Sources of research. This page gives an overview of the many sources - both public and private - that have been used. The categories below are roughly in order of frequency of Skyrme mentions. Please note (1) it is not a comprehensive listing; (2) external links open in a new window or tab. Go to Links for some general genealogical links and also specific Skyrme links.
BMD (Births, Marriages and Deaths)
As well as official registration records, parish records in England and Wales cover baptisms, marriages and burials.
- FreeBMD - one of the most comprehensive sites giving indexes of UK vital records from 1837 - 1984. Some later records are available at Ancestry.co.uk
- UKMD - links to web sites that offer on-line transcriptions of UK births, marriages, deaths and censuses
- Parish records - Family Search has many transcripts of parish records, though for many you have to have a FindMyPast subscription to view the image. Family history societies (e.g. Cambridgeshire, Norfolk) also have indexes and monumental inscriptions that have plugged some gaps.
- Certificates - Originals and copies of registration certificates
- Deceased online - a project that is transcribing details of burials and deaths at certain cemeteries in the UK
- USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand - records for these countries often exist only at state/province level, though world-wide subscriptions to genealogy sites gather them all in one place. But National Archives of Australia, Library and Archives Canada have been used.
Censuses
Census records often help identify individuals family relationships. Again genealogy sites such as Ancestry, FindMyPast (FMP) have been the main source/ The name Skyrme, though, is subject to major enumerator or transcription errors (Skryne, Ikyrne etc.), that sometimes all images for a village have been viewed one by one
- England and Wales - censuses 1841, 1851 .... 1911
- USA - 1820, 1830 .... 1940; though the 1890 census got destroyed in fire
- Canada - mostly electoral rolls looked at so far
- Electoral rolls and phone books also provide useful information on where a person lived at a given time.
Wills & Probate
Ancestry has a fairly complete list of probate indexes for England. Images of some individual wills have been found online, while some original ones have been viewed and photographed at record offices.
Travel & Immigration
More passenger arrival records, ships manifests and immigration records are appearing online. As well as Ancestry and FMP sources have included:
- Castle Garden - USA immigrations records from 1820 to 1892, prior to the oopening of....
- Ellis Island - USA immigration records from 1892-1924.
Military
With growing interest as the centenary of World War 1 (1914-18) is upon us, more enlistment records are now online. Ancestry, for example, has medal rolls, while FMP has enlistment records. Military records accessed include:
- Royal Navy ratings' service records 1853-1923 (The National Archives) - gives details of ships served on and dates
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission - index of burials and memorials of 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars
- The War Graves Photographic Project - photographing every grave and memorial of armed forces
- Forces War Records - records of battle units, officers and others in many conflicts from pre-Napoleonic Wars to WW2.
Occupations
Occupational records consulted and filed include:
- Apprenticeship indentures
- Joining, postings, salaries and leaving information for employees of The Post Office, Great Western Railway (including its steamships on which some Skyrmes served)
- Trade directories - including South Wales, Herefordshire
- Individual dockyard histories (e.g. Pembroke, Chatham, Portsmouth) have provided good contextual background
Newspapers
The last few years have seen a big growth in the number of newspapers online, including:
- Wales Newspapers Online - Many local papers, e.g. Tenby & Pembroke Dock Observer, Pembrokeshire Herald, Cardiff Times has yielded several hundred fmaily announcements and news reports, mostly of accients, courtcases etc.
- British Newspaper Archive - a growing archive also available to FMP subscribers; has proved useful for Herefordshire sources
- Gazettes online - most notably The London Gazette where I have found details of Skyrme appointments, bankruptcies etc.
- California Digital Newspaper Collection - includes information on some Skyrmes who migrated from Herefordshire via some central and eastern US states.
- Genealogy Bank - comprehensive US papers
- Trove, Australia - a good and well digitised set of newspapers; also includes stories from England, such as Capt Skyrme whose submarine grounded while he was in charge.
Individuals
I am grateful to over 100 individuals who since the age of the internet (the luanch of this website) have emailed individual snippets, family stories, family trees and even photos. As various parts of the Skyrm(e) story is written up, their contributions will be included and individually acknowledged.
In particular I would like to thank Ian Skyrm of Tenbury Wells, my predecessor of the Skyrm(e) One-Name Study registration for sharing his years of research work, which will be merged with mine to provide a comprehensive record into the Skyrme family name, individuals and families from Herefordshire, Pembrokeshire and other locations world-wide.
Books
References to individual books are cited in the various publications. Particular mention should be made of:
- The Llawhaden Book, Mary Houseman, Llan Aiden Press (2004)
- Hathi Trust Digital Library - books, articles etc. etc.
- Archive.org - full text of many out-of-copyright books, including Home of Family Names, H. Guppy (1896).
Miscellaneous
Some other sources that have proved useful:
- National Archive Wales and the National Library of Wales - indexes of leases, probate records etc.
- Proceedings of Old Bailey (1674-1913) - full text of criminal proceedings; a couple of Skyrmes served in the London Metropolitan Police so appeared to give evidence in Court.
- www.rootsweb.com - some discussion of Skyrme families (run by Ancestry.com)
- Access to Archives - National archive index of other collections in the UK
- London Metropolitan Archives - An invaluable starting point for London-based Skyrmes
- London Lives 1690-1800 - Searchable database of 240,000 manuscripts - 20 refer to Skyrme (e.g. probate)