I occasionally give a talk about “Migration Throughout the UK” where I follow my great-great grandfather through all the places he lived in the UK, and the various name changes he had. Last year I decided to go and visit some of these places and follow in his footsteps. The talk offers hints and tips about how I found him wherever he appeared in the records and how this could be applied to your own research. The talk also covers about how people moved around in the 19th Century, when we did not think they could go very far, and what to think about if you can’t find your ancestor in the records.
I went to the village in Northampton where he was born and where he lived until he left to seek his fortune. His mother was born in the next village over the border in Huntingdonshire and I discovered the church she was baptised and saw the font this took place in. It was wonderful to touch on their history.
In the summer of last year I found myself exploring Derbyshire and popped over the county border into Yorkshire to see where he lived and worked in the latter part of his life. He died there in 1937 and I visited the graveyard where he was buried.
After following his trail for many years it felt good to be walking in his footsteps and see what he would have seen. I still have lots of places to visit where he lived. Now where shall I go next………
