BMD Records

[crazydaizy]

Hia

I havent been onto www.ancestry.com for a while, and now when I am on there I find I have to subscribe (and pay) to view the BMD records, when before they were free to view.  I have always had to subscribe to view the Censuses. 

Are there any websites that I can view BMD records for free?

[crazydaizy]

Oh, I've found some free BMD records on Ancestry. 

If u can delete this thread that'd be great

 

[Christine in Portugal]

You can also view them free on this site:-

http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/

They can also be more up to date than ancestry.

Christine

[lizdb]

FreeBMD and the free bits on ancestry are great, but not complete, especially after about 1913 ish.

Sadly, with the removal of the index books from the FRC, there is now nowhere where the full indexes can be viewed, without paying a subscription to a commercial firm like ancestry.

Very sad. A vital resourse for family historians. Ancestry and the like must be rubbing there hands in glee, as they now have the sole means of access to these vital records and so family historians are forced to subscribe to them, or as many seem to prefer to do, muddle along with the partial free records, taking 'the best match' to be 'theirs' even if the real ancestor is actually not yet transcribed! Or just giving up for post 1913 ish. So sad, when the information is sitting there in the index books.

[MarieC]

Hear, hear, lizdb!!  I couldn't agree more!

MarieC

[andycand]

Hi

Sadly, with the removal of the index books from the FRC, there is now nowhere where the full indexes can be viewed, without paying a subscription to a commercial firm like ancestry

The indexes are available on fiche. I'm sure someone would be able to advise you of your closest location. Here in Australia there are a couple of places local to me. It was the way people searched prior to the internet,

Also whilst FreeBMD hasn't completed transcribing, if you go to view images you can access images to about 1935. Its slow and cumbersome but it can be done.

Andy

[newbie]

Most Record offices and some of the bigger reference libraries have copies of the BMD fiche, try looking for your local Record Office, in Berkshire it's Reading.  BMD fiche will also be at the National Archives in Kew.
newbie

[MarieC]

The trouble is that the fiche are devilishly hard to read sometimes - I know, I have spent hours poring over them at my local LDS centre - really terrible!  While the registers in the FRC, as I know from my one brief visit there, are very clear and a delight to read!  I still agree with lizdb that we family historians have been done down badly.

MarieC

[dawnsh]

Or try and find a local library that has access to Ancestry library edition for free!

There is this thread in the common room for 'Where to go', available outside the UK as well

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,161337.0.html

Dawn