www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/index.html allows you to click on an English county, and then subsequently on a place name, to find out what information is available for that particular place.
Another useful general genealogy information site is GenDocs at homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs Family KnowledgeBefore doing anything else, it is absolutely vital to capture the knowledge that you and your living relatives have about your family history. Get everyone in the family to remember all they can about previous generations - names, dates, places, hobbies, and stories. Some stories may have been embellished along the way, and some may even have been based on "white lies" or downright fibs, but they're all worth capturing. (But if relatives don't want to discuss things, then you have to respect that - and beware of causing hurt by pushing too hard.) Make sure you write down everything you're told, ideally documenting it with word processing software. If you have a "voice recorder" then use that to record family stories being told by some of your older relatives. Also make sure that you get everyone to dig out their old photographs and identify all the people and places in them. Scan all of the photographs, so that they are safely stored and identified. If you can capture everything the family already knows, then you've already made good progress. Ideally you'll now have some notes about family members, and pictures of some of them, all captured electronically. Make sure you "back up" this data onto CD or some other source, so that if you accidentally wipe your computer's hard disc, it will still be safe! Documenting your Family HistoryBy now you'll already be feeling the need to organise the data that you have captured, and start drawing a "family tree". It is possible to do this using word processors, spreadsheets, or desktop publishing programs, but none of these are ideal. It is far better to acquire and use a computer programme specifically designed for family history. You might want to start with a few simple forms for capturing and displaying your research information. Ancestry.co.uk  have a number of forms and templates available on-line, including a Downloadable Family Tree Template  . As the quantity of data that you are discovering grows, you will probably want to invest in more comprehensive family history software. There are numerous programmes available to buy, at a range of prices, and a few free ones too. They are all able to capture your family data in a structured way, and produce charts and reports, and most of them conform to a "GEDCOM" standard that enable data to be transferred between different family history programmes. The basic facilities that a good family history programme will have are:- - An easy interface for you to type in names and details of births, marriages, deaths, baptisms, military service, census data, occupations, etc., as well as details of all the stories you've uncovered about your relatives.
- A mechanism for recording the source of each piece of data that you record. It is really important to do this - you will often find conflicting data about people, so it's important to know where you got each piece of information from.
- A means of importing photographs of people and places into the software - so that your family tree charts and reports can include pictures as well as words.
- A simple way of producing family tree charts, in various formats, and reports.
If you want to download some free software to get you started, than have a look at:- Sample versions of many other family history programmes can be downloaded from web sites, or can be found on free CDs issued with some family history magazines, such as Your Family Tree magazine.
| Personally, I use a program called Family Tree Maker, which does everything that I need in terms of capturing and presenting my family data. (If you've used previous versions of this software, the 2008 version is completely different.) |
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However, there are many other programmes available, and I think it's often a good idea to see some of these in action before deciding which one is right for you. As you progress with your family history, you might want to make the results available on-line. There are many ways you can do this, and many family history programs include facilities to help you do it. A free site called Tribal Pages at www.tribalpages.com allows you to easily upload a GEDCOM file from your family history program, add photographs, choose layouts, and make your tree visible on the web. There is a similar free facility at www.GedHTree.com . Civil RegistrationCivil registration began in 1837, but was not rigorously enforced until 1875, and it is estimated that up to a third of births were not registered during the intervening period. There are two types of civil registration records of interest to the genealogist: - Birth, Marriage, and Death certificates; and the indexes to these. The General Register Office maintains indexes that hold very basic information about each birth, marriage or death that has been registered. These indexes are sorted by surname within three-monthly periods of each year, and contain a reference that allows the certificate to be ordered from the General Register Office. (It's important to remember that these indexes are organised based on the date in which the event was registered, which may have been significantly later than the date in which the even took place.) Local register offices also hold indexes for the births, marriages and deaths that took place in their area. Certificates themselves contain much more data than the indexes, and can be obtained from local Register Offices, or (using the reference from the GRO indexes) from the General Register Office. The GRO's site at www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ gives more detail, and a very useful site with further information about indexes and certificates can be found at home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/indexbd.htm . The GRO indexes (in large format books) can be accessed at the Family Records Centre in London, and are also available to view on microfiche at the National Archives at Kew, and at various local county records offices. They are also available on-line via a number of pay-to-view or subscription services, including:- In addition to these paid services, www.freebmd.org.uk contains a partial index of the GRO registers, created by volunteers. It is a great site, free to use, and its coverage is increasing all the time. Another extremely useful site is www.ukbmd.org.uk - as well as links to various paid sites, it includes numerous links to sites of local register offices, who are increasingly freely making their indexes available on-line. Parish RegistersBefore 1837, when civil registration came into being, family historians have to rely in baptism, marriage and burial records contained in parish registers. These usually only contain very basic details, but are nevertheless invaluable. Copies of these can usually be accessed at local record offices, and transcriptions are sometimes available on CD or microfiche from various suppliers. Pay-per-view access to a lot of parish register data transcribed by local family history societies is also available at www.familyhistoryonline.net . However, a wonderful free on-line index of many parish registers, known as the International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) has been created at www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true . Some free parish register information is also available at freereg.rootsweb.com/ . The Online Parish Clerk project is providing increasing amounts of transcribed parish register data - see www.genuki.org.uk/indexes/OPC.html for more information. CensusIn England, a national census has been taken every 10 years since 1841. Census data is invaluable to family history researchers, since it describes family groups, giving the names of people at an address, along with their ages, relationship, occupation, and birthplace. Copies of census data between 1841 and 1901 can be viewed at the Family Records Centre in London, and at local record offices. CDs containing census data can also be bought via a number of on-line suppliers. Census data is also available on-line on a subscription or pay-per view basis from a number of sites, including:- , On some of these paid sites, access to census indexes is also available for free, though you will need to pay to view the full data. There are also various on-line sites which have partial indexes available. These free sites include:- DirectoriesFor ancestors who were well-to-do, or were in business, old trade or post-office directories can be very useful. As well as being held in local record offices, some can be purchased on CD from various suppliers. Some free ones are also available at www.historicaldirectories.org www.Ancestry.co.uk  are now making British Phone Books 1880-1984  available on-line on a pay-to-view or subscription basis. Record Offices & ArchivesThe National Archives at Kew is a vast repository for documents, and it is a particularly good source for researching military records. Their catalogue of over 10 million documents is available for free searching on-line, and some data such as wills, and some military records can be downloaded for a small charge. More information is available at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue and www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline . Most counties have one (or sometimes more) record offices, holding original documents of local interest. These include parish registers, wills, directories, deeds, business documents, and a host of other information. A list of record offices can be found at www.oz.net/~markhow/englishros.htm . Many record offices holdings are catalogued and the catalogues can be freely searched on-line at www.a2a.org.uk . Family History SocietiesMost counties, and many large cities, have their own family history societies. These are very worthwhile for researchers to join, and many have their own on-line information resources available for members to use, as well as discussion forums or email lists, where members can solicit help and advice from other members. A list of societies can be found at www.genuki.org.uk/Societies Newspapers and MagazinesThese can be a wonderful resource for "adding flesh to the bones". The British Library has its Newspaper section at Colindale, and further information about this can be found at www.bl.uk/collections/newspapers.html A few newspapers from their collection are available free on-line at www.uk.olivesoftware.com Digital copies of The London Gazette from 1752 to 1979 can be searched on-line for free at www.gazettes-online.co.uk - particularly useful for finding mentions of military awards. Many national newspapers have very limited archives available on-line. There is a comprehensive electronic index to The Times, but this is not generally available to the public other than in libraries and at The National Archives at Kew. An increasing number of newspaper articles are now being made available on a paid basis at www.Ancestry.co.uk If you're reading this page, you've probably already discovered that parish magazines can provide a useful source of family history information. As well as the CDs available to purchase from www.YesterdaysNames.co.uk, there are a few free parish magazine extracts available at the following sites:- Contacting distant relativesIf you want to connect with other people researching your family, there are a number of sites that allow you to upload details of your own tree, and link up with people with shared relatives. Most of these sites charge a small subscription fee, but are a great way of making contact with other branches of your family. The most widely known such site in the UK at the moment is Genes Reunited at www.genesreunited.co.uk . There is a free system worth a look at www.ancestryaid.co.uk . A slightly different variation on this theme is the free site www.lostcousins.com which matches researches based on shared ancestors in the 1881 census. Worth a try, and you may be lucky! www.rootsweb.com is a vast site that hosts numerous genealogy forums, message boards, and mailing lists. It is free and has excellent search facilities. As with many such sites, there is a lot of data from the USA, but there is also a lot of UK data here too. Again, there are facilities that enable GEDCOM files to be uploaded and other peoples trees to be searched. Well worth a look, even if only to search the surname message boards at boards.rootsweb.com/surname.aspx . Another site that is worth a look is www.curiousfox.org.uk which is a collection of family and local history notice boards based around place, and searchable by surname. Basic access is free, with a small charge for the use of more advanced facilities. Other SourcesIf any of your relatives were killed in either of the two world wars, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a comprehensive database of servicemen (and many civilians) killed in the two world wars at www.cwgc.org . If you want to know about the origins and distribution of a surname, have a look at the surname profiler at www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLnames . Don't forget to use a search engine such as www.google.co.uk to search for your ancestors names or places they lived. The Guild of One-Name Studies brings together people who have carried out research into a specific surname and who are prepared to share their research - you can find out more at www.one-name.org A new site that is useful and free is www.geneally.com which is a UK based site that allows users to store their favourite genealogy links so that others can benefit from them. Last, but by no names least, If you've not found it yet, the other site always worth exploring is Cyndi's List, which lists well over a quarter of a million links to family history web sites. You'll find it at www.cyndislist.com . Enjoy! | 
