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Jersey Evening Post

If you have Channel Island ancestors you may want to get hold of a copy of Tracing your Channel Islands Ancestors by Marie-Louise Backhurst. This book provides a solid grounding in Channel Islands genealogy, covering online resources as well as the material available in the various archives.

Your Family Tree - January 2016

The Channel Islands are often unjustly overlooked in guides to researching family history, and it’s refreshing to see a title dedicated purely to them. The author is a former president of the Channel Islands Family History Society Family History Society and brings her experience to bear in this useful handbook. After an opening section on Internet resources and sources beyond the islands themselves, there are four main sections exploring jersey, Guernsey (plus Herm and Jethou), Alderney and Sark respectively.
A wide variety of sources are covered with information provided on how to access civil and church records to property, occupational and military archives.
This book is an authoritative yet simple to use guide.

Your Family tree, Spring 2012

..an expert guide to the wealth of archive material.

Family Tree

This volume contains a wealth of information within its 186 pages. Written in a clear, easy to read format with photographic illustrations and a concise index. The book itself is divided into 5 chapters. I recommend this as a valuable text to anyone researching their Channel Island ancestry.

Federation of Family History Societies

This authoritative and easy to use guide to these collections, and the athors advice on how to use them and get the most out of them, will be invaluable to anyone who is trying to find out about the life and experience of an ancestors who lived in the Chanel Islands or was conntected with them.

This book will equally be essential reading and reference for anyone who wants to explore the history of the Channel Islands.

Kent Family History Society Journal, Dec 2011

.. ‘Tracing Your…’ series regularly produces great authoritative guides on a whole range of subjects – but occasionally it comes up with some absolute crackers.
I am currently reading Tracing your Channel Island Ancestors by Marie Louise Backhurst, which most definitely falls in to the category.

At 184 pages, the book is absolutely packed, and is a truly superb guide.

British Genes Blog

Published as part of the, Tracing Your Ancestor Series. This volume contains a wealth of information within its 186 pages. Written in a clear, easy to read format with photographic illustrations and a concise index. The book itself is divided into 5 chapters.

Chapter one Internet resources and sources located outside of the Islands. Chapter two covers Jersey. Chapter three covers Guernsey, Herm and the less well known island of Jethou. Chapter four covers Alderney, and chapter five Sark. There is also a listing of Family History Societies, libraries and archives for the Islands.

Each chapter commences with a general discription of the georgraphy, history and the administration of the relevant Island. Followed by, a comprehensive look at the civil records, Church Registers and Surnames and Cemeteries. Also covered are property and other official records, military and migration, education, employment and crime.

I recommend this as a valuable text to anyone researching their Channel Island ancestry. It would make a useful addition to a genealogical library or for anyone who has an interest in the Islands.

Julie Goucher