Leverington

Archives

How the history is reconstructed

Archives allow us to move beyond similarities between names and verify places, dates, relationships and movements.

1558–1876

Parish registers

Content
Baptisms, burials and marriages.
Use
Establish and verify family relationships across several generations.
Sources

1473–1875

Parish chest

Content
Accounts, rates, parish meetings and poor-relief records.
Use
Understand residence, obligations and social context.
Sources

1722–1817

Settlement papers

Content
Records relating to legal settlement and mobility.
Use
Trace internal migration and distinguish namesakes.
Sources

1598–1787

Apprenticeship papers

Content
Indentures and apprenticeship records.
Use
Document occupations, movements and professional networks.
Sources

18th–19th centuries

Poor Law

Content
Relief, assessments and overseers’ records.
Use
Illuminate living conditions without reducing people to their social circumstances.
Sources

Various periods

Land records

Content
Deeds, maps, taxation and manorial records.
Use
Study property and neighbourhood without inferring noble status from the surname.
Sources

19th–20th centuries

Censuses and civil registration

Content
Households, birthplaces, occupations and movements.
Use
Corroborate modern family histories and their routes.
Sources

19th century to the present

International archives

Content
Passenger, immigration, administrative and military records.
Use
Document worldwide distribution without assuming a single origin.
Sources

Research programme

Clearly defined priorities

  1. Cambridgeshire Archives — registers, wills, taxation, manorial records, settlement and apprenticeship records.
  2. Medieval sources — locate the primary sources and their exact archive references.
  3. Norfolk Record Office — reconstruct households in Norwich and Norfolk.
  4. South Australia — connect documented arrivals with civil records and local files.
  5. North America and Europe — separate individual journeys and verify each route through corroborating archives.

Browse all sources

One simple rule

In genealogy, corroborating documents establish each link from one generation to the next and give the family story its full strength.