Page 31 - Gen Mag Online November 2020

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not inherit, but they were rarely left to fend for themselves. Robert was married off to the daughter
of another well documented family - the de Hoghtons. That meant in genealogical terms for me, I
was able to take my lineage back not just decades but centuries.

Internet Archive, mentioned above, and the Mormon Church, holds a large number of published
family histories and local county histories. Local record offices may also hold books for their area.

You might also want to check out the various published family trees of particular county families
including the well known ‘Visitations’, the earliest of which was published in 1533 by Thomas Benalt,
Visitations were carried out in order to determine who was eligible to hold coats of arms. The head
of the family visited was asked to record a tree back at least 3 generations.

Visitations are an invaluable resource as a starting point for researching your mediaeval ancestors.
But putting the flesh on the bones of our ancestors is what makes family history interesting and more
meaningful. Finding useful published books about them makes it particularly valuable. As such, below
is a short list of useful books which may help in your research. Although some will be out of print you
nd
might still be able to get copies from 2 hand book stores or even on Amazon.
1. Gentlemen of Courage - Forward (Lawrence Hill, 1987)….Story of the ancestors of Myles Standish

2. The Mowbray Legacy (Marilyn Roberts, 2012) - check out www.queens-haven.co.uk

3. Early Yorkshire Families Yorkshire Archaeology Society publication (Cambridge University Press)

4. Three Chevrons Red - The Clares: A Marcher Dynasty in Wales, England & Ireland (Paul R Davis,
2013)

5. The Komnene Dynasty - Byzantium’s Struggle for Survival, 1057-1185 (John Carr, 2018 Pen &
Sword Publishers)

6. The Mortimers - Lords of the March (C Hopkinson & M Speight, 2002)

7. The Bigod Earls of Norfolk in the Thirteenth Century (Marc Morris, 2005)

8. Families of the Domesday Book - 5 volumes (Charles Graves)

9. Domesday People vol. 1 (KSB Keats-Rohan)

10. Who’s Who in Medieval England (Christopher Tyerman)

TIP

Try to visit the areas where your ancestors lived. You never know what you might find. For instance,
on a recent visit to Colchester, I found the road where my great grandmother was born. I doubt very
much she would recognise it now. Places change - not always for the better. At least I could take a
photograph of the street name.

You may also be able to pick up a booklet about an ancestor or a history of the area. Many of these
are privately published to raise money for a local organisation such as a church. Two such books
are:

(a) The Great FitzHamon - story of Robert FitzHamon, Norman founder of Tewkesbury Abbey

(b) Twenty-one Welsh Princes (Roger Turvey)

Local bookshops also have a growing list of histories of their local area. Not all are useful for
mediaeval research, but they could prove useful for more recent ancestral lines. They are especially
useful in showing the local area developed. Brief early histories (and occasionally prominent people
who lived there) are sometimes mentioned. Try also your local family history society. They may just
have something useful.