destroyed seven centuries’ worth of historical records. If your ancestors are Irish, you will utilise surviving collections such as the 1911 and 1901 Censuses of Ireland, civil records dating back to 1864 (and back to 1845 for non-Catholic marriages), and church records. Other unique local collections in which you might find your ancestors include the ‘Ireland, Dog Licence Registrations, 1810-1926.’ These records include a physical description of your ancestor’s canine companion, as is the case for comedic actor Aisling Bea’s second great-grandfather Maurice Ferriter. Maurice was a farmer in Teeravane, County Kerry, and he owned a black collie dog.

Maurice purchased the licence in 1907, two years after he was summoned to court for having failed to licence his collie.

You can also search for your ancestors in the ‘Ireland, Petty Session Court Registers, 1818-1919,’ and if they’re mentioned in court records, there is bound to be an interesting story!

Use the Card Catalogue to Discover Collections for Your Places of Origin

If you want to know the collections Ancestry holds for your country, city, or village of origin, search the Card Catalogue. Journalist Mishal Husain’s fantastic episode of Who Do You Think You Are? reveals that her family history spans several continents, and a search for collections pertaining to her grandparents’ homeland, India, yields millions of records.

Amongst these is a record set called ‘India, Select Marriages, 1792-1948,’ which includes the marriage of Mishal’s great-grandparents Mariamma Mayalapalla and Francis Farley Quinn. This is a transcript of the original register entry and includes the names of both spouses, their ages when they married, the date and place of marriage, and their fathers’ names. If you find your ancestors in this collection, you will immediately be connected to the previous generation, extending your family tree and uncovering a world of new stories and histories.

Everyone Has a Story—Discover Yours Today

It isn’t just celebrities who have extraordinary family histories. Every one of us has a unique and fascinating story comprising hundreds of ancestors whose choices, sacrifices, and successes shaped our lives and made us who we are today. When we research our ancestry, we are not just learning about our forebears, but also about ourselves. Why not take some inspiration from the star-studded cast of Who Do You Think You Are? and start your family history adventure today?