Tracing Your Family History in Hertfordshire

This practical and comprehensive guide provides an introduction to family historians to trace their ancestors in Hertfordshire. Every aspect of our ancestors' lives has been considered, from their birth and baptism to their death and burial. Examples of source material, together with photographs and drawings from the collections at Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies, illustrate the text. The book is thematic in approach, the chapters incorporating related material on subjects as broad as military ancestors and the poor and the sick. In each chapter a brief background to the subject is followed by a description of the kind of records you can expect to find, including their usefulness to family historians, and details of where those records are held. The emphasis is on sources available in Hertfordshire, and particularly those held in the Family History Centre at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS) in Hertford, but other sources are also covered. A wealth of experience from family historians and the staff at HALS is passed on in the form of tips and vital information. Appendices have been used to provide useful addresses and websites, and also to list in detail the availability of essential sources such as parish registers and other records, nonconformist registers, and the whereabouts of wills before 1858. This should be of interest to anyone researching their Hertfordshire ancestors.