If you want to find out about your Yorkshire ancestors, you can visit the
many unusual and fascinating archives in England's largest county. As well as
tracing when your ancestors were born, married and died, you can explore how
they lived, how they spent their leisure time and what their home life was like.
Rachel Bellerby's invaluable guide will introduce you to places that hold a
wealth of information about Yorkshire's past, and the records you find in these
archives will bring your research to life. Whatever you would like to discover
more about, from fairground travelers to Romany gypsies, from working deep
underground in a mine to making a living from the North Sea, there is so much to
learn.
The many different archives that welcome family history researchers are explored
here and explained. Often these archives are overlooked, yet they contain
revealing information about the people who called Yorkshire their home. Dozens
of places, from tiny museum archives to large research centres, are open for
your research. Tracing your Yorkshire ancestors has never been more exciting.
Contents:
Introduction
- Yorkshire Archives
- Access to Archives
- Beginning Your Search
- How the County of Yorkshire was Organised
- County Record Offices
- University Archives
- Museum Archives
- Business Archives
- Registry of Deeds, Wakefield
- The Borthwick Institute of Historical Research
1. Making a Living: Land and Sea
- The Geography of the County
- Fishing in Yorkshire
- Shipbuilding
- Mining
- Machinery and Engineering
- Steel
- Railways
- Confectionery
2. From Serges to Saris: The Textile Trade
- The West Riding Textile Industries
- Philanthropists
- The North Riding Linen Industry
- Textile Archives
- Textile Accidents
3. Great Estates: Living and Working on the Land
- Where to Find Estate Records
- Monasteries
- Types of Estate Records
- Family Letters
- Manorial Records
- Manorial Documents Register
- West Riding Registry of Deeds
- Maps
- Business and Commercial Activity
- Case Study: Estate Records at North Yorkshire County Record Office
4. Street Life: Urban Ancestors
- Local Photographs
- Maps and Plans
- Local Newspapers
- Trade Directories
- Unrest
- Local Council Records
- Local Studies Libraries
5. From Sport to Shopping: Leisure Time
- Theatre
- Sports Clubs
- Council Reports
- The Yorkshire Co-operative Society
- Yorkshire Film Archive
6. Religion: Established Church and Nonconformity
- The Organisation of Religious Records
- The Established Church
- Nonconformity
- Roman Catholicism
- Other Nonconformity
- Methodism
- The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
- The Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, York
- The Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade
- Churchyards and Burial Grounds
- Case Study: The Records of the Catholic Apostolic Church, Horton,
Bradford
7. Education and Institutions
- Schools
- Types of School Records
- Evening Classes
- Adult Education in the North Riding
- Leeds University Archives
- The Co-operative Movement and Education
- Charitable Institutions
- Council Documents
- Case Study: York City Archives Workhouse Records
8. Uniformed Ancestors
- Army Records
- Local Newspapers
- The Home Front
- War Memorials
- The Liddle Collection
- The Second World War Experience Centre
- Yorkshire Air Museum
- Law and Order
9. Migration and Poverty
- Immigration
- Migration
- Poverty
10. Directory of Archive Repositories and Family History Societies
Conclusion
Index
