Really Useful Sources
For UK & Irish Genealogy on the Web May 2009
This list of genealogy sources was originally prepared for the benefit of newcomers to family history and to the Manchester and Lancashire FHS. For that reason explanations are provided which an experienced researcher would find superfluous, and abbreviations are usually given in full. Also, some of the sources relate specifically to Lancashire, though the great majority are of general interest.
There are over nine million genealogy sites on the web, and a search engine such as Google will find most of them. However, the great majority of these are concerned with particular surnames or places. The sites listed below are those that family historians are likely to find of most general value. This is very much a matter of personal choice, and I am sure that there are some of which I am not even aware yet.
I am providing this list of web sites as a serious web research tool, but cannot of course guarantee the accuracy of the data. If any information becomes outdated or wrong, please contact me by clicking the link below.
Tip for beginners: By all means browse the entire List or use the links below, but if you are looking for a particular topic, you can use the Search/Find facility in your PC by pressing Ctrl+F (or whatever your operating system requires). Enter the topic of interest in the search box and click on Find Next. Try it now with ‘Census’.
Yours sincerely
John Gough
Contact me
If you prefer to read this information offline, a copy can printed but don’t forget to revisit this site from time to time to see the latest updates. You will find the date of the current version at the top of this page.
For the sake of clarity, I have divided the suggested sites into four main sections and a number of sub-sections which can be accessed by clicking on the links below. Sites in the Genealogy Data Section contain specific information about individuals, whereas those in the Genealogy Resources Section are mainly background information and links.
1. Genealogy Data
Contains specific information about individuals
2. Genealogy Contacts
Ways of getting in touch with other family historians who may have information on your family
3. Genealogical Resources
Contains mainly background information and links
4. Latest Additions
New additions in this update
GenealogyData
General Data
Births, Marriages and Deaths
Census Data
Military Data
Trades and Professions
Irish Data
Scottish Data
Welsh Data
Jewish Data
Romany Data
Offenders
Emigration / Immigration
Lancashire Data
Genealogy Resources
Tutorials
General Genealogy Resources
Census Resources
Genealogy Lookups
Military Resources
Emigration/Immigration
Irish Genealogy
Scottish Genealogy
Jewish Genealogy
Historical Background
Jobs, Trades and Professions
Official Government Sites for the Genealogist
Local Sources of Genealogical Data
Sources Specific to Manchester and Lancashire
Genealogy Publications
Family History Societies
Publishing your Family Tree on the Web
Online Genealogy Magazines
For the benefit of regular customers, the following sources have been added since the last update.
MLFHS Catholic Register Index @ http://mlfhs.co.uk/openarea/cathsearch.htm
Irish Genealogy @ http://www.irish-genealogy.com/england-scotland-wales-trace-irish-ancestry.php
Non-Conformist BMD Records @ http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk/
1911 Ireland Census@ http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
New Zealand Birth, Death and Marriage Historical Records @ http://bdmhistoricalrecords.identityservices.govt.nz/Search/
Surname Findit @ http://mattcombs.webs.com/sfmain.html
To go direct to any of the new additions, just paste the title into your ‘Search/Find’ box.
These are the sources where you might hope to find information on the birth, marriage, death, will, military service, etc. of a named individual.
General Data:
LDS Family Search @ http://www.familysearch.org/
This is the home of the IGI (International Genealogical Index), the 1881 Census on-line and various other search facilities. These sources have been compiled by members of the LDS church and others. They are incomplete and may contain a significant number of transcription errors. They constitute invaluable evidence, but should be checked against a primary source at the earliest opportunity. Don't neglect the "Share" option - you might find that someone else has done the work for you. Also, on this site you can download the free PAF (Personal Ancestry File) genealogy database to enable you to store all your findings on your computer, and find an on-line, interactive tutorial for it. The site also has a facility to enable you to find your nearest LDS (Church of the Latter Day Saints / Mormons) Family History Centre, where you can use their excellent facilities free of charge, and get helpful advice. Don’t be afraid that they will try to recruit you; that isn’t part of their agenda.
IGI Batch Numbers @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers.htm#Page
This site provides an additional and powerful way of accessing the IGI. All events (such as marriages) which took place at a particular church over a specified period of years have the same batch number. So, if, for example, you know that an ancestor was married in Manchester Cathedral in 1855, this site will tell you that the batch number associated with that event will be C073544, and that this covers the period 1854 - 1857. If you then search that batch number in the IGI, you could well find marriages of siblings or cousins of that ancestor. Other ways of using batch numbers in your research are suggested on the site.
Family History Online @ http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/
This is a highly recommended and very substantial collection of data submitted by member societies of The Federation of Family History Societies. It is a pay per view facility, but the charges are extremely modest, being in most cases just a matter of a few pence.
The data is in the process of transfer to Find My Past where it will be available at
http://www.findmypast.com/home.jsp
This is the NA(National Archives) site, and it is here that you can access the 1901 Census Online - a pay per view facility, which hit the headlines when it first opened through being disastrously oversubscribed. Things have now settled down, and you can use the site with confidence. (Go directly to http://www.1901census.nationalarchives.gov.uk ).Also on the main site you will find a selection of wills, though most relate to the south of England or large estates in the north, and also a variety of more specialist documents.
A recent development is a new project to digitise the First World War Campaign Medal Index cards (also known as the 'Medal Rolls Index'). These 5.5 million cards record the medal entitlement of almost all individuals - men and women, officers and soldiers - who fought in the British Army and Royal Flying Corps during the Great War, and form perhaps the most complete listing of all those who fought. You can access the index free of charge, though there is a modest payment to download an image of the actual card. In fact, most of the information, such as regiment, regimental number and rank are available in the index, but you may feel that an image of the actual medal card, is an almost tangible link with your ancestor.
Ancestry.com @ http://ancestry.com/
This is the largest of the commercial genealogy websites, with a huge range of US and UK databases covering BMDs, Census records, Military records, immigration, obituaries, etc.,etc.. It operates on a subscription basis from a single search of their “People Finder” at $9.95 to access to all their databases at $189.95 p.a., though a few of their databases are free. Some public libraries and family history societies have subscriptions which cover their members, and this is certainly the cheapest way to access this site if you can find such a facility near you. It should be noted that the UK BMDs (one of the free facilities) is sourced from the Free BMD website but, as the two sites use different search engines, they don’t always come up with identical results. To be safe, it is best to check both.
This is a searchable database provided by The Federation of Family History Societies. The database incorporates a wide variety of sources, many of which would be difficult to locate in any other way. It is pay to view but, being a not for profit organisation, the charges are very modest.
The Borthwick Institute for Archives is one of the biggest archive repositories outside London. It tends to specialise in northern material and is well known as the source for Wills and Admons from northern counties. Unfortunately, there is as yet no online index for these, though the Institute is prepared to do research at a cost of £20 per hour with a minimum charge (in advance) of £10. Much more information on their collections is available on the website. (NB. Wills and Admons for both northern and southern counties are available on the British Origins site q.v.)
British Origins @ www.britishorigins.com
British origins incorporates a vast range of searchable databases including the 1841 census and a partial coverage of the 1871, Boyd’s Marriage Index, Wills from a variety of sources including Canterbury and York, Passenger lists etc.
A variety of subscription plans are available for 72hrs, monthly, quarterly, or annual.
Procat (Public Record Office Online Catalogue) @ http://catalogue.pro.gov.uk/
As you might expect, this is a complex site, but worth the effort of getting to know it. The Help facility can be used as a tutorial, which makes things much more friendly than they seem at first sight. Try putting in one of the names that you are researching, and see what comes out!
A2A is a searchable database of abstracts from English archives. It is a very effective way of finding information about our ancestors which would be extremely difficult to locate in any other way. The abstract provided is only short, but it should be enough to decide whether it might be worth the effort of trying to obtain a copy of the original document. The database currently contains over five million abstracts from over three hundred repositories, and is still expanding.
The London, Edinburgh, and Belfast Gazettes are the official newspapers of record in the United Kingdom. Several legal notices, including insolvency notices, are required by law to be published in the Gazettes. In addition, you will find announcements of Honours, Awards and Medals (other than campaign medals) – in fact such events only become effective once they have been “Gazetted”. The archive is searchable online.
This is a meta search engine for genealogy, and works very well. Just remember to deselect all the sources that you have already checked, otherwise you could find yourself trawling through pages of data that contain nothing new.
This is a first class site for finding the geographical distribution of your surname, which could prove very helpful in your research. It is certainly a lot easier than counting them in every UK telephone directory, which is how I did mine! In addition you can see distribution maps for 1881 and 1998.
This is a Federation of Family History Societies site with a good range of pay per view databases, The charges are very moderate, and the funds are ploughed back into providing more facilities for family history research, so you can think of it as an investment. The vouchers that you have to buy remain usable for up to six months, which is also better than many such sites.
This is a very substantial set of genealogy databases available on a subscription basis. There are several subscription options which enable you to join for anything from 72 hours to a full year. There is also a free surname search.
British Roots @ http://www.britishroots.plus.com/index.htm
This site provides pay per view access to a considerable amount of data, though most, if not all, of it can be found in other ways. The most impressive part of the site for me was the background data on each of the English counties, with population statistics, lists of parishes and local directories etc.
Find My Past @ http://www.findmypast.com/HomeServlet
This site, previously known as 1837 Online, is a pay as you view database of UK Civil Registration information from 1837 to the present, Census transcriptions with facsimiles of the originals for 1861 & 1891, military data etc. It has now acquired the records of The National Archivist, and is a very substantial and popular source of family history data. There are a range of price plans ranging from 50 units for £5 and lasting 90 days to various combinations of longer times and more (and cheaper) units. In each case, if you buy more units before your time elapses, the remaining old units are carried forward; otherwise you lose them.
UK Ancestor.com @ http://www.ukancestor.com/modules.php?name=Ancestral_Addresses
This unusual site concentrates on addresses rather than names, and could prove very useful. It has an excellent search facility which enables you to look for addresses direct or by county, town etc. At present the addresses are rather thin on the ground, but the remedy for that is in our hands – I shall certainly be submitting mine.
Ancestor Hunt @ http://www.ancestorhunt.com/surname_search.html
This genealogy search engine covers a large number of online databases, mailing lists, message boards etc., which saves you the trouble of finding them for yourself. It could be a good way of moving forward when you hit that brick wall.
Gravestone Photographs Resource Project @ http://www.gravestonephotos.com/az.php
This project is in its infancy, but deserves support. If you have a little spare time, a digital camera and a CD writer on your PC, consider volunteering to record your own area. The project appears to be efficiently organised and the data is well presented on the website. At present the project is limited to E. Anglia – but you could help extend it.
This unusual site is a collection of extracts from old parish magazines, indexed by parish. You chance of finding anything relevant to you own family must necessarily be quite small, but then it doesn’t take a moment to have a look.
Family Chest @ http://www.familychest.couk/index.htm
Any ancestor who bought, sold or leased a house or land, must have left a trail of legal contracts. Many are lost, but FamilyChest has acquired a vast pile of original, parchment documents that are for sale, and available on this website. The documents themselves are expensive, but you can get a transcription for a more modest outlay, or simply look at the free summaries, which are quite informative.
Internet Archive @ http://www.archive.org/index.php
This is a general archive, but contains a good deal of information that is relevant to family history. Put the name of a place or even a person into the search box and see what comes up.
Family Search Labs Record Search @ http://search.labs.familysearch.org
This is a site provided by the LDS and gives access to a large and growing selection of family history records.
Births, Marriages and Deaths:
This is a searchable database to the civil registration index for the UK from 1837 to 1983. Or it will be when it is finished - though it is already extremely useful. It is based on the records held at the GRO (General Register Office) in London, which are a transcription of the records held in local register offices. (See UK BMD below) It only provides the information that you require to send off for the birth, marriage or death certificate, but that is enough to get you going. It is part of a larger project called Free UKGEN, and will probably be the first part of that project to be completed. Some years are complete, some are barely started. You will find bar charts giving the current status @ http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/progress.shtml
Ancestry.com uses the FreeBMD database but, as the two sites use different search engines, they don’t always come up with identical results. To be safe, it is best to check both.
FreeCEN @ http://freecen.rootsweb.com/ and
These are the other two components of the FreeUKGEN project and deal respectively with census data and church registers of baptism, marriage and burial. Both are in the very early stages of construction, but will be extremely powerful tools when complete. Keep an eye on them, and volunteer to help if you are able to do so.
UK BMD@ http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/
This is a similar project to Free BMD, but is based on the primary data held at local register offices. This site has recently been completely rewritten, and now contains links to all local sources of birth, marriage and death data. Only a selection of counties currently contribute to this project, but the number is growing, and there is a cluster of them in the NW of England. Of particular interest to members of MLFHS is Lancashire BMD @ http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/ Like Free BMD, the project is far from complete, but will be of enormous importance when it is. Also, like Free BMD it is looking for volunteers.
Non-Conformist Records in association with the National Archives. Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, Independents, Protestant Dissenters, Congregationalist, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Quakers (Society of Friends), Dissenters and Russian Orthodox. Maternity Records plus various other BMD records.
This is an information sharing site. You submit details of any B, M, or D certificates you may have, or any pre 1837 (Start of Civil Registration) church records of baptisms, marriages or burials, for others to access via a searchable database. You can also access the database for your own research. Unlike some sharing sites, you are not required to submit data in order to access other data. However, it is expected that you will do so if possible. The site was originally free, but you now have to pay £5 pa in order to access all resources.
Copies of Civil Registration Certificates
These can be ordered on line using:
Certificate ordering service @ http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificate/
For this, you simply require a valid credit card. Until recently you had to be a UK resident, but this restriction has now been withdrawn, so you can order from anywhere in the world. There are also sites that give guidance on how to apply for certificates by post. You can find some of these below under 'Official Government Sites', in the 'Genealogy Resources' section. However, you can obtain cheaper and more reliable copies (remember that the records at the General Register Office are transcripts of the original data from Local Register Offices) at the local office for the area in which the event occurred.
These can be found in GENUKI, but the address of the Manchester Register Office, which is of interest to many of us is:
Manchester Register Office,
Heron House,
47, Lloyd Street,
Manchester,
M2 5LE
You need to know the place and year (preferably the quarter) of the event, and the current charge for the certificate is £7.00. If you have a credit card, and the equipment at the office is in working order, you can order from Manchester Register Office by telephone on
0161 234 5503
Boyd's Marriage Index @ http://www.englishorigins.com/help/bmi-details.aspx
This is available on a subscription basis (£6 for seven days) on the English Origins site. It is an incomplete index of marriages during the period 1538 - 1840. It covers some of the same ground as the IGI, but tends to be strong where the IGI is weak - for example in East Anglia. The coverage for Lancashire is 48%.
A very ambitious voluntary project to record the data from monumental inscriptions in cemeteries throughout the world. It has a good search facility with a lot of useful features. It has to be said that your chances of finding any particular individual must necessarily be low, but the site is set to keep on growing.
National Archive of Memorial Inscriptions @ www.memorialinscriptions.org.uk
This new site enables you to check whether or not there are any memorial inscriptions which are relevant to your researches. If there are none, then you pay nothing. If you find what you want, then you can download, and print out if you wish, not only the inscriptions themselves, but also a brief description of the memorial, a photograph of the church or chapel, a plan of the burial ground, and usually some historical information as well. For this, you pay a fee of between £4 and £7, depending on how much information you choose to retrieve from what is available. The site is in an early stage of development and, at present contains only MI data from Norfolk.
JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry @ http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Cemetery/
The JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) is a database of names and other identifying information from cemeteries and burial records worldwide, from the earliest records to the present.
Census Data:
1911 Census @ http://www.1911census.co.uk/
This is a pay per view site provided by Find My Past. However, if you already know something of the families you are researching, you can get some quite useful information from the free index.
The digitisation of the 1911 Irish census is incomplete, but for those counties that are available the data and images of the actual census returns can be viewed free of charge.
UK Census Links 1841 - 1901 @ http://www.vmims.com/census.html
There is an ongoing project by genealogists to put the censuses from 1841 - 1891 online for free (but excluding the 1881 as that is already here). It's a huge project and will take years to accomplish. Many Family History Societies have or are transcribing the 1891 at this moment. This is followed by links to a wide variety of census data - from the complete 1901 to fragments of many others.
Automated Genealogy (Canada)@ http://www.automatedgenealogy.com/index.html
The site hosts a volunteer project to produce a free, online index to the 1901 Census of Canada. The site is based on transcribing from the census images provided by the National Archives of Canada and anyone with a web browser and an internet connection can participate. The site has over 2,000,000 lines transcribed, has approximately 40,000 links to other records, and is completely free to browse!
The 1831 Census @ http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/humanities_and_soc_sciences/census/vichome.htm
Yes there was a census in 1831, but one that was very limited in scope compared with the later ones with which we are all familiar. You can download a copy from here.
There are many fragment of census data on the web, but apart from the LDS 1881, most of them cover very small geographical areas. This one is quite outstanding, in providing a full transcript of the 1841, for the whole of the Channel Islands.
This is the very beginning of an ambitious attempt to transcribe the 1861 census, and put it on line. They have completed the city of Halifax – no mean feat in itself, and they plan to go on from there to cover Yorkshire, and then spread out to the rest of Britain. If your ancestors lived in Halifax, you are in luck.
See also above FreeCEN @ http://freecen.rootsweb.com/ , part of the FreeUKGEN Project
The last two sites in the section are really just a bit of fun, but I offer them with the aim of leaving no stone unturned.
This is another sharing site, where people who have paid to access the 1901 Census, put the information they have found online for the benefit of the rest of us. Far from complete of course, but worth a look.
2% of 1851 Census @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bewickgenealogy/census/
An unusual sharing site, where the author, researching Bewick family genealogy has recorded online all the information that they extracted from the 1851 Census in the course of their research. If you fancy a free bet on a 50:1 outsider, then this is the site for you.
Military Data:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission @ http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx (New URL)
This is where you will find details of ancestors killed in the two world wars. The site is easy to use, but there seems to be no consistent policy for dealing with combatants who were sent home, and subsequently died of their wounds.
This is an excellent pay per view site for both the First and Second World Wars. The charges are modest, and the credits last indefinitely, which is very helpful. In addition to a considerable amount of information about the individual, you can also download a replica of the memorial scroll issued to his next of kin.
The information on this site comes from war memorials, The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Naval & Military Press and a variety of other sources. It covers the 1st & 2nd World Wars, the Boer War, and several other conflicts. The search engine enables the data to be accessed geographically, by regiment, airfield or by the foreign country in which the men fell. In many cases there are photographs of memorials or even individuals.
For the Fallen @ http://www.forthefallen.co.uk/
British and Commonwealth war memorials and war graves.
This is a list of British army officers who died in a large number of military campaigns around the world taken from a great variety of sources. If your ancestor was an army or naval officer who was killed in action – or maybe was murdered or died an accidental death while on active service, you could find him here.
A similar site to the above, for other ranks.
For Medal Rolls Index
These reports, concerning Officers and Men of World War One, consist of:
Obituaries giving personal & service details Medal citations - brief accounts of the action which led to a medal Photos (usually head and shoulders) with brief details Photos/accounts of actions especially medal winners
Copies of these reports may be ordered for £4.
Includes stories of RN and MN ships and campaign details of RAF Squadrons and Army Regiments. The Roll of Honour lists head and shoulders photos of those who fell, usually with brief details.
Copies of these reports may be ordered for £6.
A valuable database of war memorials together with links to other related sites.
The Asplin Military History Resources @ http://hometown.aol.co.uk/kevinasplin/home.html
The Boer War and a variety of other Victorian military campaigns are covered here, together with a searchable database for nearly 40,000 men of the Imperial Yeomanry, Lovats Scouts and Scottish Horse who served in the Boer War; The Army Death Indexes for 1901-1905; Recipients of The Queen’s South Africa Medal etc. etc. You really have to visit to appreciate the scale of this resource.
Register of the Second Anglo-Boer War @ http://www.casus-belli.co.uk/
A useful source for researching the Boer War from which you can get some basic information on individuals at no charge. However, once you start looking for more detailed information, you have to buy credits, and the costs could mount very rapidly, as they are essentially search fees for particular documents. These vary between £3
and £25.
Lost Generation @ http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/L/lostgeneration/index.html
This Channel 4 site provides access to a very large database of war memorials which can be searched either by location of the memorial, or by the names of individual servicemen and women. I found several family members who were not listed on any of the other sites.
Genealogy World @ http://www.genealogyworld.net/
In spite of its rather general title, this site specialises in events in southern Africa, including the Boer War and Zulu War. It is a mine of information with links to a huge range of related sources.
The Army Nursing Service & Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service(Reserve) @ http://www.pcansr.net/
This site explores the history of the Army Nursing Service & Princess Christian's Army Nursing Service (Reserve), and in particular those individual nurses who were in service at the time of the Boer War. The records of individual nurses have been put together from a variety of sources to create a rich resource for anyone interested in Army Nursing, or trying to find out information about an individual nurse.
Naval Biographical Database @ http://www.navylist.org/
People, Places, Ships, Organisations and Events associated with the Royal Navy since 1660. There are searchable databases for all the above.
Naval History @ http://www.naval-history.net/
A prime source for Royal and Dominion Navy casualty lists from 1914-2008, searchable by name. Also history of ships and campaigns.
Royal Airforce WW2 @ http://www.worldwar2exraf.co.uk/News%20Letters/News%20Letter%20archives.htm
Searchable database of personnel.
This is a searchable database of members of the British armed forces who lost their lives in conflicts between the end of WW2 and 2006.
Trades and Professions:
Digital Library of Historical Directories @ http://www.historicaldirectories.org/
This is a Leicester University site in which are collected together a number of old street and trade directories. It is particularly useful if you are researching someone who had his/her own business, though the later directories often list private citizens by address.
The database is searchable by means of a search engine which has recently been enormously improved. If you have used it in the past, you will be impressed by the upgrade.
Family History Resources for travelling fairground showmen; circus proprietors; ghost illusion shows; bioscopes (early travelling cinemas); other show and exhibition proprietors; waxworks and menageries; gymnasts, acrobats and equestrians; stall holders; travelling photographers and confectioners; hawkers; musicians; comedians and other performers; proprietors of travelling theatres and fairground rides; and other "frequenters of fairs".
A performing arts gateway to the UK, in which you can search for your actor ancestor by name.
The Adelphi Theatre 1806-1900 @ http://www.emich.edu/public/english/adelphi_calendar/perfactr.htm
This site provides a searchable list of all actors appearing at the Adelphi over the period in question.
Major and Minor reports of accidents to railwaymen of all classes Includes some Railway Police. Copies of reports may be ordered for prices ranging from £3 to £14.
The London and North Western Railway Society @ http://www.lnwrs.org.uk/index.php
The London and North Western Railway Society’s website has a searchable database of staff, as well as a lot of background information on their wages, salaries and working conditions.
A good place to find your clergy ancestor, being a relational database documenting the careers of all Church of England clergymen between 1540 and 1835.
Remembering Police Officers who have lost their Lives @ http://www.policememorial.org.uk/
This site is described as The National Police Officers Roll of Honour, and lists all British police officers who are known to have died in the line of duty.
Police Index @ http://www.lightagedemon.co.uk/POLNOTES.htm
An index of reports from a wide variety of sources concerning police officers. Copies of major reports may be ordered for £6 and minor ones for £3.
Mines and Quarries Index @ http://www.lightage.demon.co.uk/MINING.htm
The reports give details of the accidents/disasters and sometimes include inquest details. Copies of reports may be ordered for prices ranging from £4 to £14.
The Blacksmiths Index @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~blacksmiths/index.htm
This is a new but rapidly growing site dedicated to all kinds of smiths and related trades (did you know about brownsmiths?). It includes such occupations as farrier, cutler, wheelwright etc.. We all have smiths in our family somewhere – why not send details of yours to this site and help it to grow.
You can search the archives for references to your nursing ancestors, and there is a helpful section for family historians on tracing nurses. Please bear in mind however that the term ‘nurse’, as used in the occupation column of the census, may well have referred to an untrained person looking after young children.
Small & Special @ http://www.smallandspecial.org/
Small and Special is a collection of resources relating to the early years of The Hospital for Sick Children at Great Ormond Street, England’s first in-patient children’s hospital. Here you can trace a patient, learn about childhood diseases, or investigate a member of the medical staff.
Corkcutters in England @ http://corkcutter.info/
Corkcutters were working in England from the 17th – 19th century. If you had ancestors who were corkcutters, I hope you find this site and index useful.
Irish Data:
Irish Family History Foundation @ http://www.irishroots.net/
This site provides links to family history data in each of the thirty two counties. It is fee based, and not particularly cheap, but you may feel that it is a reasonable price to pay to get through a brick wall. Bear in mind that a great deal of Irish genealogical data has been destroyed by civil disturbance over the years.
This was a survey of property occupiers in Ireland made between 1848 and 1864 and it's importance lies in the fact that it lists almost every head of household for each county. The information given in the Griffiths is the following: The townland address and householders name; the name of the person from whom the property is leased; a description of the property; the acreage and the valuation. If a surname was common in an area then the surveyors adopted the practise of indicating the father’s name to show the difference between two people of the same Christian name and surname (usually).
Irish Genealogy website with online access to over 1 million birth, marriage, death and census records for Northern Ireland. Most of the information is provided on a subscription only basis. For current subscription, see the website.
Irish Pension Search @ http://www.pensear.org/
The Irish census records were destroyed by the fire of 1922, but much of the data from them is apparently duplicated in the pension records which still exist. This pay per view site enables you to search those records. I am not sure how complete they are but was surprised to only get 11 hits from the name Flynn, so don’t expect too much.
This web-site presents an inventory of war memorials in Ireland. It includes photographs of each memorial, the text of all inscriptions, and details of the site of the memorial. A database of all of those named allows a search for individual persons, with links to the photographs of the memorials. The site is work in progress, but should become very useful in time.
Irish Family History Foundation @ http://ifhf.brsgenealogy.com/index.php?&set=yes
This site contains the largest collection of Parish records for Ireland that are searchable online. The complete indexes, listing surname, first name, year and county of ALL records is yours to search freely. To view a detailed record you can purchase credit online for instant access.
Irish Genealogy @ http://www.irish-genealogy.com/the-freedom-of-ireland.php
A subscription site where you can search for information on your Irish ancestors as well as learning about Irish history. There is a free trial to enable you see if it is worth your while to take out a subscription.
Index of Irish Merchant Seamen 1918-1921 @ http://www.irishmariners.ie/index.php
This website contains an index of Irish born merchant seamen contained in the CR10 series of index cards in the Southampton Civic Archives. The CR10 Archive holds 270,000 cards covering the multinational workforce of the British Merchant Marine during the period from late 1918 to the end of 1921. All ranks and jobs at sea are covered from master to scullion. A unique feature of the CR 10 cards is that they usually contain a good photograph of the seaman. At this time RS2 Identity books, with matching photographs were issued to the seamen.
Kabristan Archives is a non-profit making organisation dedicated to preserving memorial inscriptions from graveyards in the west of Ireland and the Indian sub-continent including many which no longer exist. They are presented here in a form which is easily accessible to the family historian.
Scottish Data:
General Register Office for Scotland @ http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/
This is the primary site for Scotland, from which you can purchase copies of civil registration certificates and find general census information. There is also a link to Scotland’s People (see below). There are some good articles on searching the records, and some very useful tables of districts and parishes.
Scotland’s People @ http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
This site belongs to the General Register Office for Scotland, and is described as “The official government source for genealogical data for Scotland”. It is very useful, but unfortunately, access costs £6 for 30 ‘page credits’ valid for 168 hours. Each page of index entries you download costs 1 credit, and each image costs 5 credits. I hate that sort of charging system, it makes me feel that I should spend all night on the PC to get my money’s worth. On some sites, the credits last indefinitely, and I don’t see why they couldn’t on this one. However, it has improved; it used to be 48 hours.
Part of the Origins group of sites, this is a useful contribution to Scottish genealogy research. It includes an IGI search engine for Scotland which has some advantages over searching the IGI in the usual way. It also has a free place search compiled from the place names in the 1881 census.
Scottish Genealogy @ http://www.scotroots.com/
There is a great deal of generally useful information about Scots and Scotland here, including such things as a list of Scottish names for occupations, some of which might otherwise be incomprehensible to those of us from south of the border. There is also a lot about coats of arms and Scottish clan crests, which I find a little worrying – it is too reminiscent of the heritage industry to be convincing. Discovering whether an individual has a genuine right to a particular heraldic achievement is far more complex than simply finding one which is associated with his surname. Having no Scottish ancestors (so far as I am aware) I cannot try it out, nor can I try the “Guarantee successful Scottish ancestry search results (or no fee)” offer, but whether their idea of success would correspond with yours or mine, I have no idea. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried these offers.
Scottish Emigration Database@ http://www.abdn.ac.uk/emigration/
The Scottish Emigration Database, a project from The University of Aberdeen, currently contains the records of over 21,000 passengers who embarked at Glasgow and Greenock for non-European ports between 1 January and 30 April 1923, and at other Scottish ports between 1890 and 1960.
Welsh Data:
Welsh Interest Group of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists @ http://www.rootsweb.com/~nzsgwig/
If you are a Kiwi researching your Welsh ancestors, then this is the site for you. However, the value of the site is not limited to Kiwi’s, and could be of use to displaced Welshmen (or women) the world over.
Jewish Data:
JewishGen: The Home of Jewish Genealogy @ http://www2.jewishgen.org/
This very substantial website is the first port of call for anyone researching their Jewish ancestry. Just scan the home page to see the remarkable scope of this facility.
Genpals Cemetery Project @ http://www.genpals.com/
Transcriptions and photos from Jewish Cemeteries in the UK, over 1,000 entries, historical narratives and mini family trees
Life in the Shtetl @ http://www.shtetldoc.com/
ShtetlDoc will provide you published information from many sources including newspapers in pre-war Europe and America that may not be available on Jewish geneology sites. We also can translate Yiddish documents.
Romany Data:
Romany Genes @ http://www.romanygenes.webeden.co.uk/
If you have Romany ancestry, this is the site for you. It has recently undergone considerable expansion.
Romany Genes 2 @ http://romanygenes2.webeden.co.uk/
This is an extension to Romany Genes 1, incorporating records of Romanies in the IGI, censuses, parish records etc.
American Romanichals @ http://americanromanichals.webeden.co.uk/
Another sister site for the original RomanyGenes 1&2 But devoted to the many English Romanies who emigrated to America contains many newspaper articles and Census from America and Passenger lists.
Offenders:
Black Sheep Index @ http://www.blacksheepindex.co.uk/
This is a searchable database of some of the people who appeared in court (not all criminals), in the period 1860 - 1900.
Capital Punishment @ http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/contents.html
If your ancestor paid the ultimate price, you might find him here
This site contains information, on Industrial/Reformatory Schools and the like in England and Wales during the 19th and early 20th century. These schools were used for the punishment and possibly rehabilitation of young offenders. The databases include teaching staff as well as pupils.
A fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, originally containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court. The database has since been extended to include trials for 1834-1913 i.e. another 100,000 trials. The website itself has also had some changes.
Convicts Transported to Australia 1787-1867 @ http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/info/fh/convicts
Over 123,000 out of the estimated 160,000 convicts transported to Australia are recorded in this database. These include prisoners sent to New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), Moreton Bay (Brisbane), Port Phillip. Western Australia and Norfolk Island. Also recorded are some ships which were bound for Gibraltar.
Emigration / Immigration:
New England (MA) Pilgrim and Great Migration Ship Lists Early 1600's @ http://www.packrat-pro.com/shiplist.htm
This site provides passenger lists and other details of some of the earliest migrations to the New World, including the Mayflower, which in spite of not being the first, was certainly the most famous of these of these early ships.
Ellis Island Database – One Step Search Tools @ http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/eidb/
Although this is on the JewishGen database, it uses Dr. Stephen Morse’s one step search tools to enable you to look for both Jewish and non Jewish passengers entering the USA via Ellis Island. Registration is free.
Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild @ http://www.immigrantships.net/
A volunteer site which aims to transcribe passenger lists of ships taking immigrants to the USA, and present them on line, free of charge. Around 5000 ships have been completed to date, and the project continues. Can be searched by passenger name, ship, port of departure, etc.
American Family Immigration History Centre @ http://www.ellisisland.org/
This is the site where you can find your ancestors who entered the USA via Ellis Island in the years 1892 - 1924. You can search by name only, and then add other data to refine your search.
If your ancestors emigrated (or even immigrated) to Canada, you will find this a very helpful site.
Pier 21 was where immigrants to Canada landed throughout the period 1928 – 1971
If your ancestors were among them, you could find them here.
The Ships List @ http://www.theshipslist.com/
This is a big site which covers just about anything to do with ships. The reason it is in the Data Section is that it includes some free to view passenger lists - which is pretty unusual. A fascinating site for anyone with a seafaring ancestor, or one who emigrated.
If your ancestor emigrated from the Channel Islands to New Zealand, you will probably find him here, along with a Register of pupils at Elizabeth College Guernsey from 1824 – 1911.
If your ancestors emigrated to New Zealand, you may be able to find them in this government website. You can search for: Births that occurred at least 100 years ago, Stillbirths if registered at least 50 years ago, Marriages and eventually Civil Unions that occurred 80 years ago and Deaths that occurred at least 50 years ago or the deceased's date of birth was at least 80 years ago. Searches can cover various periods, but they don’t tell you until you get it wrong.
Boston Ship Arrivals @ http://stevemorse.org/ellis/bostfolder.html
Philadelphia Ship Arrivals @ http://stevemorse.org/ellis/philfolder.html
Find ancestors in these One-Step Searches of Boston and Philadelphia passenger records from 1891 to 1943. There are three tools - one that searches for passengers, one that gives direct access to the manifests, and one that allows you to find ship arrivals.
Canadian Passenger Lists @ http://members.shaw.ca/nanaimo.fhs/
Ship arrivals at Halifax, Quebec and Montreal, transcribed by Nanaimo FHS. This is an ongoing project which is still in its early stages.
This is a vast site exceeding 1700 pages, and is not especially easy to navigate, but the effort can be very rewarding. There is an enormous amount of data on ships passenger lists from anywhere to everywhere, and other related topics. Access to the Olive Tree databases is free, but there are many links to subscription databases also. Well worth the (considerable) time involved in finding your way round.
This website is provided by Findmypast.com in conjunction with the National Archives. It is easy to use and provides a considerable amount of data on emigrants from the UK free of charge. The full available data requires the purchase of units. which are available at reasonable cost. I found several ancestors within minutes and regard this as a valuable addition to the online data on emigration.
Families in British India Society @ http://www.fibis.org/
We don’t tend to think of members of the Raj, as emigrants, but for practical purposes, this is just what they were. Many spent their entire working lives in the sub continent, while others stayed for several generations. This website provides a wealth of detail about them – Births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, embarkation lists, muster lists etc.. You can search the database by surname or keyword.
The name is a little misleading, as the site concentrates on southern Africa. If your ancestor emigrated to this part of the world, you could well find information about him here. There are passenger lists to the Cape and Natal, lists of settlers, maps of the settlements and much more.
National Archives of Australia @ http://www.naa.gov.au/
A good place to look for relatives/ancestors who emigrated to the antipodes. To do a name search you can go straight to http://naa12.naa.gov.au/NameSearch/Interface/NameSearchForm.aspx
If your ancestor emigrated to Australia between 1816 and 1890, this would be a good place to start looking for his arrival there.
South African Genealogy @ http://www.sagenealogy.co.za/
Contains some useful passenger lists, which would be of interest to any researcher whose ancestors had emigrated to South Africa.
Warbrides @ http://www.warbrides.co.uk/
During WWII Britain was host to huge numbers of overseas servicemen. Many of them married British women and returned with them after the war to their own country. This site enables you not only to search for, and perhaps find, individuals but also to learn something of their experiences, and how they coped with very different worlds.
100,000 British Home Children were sent to Canada to work as indentured farm labourers and domestic servants as part of the British Child Emigration Scheme to Canada (1870-1957). Their familial ties were broken once ‘in care’ and sent to Canada. Many British Home Children spent their lives trying to find their parents and siblings. Many of their descendants have inherited their ancestors’ lifelong search for their identities. If you or your parents were among this group, this would be a good place to start looking.
Lancashire Data:
Lancashire Will Search @ http://www.xmission.com/~nelsonb/lws.htm
This is a searchable database of wills indexed at your local LDS Family History Centre.
Manchester Family History Research @ http://www.manchester-family-history-research.co.uk/new_page_18.htm
A good source for court and prison records concerning people from Manchester and other parts of Lancashire.
Cheshire Wills Database Online @ http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/RecordOfficeWillEPayments/search.aspx
Here you can order copies of wills online from the Cheshire record office.
This site is included as Lancashire people have frequently retired to Cheshire, and so their wills may be found there.
Historical and Genealogical Information for the Region anciently known as The Salford Hundred, now known as Greater Manchester @ http://www.mancuniensis.info/index.htm
A long name, but a fascinating site. In addition to general historical information about the region, it seems to consist largely of extracts from a wide range of publications, and is fully searchable. I quickly found a probable ancestor, and there may well be others in there somewhere.
Stockport - History & Heritage - Genealogy @ http://www.stockport.gov.uk/Borough/Heritage/GenealogicalDatabase/default.asp
This is part of the Stockport Borough Council website, and is an excellent searchable genealogy database, which seems to cover most of Cheshire.
In spite of its title, this remarkable site does contain some material from neighbouring Lancashire, and much more that will be of interest to Manchester and Lancashire people. It consists of photographs of places, buildings, memorials, etc. It merits its place in the data section of the RUS List because the photographs are of sufficient quality to act as a source of names, dates, and much other information. In fact it even has a searchable surname index of considerable size.
1891 British Census Blackley @www.blackley1891.co.uk
A searchable site for the 1891 Census in Blackley, Lancashire. If you have ancestors in Blackley, this will be an invaluable find.
Great War Roll of Honour for Manchester @ http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/bookbrowse.php?page=1&book=940.467+N1&size
This is actually hidden away in a website about the Lancashire cotton industry, and is a Roll of Manchester citizens who fought in the 1914-18 war. It is unusual in that it includes those who survived as well as those who fell. Like most genealogy sources, it is incomplete, but seems to have a very high proportion of those who should be included.
Bury Parish @http://users.bigpond.net.au/bunter/bury_parish.htm
The aim is to provide information that may be useful to folks researching their ancestors from the Bury area, starting by concentrating on listing the Churches and their records.
Lancashire Census Files @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lancsopc/Census%20Page.htm
A substantial collection of extracts from the 1841 Census for Lancashire, and a single district for the 1861.
Todmorden and Walsden @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~todmordenandwalsden/
A fine collection of data covering births, marriages, deaths, census records and monumental inscriptions for this township on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border.
Great Harwood Genealogy Resource Page @
http://www.great-harwood.org.uk/genealogy/index.htm
Contains very comprehensive census data together with abstracts of wills, tenants lists etc.
St. Michael and All Angels, Dalton.@ http://www.stmichaelsdalton.co.uk/
An online search facility of burial and cremation records at The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Dalton. (If only all churches provided this service!)
Salford, Lancashire @ http://www.salfordroots.com/index.html
If you are researching in Salford, you may find something useful here – Parish transcriptions, census extractions etc.
Parish the Thought @ http://www.parishthethought.us/
A selection of Lancashire BMDs plus a few extras and some from Sussex and Yorkshire.
East Lancashire War Memorials @ http://www.eastlancsmemorials.c-f-h.com/
Covers Burnley (inc. Briercliffe, Hapton and Padiham), Nelson & Colne (inc. Barrowford & Brierfield), Ribble Valley (inc. Clitheroe, Whalley & Billington, Bolton by Bowland and Hurst Green), Village Memorials (inc. Altham, Fence & Wheatley Lane, Higham, Newchurch, Read, Simonstone, and Wiswell), Blackburn (inc Cemetery and St Thomas).
This site provides a searchable database for numerous Lancashire cemeteries and graveyards. In addition to helpful articles on military abbreviations and common Latin phrases used on gravestones, there are a number of excellent cemetery plans.
A searchable database for Manchester Roman Catholic Registers compiled by Manchester & Lancashire FHS.
Here you can access a mine of information about Liverpool and Merseyside generally. This is invaluable data for the genealogist including Births, Marriages, Deaths, Emigration, Passenger Lists, Graveyards & M.I.s etc. etc.
Genealogy Contacts
Another way to find information on particular individuals is to find someone else who is already researching them.
Joining a Family History Society for the area in which your subject lived will often lead to such contacts.
Here you will find links to all the FHS that are federation members, including MLFHS @ http://www.mlfhs.org.uk/
This is probably a society to consult, rather than to join (at least until you are much more experienced). Their members research particular surnames wherever they occur in the world, and are under an obligation to respond to reasonable queries about their research. Guidance is given on the website on what constitutes a reasonable query. If you ask "What can you tell me about my ancestors" you will probably get a dusty answer.
There are an enormous number of sites devoted to particular names or places by other genealogists. For example, if you type into Google "Smith +Genealogy" you get nearly half a million hits. You can reduce this to a more workable number by using the advanced option, and specifying other variables such as place and date. If you specify, in addition to the above, "Manchester, UK, 1800-1900", you get a mere 147 hits even for Smith.
Another useful way to contact others who are already researching your family is to use those sites that offer Surname Lists or Message Boards.
There are many of these, but the ones with which I am familiar, and have had some success are as follows:
GenConnect @ http://www.rootsweb.com/~gacrawfo/genconne.htm (Also part of RootsWeb)
GENDEX @ http://www.gendex.com:8080/
GenForum @ http://genforum.genealogy.com/
Many of the large commercial sites, like some of those above, have a wide range of search facilities, which claim to give you access to all sorts of genealogy data - some free, some at a price. In my experience, they often claim more than they deliver, but other people have found them useful, so go ahead and see for yourself.
This is a messaging forum for anyone researching their family or local history, in the British Isles or Ireland.
With RootsChat, you can post your message within your County (or other subject group), and choose to receive emails on replies to only your message, or on any other topics that you may choose to watch. You can also search all old messages, under whatever category you wish. You can choose to exchange information in the form of document images, Gedcoms or text files. Registration and use of the site, is free.
The village by village contact site for anyone researching family and local history in the UK and Ireland. Every UK county, town and village has a page for family history, local history, and surname enquiries. Use the search box to find your village or town.
LostCousins @ http://www.lostcousins.com/
LostCousins finds other people who share the same ancestors! Matches are based on census information. Presently LostCousins links only those who had ancestors recorded in the 1881 British Census, but expansion is planned in the near future.
UK Genealogy Interests Directory @ http://www.ukgid.com/
This site aims to bring together people who are researching the same families. It is bound to take a while to grow into a really useful resource, but the potential is considerable. Registration is free.
The family historian frequently needs information other than that which directly concerns the subject of his/her research.
The following are some suggestions on where this can be found.
Pharos Teaching & Tutoring @ http://www.pharostutors.com
A group of professional genealogists, all with experience of teaching in further and higher education, have combined to produce a series of online courses in family history research. The cost of the courses is modest in relation to their content, and in comparison with similar courses provided by colleges of further education. Each lesson is delivered by e-mail and consists of a straightforward account of a particular aspect of the subject; for example, Sources for census data in Scottish research. At the end of each lesson is a series of practical exercises which guide the student in the practical application of the techniques covered in the first section. A few days later, the students and tutor meet in a ‘chat room’ to review and discuss the previous lesson and the practical exercises. A copy of this discussion is delivered the next day, so that, at the end of the course, each student has copies of all the lessons and the corresponding discussions for future reference.
Having now completed one of these courses, I am confident that they would be a valuable experience to anyone at a novice or intermediate level in genealogy. Although I have been active in this field for a number of years, I was surprised at how much I learned.
Basics of Genealogy Research @ http://www.btinternet.com/~akhenaten/nbgenealogy.htm
Finding Genealogy on the Internet @ http://www.spub.co.uk/fgi/index.html
Essential Information for Genealogical Research @ http://www.btinternet.com/~akhenaten/genealogyindex.htm
A-Z of British Genealogical Research @ http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/EmeryPaper.html
There are also tutorials on the LDS site and several other sites on this source list.
British Genealogy @ http://www.british-genealogy.com/
This is a new tutorial site, which is still under construction. It is the work of Rod Neep who runs Archive CD Books Ltd., and is of quite outstanding quality. It begins with helpful guidance for the newcomer to genealogy, and keeps on going into areas which will be of interest to the experienced family historian, such as, the interpretation of 16thC handwriting and the design of databases for the transcription of parish records.
It also has a section on mailing lists with advice on etiquette and a large selection of lists. Whatever your level, you really should visit this site.
This is a simple user friendly guide to researching your family tree, and an excellent introduction to any newcomer to genealogy.
Who Do You Think You Are? @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/
A BBC guide to getting started in family history.
Barbara’s Registration Web Page @ http://www.dixons.clara.co.uk/Certificates/indexbd.htm
A very comprehensive tutorial on all aspects of Civil Registration documents.
Wills and Probate Records @ http://www.tamesidefamilyhistory.co.uk/wills.htm
All you ever needed to know about wills and probate
This is a web page from a site which is about Yorkshire genealogy, but gives a very good account of all aspects of probate for the family historian.
This is one for the advanced genealogist. It deals with the grammar and analysis of GEDCOMs, methods of transcribing anomalous data and other esoteric aspects of genealogical information exchange.
Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 – 1800 A practical online tutorial @
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/
This is a really exceptional tutorial, with examples of writing styles throughout the period and an interactive section providing the opportunity to try your hand at reading them. In addition there is a great deal of information on the calendar, regnal years, numbers, money, measurements and the English counties.
Introduction to GEDCOM @ http://web.ukonline.co.uk/nigel.battysmith/gedinfo.html
A brief but handy description of the relationship between a family tree and the GEDCOM which represents it. This would be of interest to someone who already uses GEDCOMs but doesn’t know much about how they work.
Gendatam – A Genealogical Data Model @ http://www.gendatam.com/index.htm
Here you can find information on the data model itself, on ways in which Gendatam is supported and used, and also on some more general genealogical topics. This web site is intended particularly for those interested in the computing aspects of genealogy, either as users or as software developers.
GenDocs @ http://www.gendocs.demon.co.uk/abbrcen.html
Abbreviations and definitions for terms used in census returns. You might guess that Ag. Lab. is Agricultural Labourer, but do you know what H.P. stands for, or the difference between a boarder and a lodger? Now is your chance to find out.
Your ancestor's last name, first name, and other information, passed through many mouths, heads, hands, and fingers before appearing on your computer screen. This article discusses how all those passings could be causing you problems.
Cold Calling @ http://www.rootdig.com/adn/cold_calling.html
This article discusses how to prepare for calling that distant relative you just learned about in order to ask them for family history information.
Increasing numbers of family historians are using DNA as a supplement to conventional genealogical research. If you are thinking of joining them and feel the need for some basic tuition in the subject. This site would be a good starting point.
DNA for Newbies @ http://www.isogg.org/
Here is another useful site for the newcomer to DNA based research.
Surnames, Genes and the History of Britain @ http://www.le.acuk/genetics/maj4/surnames.html
This is an academic account by Prof. Mark A Jobling of research into the relationships between our DNA and our origins. It will be of particular interest to those who have chosen to use DNA as a tool in their family history research.
Family Relationship Chart @ http://www.islandregister.com/cousin.html
Newcomers to family history often find relationships difficult to understand, and meeting distant relatives via the internet can often leave one wondering “What on earth is a fourth cousin once removed”. This chart is just about the clearest way I have seen of showing such relationships.
England & Wales Registration Certificate Tutorials @ http://www.thosedixons.net/certificates/indexbmd.html
A detailed discussion of each item of information on Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates in England & Wales, written by a superintendent registrar of BDM of 20 years experience, specifically for family historians.
Amateur Genealogy @ http://www.amateurgenealogy.com/index.htm
This is still work in progress, but looks like being a good starting point for the newcomer to family history, the sections on Starting Out and Research being particularly good. There is also an excellent database of surname origins which gives more detailed information than most such facilities.
Using land records to discover your genealogy @ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/674261/using_land_records_to_discover_your.html
A vastly underused resource, land records are a wonderful source for both beginning and advanced genealogists. This article will offer tips on the type of information that can be found in land records as well as tips on how to locate land records.
General Genealogy Resources:
This is a vast site with links to many of the sites on this list. It is too big to browse, but the hierarchical structure simplifies the job of finding what you want.
Probably the most valuable single resource for the British genealogist.
A sort of world wide version of GENUKI, based in the USA. An enormous resource of genealogical information.
Price & Associates – English Family History & Genealogy @
http://www.pricegen.com/english_genealogy.html
This is the most comprehensive collection of genealogy links that I have ever seen, other than this one!
This is an alphabetical list of URLs of particular interest to family historians.
Free Genealogy Search Help for Google @ http://www.genealogy-search-help.com/index.html
We all use Google, but perhaps most of us don’t get the best out of it. This site comes up with search combinations that you would never have thought of – and guides you through them. Recommended for demolishing ‘brick walls’.
Ancestor Search @ http://www.searchforancestors.com/archives/google.html
Tips for using Google in Family history research.
WebSearch Wizard @ http://expertgenealogy.com/websearch/
Yet another approach to the problem of the intractable brick wall, this site, under the Expert Genealogy umbrella is worth a try – in fact try them all, you’ve nothing to lose.
World GenWeb Project @ http://www.worldgenweb.org/
Another world wide genealogical resource, with some very useful local pages - for example:
Links to Ships Lists, Prison Records, Death Records & Census Records @ http://genealogy-links.netfirms.com/index.shtml
A useful collection of links to a wide variety of sources.
If you want to be at the cutting edge of scientific genealogy, this is where you can find a Surname DNA Project or start your own. World Families Network walks you through the process and helps you present your results. Surname DNA tests support or supplement traditional genealogy.
Local Catholic Church and Family History @ http://home.att.net/~Local_Catholic/
A good starting point for anyone researching their Roman Catholic ancestors.
Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Links & Chat @ http://www.looking4kin.com/
The site consists of a Genealogy Chat Room, and a lot of useful links to local and international sources - a good place to go when you hit that brick wall.
OzGen – Genealogy for down under @ http://www.oz-gen.com/
This site has been designed to be a significant resource for all genealogists researching their family trees in Australia. For each state and territory in Australia, the site has an early history, important dates in the region's history and contact details for the appropriate government bodies, archives, registrars and family history societies that are so important when researching the family tree. This site also contains two important genealogical projects - the Australian Surnames Forum and the Church Photo Project.
This is an extract of an Office of National Statistics database, and contains a list of surnames in use in England, Wales and the Isle of Mann in September 2002. The list contains almost 270,000 surnames, shared by 54.4 million people. You can discover how many others share your surname, and where it is ranked in a list beginning with Smith.
See the distribution of surnames around the world.
A useful source of links to surname resources. Also includes links to Christian names
and Heraldry.
Internet Surname Database @ http://www.surnamedb.com/
This is by far the best site I have found for the meanings and origins of surnames. I have tried it out with some quite tricky ones from my database, and it has performed very well, providing information which I had only previously been able to find by a great deal of Googling.
What’s in a Name @ http://www.whatsinaname.net/
This website will tell you where Personal Names, First Names or Given Names are thought to have originated and what they originally meant. It also records Variations, Pet Names, Diminutives and Abbreviations that you may have to consider when searching in genealogical databases and old records.
This is a useful site for surname distribution, though the Origin/Meaning section is often either very brief or blank.
This is another list of genealogy databases and links, but if you are looking at a brick wall, you need all the help you can get. It is just possible that there is a source in here that you won’t find any other way, as they describe it as “The site for elusive genealogical facts”
Nicknames and Naming Traditions @ http://www.tngenweb.org/franklin/frannick.htm
Nicknames can be confusing for the family historian. Who would have thought that Daisy, Greta and Peggie are all nicknames for Margaret? So if you are trying to identify someone referred to in an old letter as Greta, you now know that she might be in your database as Margaret. This site gives hundreds of such examples arranged alphabetically.
"Real Names and Abbreviations" @ http://freereg.rootsweb.com/howto/realnames.htm
This is part of the FreeReg website, but is worth accessing separately if you have any difficulty with the abbreviations and Latinised version of Christian names that are commonly found in old documents. You wouldn’t necessarily guess that Gul. was a version of William or that Jac. Was James!
Forenames and their meaning @ http://www.geocities.com/edgarbook/names/names1.html
In addition to meanings, gives etymology, history, pronunciation, popularity and famous bearers.
Your Guide to Finding Female Ancestors @ http://www.barbsnow.net/Female.htm
Genealogy records tend to concentrate on men. Women are not even given their own family names. So here is a site which collects together links to sources which suggest ways in which you can discover the distaff side of your family.
Archaic and pre-decimalisation English currency can be very confusing for anyone researching British genealogy from abroad. This website tells all, from groats to guineas.
Day of the Week Calculator @ http://www.searchforancestors.com/utility/dayofweek.html
It is sometimes useful for the family historian to be able to find the day of the week on which a particular event occurred. This is a very simple device for doing just that. A far more powerful program is available in the Software Section below, under the title “Calendar Magic”.
Genealogy by DNA: Can it Deliver? @ http://www.genpage.com/genealogyDNA.html
Description of various DNA tests available for Genealogy purposes and their value and appropriate application. Links to Genealogy testing resources.
DNA Related Resources @ http://www.dna-paternity-testing.net/
This site has articles on the use of DNA in genealogy and links to other related sites.
Hall Genealogy Website @ http://rmhh.co.uk/index.html
This is a family website which also contains a great deal of additional genealogical information including Old Occupations,
Old Medical Terms, Latin terms, Military Links, Marine Links, Passenger Lists, Old Maps, Etc.
Parish Chest @ http://www.parishchest.com/shop/about_us.php
This is an online one-stop shop for a remarkable variety of family history products, including CDs of census data, M.I.s, Parish Registers, family tree charts etc.
This is a collection of free forums in which researchers can place their queries on an astonishingly wide range of family history topics.
Census Information:
Census FAQs @ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/barry.ruck/FAQCENSUS.htm
All you ever wanted to know about the UK census, presented as a no frills list of frequently asked questions – and their answers.
British Census Indexes, Transcripts, and Images Available Online or on CD @ http://www.mit.edu/~dfm/genealogy/census-chart.html
A useful site showing where census data can be found.
British Data Archive @ http://www.britishdataarchivecom/
A more commercial site along the same lines.
This is one of the most attractive and user friendly sites among those competing to guide us towards sources of census data. It covers the USA, Canada and Gt. Britain and includes CDs and books as well as online sources.
Census Finder @ http://www.censusfinder.com/
I found this site very complicated and difficult to navigate. Too many of the links take you to Ancestry, and I cannot believe that there is anyone researching family history who is unaware of the service provided by this commercial genealogy site. However once you get through the morass of commercial stuff, there are genuinely free facilities provided by a variety of individuals and family history societies, which make it all worth while. The way to get straight to the action is to ignore all temptations and go for: ‘United Kingdom Census Finder’, on the left hand side of the Home Page.
Instructions to Census Enumerators @ http://www.freewebs.com/mmjeffery/1851enumeratorinstructions.htm#1871%20Enumerator%
Sometimes, in order to interpret the information in a census return, it is useful to know the instructions that were given to the enumerator. This site provides this for the 1851-1871 censuses.
Genealogy Lookups & Local Help:
Genealogy Helplist United Kingdom @ http://www.cybercomm.net/~freddie/helplist/uk.htm
County Lookup Exchange @ http://www.lookupcentral.f9.co.uk/volunteers.html
Wales Lookup Exchange @ http://home.clara.net/tirbach/LEWales.html
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness @ http://www.raogk.org/
Parish Register UK Lookup Exchange @
http://www.parishregisteruklook-upexchange.co.uk/
The aim of this site is to bring together those who have copies of parish registers, census returns, MI s etc, and are willing to do lookups, with those who are searching for data. If you have ever thought “Somebody somewhere must have it”, then it could be worth checking it out here. Like all new genealogy sites, it will get stronger as it gets older.
Genealogy Photos @ http://photoexchange.ourgenealogy.co.uk/pe/index.php
The purpose of this site is to put amateur genealogists in touch with amateur photographers in other parts of the world in order to obtain pictures of locations which are relevant to their family history.
English & Irish Family Search @ http://groups.msn.com/EnglishandIrishFamilySearch
This is a group of experienced volunteers who are prepared to use their expertise at no cost to you in order to search for your ancestors. The important thing is to give them as much information as you possibly can. I see that they are already receiving impossible requests with totally inadequate information, so it may all end in tears, but it’s a great idea while it works.
Military Resources:
Regiments @ http://www.regiments.org/
Described as the largest and oldest website devoted to the land forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth. I found out more about my father's regiment from a ten minute visit to this website than from a prolonged exchange of e-mails with the curator of his regimental museum. See below.
Regiments of the British Army (archived at) http://web.archive.org/web/*/regiments.org
The website Regiments.org seems to be no longer available, but most of the data from it is archived as above.
The Long, Long Trail @ http://www.1914-1918.net/
This site gives a comprehensive account of the Great War, together with much detailed advice on how to research those who fought in it.
British Service Medals of the First World war @ http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/exhibits/ex-medal.htm
This is an invaluable site for identifying those medals belonging to your ancestor.
Military Badge Identification Websites @
http://www.militarybadges.org.uk/badges/badgestart.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/angela764/military/british_cap_badges.html http://www.egframes.co.uk/indexbadge.htm http://www.arbeia.demon.co.uk/srs/collect/milsig.htm
Sometimes a photograph of your ancestor in military uniform will be clear enough to see his cap badge. These sites, which between them cover just about every military badge you are likely to come across should enable you to identify it.
The Beginners Guide to British War Medals @ http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/british_index.htm
This lavishly illustrated site is principally aimed at collectors but, if you have found some old medals in the attic, it could be a great help in identifying them.
This is an MOD site which gives guidance to those wishing to obtain service records for forces personnel who served after 1920. Earlier records are archived at the Public Record Office q.v.
Cross and Cockade @ http://www.crossandcockade.com/main.htm
There are many websites about those who fought in the Great War, but not much about the Royal Flying Corps. This site corrects that omission. It is worth visiting just for the wonderful pictures of First World War aircraft in action.
Forum for posting messages for researching RAF matters
The Old Front Line @ http://battlefields1418.50megs.com/main_menu.htm
A first class website dealing with the campaigns and formations of the First World War.
This website is dedicated to the memory of the men who served in the British Army’s Labour Corps during the Great War.
Although this page was originally written as a brief guide to researching the service records of men from the Accrington, Sheffield and Barnsley Pals battalions, much of it is relevant to WW1 service records in general.
Julie McCollum’s Militarium @ http://www.military-medal.co.uk/
From the family historian’s point of view, this site comprises guidance on researching a military ancestor, a very useful procedure for identifying an unknown medal and a forum in which one can ask questions on military matters.
If you are researching an Irish ancestor with a military background, this site will provide useful guidance and links to many relevant sources.
British Army in Bermuda @ http://bermuda-online.org/britarmy.htm
This is a very detailed, and beautifully illustrated account of the history of the British Army in Bermuda. You won’t find individual ancestors here, but you will find which regiments were here at which times, from which you can move onto other sources to research particular individuals. There is also a link to the Royal Navy in Bermuda which turns out to be much more interesting than might be expected from the wording of the link – “Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda”, tucked away at the very bottom of the main page.
The Battle of Jutland 1916 - Casualties Listed by Ship.@
http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/jutland/jellicoe_dispatch_1916.htm
No explanation needed – it does what it says on the tin. However, no names other than those who played a crucial role in the battle.
Emigration/Immigration:
Irish Passenger Lists Research Guide (Ireland to USA) http://wwwgenealogybranches.com/irishpassengerlists/
A guide to finding passenger lists into New York and links to passenger lists for other ports of arrival.
What Passenger Lists Are Online? @ http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/onlinelists.html
Moving Here @ http://www.movinghere.org.uk/
If any of your family was of Irish, Jewish, Caribbean, or South Asian origin this site will be of considerable interest. It even has some individual data such as passenger lists.
Leaving from Liverpool @ http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/nof/emigrants/
A fascinating site, especially for anyone whose ancestors emigrated from Liverpool to Australia. In the form of a diary, it tells the whole story from thinking about it to arriving there and beyond.
If your family originally came to the UK from the continent, you may have a need to read documents in other languages. This site does a simple word for word translation from and to a wide variety of European languages plus a few others. If you have some idea of the structure of the language, but are short on vocabulary, it is very effective.
New Zealand Bound @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nzbound/index.htm
Dedicated to identifying genealogical resources to assist in locating which New Zealand bound ship an immigrant ancestor was aboard.
Philadelphia Passenger Lists Quick Guide 1800-1948 @ http://www.genesearch.com/philadelphia/
This site links to sources for immigrants arriving in Philadelphia. Some are on microfilm, which can be ordered up for a small fee from your local Family History Centre, others are on pay per view websites.
Ships Lists Online @ http://shipslists-onlinerootschat.net/
A very comprehensive collection of links to sites dealing with passenger lists to USA and Canada.
Irish Genealogy:
The General Register Office – Ireland @ http://www.groireland.ie/
Here you can apply for birth, marriage and death certificates.
Tips for Finding Your Irish Immigrant Ancestor's Place of Birth in Ireland (a research guide for Irish-Americans) http://www.genealogybranches.com/irish.html
Does just what it says on the tin.
This site is best described as a Portal – being a vast collection of links to sources of information relating to the Irish census and other related collections of information.
IrishGen is a new Irish-based portal site for Irish genealogy, ancestry, heritage or roots. It looks like a pretty good place to start, if you are looking for Irish ancestors.
Advice for beginner and intermediate family historians researching their Irish ancestors, history and heritage.
Wide ranging methodology and links for tracing your Irish ancestry
Irish Ancestors at Rest @ http://www.ancestorsatrest.com/ireland_genealogy.shtml
This site provides a wide range of links to sources such as coffin plates, death cards, funeral cards, wills, church records, family bibles, cenotaphs and tombstone inscriptions.
Scottish Genealogy:
National Archives of Scotland @ http://www.nas.gov.uk/
Not all Scottish archive material is stored here, but this is a good place to go to find out where it is stored. There are also links to other online sources such as SCAN (see below) and an on line course in reading old Scottish handwriting.
Scottish Archive Network @ http://www.scan.org.uk/
Here you will find a number of excellent articles on Scottish genealogy, a glossary of terms that you may find in Scottish wills and legal documents, and a Forum on which you can share your problems with other family historians.
Described as a complete internet resource for tracing your Scottish ancestors, this site contains a tutorial on Scottish genealogy, a links section, a web ring of Scottish sites, a message board, a chat room etc.
An outstanding resource for links to Scottish data of every description from Civil Registration to Scots Dictionaries. This is where I would choose to start my research on a Scottish ancestor.
The Scottish Association of Family History Societies @ http://www.safhs.org.uk/
If you are planning to join a Family History Society which covers the area of your Scottish research, this is the place to find it.
Highland Family History Research Guide @ http://uk.geocities.com/acwhighland/index.htm#myaim
This is really a portal to genealogy in the Scottish Highlands, being a substantial collection of links to relevant sites. A good place to begin looking for your highland ancestors.
Download free Tartans @ http://www.freetartans.com/
I don’t want to get into the heritage business, but tartans – as long as they are genuine- are an essential part of Scottish genealogy. Here, you can download a sample of any of over 500 tartans scanned from the actual cloth. Did you know that it is appropriate for all subjects of the Queen to wear the Royal Stewart tartan. Not with my knees!
Jewish Genealogy:
Jewish Genealogy Research Tools and Techniques @ http://www.geocities.com/jewish_jewelry/genealogy.html
Informative article covering the basics of doing Jewish Genealogy research with a focus on techniques for finding European town of origin and surnames.
Historical Background:
Here you can find the history that forms the background to your research.
Spartacus Educational @ http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/
This is primarily aimed at schools, but there is a wealth of information in there on many subjects relating to British history . The WW1 section is excellent.
Useful Dates in British History @ http://www.johnowensmith.co.uk/histdate/
If you want to know whether your ancestor was a Victorian or an Edwardian, here is a quick and simple way to find out. If you get back to Egbert, let me know. Sorry Ma’am, didn’t mean you!
The On-Line Facsimile Library @ http://www.uk.olivesoftware.com/archive/Skins/BL/navigator.asp
This British Library site has reproductions of several famous newspapers, including the Manchester Guardian, which can be searched on-line. Unfortunately, only selected years are available, so your chances of being able to read a report of a particular incident are rather slim. However, this is a good way to obtain a flavour of the times.
How Much is that Worth Today @ http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerbp/
An absolutely fascinating site comparing the purchasing power of money in the Great Britain from 1264 to 2002.If your ancestor left a thousand pounds in his will, was he super rich or just comfortable? This is where you can find out.
Just what it says on the tin.
Currency Converter @ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/
This official site enables you to see the present value of a sum of money from the past, or the value of a current amount of money at a specified year in the past, as well as what it would have bought then.
Cost of Living Calculator for United Kingdom @ http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/calcoluk.htm
If the value or cost of something is entered in one of the empty boxes (for a particular year), then its comparable value for all the other years will be given.
This should really be in the data section, as it includes information about individuals, but I felt that users would find it more easily here.
Some people like to claim “My ancestor came over with the conqueror”. If you are one of these, this site will provide an opportunity to substantiate your claim (or not).
If you get far enough back into your family tree, you may have to translate documents from the Latin. Even if you are old enough to have taken Latin at school, you will probably need some help.
British History Online is the digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles. Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust, it aims to support academic and personal users around the world in their learning, teaching and research.
Old Towns @ http://oldtowns.co.uk/
All you ever wanted to know about 19th C Manchester, and, potentially, almost anywhere else. If the town you are researching isn't there, just ask.
The Workhouse @ http://www.workhouses.org.uk/
This is a very relevant site for those of us whose ancestors came from the heavily exploited workforce of the industrial north. The site also contains some genealogical data.
Poor Law Union Database @ http://www.fourbears.worldonline.co.uk/Database.html
The Poor Law Union Database lists all Church of England parishes and many additional places and gives the name of the Union that place belonged to and an indication of which Record Office holds the records for that Union.
You may not feel inclined to look for your ancestors in a lunatic asylum. But bear in mind that in the past many people whom we would not consider to be insane were hidden away in such institutions, including epileptics, unmarried mothers, paupers and many others. The name of this site is a little misleading, as it has spread beyond the bounds of England and Wales.
Victorian Photographers of Britain,1855-1901.@ http://mywebpage.netscape.com/hibchris/instant/aboutme.html
If your ancestor was a photographer, or you have a picture of your ancestor by a known photographer, you may be able to find him here.
Date an Old Photograph @ http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/time/time.htm
This is another approach to the same problem, and relies on fashion in clothing, pose and background to date a photograph at least to the nearest decade.
Fashion history, costume trends & eras, Victorian costumes & haute couture. Useful source for dating old photographs
Costume Detective @ http://www.fashion-era.com/Dating_Costume_History_Pictures/costume_detective_1910_crowd_1.htm
How to date a photograph using costume history.
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Genealogists sometimes need to know when Easter was at some time in the past – This is an easy way to find out.
Famine/Pestilances in England @ http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/cm1djw/lochist/epidems.htm
If you come across a period when your ancestors were dying like flies, you may find the explanation here.
Chartist Ancestors @ http://www.chartists.net/
Lots of information about the chartists, together with lists of names taken from various histories of the Chartist movement.
One Look Dictionary Search @ http://www.onelook.com/
Enter a word and it lists multiple dictionaries that have a definition. Useful for older words and occupations since it often lists dictionaries from the 1800s and early 1900s.
Geographical Background:
A Vision of Britain Through Time @ http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/index.jsp
This is a superb facility in which you can select a particular town, parish or village and quickly learn a great deal about it at various stages in its history. The facilities available on this site are too numerous to mention here, but they include maps, statistics and descriptive articles. You really have to go there and try it for yourself.
British Counties, Parishes, etc. for Genealogists @ http://www.jimella.nildram.co.uk/counties.htm
Researchers from abroad (and many Brits) are often confused by British geographical terms. If you have ever wondered about the difference between a ‘hundred’ and a ‘parish’, or tried to find out which county East Anglia is in, you will find this site very helpful. No doubt all the information is available in GENUKI, but it is much easier to find it in this small and tidy site.
For genealogical research, these are among the best of the many general purpose map sites on the web. Multimap used to have the edge, but since the withdrawal of its free facility for locating individual house numbers, there is little to choose between them.
Google Maps @ http://maps.google.co.uk/
Google always seems to manage to go one better than the competition, and of all the modern map sites, this has to be the best. It is well worth taking the site tour, as it has a good selection of facilities.
Another site from the Expert Genealogy stable, this one suggests ways in which Microsoft’s Local Live mapping site can be of assistance to the genealogist, as well as linking to that site.
Postcode Lookup Links @ http://www.execulink.com/~louisew/postal-links.htm
As family history is very much involved with communication, this site may prove a useful tool. The links enable you to look up postcodes for a very wide range of countries.
Multi Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) @ http://www.magic.gov.uk/website/magic/
This is a good source for rural areas.
Map of England & Wales c. 1840 @ http://archivemaps.com/mapco/lewis/lewis.htm
This is an exceptionally good map for its date, and should be of considerable value to family historians.
An interesting site for all historians, but suffers from inevitable legibility problems.
Old maps specifically for the genealogist. Links to:
Old maps of Lancashire @ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~genmaps/genfiles/COU_Pages/ENG_pages/lan.htm
Also very interesting, but similar legibility problems.
Your Old Maps Online @ http://www.yourmapsonline.org.uk/
These are high quality scans of old maps and etchings collected by the author and sent in by users of the site. There are maps from most counties, including some good maps of Bolton in 1920.
New Popular Edition Maps @ http://www.npemap.org.uk/
Searcheable 1940s Ordnanace Survey Maps. Although 1940 is a little late for family history applications, in practice these maps are very useful as they show Britain as it was before the very rapid development of the 1960s and beyond. The map sections displayed can be irritatingly small, but are perfectly useable with patience. This is also becoming a good free resource for linking post codes to locations.
British History Online @ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/map.asp
The County Series of Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain. Begun in 1840, this is the first comprehensive historic mapping of England, Scotland and Wales. At a scale of 1:10,560 for rural areas and 1: 2,500 for cities, the maps are very detailed, clearly showing field boundaries, and city streets. This is perhaps the most useful of all the mapping sites for the family historian.
192.com Maps @ http://www.192.com/maps/
For some areas (particularly rural areas?) this site provides the best aerial views of any mapping site. It seems however that one has to try several mapping sites to find the best result, as the quality can vary greatly.
The IreAtlas @ http://www.seanruad.com/
Finds Irish locations, and gives useful information about them.
(Scottish) Ordnance Survey Town Plans 1847-1895 @ http://sites.scranac.uk/townplans/index.html
Over 1,900 sheets covering 62 towns - the most detailed maps ever surveyed by Ordnance Survey. This is a ‘must see’ for anyone researching 19thC Scotland.
Make a customized map. Pan and zoom to an area of the world. Add your own locations to a map and download a PostScript or Illustrator compatible version. This is an ideal way of illustrating your family history.
What we really need for family history are maps with nineteenth century content and twentieth century legibility. These don't seem to be available online. However, the excellent Alan Godfrey Maps, which fulfil both criteria, can be purchased from the Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society's bookshop or direct from the publisher. (See Genealogical Publications below). Descriptions of many of these can be found @ http://www.mlfhs.org.uk/Bookshop/godmaps.htm
I am told by a member of the list that Digital Archives Association have some very good maps of Lancashire on CD. The CD's are about £20 each from Digital Archives Association, 3 Cedarways, Appleton, Warrington, WA4 5EW - no 'phone or web I am afraid.
Baedeker's Old Guide Books @ http://contueor.com/baedeker/
This website has a collection of maps that will be an aid to Genealogists. The maps present so far are scanned from Baedeker's Great Britain, Handbook for Travellers by Karl Baedeker, the seventh edition published in 1910. It has 28 maps, 65 plans and a Panorama.
Find a Church @ http://www.findachurch.co.uk/
Genealogists often need to find the location of churches. This site should help.
This site enables you to find an English church by county or by Diocese with a helpful collection of information about the church, including a map to help you find it. If you wish to go further afield, you can search Europe for Anglican churches from Albania to Uzbekistan.
Here is a chance to see where your ancestors were married – or to contribute digitised images of your local churches.
Churches of the world @ http://www.photosofchurches.com/
Old and contemporary pictures of places of worship in a wide range of countries. You may find photographs of where your ancestors were married. This site is in the early stages of development and so can be expected to grow rapidly.
Old Photographs of Places in the UK @ http://grumpystumpy.com/
Family historians are often interested in finding old photographs of places which are relevant to their research. This site attempts to compile a collection of these. It is obviously a work in progress, and it may be some time before it grows to a size where it can be of significant value. Inevitably, it tends to be biased towards seaside locations.
Vision of Britain @ http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/index.jsp
Described as a vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001. Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions; this is a very useful gazetteer, which supplements the local information available in GENUKI. It includes the mainland and most of the islands, but not the Channel Isles.
One Place Studies @ http://www.eyemead.com/oneplace.htm
If, like most of us, your ancestors tend to be clustered around one particular place, it could be worth checking it out here. No doubt the site will continue to grow, so it will be worth returning from time to time. The counties are designated using the Chapman codes. If these are unfamiliar, you can find them at http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~jimella/counties.htm#abbrev
Digital Archives @ http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/index.html
Digital Archives Association is a small group of amateurs producing high resolution images of historical maps on CD and DVD. They mainly cover a selection of northern counties and London at present, though they will no doubt expand to cover much more.
Jobs, Trades and Professions:
Five Thousand Ways to Earn a Living @ http://www.hevanet.com/gladhaus/tradeslist.html
If you find an occupation on a census return that doesn’t seem to make sense – like ‘Mangle Keeper’ for example, look it up here. Unlike some of the other ‘Occupations’sites, It won’t tell you anything about it, but it is a very comprehensive list.
Spinning the Web @ http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk
Subtitled ‘The story of the cotton industry’, this is a Manchester City Council website, and will tell you all you will want to know about cotton – and more. However there is a surprise buried deep in this website. If you type “National Roll Great War Smith” into the search box you will find a roll of the Manchester Smiths (for example) who fought in the 1914-18 war. Like most genealogical sources it is incomplete, but a very good try.
Through Mighty Seas @ http://www.mightyseas.co.uk/
If your ancestor was a mariner, sailing from a port in the north west of England, you will find this site very interesting. Especially so if you know the names of any of the vessels on which he sailed.
This is a big site which covers just about anything to do with ships. The reason it is also in the Data Section is that it includes some free to view passenger lists - which is pretty unusual. A fascinating site for anyone with a seafaring ancestor, or one who emigrated.
British Maritime History Genealogical Guides and More …@ http://www.barnettresearch.freeserve.co.uk/
Comprehensive realistic guides for researching mariners in both the British merchant service and Royal Navy - the former from 1835 and the latter from 1793.
Railway Ancestors @ http://www.railwayancestors.fsnet.co.uk/
This site is designed to help you find those ancestors who worked on the railway. It operates as a club, for which the membership is currently £7.50/£8.50, for UK residents, depending on whether you take their journal in CD or hardcopy.
Other possible sources are the National Archive @ http://catalogue.pro.gov.uk/ where Railway Company Records are held, and a book - Railway Ancestors : A Guide to the Staff Records of the Railway Companies of England, which is reviewed @ http://www.rootsweb.com/~wiilbig/RevFiles/v3n4r2.htm
List of Coal Mines in Gt. Britain in 1880 @ http://www.cmhrcpwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.htm
There are probably not many people of British descent who don’t have a coal miner somewhere in their family tree. This site will help you to discover where they worked. The date of 1880 is very convenient, being just a year away from the 1881 census – available online from the LDS website. If your ancestor is described as a coal miner or collier, there is a good chance that he would have worked at the pit nearest to his home, which you can find on this site.
The Pub History Society @ http://www.pubhistory.freeserve.co.uk/phs/index.htm
If your ancestor kept a pub, you may find this site useful. There is a noticeboard for pub enthusiasts, and a large number of links to other pub related sites.
Traditional trades and occupations in pubs @ http://www.completetext.com/freebarmaid.html
A large number of jobs centred around public houses, from the brewer right through to the pot man. Many of them no longer exist so, if your ancestor worked in this trade, you may be interested to read more about his activities.
British Army Cap Badges @ http://www.kellybadge.com/capbadge.htm and
Military Cap badges and Insignia @ http://www.arbeia.demon.co.uk/srs/collect/badges/desc_c.htm and
Military Badges @ http://www.militarybadges.org.uk/
Although these are principally sales sites for collectors of militaria, all have an enormous number of illustrations of cap badges and other insignia, which could prove invaluable for identifying regiments from old family photographs.
Archaic Medical Terms @ http://www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm
This is an award winning site which will help you to interpret the causes of death in those old Death Certificates.
Antiquus Morbus is a collection of old medical terms in a range of European languages and their modern definitions. The primary focus of this web site is to help decipher the Causes of Death found on Mortality Lists, Certificates of Death and Church Death Records from the 19th century and earlier. Many old names for Diseases, Illnesses and other Medical Terms are also included.
DataMarine @ http://www.beavis.co.uk/dtalink.htm#top
This site covers all aspects of maritime activity from the Royal Navy to the merchant marine. It consists mainly however, of guidance on how to find information – most of it offline.
The Fairground Heritage Trust @ http://www.fairground-heritage.org.uk/forum/
This is the site that used to be called “The Galloper”. It still covers Entertainers, Music Hall, Variety and Magic, but is now devoted to a series of discussion forums on these subjects. You might be able to find someone here who can help with your research.
The home of the Theatre – UK mailing list.
Official Government Sites for the Genealogist:
This gives guidance on locating and accessing Civil Registration and Census records
The PRO (Public Record Office) and the HMC (Historical Manuscripts Commission) have recently combined to form the NA (National Archive). This site is primarily aimed at those who plan to visit the NA in person, and provides detailed advice on how to find various types of documents. The advice, though sadly not the documents, is designed to be easily downloaded, so you can take copies with you on your visit.
A related site is:
Your Archives @ http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Home_page
The National Archives' online community of records users. These pages are for you to contribute your knowledge of archival sources held by The National Archives and by other archives throughout the UK. The content on these pages has mainly been contributed by users and is designed to offer information additional to that available in the Catalogue, Research Guides, DocumentsOnline and the National Register of Archives. The National Archives does not vouch for the accuracy of the information held within Your Archives.
General Register Office @ http://www.statistics.gov.uk/registration/general_register.asp
Yet another of the proliferation of official government sites from which we can learn how to order copies of Civil Registration Certificates.
This is part of the new Court Service website, and gives guidance on obtaining copies of wills, which are now scanned from the new purpose built Probate Records Centre in Birmingham, to any District Registry.
Companies House @ http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/
If your ancestor owned a limited company, you may find something useful here.
This site is designed to help the family historian find local sources of data, particularly in public libraries. Some of these have their own websites for example: Manchester Archives and Local Studies Library (see below)
English Family History Resources @ http://www.englishfamhistresource.co.uk/index.htm
This is a collection of postal and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for local sources of genealogy data, organised by county – a very useful quick reference.
Sources Specific to Manchester and Lancashire:
Manchester Archives and Local Studies Library @ http://www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries/arls/contact.htm
This is part of Manchester Central Library and has a wide range of material relating to local history, including a large collection of photographs of Manchester (You can even request a photograph of a particular location to be published on the site). In particular, it has microfilmed copies of the parish registers of many local churches, giving details of baptisms, marriages and burials, prior to 1837. Photocopies of these can be obtained by post, and an order form for this can be downloaded @ http://www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries/arls/copying.htm
Past Finder @ http://www.gmcro.co.uk/gmpf/index.htm
Past Finder is a database listing over 4,000 archive collections held by local government services in Greater Manchester. It does not list items within an archive but gives a brief description of the contents of each collection. As yet there is no details of individual documents.
Greater Manchester Archives @ http://www.gmcro.co.uk/guides/gmguide/purple2.htm
This is the website of the Greater Manchester Record Office, in which can be found the location of archives for the Greater Manchester area. There is inevitably a good deal of overlap with the Lancashire and Cheshire Record Offices as well as with Manchester Central Library, but it is a useful pointer to records from the outlying areas.
NW Regional Archive Council @ http://www.northwestarchives.org.uk/
Here you can find links to a large number of local archives in the NW - 79 for Greater Manchester alone. There are also reports on projects to convert scattered data into useful archives.
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Genealogy Page @ http://www.stockport.gov.uk/content/communitypeopleliving/historyandheritage/genealogy/
This searchable database carries details of thousands of local people, compiled from local directories published between 1772 and 1845. If you had ancestors living in Stockport during that period, this is a very user friendly way of finding them.
Tameside Local and Family History @ http://members.aol.com/gayjoliver/Tameside.htm
This is a very valuable resource for anyone researching their family history in Tameside (a Metropolitan Borough to the south-east of Manchester comprised of nine towns running along the Tame Valley.) Among its unique features are substantial extracts from the 1811 census (yes, there really was one), online local directories and links to many other sources of local information.
Manchester and the North-West Region of England @ http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/history.html
A very comprehensive website dealing with the History and Heritage of the Greater Manchester area.
Lots of useful information about Lancashire, together with Query and Surname Boards, and Mailing Lists.
Old Historic Families of Manchester and Lancashire @
http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/history/old-families2.html
If your family is connected to any of the historic families in the region, this site, which is part of the Greater Manchester Virtual Encyclopaedia, will be of interest to you.
OnLine Parish Clerks for the County of Lancashire @ http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/
Lists all the Lancashire parishes, and provides e-mail links to OPCs where they exist. If the OPC has a website, the link takes you there. Also has a link to the Parish Registers Search Function, which is an invaluable facility for finding information which would otherwise be very difficult to locate.
The purpose of this page is to provide a search engine to assist one in finding a will of a person who died in Lancashire, England from the time period of the mid sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century. Don’t be put off if this draws a blank – the will may still exist.
For those with a Liverpool born ancestor, this site would be an excellent place to get to know the area. There are also some useful links to sources of family history data, and to local societies.
If you or your ancestors were pupils or teachers at Liverpool schools, you will probably find something of interest here which will help to flesh out the bare bones of your family story.
Manchester Mapping Projects @ http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/hking/map_projects/map_projects.htm
A very informative range of maps showing various aspects of Manchester, its parishes and registration districts.
Photographs of Lancashire @ http://www.ancestrallancashiresnapshots.com/
Ancestral Lancashire Snapshots is a photographic service for those people who are researching their Lancashire family history, but, because they live too far away, are unable to visit the beautiful and fascinating places their ancestors were born, lived and died. At Ancestral Lancashire Snapshots, we will provide a quote that’s specific to each customer’s individual requirement. It will vary according to the number of locations to be visited and the distance from our Bury base, in the heart of Lancashire.
Manchester City Council Burial Records @ http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=335&documentID=1064
This online service offers you the opportunity to search records of burials in Manchester dating back to 1837. Around 800,000 records are available relating to Manchester General, Gorton, Philips Park, Blackley and Southern cemeteries.
A bit of Lancashire History @ http://www.abitoflancashirehistory.com/
This website contains information regarding old Lancashire and its' people. A lot of it is taken from old 'Liverpool' newspapers.
Manchester Community Forum @ http://www.manchester-forum.co.uk/
This general forum has a genealogy section from which you may be able to glean information on your Manchester ancestors.
Genealogy Publications:
A comprehensive selection of books, CDs, fiche and maps relevant to family history research in and around Lancashire.
Reproductions of old books on CD, including such gems as census enumerators' books for many English and Welsh counties.
From the Federation of Family History Societies
Phillimore Bookshop @ http://www.phillimore.co.uk/acatalog/Bookshop_Genealogy_21.html#a1860772
An online bookshop with a very wide range of historical and genealogical books.
An online supplier of genealogy books and CDs. Particularly good for Census CDs.
Another online genealogy bookshop offering Census CDs, Trade Directories and City Centre Maps. Not such a wide range of Census material as S & N, but what they have seems a little cheaper.
The Genealogy Store @ http://www.thegenealogystoreco.uk/
This is a new online store with the usual census CDs, maps etc. I include it here in case it lists anything which is not available elsewhere.
Old Ordnance Survey Maps (The Godfrey Maps) @ http://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk/
These are the best maps that I have seen for 19th century genealogy. Those relevant to Lancashire and some adjoining areas are available from the MLFHS Bookshop (See above), but on this site, you can see the full range.
This site offers a number of interesting old maps, including the Bartholomew's map of Manchester and Salford circa 1900, on CD
Here you can download a variety of free genealogy record forms, which you can either use on your PC, or print to fill them in by hand. If you are not a naturally organised person, this could be the way to keep your research in order. The site belongs to a professional genealogy research outfit, who offer a free initial consultation to put your research on the right track. They presumably hope that you will pay them to go on from there, but that is entirely up to you.
This company sell a wide range of products for the family historian, including database software, data CDs, books and acid free products for the storage of old documents etc.
The Federation of Family History Societies, MLFHS and The Guild of One- Name Studies