Researching an adopted ancestor can be challenging but there are steps you can take to learn more about their birth and origins. Ancestry ProGenealogist, Simon Pearce, offers useful guidance and resources from around the world for uncovering these details. Formal adoption was introduced in England and Wales on 1 January 1927 with the establishment of Read More
While digitised paper records can offer incredible details about our ancestors’ lives, sometimes it can be very moving to see visual evidence of the periods of time that they lived through, particularly key moments such as WWII. Through the U.S, United News Newsreels, 1942-1946, we are given a front-row seat to some of the events Read More
March is Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the many women across the course of history whose passion and reserve brought about immense change. From the fight for suffrage on the streets of London in the early 1900s, Rosa Park’s bravery in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the women who bravely accepted new Read More
With all the resources at our fingertips, there’s never been a better time to get your kids loving history, says Cassie Mercer, Australian family history editor and author*. These hands-on activities will inspire them to learn more about their family – past and present. Half-term holidays are here, and during this time, there are lots Read More
Ashley Barnwell, Ashworth Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Melbourne, explores the ethics of keeping family secrets hidden. At the International Family History Workshop in Manchester 2017, I presented my research on Australian family secrets. As a sociologist, I am interested in the connections between the small events of everyday life and the large events of Read More
We are pleased to announce 10 million historic Catholic Parish records from Ireland have been indexed and are now available online. This is the largest collection of its kind available digitally, and means that Ancestry now offers access to more than 55 million Irish records – making it a significant resource for people around the world Read More
When I first started researching my family genealogy, I wanted to fly over to the UK and visit where my people lived, look in cemeteries for tombstones and go to the churches to look in the registers. All normal things to want to do, but boy was I wrong! Before you jump on a plane, you Read More
As genealogists, we know there’s nothing quite like looking into our ancestor’s eyes to make us feel a sense of family. Unfortunately, not everyone inherits the family photo collection. This holiday season, take advantage of family gatherings to create the photos you wish you had inherited and you’ll have a great start on a simple Read More
Toys haven’t always been a part of childhood. It was only during the Victorian era that families began viewing play time as central to a child’s development. Paired with industrialization, that meant the invention of many new and exciting toys, with some more enduringly popular than others. The Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalogs archived on Ancestry can Read More
Welcome to our weekly update on the new Ancestry website. Last week we posted an article that highlighted some of your favorite features that will be coming into the new Ancestry in the coming weeks. These include Member Connect and Military Pages. We are also close to having thumbnail images available in the timeline on the FACTS Read More