Romany and Traveller Family History Society
Publications
The Society publishes a range of books dealing with the history and family history of Gypsies and other Travellers in Great Britain. We also offer relevant books from other publishers.
Memories of the Marsh: A Traveller Life in Kent
By the late Betsy Stanley Edited by Janet Keet-Black A5 paperback book 60 pages Black-and-white family photographs Memories of the Marsh: A Traveller Life in Kent was first published by the RTFHS in 1998 and has long been out-of-print. It's the autobiography of Betsy Stanley née Cooper, describing her life growing up in the close-knit Belvedere Marsh Gypsy community in North Kent from t...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-Marsh-2
Mi Zee of Kolliko: My Own Memories
By The Romany Rai Cove. "Travellers are, in the main, a happy lot even though their lot is sometimes not very happy". The author recalls his young years on the road, describing how they were able to survive whatever life threw at them. A fascinating glimpse into a way of life now largely disappeared. A5, 24 pages....
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-ZEE
My Ancestors Were Gypsies
By Sharon Sillers Floate. A comprehensive guide to the sources available – and the techniques to use – to help you research your Gypsy family tree. This updated edition includes additional sections on the 1911 census and emigration, plus details of the many useful websites and publications that have appeared since the last edition in 2005. A5, 112 pages. Published by the Society of Genealogist...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-MAWG
Scamp: The Family Tree of Samson and Celia Scamp
From about 1750 to about 1900, mainly Kent and nearby counties. Compiled by Roger Baker. A4, 16 pages....
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-FT-SCAMP
Scott: A Search for The Scotts and Circus
A Search For The Scotts & Circus By Anne Stevens As a child Anne Stevens was intrigued by the stories her grandmother told her: memories of horse-drawn vans, jugglers, clowns and equestrians overwintering in the village of Walberswick on the Suffolk coast of England. These were her Scott family. As an adult, Anne has researched these ancestors and the other circus and fairground families...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-Scotts
Smith: The Family Tree of Woodfine Smith
From about 1750 to about 1900, mainly the English Midlands and North West. Compiled by Josephine Tombs. A4, 20 pages. Surnames other than Smith in the Index are: Abrams, Adshead, Allen, Badger, Bennett, Birch, Bird, Black, Bolas, Booth, Boswell, Butler, Clayton, Colecot, Cotterill, Davis, Deadman, Embury, Ferrier, Finney, Fletcher, Garrett, Gorman, Gray, Hackney, Hales, Hall, Hill, Hodkin, Ho...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-FT-SMITH
Some Travellers in the 1891 Census - 2
By Janet Keet-Black. Circus, Gypsies, Showmen, Theatre, Travellers, and others - extracted from Durham, Northumberland, Yorkshire, Essex, London, Middlesex, Norfolk. More than 2,000 individuals recorded. Transcribed in "as enumerated" format with a surname index. 60 pages....
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-CEN2
Some Travellers in the 1891 Census - 4
By Janet Keet-Black. Boatmen, Circus, Gypsies, Photographers, Showmen, Theatricals - extracted from Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Surrey, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Glamorganshire, Monmouthshire. Transcribed in "as enumerated" format with a surname index. 60 pages....
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-CEN4
Stanley: The Family Trees of Hercules and Peter Stanley
Expanded Edition 2019 From about 1710 to about 1910, from primarily Hampshire and Berkshire. Compiled by Anne-Marie Ford. A4, 20 pages. This updated and expanded edition of The Family Trees of Hercules and Peter Stanley reflects finds from the many new family history sources that have become available since its first publication by the RTFHS in 2013. The author Anne-Marie Ford, a widely...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-FT-STANLEY
Stanley: The Family Trees of Paul & Peter, Richard & Owen Stanley
From about 1710 to about 1910 from primarily Dorset, Devon and Somerset. Compiled by Anne-Marie Ford. A4, 24 pages. Before Anne-Marie Ford began her pioneering study of the Romany Gypsy Stanleys, almost all that had been written about the family concentrated on their lives in the USA, following a 19th century exodus from Britain. In this book the author has corrected the imbalance by – q...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-FT-STANLEY-2
Ten Major Gypsy Families of Wales & The English West & North
Ten Major Gypsy Families of Wales & The English West & North - as its title implies - brings together the family trees of 10 families, grouped by the region of Britain in which they originated, lived and travelled and – no doubt in some cases – associated with each other and intermarried. The result is a book that is very different in format to the previous 17 single-surname volumes i...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-FAM-01
The Gipsies Advocate
By James Crabb. Reprint of the Third Edition, published 1832. The Reverend James Crabb of Southampton tried to encourage others to join him in his attempts to improve the lives of Gypsies in Britain. If you would like to know what life was like for your Traveller ancestors in the early 1800s, then this is the book to read, particularly if you harbour romantic notions of the carefree Romany of bygo...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-CRABB
The Gypsies
By John Hoyland. Originally published in 1816, this book is the first full attempt by a British author to examine and report on the history and lifestyle of the Gypsies of Britain. His method was to broadcast a questionnaire and invite interested parties to answer its questions through observation of the Gypsy families in their locality and by gathering in information at first hand from them. 102 ...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-HOYLAND
The Gypsy Countess By Anne-Marie Ford
This is an unusual biography: that of a young woman who, despite the strictures of the British class system, rose from a childhood in a farm cottage and a career with Astley’s Circus to earn a place in the British aristocracy. The Gypsy Countess recounts the life of Catherine Cox, daughter of a Romany Gypsy woman and an agricultural labourer, who in 1855 married George Harry Grey, Earl o...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-COUNTESS
Travellers Remember Hopping Time
Edited by Janet Keet-Black and the late Mary Horner A5 paperback book, 60 pages, black-and-white family photographs This RTFHS publication has been out-of-print for 10 years. We are pleased to make it available again so that today's family historians can get a real sense of what their ancestors experienced in the hop-gardens of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Herefordshire in times past. The ...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-HOPPING
Travellers Through Time: A Gypsy History
Travellers Through Time: A Gypsy History - By Jeremy Harte Published by Reaktion Books (London, 2023). Hardback with dust jacket, A4 format, 317 pages, 40 photographs and illustrations This well-researched and very readable book guides the reader through the six centuries that Romany Gypsies have made Britain their home: from their arrival in these islands in the early 16th century to the mo...
Supplied by: Romany and Traveller Family History Society Product Ref: ROM-TTT