Searching for John Smith

 Professional genealogist Joy Roy recently presented at Diamond Valley Library as part of our Family History Month program 2019.  In Searching for John Smith, Joy discussed her research journey to find her man in Scotland. Her challenge?  SMITH is the most common name in Scotland.

General tips from her discussion included:

Names. Look for a middle name. Perhaps your ancestor’s middle name was a family name (in the case of Joy and many with Scottish ancestry, Scottish naming patterns may be in place) 

Place. Know the specific place your ancestor was associated with. Look at maps and be familiar with surrounding place names at the time your ancestor lived. Explore local history and seek out local publications for mention of your ancestor (and websites).

Online searching. Always include a location in your online searching to help filter your search results.

Occupation. Ascertain occupation via census records, city directories or obituary.

Cemeteries. Explore cemeteries in person and/or online and/or published index to find final resting place. A gravestone inscription or burial record can lead to researching other family members (or even people buried in the same location but who may or may not be related) an obituary or more.

Newspapers. Newspaper Research for your family history via British Newspapers Archive, Find My Past and Trove add life to your ancestors story. Obituaries are especially valuable and look at all versions when copied to other papers. Some may be longer than others.

Get distracted. Going on tangents can be fruitful. Joy’s ancestor was in charge of a prison. She researched the prison including its correspondence files to understand more of John’s life.

Family. Widen your search to include other family members. John can be found as a witness to a marriage or an informant for a death for example.

Criminal activity. Follow up on suspected criminal activity as a “bad” John Smith can be easier to locate in these types of records.

You can find your John Smith with patience and a lot of effort.  Your search can be successful.

This blog post was first published on 29 August, 2019 at Yarra Plenty Regional Library

Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland

Family History researchers have access to a brand new resource which is part of the Genealogy Reference Collection at Ivanhoe Library.

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland contains detailed information about the linguistic origins of more than 45,600 common and rare surnames. Each entry also includes how many bearers of the name were recorded on the 1881 and 2011 censuses, as well as its geographical distribution over time.

The creation of the four volume dictionary is the result of a four year project – the largest of its kind ever undertaken, with data sourced from medieval and modern sources such as tax records, church registers and census returns.

Some names have their origins in occupations, for example Webber and Baker. Other names can be linked to place such as Hill or Green.

Knowledge of the origin of surnames helps the family history researcher understand their own story and maps the origins of their ancestors.

Yarra Plenty Regional Library is the first Australian organisation to order this landmark reference tool from Oxford University Press.

Check these other resources to explore the origins of your surname and learn more via this video from the University of West Bristol England who were a partner on the project.