Tips from inside the SoG

Our top tip this week is to remember to check multiple archives, online and offline, for related information. But how? Here's an example from a recent SoG user, Frances Hurd:

When I was researching for my PhD on the life and works of Dr John Bastwick (1593-1654), I had considerable difficulty in finding any personal material belonging to my subject. Another postgraduate suggested looking in the Society of Genealogists' card index, as they had 'struck lucky' there. I paid one visit which lasted at most 40 minutes and found one card referring to Bastwick. It cited a reference in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, which was apparently 'Official Papers relating to Dr Bastwick'. I wasn't very hopeful, but off I went to Oxford. Bastwick was arrested by the pursuivants (officials working for the Court of High Commission) in 1633, and what I found was evidently not official papers but the contents of his desk, swept up at random and shoved into a file. The selection included personal letters to and from Bastwick, as well as invoices, bills, etc, and offered invaluable insight into the personal and professional life of a man who played a significant role in the development of radical Puritan thought in the pre-Civil War period.

Other language spoken? German and a bit of French and Italian.

Favourite food/drink? That glass of wine at the end of an evening class.

Favourite school subject? History, English Literature, Drama (you see where I’m going with this).

Most distant ancestor researched? Moryce Churchyard aka Maurico Churcheord - the archer listed in the 1542 militia muster of Little Dewchurch, Herefordshire and the 1543 Tax list of Boston, Herefordshire. Sadly, only a hypothesis based on right name right pace.

Decade you would like to live in? 2020s for the medicine, franchise, feminism (I research history – don’t want to live in it!!).

Most frustrating brick wall ancestor? Mary ******** Davis – she lied about her father’s name on her marriage.

X Else Churchill (@SoGGenealogist) / X • Bluesky elsesoggenealogist.bsky.social • Instagram elsechurchill_sog • LinkedIn Else Churchill

Don’t miss Christmas in the SoG Library and Archives and for those who can’t make it live, the recording will be available in our Gold Library shortly after the event.

LIBRARY NEWS

For the latest on what has been happening in our library and archives, see our December Collections Update, including:

• Festive closure
• Information about resources added to SoG Explore for member access at home
• The work of our internship student
• Our current Featured Collection in the library until January

The usual cost of My Ancestors were Jewish is £5.95 and is currently available to SoG members at the discounted price of £4.76 (£5.35 to non-members). A £3.50 postal charge applies within the UK. This book plus the full range of titles published by the Society are available from our bookshop through our website and onsite. Offer valid until 31 December 2025.

And don’t forget — if you visit us at the Research Hub, Wharf Road, you’ll enjoy 25% off all SoG titles and 50% off second-hand books.

Hackney Museum closes after Saturday 29 November 2025 for a major refurbishment supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The redevelopment will refresh the museum’s permanent galleries and spaces, using its unique historical collections to explore 300,000 years of migration and settlement in the local area. Many objects that have been on display since 2002, including the much-loved Anglo-Saxon logboat and the Pie and Eel shop, will be rested and prepared for redisplay in 2027.  Regular updates on the project will be shared through Hackney Museum’s monthly newsletter and social media channels. More information can be found at https://www.hackneymuseum.org.uk.

ScotlandsPeople

Extraordinary records documenting Victorian crofting life have been made available online for the first time, offering valuable new insights for family historians researching ancestors in the Highlands and Islands. Listing more than 16,000 crofters and cottars, these records were gathered for the 1883 Napier Commission, the public inquiry established to investigate claims of unfair treatment by landlords in the aftermath of the Highland Clearances. They provide a vivid picture of how communities survived and sustained traditional ways of life tied to the land, revealing details such as household members, acreage, rents, livestock and the seasonal work—such as weaving and gathering whelks—that supported family livelihoods.

Findmypast has added:

• British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1939
• British Army Service Records, South Wales Borderers, 1891, 1914 and 1915
• Leicestershire Electoral Registers 1836-1970
• Leicestershire Monumental Inscriptions
• Lincolnshire, Workhouse Guardians' Minute Books 1837-1902
• Faces of the Fallen 1914-1918
• Wales, Barry Railway Company Accident Registers 1889-1917
• Wales, Barry Railway Company Staff Registers 1888-1896
• Britain, Merchant Seamen Registry 1939-1945

Newspapers:

• Aberdeen Bon-Accord & Northern Pictorial, 1951-1959
• Allen’s Indian Mail, 1843-1847, 1850-1860, 1863-1870, 1872-1882, 1884-1885, 1887-1891
• Brighouse Free Press and District Advertiser, 1914-1918, 1920
• Chatham, Rochester and Brompton Observer, 1914-1920
• Citizen (London), 1914-1917
• Connaught Telegraph, 1914-1918
• Cumberland Evening News, 1914-1918
• East Cornwall Times and Western Counties Advertiser, 1859-1861, 1864-1870, 1872, 1874-1877
• Haltwhistle Echo, 1914-1918
• Heckmondwike Herald, 1990-1993
• Illustrated Oldham Telegraph, 1859
• Iron Trade Circular (Rylands’) and Hardware Weekly Messenger, 1879-1881, 1883, 1886, 1888
• Midland Free Press, 1914-1915
• Newcastle-under-Lyme Times, 1938-1950
• Northern Review, 1887-1894
• Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 1994-1997, 1999-2004
• Skegness Herald, 1914-1916
• Wandsworth & Battersea District Times, 1870-1891
• Western Express, 1917-1919
• Y Celt, 1881-1882, 1884, 1891
• Zigzag, 1881-1882

MyHeritage

MyHeritage is currently offering its DNA test at a significantly reduced price of £27 as part of their Black Friday promotion. This is the lowest price the test has been listed for to date.

At £27, the kit provides access to MyHeritage’s DNA tools and ethnicity estimates, covering 79 ethnicities and 2,114 geographic regions, and supports the platform’s matching system for connecting with genetic relatives.

As part of the Black Friday DNA Sale, customers can also add a 30-day free trial of the Complete plan, which includes access to 36.9 billion historical records and enhanced family-tree features. Adding the trial also qualifies the order for free shipping.