Learn the basics of starting your own research.Family History Overview by Dr Nick Barratt
Inside Get Started
Basics
Getting Started on Your Family Tree
Discover where to go for clues to your own family's past, then continue your research by consulting public archives, by visiting local-history fairs, and by asking lots of questions.
What's In a Name? Your Link to the Past
Surnames can reveal much about your family history, but they can also be a minefield of misinformation. By Paul Blake.
- To Pay or Not To Pay? A guide to choosing genealogy sites on the internet - Is it worth paying for your family history research?
- Record Sheets - More people are enjoying the addictive pleasure of tracking down their own family history.
- Working in Archives by Dr Nick Barratt
- Researching Military Records by Peter Francis
Case Studies
Family History Digital Gallery
Twenty members of the public describe what spurred them on to discover more about their family history.
Case Study: Caribbean Family History
From very early in our history, there were people of African descent in Britain. Some arrived as part of the Roman army after 55 BC. Others came at the time of the Tudor kings and queens in the 16th century.
- Case Study: The Earls Colne Project - Reconstructing a community, by Alan Macfarlane
- Using Written Archives to Discover the History of your House - Follow these tips for finding out more about uncovering your house's history.
- Boesinghe: The Forgotten Battlefield by Paul Reed
Links
Related topics
- Family History Links - A selection of helpful links to get you started on your family history research
External Web Links
- Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths and Census Records for England, Wales and Scotland (pay-per-view)
- Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths and Census Records for England, Wales and Scotland (subscription & pay-per-view)
- Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths for England and Wales (pay per view)
- Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths, for England and Wales; Census images for England, Wales and Scotland (subscription service)
- Scottish Births, Marriages, Deaths, Census and much more (pay per view)
- General Register Office of England and Wales
- FreeBMD: incomplete indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England and Wales
- On-line censuses (incomplete)
- Federation of Family History Societies pay-per-view indexes, including parish registers, memorial inscriptions, census and more
- LDS website including the IGI - a collection of parish records
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