Family History

This learning zone looks at the history of a small section of the Preen family who lived in Shropshire during the 19th century. The history of the Preen's has been extensively researched by Sue Laflin who is related to the family herself.  These pages show what can be found about the history of a family using the information available at places like the Shropshire Archives.

Many records were used to create these pages. Parish registers are one of the most obvious sources to use when researching your family history, as are census records. In this instance the census records from Leebotwood and Smethcott have been used.

Other sources include the Victoria County History, gravestones surviving in churchyards, the calendar of wills and stories from the living descendents of the family. You will find examples of all these in the following web pages.

If you feel inspired to research your own family history, however, there are many more sources available such as cemetery, gaol and military records. A full guide to these, and other sources, are available at the Shropshire Archives.