Family history
Family history or genealogy traditionally was studied by elites, whether they be medieval knights displaying their coats of arms or the 19th-century middle classes attempting to chart their aristocratic connections. However, from the 1960s onwards a combination of the rising general interest in history and the increasing availability of both national and local sources led to a huge growth both in the quantity and quality of family history conducted. The National Archives (TNA, formerly the Public Record Office), county record offices and local family history societies have been instrumental in encouraging this growth. Over the past decade the increasing amount online of key research material (particularly the 1901 Census) has also been a significant factor.
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- Historians:
- Round, John Horace
- Institutions:
- Federation of Family History Societies
Society of Genealogists
The National Archives - Themes:
- Community history
Local history
Oral history
Related publications
- John Beckett, 'Local history, family history and the Victoria County History: new directions for the twenty-first century', Historical Research, OnlineEarly Articles, online 19th July 2007
Simon Fowler, ‘Our genealogical forebears’, History Today, 51, 4 (2001)
Jules Hudson and Nick Barratt, 'The rise and rise of family history', History Today, 57, 4 (2007), 20–1
