Pen & Sword continues to expand their well-known and long-running British Tracing Your Ancestors series. Two new books published in the past three months are noteworthy if your family story touches on Surrey or Staffordshire
Tracing Your Surrey Ancestors
By Sarah Pettyfer
Published: 14 July 2025
Paperback, 184 pages, 30 mono illustrations
ISBN: 9781036110109 | £12.79 (was £15.99)
The county is of particular interest, as many communities once in Surrey, including Lambeth, Southwark, and Wandsworth, are now part of Greater London. This can trip up even experienced genealogists.
Author Sarah Pettyfer recently gave a Legacy Family Tree Webinars presentation on Surrey. It was pretty detailed. If you subscribe, be sure to check out the webinar and syllabus first.
Tracing Your Staffordshire Ancestors
By Chloe O’Shea
Published: 16 May 2025
Paperback, 216 pages, 40 mono illustrations
ISBN: 9781036108786 | £15.99 (eBook £9.99)
Chloe O’Shea’s new title, like most in the series, covers familiar parish and census records, as well as often-overlooked sources, such as manorial court rolls and tithe apportionments. It goes deeper, offering insight into special sources (such as pottery industry records) and integrating DNA and social media.
Looking ahead, a revised edition of Tracing Your Ancestors from 1066 to 1837 by Jonathan Oates, and a new book, A History of Adoption in England and Wales by Gill Rossini, are scheduled for release by Pen and Sword later this year.