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A Guide for Family Historians

 

The following is designed to suggest ways in which you can find out about family history.

The Register Office cannot undertake research work. Searches can only be carried out over a three year period of the date of the event when sufficient details are supplied to them. It is, therefore, often easier and cheaper to consult other sources which are available and described below. By following these steps research does not always need to involve the purchasing of certificates.
 
  1. Gather together all information you can from members of the family i.e. names, addresses, dates.  Any birth, marriage and death certificates, family bibles, newspaper cuttings, photographs (try to identify these on the back in pencil).
  2. Interview, taking notes or tape recordings, all relatives, especially the elderly.
  3. Try to find graves and record the monumental inscriptions.
  4. Always record every document researched even if they do not provide information - this saves time later when you retrace your steps.
  5. Read one of the many guides to family historians available at any library.
  6. Visit the Local History Section of the library for the area concerned and ask the staff what resources are available.
  7. Join your local Family History Society even though your ancestors may not be from that area.
  8. Always work backwards from yourself, never from a presumed ancestor towards yourself.  Record your own birth dates with parents' names and mother's maiden name and place.  Then go to parents' marriage certificate which will give their fathers' names, their addresses at the time of the marriage and their ages.  From this you will be able to determine their birth years and you can work backwards to the next generation.
  9. Before visiting any Record Office, telephone for an appointment.  You may need to use microfiche or microfilm machines which need booking.  When there, ask staff what is available or consult their Guide.        

Civil registration
Started in 1837.  All births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales have been recorded and stored in local Register Offices.  Copies have also been deposited with the Registrar General.  All entries have been indexed and if you are unsure where an event took place, the national indexes are available at some libraries, Record Offices, the Latter Day Saints Church libraries and the Family Record Office in London.
The reference given on this index does not correspond with local Register Office references.

If you know in which area the event took place, application can be made to that local Register Office where a copy of the entry can be purchased.

All the following can usually be consulted at County Record Offices or local libraries.

Parish Registers - Before 1837 there was no legislation for the recording of births, marriages and deaths which took place.  Baptisms, marriages and deaths registers were kept by individual parishes commencing between 1538-98, but with possible gaps and no uniformity.  These registers (now mostly copied onto microfilm) are stored at Diocesan Record Offices (usually the County Record Office).

IGI - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (LDS) have indexed many of the baptismal and marriage parish registers.  The index is known as the IGI (International Genealogical Index).  The index does not usually contain events after 1900 and not all areas of the country are covered.  No death registers are indexed.

Census returns  - Every ten years since 1801 a Census has been taken listing every person residing at an address on a certain date.  The first few Census do not give much information but later ones list name, relationship with head of household, age, occupation, town and county of birth.  Using this information you can decide the locality and year of birth of the people listed.

Trade directories - These list households in all streets of a town and also give names under different trade headings.

Newspapers  - Back numbers can be consulted for obituaries and reports of Court cases and inquests, some may have been indexed.

Wills & Probate records  - Copies of wills can be obtained for a fee from:
Principal Registry of the Family Division
Somerset House
Strand
London
WC2R 1LP

Indexes of Wills can be consulted at some County Record Offices and libraries.

To search for on-line information relating to Births, Deaths and Marriages and family history, click here to visit the family links section of the Library pages.