Reviews
Genealogy is one of the fastest developing hobbies in the UK. Millions of people are now researching their family history using tools like CD-ROMs and online databases to build their family trees.
GenealogyReviews.co.uk helps you find the best online and offline resources to successfully trace your family ancestry.
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Compare the Market
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reviewed the top websites for online research, and TheGenealogist has come out on top... Read More
Issue 56 - Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
Unearth Tithe Maps Treasure
The National Archives has teamed up with TheGenealogist to put its collection of tithe maps and apportionments online. Alan Crosby explains what these fantastic resources can reveal...... Read More
Issue 85 - Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine - Alan Crosby
New All-in-One Search Tool
TheGenealogist's innovative smarter, context aware All-in-One search tool scans entire collections of records in one go to return specific results about your ancestors. See your family tree quickly take shape with this exciting new development in the w... Read More
Issue V29 No.1 - Family Tree Magazine
Get to grips with Graves
Tracking down your family history isn't always about combing through documents and official records. Gravestones can be a major source of information, often linking several generations of a family, and finding them is of course a good excuse to get out an... Read More
Make the most of Parish Registers
Family-run website TheGenealogist has made it a mission to bring more parish records together online than ever before.... Read More
Make Your Research Mobile
A new app – working on all iOS and Android smart phones and tablets – means you can always have your family tree with you.... Read More
Track Down Tithe Records
More than 11 million tithe records have been released online this year - a major source of information for family historians. They reveal a wealth of information about people, places and landmarks.... Read More
Need help finding those elusive ancestors?
Today there are huge volumes of birth, marriage and death records on the web, and Mark Bayley, online genealogy expert, looks at how effective website searching can solve your family history mysteries using these sources - with the help of a Hollywood act... Read More
Issue V29 No.11 - Family Tree Magazine
Making the censuses crystal clear
We explore how the latest technology can improve your research... Read More
Issue 122 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
‘Murderer’ in the margins
Nick Thorne uses the latest enhanced census images to help trace the Eltham Murder victim and the accused, both recorded under the same roof.... Read More
Issue 121 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine - Nick Thorne
Doctor's records added
TheGenealogist has released occupational records covering more than 100,000 doctors and dentists... Read More
Issue - Your Family History Magazine
150,000 PoW records added online
Leading British genealogy website TheGenealogist.co.uk has added over 150,000 World War Two prisoner of war records to its already significant military records collection.... Read More
Issue 35 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Poetical Justice
Tracing an ancestor's career path, through the many records available online, can often reveal to us some interesting family stories – especially when they chart the path to great heights of a forebear.... Read More
Issue V32 No.4 - Family Tree Magazine
In service - from simple house to palace
Your servant ancestors worked in all sorts of places, from palaces to terraced houses, says Nick Thorne... Read More
Issue 164 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
The magnificent woman in her flying machine
Find out about a female pioneer in the early days of flying, with Nick Thorne... Read More
Issue 163 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
Lionel de Rothschild:
Finding the more unusual details of an ancestor's life is possible with a bit of research, says Nick Thorne... Read More
Issue 162 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
Charmed by her attractions
Finding a scandalous ancestor can be fascinating for the genealogist, says Nick Thorne... Read More
Issue 161 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
The Time Machine: tracing ancestors from childhood to adulthood
Following an ancestor's life can lead us on a path through time and place, says Nick Thorne... Read More
Issue 160 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
On the campaign trail
With such a considerable amount of military records now available on TheGenealogist, Nick Thorne indulged his curiosity to discover more about a famous First World War general, and find out about the man behind the name.... Read More
Issue V31 No.12 - Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
'Old school' ways to find your ancestors
Census substitutes are an important way to build your family's story, says Nick Thorne.... Read More
Issue 159 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
A Fleeting Romance
A common brickwall is when our forebears don't neatly get married where we expect them to. As family researchers we may have had the preconception that our ancestors would surely have got married at the bride's parish church? Well that, it seems, was n... Read More
Issue V31 No.10 - Family Tree Magazine
The railway claimed him in life and death
To make sense of the lives of our ancestors we need to understand the work they did. A big impact on those who lived in the 1800s to the early 1900s, was the coming of the railways to Britain. Nick Thorne delves into a railwayman's working life...... Read More
Issue 158 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
Grandpa "caught a bit of shrapnel" in World War I and I soon revealed how
Nick Thorne was able to piece together his grandfather's war service using new casualty lists on The Genealogist.... Read More
Issue 157 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
Alien Ancestors
Denization and naturalisation records feature foreign artisans and aristocrats seeking a better life in Britain, says Laura Berry... Read More
Issue 26 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine - Laura Berry
Researching the hidden past of your area
The tithe schedules are a great tool for discovering the ownership and occupiers of land, drawn up at the time of the survey in the early years of Victoria’s reign. From these we are able to easily discover the ownership and occupiers of land at the time ... Read More
Issue 156 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Free Image Archive
Search thousands of images and see how to use them to add atmosphere to your family history research with Nick Thorne.... Read More
Issue V31 No.8 - Family Tree Magazine - Nick Thorne
A May to remember
Keith Gregson marks the centenary of Britian's worst railway disaster, which has often been overlooked because it occurred in the midst of World War One.... Read More
Issue 25 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine - Keith Gregson
Piecing together a murder mystery
How you can use an array of detailed sources on TheGenealogist to uncover colourful stories from your family’s past.... Read More
Issue 154 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Lost in the war, found in the records
World War One affected every level of society. Our case study shows the wide variety of records that reveal what happened to one renowned casualty.... Read More
Issue 24 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Horatio's last words
A recent BBC2 TV programme on Horatio Nelson centred on what the famous Admiral wrote in his letters, to reveal a more complex man than the hero created after his death. Discover the last wishes of one of the country's greatest heroes...... Read More
Issue 24 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Scandalous Detail
Family history is so much more than just facts and figures, and is made even more interesting when you can add some colour to your tree in the form of real-life stories from the past.... Read More
Issue V31 No.7 - Family Tree Magazine
Step back in time with 3D photos
Once you have found your ancestors in the census records and discovered more about them, the next step is to try placing them in the social context of their times. You can now see through your ancestor's eyes thanks to TheGenealogist's free Image Archi... Read More
Issue 155 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Plotting the past
It's always been a challenge to find where our ancestors lived, but newly online records can help you explore the fields and houses in their home villages and towns. Never before have family historians been able to search nationwide for the uniquely d... Read More
Issue 23 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
How to trace an ancestor through their occupation - part 2
Part two of our look at TheGenealogist’s occupational records covers occupation specific collections.... Read More
Issue 153 - Your Family Tree Magazine
The Complete Census Guide: Supreme Searches on TheGenealogist.co.uk
Searching for a person on the census can yield thousands of results, however there are a variety of simple tools on TheGenealogist you can use to quickly find your particular relative.... Read More
Issue 153 - Your Family Tree Magazine
The Mulberry Madam
Ancestors that fell foul of the law are always fascinating subjects for family history research. The chance to unearth a felon from within the records can be an exciting prospect. Nick Thorne unearths a story of a brothel-keeper sent to Australia for th... Read More
Issue 22 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine - Nick Thorne
All Good Sports
Keith Gregson explores how to find online information about sporting ancestors who 'played for fun' or as a pastime in Victorian and Edwardian times.... Read More
Issue 22 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine - Keith Gregson
Working Records
Occupations are key to good family history research. Not only do they let you know more about how your ancestor lived, giving you clues as to their wealth and social class, but they also let you easily refine a search for a common surname in the census... Read More
Issue V31 No.5 - Family Tree Magazine
How to trace an ancestor through their occupation - Part 1
Discover more about your working forebears by using the wealth of occupational records at TheGenealogist.... Read More
Issue 152 - Your Family Tree Magazine
The Hidden Treasures of Gravestones
Nick Thorne discovers a fabulous repository of genealogical information. "I get quite excited when I see a churchyard or cemetery. To me it is a fabulous repository of genealogical information, all of which is just waiting to be revealed."... Read More
Issue 21 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine - Nick Thorne
Just the job!
Learning about our forebears' occupations transforms our understanding of their lives. What's more their job title can be just the clue we need to identify our person from among many others who share their name.... Read More
Issue V31 No.4 - Family Tree Magazine
Find just the records you need using keywords
Sometimes when you're researching an ancestor, all you have is a name and a few facts to go on. Perhaps you know the area they lived in, or perhaps a name and their occupation?... Read More
Issue 151 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Using TheGenealogist
Nick Thorne explains how to get the most out of your subscription to TheGenealogist. As a member, you are free to explore their wonderful resources such as parish records, wills, landowner and tithe records, an image archive, a comprehensive collection of... Read More
Families of the Famous: James Bond
The second Englishman to play Bond on screen, Daniel Craig has the blood of adventurers and debonair gentlemen running through his veins – some of them from France.... Read More
Taking a Tenth
Land records are an excellent way of finding out more about our ancestors and where they lived. Celia Heritage explains, looking at tithe records in particular.... Read More
Find Your WW1 Ancestors
Many World War One records no longer exist. Does that mean that the men's stories have been lost forever? Chris Baker, who has researched thousands of individuals, explores the possibilities.... Read More
Tommies in Training
Writer and historian Keith Gregson explores a rarely featured aspect of World War One and the online research material that can be used to find out more about the people involved.... Read More
Break down a brick wall in the census
Searching for a person can yield thousands of results, making it difficult and time consuming to find your particular relative. In this review we'll show you how to drill down to the record you're looking for with a simple search on TheGenealogist.... Read More
Issue 150 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Mentioned in dispatches
Newly online WW1 records can help trace a soldier's career, as this example shows...... Read More
Issue 20 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Delve into the news of the Great War
From the famous battles, spiralling casualty rates, increasing use of photography and the use of 'gallows humour' by troops at the front, World War 1 saw a great change in the way news was reported.... Read More
Issue 149 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Fresh from the Front
From the famous battles and the spiralling casualty rates to the increasing use of photography and the use of 'gallows humour' by the troops at the front, World War One saw a great change in the way news was reported.... Read More
Issue 19 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Saturday night soldiers
A new release of 51,000+ records by TheGenealogist reveals the Territorial Army soldiers who served with distinction in Britain's army of reservists.... Read More
Issue 19 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Military Medal records of WW1
More than 117,000 'Military Medals' were awarded in the First World War for 'acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire' to heroes from all walks of life.... Read More
Issue V30 No.13 - Family Tree Magazine
Find injured WW1 servicemen online for the first time
From war poets to the friends and colleagues in the 'Pals' Battalions, the battlefields of World War 1 generated a previously unimaginable stream of wounded servicemen. You can now easily find them with this latest release.... Read More
Issue 148 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Exclusive World War 1 medal collection
Over 117,000 Military Medals were awarded in World War 1 for "acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire". These records are now available to view online complete with an image of the actual Medal Card and a link to the official Government publ... Read More
Issue 147 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Wounded in WW1
In its latest release of World War One military records, data giant TheGenealogist.co.uk has brought online the most comprehensive collection relating to those wounded in the war - more than 1.3 million records of servicemen from the British and Common... Read More
Issue 18 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
TheGenealogist: What do you get for your money?
TheGenealogist's master search page is minimalistic looking but has some powerful options. Search for a person, family or address in all records or in a specific record group. Fields include forename, surname, keywords such as place or occupation, and ... Read More
Issue V30 No.10 - Family Tree Magazine
Daring WW1 'escapees' revealed
Using only kitchen cutlery and their bare hands a daring group of prisoners of war painstakingly scraped their way out of the brutal First World War camp at Holzminden, near Hanover, in 1918. Read the records of these extraordinary men, from among a vas... Read More
Issue V30 No.12 - Family Tree Magazine
The Utmost Bravery
Leading family history data website TheGenealogist.co.uk has continued to affirm its status as a major resource for military records with the release of more than 25,000 records detailing recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal.... Read More
Issue 17 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Finding Freedom
Most of us are familiar with a person - often a well-known person born in the place - being awarded freedom of a city, but what does it actually mean, and are there relevant historical records available?... Read More
Issue 17 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine - Jill Morris
Justly Honoured
A major new collection of Military Medal records online reveals some of the bravest names in WW1.... Read More
Issue 16 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
From Store to War
TheGenealogist now has more than 650,000 records of soldiers who died in WW1 – here we use records of Harrods staff in the collection to learn more.... Read More
Issue 15 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
PoW Records Go Online
Leading data website TheGenealogist.co.uk has released a collection of more than 80,000 records of both officers and other ranks who were taken prisoner in World War One.... Read More
Issue 14 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
When Drama Meets Reality
Several actresses in BBC drama The Crimson Field have World War One roots of their own...... Read More
Issue 13 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Grow more branches
A collection of over half a million unique parish records has been added at TheGenealogist.co.uk. The new online records offer invaluable records of baptisms, marriages and burials dating from the 1500s to the late 1800s from Anglican parish registers.... Read More
Issue 13 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Following the Plot
The most significant UK data release of 2014 so far is the first phase of tithe commutation records at TheGenealogist.co.uk. The tithe records provide a unique view into our ancestral heritage by providing details of ownership and occupancy of land th... Read More
Issue 12 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Paris of the West
During the 1860s to the 1880s, San Francisco began to transform into a major city, creating new neighbourhoods and culminating in the construction of Golden Gate Park in 1887. Now new online data will help you explore roots in 19th century San Francis... Read More
Issue 12 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Helping the community
Here's how you can join in with a major project to record gravestone inscriptions.... Read More
Issue 11 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Sphere of Influence
A newly online collection of historic newspapers offers a useful research resource for the World War One era.... Read More
Issue 11 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
A wealth of wills
With the amount of documents and records available when researching your family history, it is easy to overlook family documents that may contain valuable information, such as will records. These are available online and reveal details about your family’s... Read More
Issue 10 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Branching out your Family Tree
The internet is an incomparable tool for family historians, allowing us to search countless millions of records of our relatives, build trees, produce charts and so much more, with just a few clicks of the mouse.... Read More
Issue 137 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Trades in the trenches
People from all walks of life served in WW1 – and often their professional bodies left records...... Read More
Issue 9 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Party like it’s 1853
How about some 160-year-old games to liven up your winter parties?... Read More
Issue 9 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Picturing the Past
Introducing a valuable new online resource to bring the past to life...... Read More
Issue 8 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Jutland Remembered
Records from the largest naval battle of WW1 have recently gone online.... Read More
Issue 8 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
The Back-Up Brigades
Did you have an ancestor who was a part-time soldier in the late 18th Century? New militia muster records online could help you advance your research...... Read More
Issue 7 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Trade Secrets
Apprenticeships have been a key part of many of our forebears' lives. Now there are more apprentice records searchable online than ever before.... Read More
Issue 6 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
The Skill of Search
Knowing how to use search engines is a skill in itself – although we all expect to simply throw in a name, click a button and get the right results, there are techniques which can help. Many search engines offer a wealth of 'hidden' features for reefing y... Read More
Issue 6 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Round up the black sheep
A new selection of criminal register records available online may help shed light on a family relative who broke the law and paid the consequences...... Read More
Issue 5 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Find Ships' Crews Online
If you have ancestors who set sail with the Navy or merchant fleets in the 19th century, a new resource could help you follow their career...... Read More
Issue 4 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Get your research on track
From the mid-19th century onwards the railways employed many people in a wide variety of roles - now many of their work records are going online.... Read More
Issue 3 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Lucky Dip
A large and eclectic collection of name-based data has gone online – is your ancestor in there?... Read More
Issue 3 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
A Dam Busters Crew
To mark the recent 70th anniversary, records of the famous Dam Busters raids are now available online.... Read More
Issue 2 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
The Great Showman
The first British pilots' certificates were awarded just over a century ago - here we pay tribute to the pioneers of aviation and reveal a new way to learn more about them online.... Read More
Issue 1 - Discover Your Ancestors Magazine
Search Censuses at TheGenealogist.co.uk
The accurate, user-friendly nature of TheGenealogist allows family historians to dive straight into the records you wish to find, quickly and easily. Our first part of this review looks at the powerful census search tools.... Read More
Issue 124 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Find Naturalised British Citizens
If your ancestors came to Britain from abroad, they may have settled and sought British citizenship, which will have left useful records.... Read More
Research World War 1 Deaths
Those who sadly lost their lives in WWI can be traced in Rolls of Honour and casualty lists.... Read More
Find War Memorials
There are increasing numbers of resources online for tracking down people names on war memorials.... Read More
Take a Look Inside The Genealogist
Richard Wentk investigates what goes on behind the scenes at one of the UK’s Leading genealogy websites... Read More
Issue 118 - Your Family Tree Magazine - Richard Wentk
Search the 1911 Census
Subscribers to The Genealogist are in for a New Year treat, as the site nears completion of its 1911 Census data. This most recent available UK census is crucial for linking your family tree in the early 20th century.... Read More
Issue 112 - Your Family Tree Magazine
Capturing Convicts
More Australian convict and transportation records go online as TheGenealogist.co.uk joins the digitisation race.... Read More
Issue 19 - Your Family History Magazine
Getting the 1911 Census online
The wealth of historical records online have made family history much more popular and easier too. Here Family Tree talks to Mark Bayley, senior web developer at TheGenealogist.co.uk, about the feats of technology and teamwork needed to make online geneal... Read More
Issue V27 No7 - Family Tree Magazine
Centuries of Soldiers and Sailors
Through the centuries many of our ancestors have served in the armed forces, fighting in wars and policing the British Empire. Mike Ratcliff explores the military records that are available on TheGenealogist.co.uk, which will help you learn more about the... Read More
Issue V27 No1 - Family Tree Magazine - Mike Ratcliff
Something old, something new...
As your ancestors walked down the aisle or stepped into registry offices to plight their troth, little did they know that the records these events generated would be so essential to their family historian descendants decades later. TheGenealogist.co.uk ha... Read More
Issue 38 - Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
Ancestors at work and school
In pursuit of his more elusive ancestors, Mike Ratcliff sought new approaches and new sources, and explored the directories and school registers available on TheGenealogist.co.uk.... Read More
Issue V26 No9 - Family Tree Magazine - Mike Ratcliff
Genealogy Websites Subscriptions Compared
TheGenealogist.co.uk popular for value, content and ease of navigation, as well as its impressive range of functions and features. "Data for my membership level was very good" Mike, "Transcripts were better than some other sites" Raymond.... Read More
Issue 27 - Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine - Claire Vaughan
The Genealogist Website Review
The Genealogist website is run by S&N Genealogy and provides some interesting new ways in which to research your family history. David Frost has been having a look and here is what he found...... Read More
David Tippey explores TheGenealogist.co.uk
The Genealogist is the rapidly growing online data subscription service operated by S&N Genealogy Supplies Jersey. David Tippey explores what’s available.... Read More