TRACING YOUR CANAL ANCESTORS: A Guide for Family Historians [Paperback]

Sue Wilkes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2011

Britain's industrial revolution depended on canals for the cheap movement of materials and goods - until the coming of the railways. Canal companies struggled to compete and went into a long decline, but much of the canal network is still with us today, and interest in the history and heritage of canals - and those who worked on them - is strong. That is why Sue Wilkes's well researched and highly readable handbook on the subject is so valuable.She concentrates on the people who lived and worked on the waterways - the canal boatmen, their families and their way of life - and those who depended on the canal trade for a living - the lock-keepers, toll collectors, and canal company clerks. She provides a thorough, practical guide to the sources - the archives, books, websites, societies - available for researchers if they are studying our inland waterways, or trying to find out about an ancestor who worked on the canals or was connected with them.Her book is essential reading for anyone interested in this aspect of the industrial past.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Pen and Sword (December 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848842384
• ISBN-13: 978-1848842380
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sue Wilkes was born in Lancashire; she has lived in Cheshire since 1981. Sue read Physics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She is a member of the Society of Authors. Her first book 'Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives' (History Press, 2008), recreates everyday life for working families in Victorian Lancashire during the Industrial Revolution. Regency Cheshire' (Robert Hale, 2009) tells the story of county life during the age of Beau Brummell, Walter Scott and Jane Austen. Her third book 'The Children History Forgot' (Robert Hale, 2011) explores children and young people's working lives during the late Georgian and Victorian eras. 'Tracing Your Canal Ancestors' (Pen & Sword, 2011) is a guide for family historians on how to trace ancestors who worked on the canals network (boatmen and land workers) in the British Isles.


Sue writes for adults and children, and contributes regularly to magazines in the UK and USA. Her specialities are social and industrial history, literary history, and family history. Sue is also a creative writing tutor specialising in non-fiction. She is married, with two children. Sue is a Jane Austen fan. She loves country walks and exploring Britain's history. Sue is currently working on 'Tracing Your Lancashire Ancestors' for Pen & Sword.


Read Sue's blog at http://suewilkes.blogspot.com/