Book review

I've just been reading a rather old (1988) self-published guide to tracing family history that I found on our library shelves. I was going to suggest that the librarian remove it, but thought I should give it a quick read in case it turned out to be local or have some other point of unique interest.

Well, firstly if you're not researching in Sunderland 20 years ago, I don't think it's particularly helpful. Some sections are misleading and one or two items are incorrect. (Plus he writes contractions as ca'nt and do'nt every single time). Then I got to the bits about BMDs and, while I'm all for saving money, if he's lucky enough to have found churches where they record DOB on baptism entries and that sort of thing, but...

He writes that he doesn't see the point in obtaining Death certs, as finding out what your ancestors died of is just too upsetting. And he calls himself a family historian, not a genealogist! What's more telling out of all the information we collect than what you get on a death cert?

Date of death leads to othre records - burial, cemeteries, newspaper obituaries and death / funeral notices, wills, death duty entries etc. Informant is often suggestive about family relationships and aoften a quick way to find out who a daughter married. Address (or informant) may well be that of a hospital, asylum or workhouse - again, this leads to more records. And cause of death - well, finding that your ancestor died of Phthisis may not be cheerful, but it often specifies length of illness as well - what a picture (unhappy or otherwise) you suddenly have of your ancestor's last years. And of course, if it turns out to be anything that requires a coroner's report, you've struck ancestral gold.

That book is not going back on the shelves now!! (I do have this sort of power, but I try to wield it for good and not evil).

I won't mention the name of the book as it was a self-published one from 20 years ago and said author may well have revised his view, or be the subject of a death certificate himself now, so it seems unkind.

Honestly, though.