This chapter covers the kind of evidence that you could use to help you find out more about a person – what information each sort of evidence contains and where to find it, as well as highlighting potential difficulties with the evidence.To begin with, think about why you want information about that person and how much detail you need – this will affect the sources you use.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources (such as biographies and biographical dictionaries) can give you basic dates and details of a person’s life:

• Date and place of birth (or baptism if the birth wasn’t registered)
• Name and occupation of parents
• Early career details (including dates: for example, the date of election to a political office or the date when someone became a peer)
• Date and place of marriage and spouse’s name
• Names and dates of birth of children
• Date, place and cause of death.

 

These details can be a good framework to help you do more in-depth research in primary sources or in local/national newspapers. Secondary sources are usually available in your local library’s reference section; as well as in printed form, some may be available in CD-ROM, and others may be available online. Online sources may be on subscription only, but some county library services have a special subscription for some sources so their members can log in from home using their library card number.

Your local university may also have a local studies section within the faculty of history which has digitised versions or transcriptions of original documents; for example, the University of East Anglia has ‘Virtual Norfolk’ http://virtualnorfolk.uea.ac.uk/ , which includes documentary sources, interpretations and a glossary with bibliographical notes.

Oxford Dictionary Of National Biography(Odnb)

This contains 50,000 detailed biographies of people who shaped the country’s history, including writers, artists, officers, clergy and some professionals. For example, Nelson’s biography is very detailed, giving his date and place of birth, his parents’ names and occupations, his nickname, where he was educated, a very detailed account of his career, his social life (including his relationship with Lady Hamilton), and an analysis of the man himself. There is also a list of published sources (letters, private papers and diaries), archived sources and pictorial sources – all of which could be followed up by someone who wanted to write a lengthy biography.

The ODNB is online at www.oxforddnb.com : check with your library to see if you are able to access it from home using the library’s subscription.

Who’s Who(Andwho Was Who)

Who’s Who has been published annually since 1849. Originally it was a list of ranks and appointments and the names of the people concerned – including the Royal Household, members of the House of Peers and House of Commons, judges, archbishops, and British envoys abroad – although there were no biographical details. Current editions give details of where and when the person was born, marital status, children, where the person was educated, a brief résumé of career, any honours and awards. There is also a section for ‘recreation’; for example, George Bernard Shaw listed his recreations as ‘cycling and showing off’.

The companion to this is the 10-volume series of Who Was Who, which contains over 100,000 biographies of people who are no longer alive.

There may also be similar volumes for specific counties. For example, Who’s Who in Norfolk (Ebenezer Baylis, 1935) covers leading citizens in the 1930s and before.

Kelly’s Handbook

Kelly’s Handbook was published annually during the 19th and 20th centuries as an alphabetical listing of the titled, landed and official classes. Each name in the book has a brief summary of their genealogy and career. Earlier editions may be available on CD-ROM from an archive book publisher.