About

How to use this website;

Here are a few key things to note about how the information on this website is presented, which I hope you will bare in mind as you read the rest of the site, in order to get the best out of it.

Living individuals;

For personal security, I intend to keep the details of any living persons mentioned on this site, to an absolute minimum. If people post their own details, and their connections to the family trees on this site, that’s their lookout. I intend to remove (or edit) any material or posted comments that give away details of other living persons without their consent. If there are links to other websites that divulge such details, that’s the concern of those sites and the people that use or post content there.

Locations;

All locations mentioned on AFamilyHistoryBlog should be read as being located within the British Isles, unless another country is clearly stated.

Date format;

I sometimes find it confusing when dates are written in reverse order! So to try and avoid confusion, I want to state clearly that on this website the standard date format is Day / Month / Year – e.g; 01/12/2014 = 1st December 2014.

Having said that, it is possible that there may be deviations from this format, particularly when transcribing old documents which may write the date differently. I hope that it’ll be totally clear when this occurs. Generally on these occasions the date will be written in long-hand, and NOT numeric short-hand.

Blog post dates;

The date given below the title, at the top left corner of each blog entry, indicates when the article was first composed. The nature of this site and the subject it deals with, means that some articles are likely to see regular or occasional editing or additions. This will not be evident in the date at the top of the article, but it may be noted in some way within the body-text of the article (e.g. as a footnote).

Sources;

I believe it is important to try to be as clear as I can be about my sources of information, so that others can locate the same evidence and see where I draw my conclusions from. I hope that others who view this site and wish to share their research will take the same approach.

Accuracy!;

I hope that the information provided on this website will be as accurate as possible. I apologise in advance for any inaccuracies, and if any are brought to my attention, I’ll seek to correct them ASAP. (Please use the Contact Form to do this).

However, I have heard it wisely said that family history is never 100% certain. It is often based on assumptions being made; for instance assuming that an identical name appearing in several separate entries in an old parish register, all relate to the same individual. That can’t always be guaranteed, and it is inevitable that different people may read the same information and interpret it in different ways, drawing quite different conclusions.

This is why recording our sources is so important! So lets respect any differences of opinion and try to be clear about where the evidence ends and assumptions begin.

Copyright!;

I’m taking a “Creative Commons” approach to my own work on this website. You are welcome to copy and share the material that I have written/posted on this website in accordance with a Creative Commons Licence. You may reproduce material as long as you provide “appropriate credit” (including a link to this website). I also hope that you will notify me of any significant reuse of this material, via the contact form.

But I may also be posting material produced by other people. Where this is the case please check to see if there is a © Copyright notice (or other licence) applied to the material. I endeavor to respect other people’s © Copyright, and I hope that you will too.

Thanks, and happy browsing. Matt.