Many people who do family history in Britain find themselves thinking about mobile ancestors. As part of huge waves of emigration from the British Isles, our family members past can be found in Australia, Canada, Europe, India, Southern Africa, and the United States to name a few. Other family historians find their family’s mobility went the other way, as part of the flows of people from the British empire into the British Isles. This session will focus on the context and experience of these kinds of migrations.

This event will be recorded; by joining us to you consent to being recorded.

3:30-4:15 Reflections from the field

• Chandan Mahal on Family History and Place

• Yasmin Khan on global and migrant families

• Julia Laite on settler colonial family histories

• Margaret Makepeace on India Office records and family history

4:15-4:30 Break

4:30-5:30 Breakout room workshops

1. Why did individuals and families move? What bigger stories of changing work, culture, empire, and technology was this part of?

2. What challenges are there for researching migrant ancestors?

3. How do stories of migration become part of our family stories?

4. How can thinking about our mobile ancestors challenge narratives about migration in the present day?

5:30-5:45 Report back and closing remarks