One of the greatest 'doh!' moments in the history of family history came shortly before the 1836 Act that introduced civil registration in England and Wales was due to come into effect. Someone noticed that there was no provision to record the *place* of birth or death on the new certificates... 1/

Heading into London tomorrow to do a talk for the Society of Genealogists @sogorg.bsky.social We'll look at the language of illegitimacy and its impact on our ancestors' lives and I'll share a few examples of the thoughts of some seriously judgemental clergymen! portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2...

I'm playing catchup with my #MyFamily52Maps project... My gt grandfather, Samuel Christie Annal, was born in South Ronaldsay, Orkney in 1882. But his ancestors came almost exclusively from a particular part of the island, known as the East Side, centred on the districts of Lythes, Aikers & Papley.

I’m off to Kent again next week…

Kent Family History Society@kentfhs.bsky.social · 3d ago

Please join us

Back in the 'office' (well, sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen...) after two weeks of sunshine, vineyards and long walks in the woods. Now I just have to remember what it is that I actually do...

I kept thinking about this (I know 🤫) and I've concluded that the original piece of paper *must* have been at least nominally rectangular and that the skewed appearance of the image is the result of digital manipulation at some stage of the digitisation process in an attempt to make it... 1/

Dave Annal Lifelines Research@davelifelines.bsky.social · last wk.

While I accept that the original piece of paper isn't quite as rectangular as it might have been, I still maintain that the writer may have been better advised to used lined paper...

While I accept that the original piece of paper isn't quite as rectangular as it might have been, I still maintain that the writer may have been better advised to used lined paper...

Looking forward to this next Thursday!

Society of Genealogists@sogorg.bsky.social · last wk.

Join us at the @SocGenealogists on 6 Aug! 🎤 @davelifelines.bsky.social (2pm) 🎤 Dr Colin Chapman (4pm) Watch in our air-conditioned Resource Hub, stay for drinks, nibbles & research—or join live on Zoom.

My view right now…

Inbox empty ✅ Out of Office On ✅ Two weeks of sunshine, vineyards, birdwatching and long walks in the woods to look forward to ✅

Robert Brown Annal, a distant cousin of mine, was born in South Ronaldsay, Orkney in 1858. He was an engineer and like so many Scots, he travelled to Argentina in the 1880s, settling in General Lavalle, Buenos Aries. Here he is with his Argentinian family sometime around 1900. #ItsNotComingHome

🥵 Too hot? Cool off at the @SocGenealogists on 6 Aug! 🎤 @davelifelines.bsky.social (2pm) 🎤 Dr Colin Chapman (4pm) Watch in our air-conditioned Resource Hub, stay for drinks, nibbles & research—or join live on Zoom. Dave: portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2... Colin: portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2...

A bad few months for the Aldgate family of Aldham in Essex...😢

My 2x Great Grandfather, James Annal, lived his whole life in South Ronaldsay, Orkney's southernmost island parish. Unless, that is, he spent some time out in the Nor' West, working for the Hudson's Bay Company. Which is possible. I just haven't found the evidence yet. #MyFamily52Maps

Join me tomorrow morning at 10.00 BST as I attempt to explain why problem solving in family history research is really all about chickens and eggs... #MindTheGaps @pharostutors.bsky.social www.pharostutors.com/webinars

Looking forward to this next Monday morning, 10am BST...

Pharos Tutors@pharostutors.bsky.social · last mo.

Our July webinar week runs 13th-17th July 2026. See Dave Annal reminding us to mind the gaps! Booking now at www.pharostutors.com/webinars

Interesting surname. Not one I've ever come across but perhaps its quite common in Cambridgeshire... 🤷‍♂️

My 3x Great Grandmother, Catherine Smith, grew up in very different surroundings from her future husband, David John Davidson. David's rural Berwickshire birthplace would have seemed a million miles away from Catherine's childhood home on Edinburgh's busy Canongate. #MyFamily52Maps

Thus year’s onion crop wasn’t too shoddy either 🧅🧅🧅

Dave Annal Lifelines Research@davelifelines.bsky.social · last mo.

Up early to lift this year’s garlic. Quite a harvest! Definitely the best we’ve ever had… 🧄🧄🧄

Up early to lift this year’s garlic. Quite a harvest! Definitely the best we’ve ever had… 🧄🧄🧄

I'm busy updating my talk on Death Duty records in preparation for my trip to Dartford tomorrow afternoon where I'll be presenting it at the AGM of the North West Kent FHS @nwkfhs.bsky.social I'm on stage at 2.30 pm. Let me know if you're coming...

I'm working on a tricky case this morning which hasn't been made any easier by the fact that the relevant parish registers haven't been deposited at the county record office. It's the second case I've worked on recently where the parish is holding on to the registers. Time for a smash and grab raid?

Bandit Burt Reynolds Driving

ALT: Bandit Burt Reynolds Driving

static.klipy.com

I hope it’s not too late to mark #CanadaDay 🇨🇦 Several of my Orcadian ancestors spent many years working for the Hudsons Bay Company, including my 3xGt Grandfather Peter Annal who signed up in 1820 for five years’ service. He returned to Orkney leaving a son behind that he’d had with a Métis woman.

Me when I find the birth record of the person I've been looking for only to discover that the person I'd found died aged 8 months and therefore probably isn't the person who won the Distinguished Conduct Medal 28 years later... #BackToTheDrawingBoard

Loosemind Crazy Man's Frustration

ALT: Loosemind Crazy Man's Frustration

static.klipy.com

This is actually a good example of a concept that I have called 'enparishification'. It's where you conflate a parish with a town or village of the same name. David John Davidson was born in the parish of Coldingham but not in the village of Coldingham which is more than 5 miles from Greenburn Farm.

Dave Annal Lifelines Research@davelifelines.bsky.social · last mo.

My great grandfather, David Davidson, is the source of my Scottish Borders ancestry. He was born in 1873 at Greenburn Farm in the Berwickshire parish of Coldingham where his father was working as a ploughman. He would have been born in one of the cottages to the north of the farm. #MyFamily52Maps

My great grandfather, David Davidson, is the source of my Scottish Borders ancestry. He was born in 1873 at Greenburn Farm in the Berwickshire parish of Coldingham where his father was working as a ploughman. He would have been born in one of the cottages to the north of the farm. #MyFamily52Maps

Great thread here which has huge relevance for the use of AI in our own field. We should not - *must* not - confuse what OCR-based text reading technology (which has its (limited) benefits and has been around in one form another for many years) can do for us… 1/2

And we have a winner… 37.5 degrees Celsius… In England… In June… In the shade… 🥵

Dave Annal Lifelines Research@davelifelines.bsky.social · last mo.

The week so far in sunny south west Hertfordshire…

Here's a good one. A date of birth recorded for a child in the 1861 census - a child who shouldn't have been included! Infant born today April 8 The 1861 census was supposed to record everyone living in England or Wales at midnight on Sunday 7 April. This child was evidently born on the Monday...

The week so far in sunny south west Hertfordshire…