A Guide for Beginners |
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Starting out in family history history is an enjoyable and satisfying experience. This guide may appear dauntingly complex, but should provide a useful introduction to the hobby. Importantly, although we have provided many Internet references, there is no reason why you should not be successful in your search without even touching a computer! Ask the family: Gather and record information and memories from relatives. These include photographs with names and dates, certificates, wills, family bibles, letters, diaries etc. Start with yourself, the researcher, and go back step by step throughout the generations keeping a detailed record of `how, where and when'. Internet: There is an ever-increasing amount of family history information to be obtained from the Internet. Some primary sources may be viewed, for example images of census returns, and may be trusted. However much has been put there by many different people and may be unchecked, often recycled from other entries. Use this as a `finding aid' only and check everything you use against a primary source before it is incorporated into your own family record. Civil Registration England & Wales from 1837 - records of births, marriages and deaths (BMD) with other miscellaneous indexes are at the Family Records Centre (FRC), 1 Myddelton St, London, EC1R 1UW www.familyrecords.gov.uk (Info leaflet also available). These indexes are available for personal search and certificates may be ordered. Find my Past www.findmypast.com/ (formerly 1837online) has a pay index to BMD and other indexes, and www.freebmd.org.uk has an expanding free index. Scotland from 1855 - GRO for Scotland, New Register House, Edinburgh EH1 3YT. www.gro-scotland.gov.uk. Searchable Index of Scottish records at www.origins.net Northern Ireland from 1922 - GRO for N. Ireland, Oxford House, 49-55 Chichester St., Belfast BT1 4HL. www.groni.gov.uk Ireland from 1864 at Registrar General for Ireland, Joyce House, 8-11 Lombard St, Dublin 2. www.groireland.ie Census Returns Taken every ten years from 1801 in England and Wales. Those of use for family historians available on film at Family Records Centre, see above, from 1841 to 1901 for England and Wales and on line at pay sites such as www.ancestry.co.uk . 1881 Census Index for England/Wales & Scotland is widely available on microfiche & CD-Rom and free online at www.familysearch.org. Scottish censuses at HM Register House, Edinburgh www.nas.gov.uk Only 1901 & 1910 censuses exist for Ireland - Public Record Office of N. Ireland, 66 Balmoral Avenue, Belfast BT9 6NY. www.proni.gov.uk & National Archives, Bishop St. Dublin 8. www.nationalarchives.ie Parish Registers England & Wales commenced 1538 although early ones may not have survived. Bishops Transcripts (BT's) date, officially, from 1598 - both are records of baptisms, marriages and burials. Usually in county record offices who will confirm availability. Scottish registers are in New Register House, Edinburgh. Irish ones may be in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast, National Archives, Dublin or still held within the parish (it is necessary to know religious beliefs). Nonconformists: There is a strong possibility, particularly from the 18th/19th centuries onwards, that many families were of a nonconformist persuasion, e.g. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterian, Congregationalists, Quakers etc. whilst some ancestors may have remained Roman Catholic. Many early records of nonconformist sects deposited with The National Archives are available at the Family Records Centre (see above). Later nonconformist records may have been deposited in county and other record offices. Parish and Civil Records These are records concerning the everyday lives of our ancestors and include items such as Overseers of the Poor accounts; Churchwardens' accounts: Apprenticeship indentures: Bastardy Affiliation orders: Settlement records: Poor Law Union workhouse records: Quarter Session and Petty Session records etc. There are many others in this category to help aid research to put `flesh on the bare bones' of a family history. Usually held in county record offices and similar repositories. Reading `The Parish Chest' by WE Tate (Phillimore). Probate of Wills and Letters of Administration From 1858 are held at the Principal Registry of the Family Division, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/index.htm. Indexed in alphabetical order of surname in year order with abstracts of vital information. Before 1858, probate came under the jurisdiction of the Church of England and will be found, either, in county record offices, The National Archives, Kew (TNA) probate indexes are at the Family Records Centre (see above), or in the Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, St Anthony's Hall, Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PW. www.york.ac.uk/borthwick Scottish testaments - probates are held at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. Ireland is more difficult so consult a guide to Irish research. Gibson Guides are essential aids to research and `Probate Jurisdictions' is ideal when searching for the whereabouts of probate records. Make enquiries about this and other guides from your local reference library or Family History Society. Local Studies and Reference Libraries Aids to research may include Phillimore's marriage indexes, census indexes, International Genealogical Index (IGI) - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons www.familysearch.org + other records on CD-Rom, parish register and bishops transcripts, other transcripts, local & national newspapers, trade & street directories, electoral rolls etc. Scotland www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.aspx Ireland www.irishorigins.com Books concerning most aspects of family history research are available in reference & local studies libraries, also for sale from Wiltshire FHS Book Sales (make enquiries at Wiltshire FHS Resource Centre). For more advanced research, some records are held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/searchthearchives (includes 1901 census). www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk. British Library Newspaper Library, Colindale, London. www.bl.uk/collections/newspapers.html There are many other specialist libraries for specific research work. For addresses, including Local Studies Libraries, museums, Family History Societies, see `The Family and Local History Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide incorporating The Genealogical Directory', and compiled by R. Blatchford, published annually. Federation of Family History Societies has a useful and rapidly expanding searchable database of records (pay-per-view) at www.familyhistoryonline.net and a catalogue of publications on sale - including those of Wiltshire FHS - at www.familyhistorybooks.co.uk. Commonwealth War Graves Commission has records of military graves from both World Wars at www.cwgc.org/ or by post 2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7DX Join a Family History Society Join the one nearest your home and the one where your ancestry lies. Take advantage of family history society meetings, open days and conferences to meet others who are also interested in family history. Wiltshire FHS holds a large collection of transcribed parish registers and other archival records and books. Further information from Wiltshire FHS Resource Centre, 10 Castle Lane, Devizes SN10 1HJ. www.wiltshirefhs.co.uk. Email: Useful Wiltshire addresses Wiltshire & Swindon Record Office, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge BA14 8BS Tel: 01225. 713709. Email Wiltshire County Local Studies Library - address as above. Tel: 01225 713732. Email Wiltshire & Swindon Record Office (& Reference Library), Regent Circus, Swindon SN! 1QC. Tel: 01793 463240. Email: Wiltshire Heritage Museum Library, 41 Long St. Devizes SN10 1NS. Tel: 01380 727369. Email: |
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