As featured in

Who Do You Think You Are

For those wishing to trace ancestries back to the early 18th century, a useful and concise reference work for research in the century prior to civil registration and census returns. The book sets this era in historical context and provides an opportunity to discover the location of sources and learn how to use them effectively.

Essex Family History Society

An excellent book that not only offers a valuable perspective on a frequently overlooked century, or so, of English history, but also signposts the wealth of resources available to family historians trying to take their research back to a period pre-dating Civil Registration and the National Censuses of 1841-1911.
A very worthwhile addition to any serious genealogist’s bookshelves.

Alde Valley Suffolk Family History Group

Although it is not apparent from the title, this was conceived as a companion volume to the author’s Tracing Your Pre-Victorian Ancestors, A Guide to Research Methods for Family Historians, 2017. While the earlier volume concentrated on methodology, this one outlines the main sources that researchers will need to tackle. Both books are much needed in an era when digitisation means that family trees can be explored back to around 1830 in an evening. Not long ago the same process might have taken several years and could not have been achieved without some knowledge of sources and repositories. Now many people have little idea how to embark on research in earlier periods.

Every page of this excellent, succinct yet thorough, book can be read with profit and enjoyment. It has much to offer family historians of all levels

Family & Community Historical Research Society

John Wintrip gives clear and detailed advice on carrying out genealogical research before 1851.

An invaluable guide to family research.

Jane Austen's Regency World, September/October 2018 – reviewed by Joceline Bury

There is a timeline, a very useful glossary and an excellent bibliography and index. A book full of useful snippets for the beginner as well as the more experienced family historian.

Read the complete review online here.

John & Jane Tunesi of Liongam – Hertfordshire FHS

★★★★★ I pre-ordered this book after reading the same author’s Tracing Your Pre-Victorian Ancestors, which focuses on research methods. This new book focuses on sources and the historical background, so the two books complement each other very well. I would highly recommend this book to all family historians who take their research seriously and are prepared to go that extra mile to track down their Georgian ancestors. Although I have been researching my own family history for many years, I found many useful snippets of information in this book, and was also reminded of things I had once known but had forgotten.

Family Historian, Amazon.co.uk

Although aimed at the family historian there is plenty for the more general historian. I learned plenty: the male naming conventions in families (and why it can be so confusing), why Mr Bennet and Mr Collins have different surnames despite being descending through the male line from the same ancestor, the way the swap over from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar worked are just a few examples. I will certainly be referring to this book when stuck on how to find some of the scads of people who crop up in my research for this blog or my book projects.

Read the full review online here.

Naomi Clifford, Author

Pen and Sword's magnificent library of self-help books for genealogists continues with one of the most fascinating periods in our history - over a century of Georgian reign. John Wintrip suggests a whole host of records that might be available to people researching this period, places you might not have even thought ot. This series goes from strength to strength.

Books Monthly

The admirable skill of presenting a wide ranging body of complex information with clarity is demonstrated in this review of the many sources useful to family historians. The historical context of the documents available for the period preceding the 1841 census and 1837 registration adds greatly to our understanding as does the description and explanation of the nature of sources from military records to wills. We benefit from the author’s advice and his assessment of the usefulness of the records available together with where and how to get access to them.

Northumberland & Durham FHS

This is a valuable introduction to research in a key stage of British history, a period when fewer record resources are available than for later times.

Bristol & Avon FHS

I don't think anyone who buys this book will be disappointed, whether they're a beginner or a more experienced researcher. It concentrates on documents available between 1714 and 1837 and groups them in a useful and readable way, emphasising which ones are likely to contain genealogical information.

WDYTYA?, June 2018 – reviewed by Pam Ross

This new book by John Wintrip is essentially an overview of sources that can be used to trace your ancestors in the Georgian era. This spans the years 1714, the death of Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch and the succession of King George I, to 1837, the death of King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria and the start of Civil Registration.

It is a great starting point for researchers new to this era of research, putting the era into context of wider events in the UK and the world, and the types of records available.

There is a timeline, a very useful glossary and an excellent bibliography and index. A book full of useful snippets for the beginner as well as the more experienced family historian.

Federation of Family History Societies

John Wintrip provides a treasure trove of information on sources available for tracing ancestors in Georgian England.

Family Tree, June 2018

The book is primarily intended for those researching in England & Wales; there are a few references to Scotland and Ireland, but in the context of records that might be found there which relate to inhabitants of England or Wales. If you have English or Welsh ancestors this book is well worth buying.

Read the complete review here.

Lost Cousins