Let’s start by looking at each of these in turn.
WHAT YOUR FAMILY
ALREADY KNOW!
It’s easy to under-estimate how much useful
information is already held within the family. For a start, it’s quite likely
that one of your relatives began to compile a family tree a long time ago - and
then gave up, because in the days before the Internet, researching family
history was a long hard slog. An older version of the family tree could well
incorporate information from relatives who are no longer alive (and which you
might find very difficult to reconstruct on your own).
But even if you’re the first, you should still be able to collect a lot of
information by asking your relatives the right questions - just don’t expect
them to have perfect memories, though, or to remember everything on the spur of
the moment! In fact, you’ll often find that if you go back to someone with
bits of information you’ve gleaned from other relatives, or perhaps an old
wedding photo you’ve found, it helps to unlock other memories. It’s amazing
how little things can bring it all back!
When you talk to your relatives begin with simple questions, such as 'How
many brothers and sisters did your father/mother have?', then follow up if
necessary with 'Who was the oldest/youngest' and so on. Don’t expect people to
remember exact dates of birth (though they sometimes will), but a birthday or an
approximate age will be a great help in your later researches. At this stage
it’s also useful to gather information about where ancestors came from - there
was a lot of migration during the 19th century, aided by the introduction of the
railways, and many of us live in towns which barely existed 150 years ago.
People are often known by nicknames, so try to find out - for example -
whether Aunt Lily was really Lilian, or Auntie Nell was in fact christened
Ellen. Ask who got married, and to whom, remembering to note the maiden names of
your female ancestors. And whilst divorce has only recently become common, many
people remarried following bereavement, often when they were still young enough
to have a second family.
Information that’s written down is a bonus, whether it’s a marriage
certificate or a family tree written inside the family bible. The most unlikely
objects can provide a useful lead, from an inscribed clock or watch given as a
retirement present, to a book with a dated and signed dedication. 'To Florrie,
on your 21st birthday, from Uncle Fred and Aunt Maud, 19 September 1938' tells
you not only Florrie’s birth date, but also that she had an Uncle Fred who was
married to Aunt Maud - and that they were all still alive in 1938.
Relatives are a great source of information - but memories are fallible.
Always keep an open mind, and double-check the information you’ve been given
whenever you get the opportunity.
The remainder of this guide focuses on online sources of family history
information. Note, however, that most local records offices hold copies of
censuses for their local area, and some also have microfiche copies of the
indexes of Births, Marriages & Deaths.
CENSUSES
The first British censuses were taken in 1801, and
they have been taken every 10 years since (except for 1941). The earliest census
returns to be generally preserved are those for 1841, and these are also the
first to show the names of occupants. The 1911 census is the most recent to be
released, although Scotland will not be available until 2012.
For censuses up to 1901 the documents that have
survived are the Enumerators' Books. The pages in these books were completed by
the enumerator, who copied the information from the Householder Schedules. In
many cases the Householder Schedule was also completed by the enumerator,
sometimes because the head of the household was illiterate.
For the 1911 England
& Wales
census it is the Householder Schedules that have survived, which means that
they are in many cases in the handwriting of the head of household, which makes
them more interesting to family historians.
The 1841 census is less informative than later censuses - ages of adults are
shown to the nearest five years below, marital status is not indicated,
relationships between members of a household are not identified, and so far as
birthplace is concerned, the returns merely indicate whether someone was born in
the county or not, and whether born in '
Scotland
,
Ireland
, or foreign parts'. Nevertheless, as you work backwards identifying your
ancestors, there will be times when even the limited information of the 1841
census proves invaluable.
From 1851 onwards the information shown is broadly standardised, though there
were minor changes that are largely obvious from the census returns themselves.
Transcripts and images of the handwritten Enumerators' Books for all British
censuses from 1841-1901 are all now available online. However, the only complete
census transcript that is available free of charge is the 1881 Census of
England
& Wales
.
Where to find
England
& Wales censuses online
Introduction
When you search a census online your chances of success are determined partly
by the accuracy of the transcription, partly by the range of search options at
the site you're using, and partly by your ingenuity!
About half of all census records are wrong in some respect, and it won't
necessarily be the transcription that's wrong - the enumerator may have misread
the householder's writing, or misunderstood the householder's dialect. Quite
often the householder themselves made a mistake.
In these circumstances being able to search by name or address is very useful
- but only findmypast.com offers this feature for all of the censuses that the
site supports.
Unless otherwise stated, all of the sites mentioned below, other than free
sites, offer both indexed transcriptions and images of the handwritten census
schedules.
1841 Census
The best transcription can be found at findmypast.com,
a site which offers both pay-per-view and subscription options; Origins has a
similar transcription.
At Ancestry.co.uk the transcription is not as
reliable, which makes finding your relatives more difficult - but on the other
hand some of the handwritten census schedules which are particularly difficult
to read have been re-photographed.
Note: other advantages of searching at findmypast.com
are that you can search for any two people in the same household - which is
particularly useful in 1841 because of the limited data shown about individuals
- and you can also search by address.
Free alternatives: at FreeCEN you can search an indexed transcription for the
whole of
Cornwall
and partial indexes for a handful of other English counties.
1851 Census
The complete census is online at Ancestry.co.uk, and
can be accessed on a pay-per-view or subscription basis.
Free alternatives: FreeCEN has an indexed
transcription for the whole of
Cornwall
.
1861 Census
The complete 1861 Census of
England
& Wales
is online at findmypast.com and you can search not only for individuals, but
also for two people living in the same household. You can even search by
address. There are two levels of image quality, the higher quality being far
superior to other sites.
This census is also available at Ancestry.co.uk, but you cannot search by
occupation or address.
Free alternatives: FreeCEN has an indexed transcription for the whole of
Cornwall
, and partial indexes for several English and Welsh counties.
1871 Census
The complete census is online at Ancestry.co.uk, and
can be accessed on a pay-per-view or subscription basis.
Many English counties (including both
London
and Middlesex) can also be searched at both findmypast.com
and Origins.
Free alternatives: FreeCEN has a partial indexes for a few English and Welsh
counties.
1881 Census
Complete transcriptions can be searched free at three
sites: FamilySearch, Ancestry.co.uk
(which also has images, though they can only
be viewed by subscribers), and findmypast.com.
The original transcription was carried out FamilySearch
and the transcriptions at the other sites are derived from this (findmypast.com
claims to have the most accurate transcription).
The 1881 census is also available on CD ROM (check the FamilySearch
site for
details), and it is important to note that the CD ROM version includes Scotland
.
Free alternatives: see above; also FreeCEN has a partial index for Cornwall
.
1891 Census
The complete 1861 Census of
England
& Wales
is online at findmypast.com
and you can search not only for individuals, but
also for two people living in the same household. You can even search by
address. There are two levels of image quality, the higher quality being far
superior to other sites.
This census is also available at Ancestry.co.uk, but you cannot search by
occupation or address.
Free alternatives: at FreeCEN you can search indexed transcriptions for the
whole of Bedfordshire,
Cornwall
,
Devon
and Warwickshire - and partial transcriptions of many other English and Welsh
counties.
1901 Census
The complete census is online at Ancestry.co.uk, and
can be accessed on a pay-per-view or subscription basis. Findmypast.com
is in the process of adding this census, and most English counties were online
at the time of writing.
1911 Census
The 1911 Census of
England
& Wales
is in the process of being made available online. All English counties are now
online, and the first Welsh counties are expected during Summer 2009.
Where to find Scotland
censuses online
There are fewer options - both the official
Scotlandspeople site and Ancestry.co.uk
have indexed transcriptions of all 7
censuses from 1841-1901, but only Scotlandspeople has images of the handwritten
pages.
Free alternatives: FreeCEN has partial indexes for
1841, 1851, 1861, and 1871. 1841 is the most complete, with 100% coverage of 15
Scottish counties.
Which census should you use?
As the 1881 census for
England
& Wales
is free it is a good place to start - provided you have some information about
your ancestors who were alive in 1881. It will also enable you to enter
relatives at the LostCousins
site, a popular site for finding people researching the same ancestors.
But ultimately you're likely to have to pay to get the information you need,
and in this case you should consider taking out a subscription that gives you
unlimited searches at findmypast.com
or Ancestry.co.uk. Pay-per-view may seem like a
cheaper option, but it will cost much more in the end.
How to get the most out of the censuses
If you're initially unsuccessful in finding your relatives try using
alternatives search options. For example, try searching by first name and
birthplace or occupation - or else using the address search at findmypast.com
Remember that different census sites offer different options - just because
you can't find the person you're looking for at one site doesn't mean you won't
find them at another.
BIRTH, MARRIAGE
& DEATH CERTIFICATES
Civil registration began on 1st July 1837 in
England
&
Wales
, and on 1st January 1855 in
Scotland
. In theory all births, marriages, and deaths after that date should be recorded
in the General Register Office indexes, although in the early years a small
percentage of births were not registered.
If you’re lucky, you may find that some of the certificates for your
ancestors have survived, and are still held within the family. However copy
certificates can be obtained, and for
England
&
Wales
they will currently cost you 7 pounds each.
For an introductory guide to Birth, Marriage, and Death certificates visit
the official site www.familyrecords.gov.uk/topics/bmd.htm
which not only tells you how to obtain certificates, but also details the
information you can expect to find. Marriage certificates in particular can be a
goldmine of information, providing not just the bride’s maiden name, but also
the names and professions of both fathers. Even the names of the witnesses can
provide valuable leads.
Although it is usual to obtain certificates from the General Register Office
(GRO), if you know the registration district in which the event occurred you can
visit the local Register Office. They may be able to provide you with a
certificate which incorporates a facsimile of the original register entry, which
in the case of a marriage will provide copies of the 'actual' signatures of your
ancestors. Certificates ordered from the GRO are based on hand-copied records,
so do not show actual signatures (though they will indicate whether a person
signed, or made their mark).
To order England
& Wales
certificates from the GRO you ideally need to provide the full reference, which
means finding your ancestor in the indexes of Births, Marriage and Deaths. Even
if you don't go ahead and order a particular certificate, just finding the event
in the indexes may provide you with useful information. For example, from 1912
onwards the marriage entries show the surname of the spouse - which might be the
missing piece of the jigsaw.
Birth, Marriage, and Death Indexes
online
Numerous sites have indexes of births, marriages, and deaths for
England
& Wales, but the two key sites are
findmypast.com - which has the most complete set of
indexes - and FreeBMD which has only partial indexes, but is free to search.
FAMILY TREE SOFTWARE
There are many family tree programs, some of which are available free, such
as Personal Ancestral File which can be downloaded from the FamilySearch
site.
Family Historian (www.family-historian.co.uk)
is not free, but has received excellent reviews - it is also a British program
written with local requirements in mind. It has an active user support forum to
which the program's author frequently contributes.
All of these programs, even the free ones, will allow you to create family
trees on screen, and print them out. Almost all support GEDCOM files (GEDCOM is
the standard format for the interchange of genealogical data), and it is worth
noting that Family Historian uses the GEDCOM file format itself, so no
file conversion is necessary.
THE NEXT STAGE
Perhaps the best guide for researchers who want to go further is Ancestral
Trails, a book by Mark D Herber that is published by Sutton Publishing in
association with the Society of Genealogists.
The Genealogist's Internet by Peter Christian is another valuable book
which offers a superb guide to the ever-expanding resources online. It is
regularly updated, and the most recent edition features LostCousins.
As you work backwards from 1881 parish registers become an invaluable source
of information, especially before 1837 when civil registration of births,
marriage, and deaths was introduced. Most parish registers are held in
county
Records
Offices or Archives, and can usually be searched - typically on microfilm or
microfiche - free of charge. Other sources of information include wills,
directories, and churchyard inscriptions. Visit the GENUKI site
to find the addresses of Records Offices and Archives in each county.
The FamilySearch site not only provides online access to the 1881 census but also to other resources
which have been compiled by researchers, including the International
Genealogical Index (IGI). The information varies in quality, and you should
therefore always check it before using it as the basis for further research of
your own, but it can provide you with leads that you would otherwise never pick
up from any other source.
When using the FamilySearch site be sure to search each resource separately -
this will produce far better results.
There are family history societies throughout the
UK, and the Federation of Family History Societies has links to the sites of
member societies in
England, Wales
&
Ireland
(www.ffhs.org.uk) whilst
the Scottish Association of Family History Societies provides links to those in
Scotland
. Most societies keep lists of members interests, and some allow non-members to
both search the lists and contact members who are researching the same families
(there’s invariably going to be someone researching the same family - it’s
just a question of finding them!).
GENUKI is a virtual reference library of genealogical information with links to other
websites that cover every part of the
British Isles
. It also has an informative section called 'Getting started in genealogy' which
offers excellent advice and information for the beginner.
TRACE YOUR 'LOST
COUSINS'
In almost every branch of every family there's someone researching family
history. Each will have a different starting point, and a different perspective,
each will make different discoveries. Just imagine if all the people researching
the same ancestors could pool their knowledge!
The LostCousins web-site is the answer - using a proprietary method it links
together distant cousins who are researching the same ancestors. Unlike other
websites that offer a superficially similar service, it virtually guarantees
that the people who meet up really are related, whilst keeping their information
confidential (information entered at LostCousins
can't be viewed by anyone
else).
USEFUL WEBSITES
