02 September 2024
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It’s fascinating watching the episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? on the TV, seeing the twists and turns in the family story as it is gradually pieced together and revealed. But family history isn’t just something for celebrities. You can give yourself the Who Do You Think You Are? treatment. Below is a quick check list of some of the steps and records used in the episode with Paddy McGuinness, to trace his ancestors.
About Paddy McGuinness’s Who Do You Think You Are? episode
How to do your own WDYTYA family history research
Paddy McGuinness’s Mum’s side: All he had to go on was his grandparents’ names
THE STORY
‘What is it about us lot, where we just never spoke about anything?’ Paddy asked his Uncle Tony. Uncle Tony didn’t know anything about the generation above, apart from the names of his own parents, Paddy’s grandparents (James Leonard and Winifred).
These two basic details established, the search was now on and there was a lot to find out.
On studying his mother’s birth certificate, Paddy learnt that his grandfather was employed in an aircraft works in 1939.
On the brink of war, this was an important and notable time to work in the aircraft industry. Learning about an ancestor’s occupation gives you fabulous insights to what their lives would have been like.
How do you order a birth certificate, and how do you learn about an ancestor’s occupation? Read on to find out about the sources used in Paddy McGuinness’s episode to answer these questions.
THE RESEARCH TIPS
Find out more – Start your search …
Where to look
Paddy’s research on his mother’s side was based in the North of England, and these were some of the sources used.
Order birth certificates – Birth certificates provide the baby’s birth date and place, and also the names of the parents and occupation of the father. While the index of the register is free to search online, you need to pay to order the birth certificate. It is well worth it, however, providing key details and important proof about your family history research.
To order a birth certificate in England and Wales, search the index at https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp. When you have identified the correct entry, order a copy of the certificate (e.g. a digital copy costs £3).
Check out the 1911 Census – Census records are extremely useful as they can very often provide the whole family unit in a single record (for instance, parents with their children). In addition, many census records for England and Wales have been digitised and are readily available via subscription websites such as Ancestry, Findmypast, and as indexes via FreeCen.
Workhouse admissions registers – Only a small proportion of all the records have been digitised, so you may find that you need to visit the local archives for the location where your ancestors once lived in order to track down workhouse admission registers. A good place to start looking for an archive is https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/find-an-archive
Follow up occupation leads – Paddy learnt that his grandfather worked in an aircraft works in 1939. On the brink of war, this was an important and notable time to work in the aircraft industry. Learning about an ancestor’s occupation gives you fabulous insights to what their lives would have been like. The following ideas can help you learn about your ancestors’ trades, industries and lines of work:
- Search the web for relevant occupation details to home in on blogs, websites and photographic collections to help you learn more about your ancestor’s occupation;
- See whether there are museums relevant to their past jobs;
- Search archive and museums online catalogues to see whether they hold records or artefacts of interest.
Paddy McGuinness’s Dad’s side: All he had to go on was his father’s name
THE STORY
“If you thought I didn’t know much about my mum’s side, my dad’s side is nonexistent,” said Paddy McGuiness. “Literally I know nothing about the McGuinnesses."
“I’m genuinely excited to find out who they were, where they were from, and what they did.”
All Paddy had to go off was his dad’s name, and he hoped he was going to find a connection to Ireland
On ordering his grandfather’s birth certificate, this time there was a temporary road block to Paddy’s research. The field for father’s name had been left blank. Fortunately the baptism record for Paddy’s grandfather usefully provided the much-needed name – William Birtwistle. As so often happens in family history, one answer led to another question: if, as they did, Paddy’s great-grandparents’ married, why was it that it was his great-grandmother’s surname McGuiness that was passed on down the generations, rather than his great-grandfather’s surname of Birtwistle? This is a mystery that remains unsolved.
Other discoveries came thick and fast in Paddy McGuinness’s episode, however, most notably perhaps the coverage of Paddy’s grandfather’s years in the British Army.
Paddy’s grandfather served in the Royal Lancaster Regiment, signing up in the 1890s, and in 1899 he shipped out to South Africa to serve in the Boer War where he fought in the famous Relief of Ladysmith (where many British were besieged). Remarkably, Paddy McGuinness’s grandfather’s South Africa (Boer War) medal was found, in the ownership of a collector. Inscribed around the rim of the medal was Paddy McGuinness’s grandfather’s name and Army service number proving that it was undisputably his. This was a find much appreciated by Paddy:
“I think the biggest highlight for me was actually seeing my great-grandfather’s war medal. That for me was a real moment where I felt like I was holding a piece of history in my hand.”
THE RESEARCH TIPS
Find out more – Start your search …
Birth certificates – as above, be sure to order your ancestors’ birth certificates to find useful details of names, birth places and father’s occupation
Baptism record – if you suspect that you have an ancestor from another country, it can be worth searching for your ancestor’s baptism register entry. For instance, Paddy’s great-grandmother was baptised in Ireland – and this record gave Paddy a precise location (Ballina) to continue his search in Ireland. Baptism records are particularly useful as they enable you to trace further back in time, before the start of the civil birth register.
Census records – as above
Army service records – track down Army service records. Pre-1914 these have been digitised and are available at https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/british-army-service-records. See also the October issue of Family Tree in which there is a detailed researcher guide to a wide range of military records to help you learn more about your military ancestors’ lives pre-1914.
Medal roll – find the Boer War medal roll digitised at https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/anglo-boer-war-records-1899-1902
Learn how to identify military medals – find listings of British Army campaign medals here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_campaign_medals
The medal ribbon can help you to identify the medal, as can the inscription on the obverse and reverse of the medal. Lastly, don’t forget to check the rim in case your ancestor’s name, rank and number have been added there.
Learn about the history of the time – Paddy’s grandfather served in the Army, signing up in the 1890s, and in 1899 he shipped out to South Africa to serve in the Boer War. Track down a museum to help you learn about your ancestor’s work, life & times.
Find details of other episodes in the 2024 series of Who Do You Think You Are?
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