This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Isle of Wight festival, widely acknowledged as Europe’s equivalent of Woodstock. The historic lineup in 1970 included Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Supertramp, Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, Chicago, Procol Harum and over 600,000 people. The Pretty Things returned to the festival over the weekend, having played at the very first festival. Were you there and have memories of those times?
How popular is your name?
The popularity of your name is likely far different today than it was the year you were born. You maqy even have been named differently if you would be born this year. So for example if you were born Tom in 1970, your equivalent popular name now would be Milo. Why not look up your own name on Time.com
Dutch ancestors in the English speaking world
When Dutch people arrived in England, Canada or other English-speaking countries over the centuries, often their names were changed. This was done to make the name easier to write and remember, or changed by accident because the immigration officers did not how to spell the name and wrote it down phonetically. For this reason, a single family name can often be found in many different spellings in different documents. For example, names derived from occupations get translated in such cases as Bakker becoming Baker, Kuiper becomes Cooper, and Konings becomes King. Or huis becomes -house, -kamp becomes -camp. For example ‘Nijenhuis’ becomes ‘Newhouse’.
Commonwealth Family History Research has Dutch-English translation skills if anyone needs assistance. Just send us a message.
Celebrate Armed Forces day with 20% discount on research about military ancestors
Armed Forces Day is a chance to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: family history and research about military ancestors - 20% discount with Commonwealth Family History Research till 30 June 2018
Heirloom recipes - savouring recipes from your ancestors
Do you have any recipes to share from your grandparents time? Heirloom recipes have been passed down from generation to generation: they’re that good. You could share them with your own family and keep the tradition alive or even start a new trend which will become a family tradition in the future.
Learn more about yourself!
Learn more about yourself, the meaning and origin of your name, whether you are named after a famous ancestor, and what local and worldwide events took place the year you were born. Contact us for more details or help to find out your past.
Treat dad to a unique Father's Day gift - family tree or house history research with 20% discount till 18 June 2018
Treat dad to a unique Fathers day gift - 20% off our family tree and house history research until Monday 18 June 2018. This limited time offer can either be family tree research, DNA analysis or history of your house. Honour and find more about granddad or great granddad and what he did in the war. Contact us for further details.
Are You Related to Royalty?
You probably were not lucky enough to snag an invitation to the royal wedding at Windsor recently, but you may be one of an estimated 5 million to 10 million people who are related to Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate Middleton. You could strike gold or hit a dead end. It’s the unlikely side of the family that will most often bear fruit – one client's ancestors came from an unassuming background working at a railway station in Nottingham, but she turned out to be descended from Edward III through the same line as the Duchess of Cambridge!
The Queen's official birthday
The Queen's Official Birthday is the selected day on which the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is officially celebrated in the commonwealth countries.in the UK her official birthday is celebrated on the second Saturday of June. The day is marked in London by the ceremony of Trooping the Colour, which is also known as the Queen's Birthday Parade. The list of Birthday Honours is also announced at the time of the Official Birthday celebrations.
DNA testing can help find lost cousins
DNA testing is a very important tool for the family historian. It can help to confirm your family tree and help to find missing links. break. Adoptees now have a very real chance of finding close relatives or biological parents. DNA testing can provide surprises. You might uncover family secrets by matching with a cousin that you didn’t know existed. Conversely a relation who is expected to share DNA with you might turn out not to be a genetic relative at all. DNA is best used in combination with genealogical records in order to form conclusions about relationships. The test is completely safe; you just need to provide a cheek swab or a saliva sample which then gets sent away for analysis.