Sources of Information

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of resources used in genealogy and family history, as there are many other websites that provide such a "service". However, the following have provided many of names, dates, places, relationships, etc. used throughout my site - without which the individual "biographies" would be less interesting to read [or at least I think so!]. It is also the ideal place to include some of the abbreviations used throughout the site.

Details of births, marriages, and deaths (BMD's) have been sourced from copies of BMD certificates, examination of Civil Registration Indexes held at the Family Records Centre (referred to as the General Records Office Indexes - GRO) in London and numerous websites - links to the some of the latter can be found on the "Ellerton BMD" page. Parish Registers (PR's) and Bishops Transcripts (BT's) have provided details of baptisms, marriages, and burials - however, the switch from the Julian to Gregorian calendar in 1752 can result in some confusion over dates. Before 1752 the first day of the New Year was 25th March ("Lady Day") - e.g. 24/3/1750 would have been followed by 25/3/1751. Therefore, all pre-1752 events that occurred between 1st January and 25th March in a given year would, according to our modern calendar, have occurred a year later than actually recorded in PR's/BT's at the time. This has brought about the common practice of "double-dating" - e.g 10th February 1718/19.

The Virtual Records Index (2nd edition, v4.02, January 2002) includes 10.4m births/christenings and 1.9m marriages between 1530 and 1906. This CD-ROM can be purchased, or viewed at many large libraries. Some time ago I purchased version 1 which has only 5m records in total! :(

In 1924 William Mouat Keith Ellerton published the document "Ellerton (A history of the family)" providing details of his grandfather's work in translating the New Testament into the Bengali language while in India. A copy is held at the British Library.

A manuscript entitled "Ellerton of Ellerton in Swaledale, County of York" is held at the Family History Library, purportedly tracing an Ellerton family from 1157 to 1928. Compiled primarily by Frederick Charles Grant Ellerton (1819-1908) it includes a transcription of a letter written in 1857 by Edward Ellerton (1784-1870) to John Ellerton (1824-1893) detailing their family roots back to John Ellerton (born circa 1630). The latter is the earliest confirmed ancestor in my own personal family tree.

Mary Howard (later to become Mrs George Jackson) - born in India 1780, died in London 1858 - maintained a diary throughout her adult life. The "Jackson Diary" (as it is referred to throughout this website) includes a number of references to members of the Ellerton family who lived in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I am grateful to Nikki Vine and Rob Darlington who have made available to me a transcription of the Diary as well as many other snippets of information - including the marriage of John Ellerton to Mary's half-sister Hannah in 1818.

Francis George Ellerton (1861-1943), eldest son of the famous hymn-writer John (1826-1893), carried out extensive research work into "matters Ellerton" between 1895 and 1925. His research notebook, currently held by a great nephew of FGE, has been painstakingly transcribed by researcher Nigel Ellerton, and includes many references to the Ellerton name from as far back as the 11th century.

Archives of National and local newspapers can be a useful source of information - for details of Ellerton's named in The Times (1785-1985) and the London Gazette (1665-1948) click here.

Many useful titbits can be gleaned from trade/residential directories such as Kelly's and Baines'. The University of Leicester have set up an excellent digital library website of "Historical Directories" with full search facilities - as at the end of August 2004 there were 222 directories listing 1,221 mentions of "Ellerton" (albeit many referring to place-names/street-names).

There are many genealogical "how to ..." publications available (check first with your local library) but if you anticipate visiting the PRO in London I would recommend "Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Records Office" by Amanda Bevan, 6th Edition, 2002 (ISBN 1 903365 34 1).

Page last updated: April 2008