what to buy

[munchies]

As a fairly newbie to this family history so far all my research has been done on line. But having been to a family history fair and seen the bewildering array of cd's and indexes for sale I wondered if someone could help. What kind of resources are best to buy? I have seen indexes,, censuses, British vital records etc sorry if I sound really dense but what is the difference and what kind of info do you get in each?

I am assuming that an index is just that and if your relative is named then you go and buy the actual census to get more detail is that correct.

Census is self explanatory and am i right in thinking that you would buy it because the area you are looking for is not online yet or to verify details that might be incorrect online.

What are vital records and is there anything else I have missed. i often see things for sale on ebay but don't know whether they are good value or even if they are useful. is there somewhere online that one can buy these disks new.
Thanks
Donna

[Boongie Pam]

Personally I wouldn't buy anything until you've exhausted all the free stuff.  So far I have got 1881 all UK as a present and for Scotland is very useful.  But everything else is available on film at a local LDS church (see www.familysearch.org for your nearest one).

If you are fortunate to live in a big city you will get resources at the library so you can offer trade look up services on websites like this or Rootsweb lists.

I guess it depends on your location and ability to get access to the many free records.

Cheers,
Pam
 

[munchies]

Have exhausted all avenues until next payday when bulk order of certificates is going in then hopefully will be able to move on. Just find it very frustrating that birth/marriages are on one site but not another and vice versa and thought at least the cd's must have everything recorded on them.  Makes for a lot of crossreferencing but i suppose it wouldn't be so much fun if it was dead easy.

[Cara]

An index on a CD is not necessarily that it is just a term
originally used to cover a multitude of things
the Vital Records Edition two is a very good buy
but like all CD's none are complete......as one who compiles stats for CD's I can assure you that none will ever be complete........

As with all things when being researched via the net
one must be aware that these things need to be checked out and this is the same with any tools you wish to invest in be it a CD or a Book.........

But I do reccomend using the CD's even if only used at a Society or local library....

And please remember not even your certificates you may purchase will hold all the pieces to your jigsaw but never give up .........its a good healthy adventure you are setting out on.

CARA
Co Wicklow Rootsweb
LIst Admin

and impressed with this site.

[kevan]

Hi,
    I buy lots of census, and the occasional microfiche. I would never buy from ebay as most of the genealogy stuff can be purchased cheaper from the original company at the same price.
   If you want census stuff, I definitely recommend archivecdbooks, the quality is excellent. It all depends on how much you have to spend, and your involvement in this MAD hobby.
  If you are that mad, then I would recommend a yearly subscription to Ancestry.com -it is really expensive, but pays dividends in your seaching.
BUT, first try all the free sites, eg BMD, family search (IGI) etc. etc.

  I guess it depends on what you are looking for.
http://kevw.net/Essex-good-links.htm


 I have a years subscription to Ancestry, and I will probably renew it, with maybe  couple of months break.
Best
Kevan

[Marjorie]

Can you tell me where I can by micro fiche?   In particular for Staffordshire census?   I bought myself a reader a couple of months ago and ordered some micro fiche from another source - the micro fiche never arrived and I was unable to contact the company again ( cancelled the cheque though) - so I have not as yet used the reader!  

[kevan]

Hi Marjorie,
                 It depends what you want. If you just need census index, then the local family history society will usually be able to provide  this. I buy most of these through genfair at
 http://www.ffhs.co.uk/genfair/system/index.html

                   If you need actual parish records etc., then you need to purchase from yout local record office, or the office that holds the records. I usually do this when I visit the record office, but you can wait for up to six weeks for this. The quality is always good, well it is at Essex, anyway.
                  Lastly, sometimes people advertise unwaned microfiche, and I usually snap these up, as they do not incur a wait. As a rule of thumb, I rarely buy from ebay, as I think most stuff is usually well over-priced, though not always.
                 I hope this helps.
Kevan

[Marjorie]

Many thanks for  comments Kevan.   I just quickly viewed genfair - which I hadn't seen before - it looks as though there is a lot of info. there and  I will have a good look tomorrow.

Many thanks

Marjorie

[karuahman]

i have just found a site called 1837 online where you can find all birth.marriage and death certificates.or just look at these records and download them only costs 5 pounds for 50 lookups.
                        goodluck