A. Start with yourself, add your family your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc., in fact any relatives you can remember Question older relatives who can be invaluable in providing knowledge of ancestors you may not know of or have forgotten.

Q. I’ve recorded everything my relatives told me. Where do I go next?

A. In England and Wales people have been able to register births, marriages and deaths since I July 1837. Certificates of events occurring from this date can be obtained from local Register Offices or you can search the General Register Office (GRO) indexes to these registrations. Dorset Record Office and Somerset Local Studies Library have these indexes.

A. A birth certificate usually names both parents, including the mother’s maiden surname. Knowing both parents’ full names, you can search the indexes for a reference to their marriage. A marriage certificate usually supplies the names of the fathers of both parties. Simple steps like these can take your line well back into the nineteenth century.

Q. But this information only applies to England and Wales. My ancestry is Scottish and Irish. What do I do?

A. Civil Registration began in Scotland in 1855 and in Ireland in I 864. Certificates can be obtained from New Register House, Princes Street, Edinburgh EH1 3YT (for Scotland) and from the Registrar General, 8-Il Lombard Street East, Dublin 2 for Ireland. Registrations for Northern Ireland after 1921 are at Oxford House, 49-55 Chichester Street, Belfast BTT 4HL. Before commencing this part of your research, however, you are strongly advised to read the relevant chapter in one of the many books available.

A. Now, you will be largely dependent on the church (or parish) registers. These registers were introduced in 153718 and contain baptisms and burials (as distinct from births and deaths) and, of course, marriages. Although many early registers have been lost over the years, a surprising number still exist.

A. Today, very few registers, other than those which are still in use, are held at churches. Many of the registers have been filmed and copies are widely available: ask at the relevant county record office or local studies library.

A. In addition to the registers, from 1598 parish priests had to send to their bishop an ‘annual return’, a copy of the register, known as a Bishops’ Transcript Those that still exist can be very useful in supplying entries omitted from the register or replacing a missing register.

A. The IGI, or International Genealogical Index, is an index to about 250 million births, baptisms and marriages from around the world. The index is produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and is available in many libraries and record offices, and in the Church’s own Family History Centres. The S&DFHS has a search service.

A. A complete set for England and Wales is housed at The Family Records Centre, 1 Myddelton Street, London EC1R 1 UW. Additionally, those pertaining to your area may be found at your local record office or library. There are many name indexes available, particularly for the 1851 and 1881 censuses: the latter has been indexed for the whole of England, Wales and Scotland.

A. There are countless other sources which you can search, far too many to list here, and you would be well advised to read a book on the subject and to attend a family history class.

A. Yes, join your local Family History Society. Go along to their meetings, join in their activities. You will also find it useful to become a member of those societies covering the areas in which your ancestors once lived.

A. Most Societies produce journals and these will describe local records and history. Their members might be able to help with particular ‘local research’ problems, for example by visiting the churchyard to read your grandfather’s gravestone for you! Belonging to a Family History Society will also enable you to contact others who are tracing the same surname that you are, in the area where your ancestor lived.

A. A list is available from The Administrator, Federation of Family History Societies, Artillery House, 15 Byrom Street, Manchester M3 4PF, or on the Internet by clicking this link.

A. Many Family History Societies publish directories of members interests. You can purchase international directories, such as the Genealogical Research Directory. The Federation periodically produces the British Isles Genealogical Register (BigR), the latest edition being for 1997.

A. You should obtain a copy of the pamphlet Tracing Your Ancestors: Britain, from the Administrator (address above). Please enclose SAE plus three UK second class stamps or two International Reply Coupons.

The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) is the co-ordination body of societies such as S&DFHS. Our Society Book Shop sells most of their hugely concise and helpful booklets.

  Back to Home Page