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Genealogy, the study of individual's descent and relationships, is the starting point when researching family history. But where does the ancestral trail begin? How can information from different sources combine to form a coherent picture of past generations? And how can links be forged from the past to the present-day researcher? Available now in a completely revised edition which takes account of the many changes in the field since it was first published in 1997, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to tracing British ancestry.

Ancestral Trails guides the researcher through the voluminous British archives, extending back to medieval times, and provides a detailed view of the records and published sources available. From newspapers and directories, civil, legal and religious records to personal recollections, photographs and other memorabilia, every kind of record is analysed, and the researcher is guided to the many detailed finding aids or indexes.

Suitable for both beginners and more experienced researchers, the book has a wide-ranging scope. It provides a guide through the initial stages such as drawing family trees, obtaining information from living relatives, and beginning research in census records and the records of births, marriages and deaths. For those with more experience, this book is a treasure-trove of information about records which are harder to find and use. Including research in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and fully revised to take account of the new census availability and developments in online genealogy, this new edition is illustrated throughout and contains detailed lists of further reading. It is the essential companion and guide for all family historians.

Contents: List of Illustrations; Foreword to the First Edition; Foreward to the Second Edition; Acknowledgements and Abbreviations; Introduction; 30 Chapters; 11 Appendices; Bibliography and Index.

About the Author

MARK D. HERBER is a solicitor specializing in fraud investigations. He began researching his own family tree in 1979 and has traced some lines back to around 1580. He is a member of the executive committee of the Society of Genealogists and is also the author of Legal London: A Pictorial History; London a pictorial history from Medieval times to 1939; and three volumes of transcripts of the marriage registers of the Chapel and Rules of the Fleet Prison 1680-1754.