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Topic: Getting Started / Beginners Links (Read 3155 times)
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5687
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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Getting Started:
A lot of the queries in this forum take the form of
"Can anyone give me some tips on getting started in Family History Research......"
type questions.
We love to answer your questions but to avoid duplication of effort we have extracted
some answers provided by RootsChatters to give you some good general information.
| 1) | First steps
. | | 2) | Finding Records
. | | 2.1) | BMD certificates
Contents
a) Birth certificates
b) Marriage certificates
c) Death certificates
Ordering certificates from the GRO
Some online sources
Some offline sources
. | | 2.2) | Parish Records
Contents
Some online sources
Some offline sources
. | | 2.3) | Census records
Contents
Some online sources
Some offline sources
. | | 2.4) | Other records
Wills, Directories, Newspapers, etc
Some online sources
Some offline sources
. | | 3) | Some common abbreviations
. | | 4) | Some Useful Links
. |
Many, many thanks to all the RootsChatters who have provide the material gathered here 
This is a "work in progress"
We will be adding to this (as time permits)
The RootsChat Moderating Team
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5687
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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1) First steps
First of all, find out as much as you can from your family about your family.
The golden rules are:-
Get as much info from your relatives as possible, drag the old photos out sit and reminisce. Sometimes there are blockers or red herrings. People don't always want to talk - tact needs to be used, talk about places rather than people.
Keep a note of EVERYTHING never dismiss anything, you may forget a connection later on. Often old family friends, marriage witnesses etc turn out to be related.
Work backwards if you have an unusual name to follow that can make it easier but beware of the Smiths & Jones.
Then, to find out more, Use the RootsChat forum
The best thing to do in this site is take a look around first. Here is a "guided tour:"
- Look around the Beginners Forum. Explore the sticky topics gathered together at the top of the board.
- Look around the Census and Resource Discussion Forum. Explore some of the links given at the top of the board and read some of the topics. There are some fascinating stories there and some heartening success stories.
- Explore the Common Room. Get an idea of the range of questions asked, and the answers given.
- Explore the "Some Special Interests" boards
This is the place you will find some of the more specialist information
such as advice on Armed Forces and Military Records, Professions and Occupations or Travelling People
- Look at the relevant Country and County forums. If you know what areas you are interested in you will find some information here. Each country/county board has either a sub-board, or sticky topics at the head of the board, with useful links and information relevant to that area.
- Ask questions, lots of them. This is the key on Rootschat, there are lots of friendly people who are just waiting to help you
 . We were all beginners once, and everyone knows what it is to find themselves stuck at a Brick Wall.
By the way, RootsChat is a forum for finding ancestors, not living relatives.
There are some tips here on the Help-pages for this:
http://www.rootschat.com/help/posting_guide.php#living
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5687
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
|
2) Finding Records:
The most important Family History records are the Birth, Marriage and Death (BMD) certificates, Census records and Parish Registers.
Restrictions on newer records mean that to use online or public domain resources you have to know who you are looking for in at least 1911 (or, even better, in 1901).
If you don't know this already, and you cannot ask them, then your parents' birth certificates will give you the names of their parents (your grandparents) or their marriage certificates will give you the names of their fathers (your two grandfathers). Using these you can work backwards.
Once you get back to 1911 you can use the census records, going back to 1841, to search for more about your ancestors.
This topic will continue with details records of available for England and Wales.
If you are searching in Scotland, then see the
Topic: Where to start with Scottish Research? on the Scotland - General board.
If you are searching in Ireland, then see some of the sticky topics at the top of the Ireland - General board.
If you are searching in Other Countries, then see the tips and hints on the different country boards in the "Research in Other Countries" category.
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5687
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
|
Birth, Marriage and Death (BMD) certificates
Birth, Marriage and Death certificates (Civil Registration) were introduced in England & Wales in 1837.
[descriptions to come]
There is a very good tutorial on certificates, with comprehensive details of the information contained on them.
It can be found at:
http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/indexbd.htm
Some Online sources
freeBMD
OPC
UKBMD
FMP
Ancestry
Some Offline sources
TNA
Registry Offices
Ordering Certificates online
For certificate ordering online:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp
You will need the year and quarter, the volume and the page number which you will be able to get from this site if the event took place between 1837 and about 1930 - note that the indexes are not yet complete:
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl
[reference checking]
The index is arranged in alphabetical order within each of the 4 quarters of the year
March quarter = January, February and March
June quarter = April, May, June
September quarter = July, August, September
December quarter October, November, December
Note that if the event took place at the end of a quarter it may be registered in the next quarter (including the next year).
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5687
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
|
Parish Records
(Searching for records before 1837)
Once you have exhausted the census and GRO information, you will be heading into the parish records (Parish Registers)of the past.
Here is some basic information on what you expect to find when searching.
Before Civil Registration was introduced in England and Wales in 1837, birth, marriage and death certificates DID NOT exist. Baptisms, marriages and burials were recorded in parish registers. The information that may be found at various dates is set out below.
Baptisms 1813-1837
There were entered into pre-printed registers in accordance with George Rose's Act of 1812 , eight entries per page. There were 7 columns:
When baptised
Child's Christian Name
Parents Name - Christian
Surname
Abode
Quality, Trade or Profession
By whom the ceremony was performed
Some Vicars and curates included the date of birth in the first column, but not always.
Some vicars and curates included the maiden name of the mother, but not always.
Baptisms before 1813
These were entered as a chronological list and the "format" varied according to the person keeping the register. Sometimes it would clearly be divided into months but they could all just run into one another. A typical entry might read:
March
2 John the son of William Smith and Mary his wife was baptised.
or
March
2 Mary the daughter of Thomas Brown blacksmith and Elizabeth his wife was baptised.
The earlier the date, the less likely you are to find the wife's name given. You may find a clue as to where they lived e.g. the name of a farm, but it cannot be guaranteed.
Burials 1813-1837
These were entered into pre-printed registers in accordance with George Rose's Act of 1812, eight entries per page.
There were five columns.
Name
Abode
When buried
Age
By whom the ceremony was performed
There may be additional comments under the name e.g. a foundling; found drowned in the river; by order of the Coroner
There is unlikely to be any information as to the deceased's relatives.
Burials pre-1812
Like baptisms at this time, these are likely to be entered as just a chronological list. Ages are rarely shown, but there may be other useful clues e.g. a child; an infant; widow of John Smith. It may also include where they came from, if it was another parish or they had died in the workhouse.
Marriages 1754 - 1837
In accordance with Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1754, marriages were entered into pre-printed registers, three entries to a page. The format was as follows - the words in italics are the sort of thing that would be filled in by the officiating minister
John Brown of this Parish
bachelor/widower
and Sarah Smith of Newtown Parish
spinster/widow
were married in this Church by Banns with the consent of
...................................................this twenty-first day of
September in the year One thousand seven ( or eight) hundred and ninety-seven
By me James Long Vicar
This marriage was solemnised between us ) John Brown
) Sarah Smith her mark X
In the presence of ) William Brown
) Thomas Heath
Marriages pre-1754
These would be entered in chronological order in a very simple way. e.g.
William Taylor and Sarah Elliot were married May 10
The year would be entered only when the new year started.
Before the introduction of printed registers, you will probably find that the parish registers are general ones i.e. baptisms, marriages and burials all entered into the same book. The baptism entries may all be together at the front while the burials are at the back. It could have been divided into sections.
Some early registers are very messy! 
Some Online sources:
freeREG
OPC
familysearch (IGI)
familysearch labs
Some Offline sources
TNA
County archives, Heritage Centres
____________________________________________
Summary.
BMD certificates, census records and parish registers are all possibilities for tracing your ancestors.
But be warned:
If some "facts" don't seem to fit, then remember, that the information you are seeing might not
necessarily be true; this was only what was told to the recorder 
see Topic: Understanding Family History Documentation - Some Notes
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,134370.0.html
You can find many topics on Births, Marriages, Deaths in the
RootsChat Reference Library => Lexicon (click here)
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5687
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
|
4) Some Useful Links
Here are some of the web-links you will meet most frequently.
In the first column is the name they are most frequently known by.
| freeBMD | http://www.freebmd.org.uk
FreeBMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. It is a part of the FreeUKGEN family, which also includes FreeCEN (Census data) and FreeREG (Parish Registers). . | | freeCEN | http://www.freecen.org.uk
This project aims to provide a "free-to-view" online searchable database of the 19th century UK census returns. . | | freeREG | http://www.freereg.org.uk/
Our objective is to provide free Internet searches of baptism, marriage, and burial records, that have been transcribed from parish and non-conformist registers of the U.K. . | | UkBMD | http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/
This site provides 1304 links to web sites that offer on-line transcriptions of UK births, marriages, deaths and censuses. A wide range of other indexes and transcriptions are also available for most counties, these may include parish records, wills, monumental inscriptions etc. . | Barbara-Dixon's
BMD site | http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/indexbd.htm
England and Wales Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificate Information
. | | OPCs | Online Parish Clerks
An Online Parish Clerk (OPC) researches all the available historical data they can find on a parish, records are transcribed, and in order to promote further private research, are made FREELY available to any researcher. An OPC is a volunteer and should not be confused with the civil Parish Clerk appointed by a Parish Council. See Topic: Online Parish Clerks - OPC
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,46825.0.html
for links to OPCs for various counties.
. | | FindMyPast/FMP | http://www.findmypast.com
. | | Ancestry | http://www.ancestry.com
http://www.ancestry.co.uk
http://www.ancestry.co.au
http://www.ancestry.co.de
. | | 1901 Census | http://www.1901censusonline.com/
. | | 1911 Census | http://www.1911census.co.uk/
. | | 1881 Census | http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=census/search_census.asp
. | | IGI | International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - IGI
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true
. | | The National Archives/TNA | www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
. | | | . |
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« Last Edit: Sunday 20 September 09 10:10 UTC (UK) by Berlin-Bob »
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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Berlin-Bob
Global Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 5687
by: My Daughter. Chatting to find her Roots !
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You can find find these links and more in the RootsChat Reference Library => Useful Links (click here)
(Tip: click on a category - on the right - for related topics)
And you can also find many more links on the Useful Links board, in the following topics:
- LINKS - Archives, Libraries, Museums
- LINKS - Armed Forces
- LINKS - Census Records
- LINKS - Churches, Clergymen, MIs and Cemeteries
- LINKS - Directories
- LINKS - Documents
- LINKS - Genealogy Guides and Tutorials
- LINKS - Land & Property Records, Electoral rolls, Poll Tax, etc.
- LINKS - Law & Order: Crime and Litigation
- LINKS - Link lists
- LINKS - Maps
- LINKS - Medical
- LINKS - Newspapers, Magazines and other Media
- LINKS - Occupations
- LINKS - People
- LINKS - Places
- LINKS - Religious Denominations
- LINKS - Schools and Institutions
- LINKS - Social History: Clothing, Food, Value of Money, ...
- LINKS - Transport
- LINKS - Vital Records: Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates, Church Records
- LINKS - Wills
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« Last Edit: Saturday 16 May 09 09:00 UTC (UK) by Berlin-Bob »
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Searching for Coleman, Moore, Kallnung in London; Margulies, Remenyi in E. Europe; Ancestors of Hessie Stevenson-Coleman-Baxter (Ireland, 1861) and, of course, any other ancestors for my web-site. All Census Data included in this post is Crown Copyright (see: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) |
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