TRACING YOUR medical ANCESTORS (PEN & SWORD, 2011)

Tracing Your Medical Ancestors by Michelle Higgs

Ancestors in the medical profession

Do you have a doctor, surgeon or nurse in your family tree?  Or an ancestor who worked in other medical professions such as dentistry, midwifery, district nursing or pharmacy?

You can find out more about their roles, training and places of work in this new book.  It traces the development of medical practice and patient care; shows how to trace the careers of medical professionals; and describes all the key sources you will need.

Well illustrated with 40 images, this book is ideal for anyone with a medical ancestor as it is a comprehensive introduction to researching medical history.

 

 

The President Ward at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, circa 1900

'Tracing Your Medical Ancestors presents an account of the early history of the  professions in their various branches.  The sources to which readers are directed are numerous, and feature everything from the more obvious ones, such as workhouse records held by local authorities, to some more surprising entries. 

The text is very well illustrated with suitable pictures and photographs, and readers are helped along by case studies outlining the careers of various practitioners.  A good read.'

 Who Do You Think You Are?

 

Thomas Turner, FRCS, circa 1870

'This new title is probably the first of its kind - a guidebook specifically about tracing ancestry connected to the wide range of medical professions.  A quick look through the index reveals just how wide that range is, and indeed how thorough writer and social historian Michelle Higgs has been in her research. 

This book is an incredibly useful reference work, helpfully filling a gap in the market, which anyone with medical ancestors will find great for reference and for a general understanding of their lives.'

Your Family Tree

A medical examination in school, 1913

 

'Although this book is not intended as 'a definitive history of the medical profession', it is a clear, comprehensive introduction. Interspersed with case studies, photographs and documents, this book clearly explains how to trace the careers of medical ancestors and even find patients' records.  Packed with information, it is an invaluable guide to the lives and experiences of any ancestors working in the medical field.'

Family History Monthly