Genealogical resources
This page has links to a number of useful resources on genealogy and family history that may of help to you if you wish to
research your family tree. Some of these resources are free to use; others are subscription services, although many of these
offer free access to their indexes while charging for access to records. Most of the links given here have a UK bias; many
of the larger genealogical sites are international but in practice dominated by the huge interest in the USA.
General
The
BBC website
has resources on
family history
and a practical
guide to researching your family history
GENUKI
is the UK and Ireland Genealogical Information Service and is an important website for any UK research. Beginners should look
at the sections on Getting started in Genealogy, Guidance for first-time users, and FAQs. There is also a section containing
links to newsgroups and bulletin boards. The main content is found under Contents and Search, which leads to mainly primary
source material and indexes.
The
Federation of Family History Societies
is an umbrella organisation of local and regional societies. It has an introductory section on Help with research and is a
good route to finding local societies.
The
Society of Genealogists
is a UK-based national society. Their website links to their Library collection of transcriptions of primary sources; unfortunately
not all of the catalogue is online. There are also links to their bookshop, volunteer projects, events and mailing lists (hosted
by
RootsWeb).
Genes Reunited
is a rapidly growing UK genealogy site based mainly on contributed family trees.
RootsWeb
is a major free genealogy website, international but with a strong American slant. (Although RootsWeb is free, it is supported
by the commercial
Ancestry.com
which can lead to some confusing cross-linking.) There are tempting name search boxes, but also a wealth of background information
to browse. RootsWeb hosts large numbers of
mailing lists
(and an archive of
old messages) and
message boards
Cyndi's List
retains the look of a site built by an enthusiast, but is well respected as an excellent source of links to other genealogical
resources. There is a search engine and a classified listing of topics.
Genealogy.com
is another large genealogy site with an American slant. It is linked to the popular Family Tree Maker software and you can
upload your family tree to a World Family Tree. Some features require a subscription or purchase of the software.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often abbreviated to LDS and known as the Mormons) provide excellent electronic
access to genealogical sources, both online through their
FamilySearch
website and through CD-ROM resources available for sale or at their local Family History Centres. Links from the home page
of the FamilySearch website explain the purpose and background to the Church's interest in genealogy. There are also some
introductory pages, including research guidance which suggests types of record to consult for different periods and places
of interest.
FamilySearch hosts the International Genealogical Index (IGI) which contains information about 285 million individuals transcribed
from primary sources. The Pedigree Resource Files are contributed secondary sources that record family relationships. These
databases and others are searchable online; more than 900 million names are recorded.
FamilySearch also provides the free Personal Ancestral File genealogical software and useful paper forms for maintaining your
records.
The
British website of the LDS
gives information about the local Family History Centres where you can consult many genealogical resources including microfilm
and microfiche copies of parish records. The site also has information about software and CD-ROMs, including the 1881 Census
and British Isles Vital Records Index.
Census information
The
1901 census
for England and Wales is available online from the
National Archives
You can search the data for free, but there is a charge to view the records either as a transcription or as a scanned document.
The home page has a link to a guided tour of the site.
There is a project underway to digitise the 1891 UK census hosted by
Ancestry.co.uk
Access to records requires payment although there are free trials available.
FamilySearch
contains a complete transcription of the 1881 UK census. It also contains the 1880 US and 1881 Canadian censuses.
Census Links
has links to census information from other countries.
Births, marriages and deaths
Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths started in England and Wales in 1837 and became compulsory in 1875. Copies
of certificates can be obtained from the
Family Records Centre
The full indexes are not available on the Web but may be consulted at the Family Records Centre or on microfiche at LDS Family
History Centres. The
FreeBMD
and the
UK BDM Exchange
are two volunteer transcription projects that are putting some of this material online.
Mailing lists, message boards and newsgroups
The
Family Chronicle
website has an introductory article about mailing lists in genealogical research.
RootsWeb
hosts large numbers of mailing lists and their archives and message boards.
Ancestry.com
also hosts a large number of message boards.
Usenet newsgroups are archived on
Google Groups
Most genealogical groups are in the soc.genealogy and alt.genealogy sections. Here is a useful list of the
genealogical newsgroups
giving links to FAQs, archives and web pages associated with each of them.
Other search sites
Origins.net
collaborates with other bodies to provide access to British genealogical resources. There are separate subsites for England,
Scotland and Ireland. Their site includes a focused search engine which searches web pages for surnames and place names, including
variant spellings.
WorldConnect
is a large lineage-linked database created from family trees uploaded by individuals.
Surname Helper
on
RootsWeb
will search for surnames on many other genealogial sites.
Publishing sites
Many of the large genalogy sites such as
FamilySearch
and
WorldConnect
encourage the submission of your family tree in the form of GEDCOM files which are produced by all family tree software packages.
Other resources
Familia
is a directory of family history resources held in public libraries in the UK.
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
hosts a community of people who will volunteer to photograph tombstones, search a local library etc.
There are several family history magazines available.
Ancestors
is produced by the Public Record Office. Information about
Family Tree Magazine
and
Practical Family History
can be found on the
publisher's website
There are also many books available on genealogy and family history. The following suggestions focus on using the Internet;
the first two have a US slant, but the third has a good coverage of UK resources.
-
Crowe, E.P. (2003) Genealogy Online, McGraw-Hill/Osborne, Emeryville (7th edition) ISBN: 0-07-222978-0
-
Hendrikson, N. (2003) Finding Your Roots Online, Betterway Books, Cincinnati. ISBN: 1-55870-635-6
-
Peacock, C. (2003) Good Web Guide: Genealogy, The Good Web Guide Ltd, London (3rd edition) ISBN: 1-903282-48-9
Further study
The Open University course
A173 Start Writing Family History
offers a practical introduction to family history which would also give you a good grounding in historical methods.
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