Genealogy - Our Family Trees

Search our Family Tree Databases
Generated using PhpGedView these databases allow you  to search for surnames and explore family relationships. Once into PhpGedView you can move between the databases using the "Welcome Page" drop down menu. There is a full help facility should you need it.

Baker-Bradbury database 5th April 2008, Full family history with over 700 surnames and 3400 individuals

Boulton family database 1st March 2008, Full family history (data and research by Mary Rogers)

Privacy
Details of individuals presumed living (under 105) are withheld.

Accuracy
The information in the databases is accurate to the best of my knowledge although I cannot guarantee there are no errors. If you find an error please let me know.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Pat and Ray Banks of Utah, USA for providing details of the American branch of the Banks family (included within the Baker-Bradbury tree) and helping with the family history prior to 1790 and to the other relatives we have found as a result of this research. Thanks also to Mary Rogers for allowing us to use her Boulton family data.

Look through our BMD Certificate Catalogues
The Certificate Databases provide tables of certificates with sort, filter and view options. Note the certificate information is transcribed from certified copies and there is no information for persons presumed living. There are no certificate images.  

 Birth Certificates       27th March 2008  6th April

many more of each type of certificate still to be added.   with this feature.

Visit our Genealogy Message Forum

Contact Us
If any using this site would like more information or has any information that may help us please contact us here or visit the forum.

UK and Ireland Genealogy - GENUKI - got us off to a good start.
Census information - all you need to know about UK censuses from British Genealogy.com
Registration Districts - a page within GENUKI, but I think it is worth bookmarking it separately.
The National Archive
Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service
Custom Search IGI Page easy to use and invaluable
Ancestry.co.uk large searchable data collection, requires subscription
The Genealogist  lots of indexes and databases, requires subscription
Genealogy Links
Worldwide Genealogy  loads of links on this site from New Zealand
Geography of family names from Spatial-Literacy.org

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet

Genealogy guide - part of the guides network, useful for beginners
The Origins Network - for British and Irish genealogy. Needs subscription; some overlap with ancestory.co.uk but some different databases and alternative search engines. Good for researcing ancestors from London area
CuriousFox - organised by location or name. Information exchange for those researcing UK and Irish genealogy. Can be used with or (more limited) without subscription.
The Bradbury Site - contains popular message board run by a Bradbury expert.
Wishful Thinking's GENUKI pages - Memorial inscriptions and photos from parishes around the UK
Staffordshire Past Track  - cultural identity and social history of Staffordshire
Victoria County History Staffordshire part of British History on Line

And finally ...

Why did we do it?

We started our family tree research in 1998 in response to questions from our then seven year old daughter following the death of one of her great grandmothers whom she found it hard to believe had ever been young. She asked: "How many ancestors have I got? Do they go all the way back to cave men? Did they really all have children? How do you know they all had children?"Our daughter's interest prompted her one remaining great grandmothers to give us a draft copy of her maternal family tree dating back to around 1800 (the 5th great grand parents) which her cousin had compiled some years earlier.This acted as a challenge to us to find all our direct ancestors back to the 5th great grandparents of the kids and, if possible find out more about them.

Main Interest

As our interest was to find direct ancestors we set about collecting birth certificates, census data and parish records of grand parents, great grandparent and so on. We discovered how our ancestors had moved around the British Isles coming from Ireland, Wales and many parts of England. We found iron workers from the West Midlands and coal miners from Wales who moved to North Staffordshire to find work.We heard tales of poor catholic migrants from Ireland who met and married more well to do English protestants causing family feuds. We uncovered family myths and mysteries and drew many blanks. Who is the mysterious Colonel Hallows? Why did two generations take their mother's surname?

Cousins

We had not planned to trace our cousins, the other decendants of our ancestors, but we were lucky enough to find other family members of whom we were previously unaware. We were extremely lucky to meet Ray and Pat Banks of Utah USA who we found requesting information about Banks-Lemming names in Staffordshire on the UK names surname site. The combination of those two names which were definitely in my family prompted me to contact them. We already had much information in common and it was obvious we had researched the same family. Ray is my 2nd cousin 3 times removed and he and Pat have conducted extensive research into their ancestors. I am very grateful for the information they have provided about our common ancestors and the families of our cousins in the USA. We were fortunate enough to meet Pat and Ray in person on the several occassions they have visited the UK. I have included a lot of Pat and Ray's information in my database, although since I compiled it I know that they have done a lot more research have now published another (I think their 2nd) book about it.

What next?

Validate and catalogue source references

We already have many names and dates, most of the links have been throughly researched, and sources collated - although a few remain speculative. I have tried to indicate in the notes the degree of confidence I have in the information. So now I am slowly working though my existing material and attempting to enter the source references, something which I failed to do in the first place - and now it will be time consuming and tedious exercise but with some benefits. I have already spotted gaps which I have been able to fill and also to correct initial errors. It will take me a while to enter all the source information - but I would like the data in my database to be useful and reliable to others researching similar names.

History

I have already begin to research the local geography and history of the places in which my ancestors lived but much more is still required. I want to get some feel for the types of lives they lead. I know their addresses and their occupations, I know how many people lived in their houses and I know that many moved house and even location quite often, but I don't know why? Was it through choice? Did they have to move to find new work? What happened to them when they were widowed or orphaned?  I have collected some family stories and inherited documents from distant elderly relatives. None has been reliably accurate but on the other hand everything has had some substance - dates were relavent but had been mixed up, the fate of cousins and aunts confused; hardships exagurated; step parents mistaken for natural parents; and of course I got the the usual stories of  lost fortunes, displaced land owners, and family feuds. So besides filling gaps in the dates I am looking to put leaves on the tree and build a more complete story of my family history.

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