Advice on how to go further back??

[J.H]

Hi,

I have exhausted the census's & now need to go further back, (pre-1800).

I have tracked my family links back from Hull to West Lutton. Yorks to Beverley, (I think?).

I found the link to Beverley from the I.G.I but need solid records & information in order to quantify this.

Where do I go from here in terms of tracing them in parish records, burials etc???

Pardon my ignorance but pre-1837 there were no birth certs or death certs so how do you establish that they are who you think they are in order to make certain that you are on the right road??

Also, as far as burials are concerned, it would only be people with money who would have a head stone?? I am right in saying this???

Would appreciate advice & guidance .

Thanx J.H

[Little Nell]

Hi J.H.

I have no personal experience of the Beverley and Yorkshire area in general, but I would think that the same ideas apply country-wide.

While there may be no certificates pre-1837, hatches, matches and dispatches were still recorded in the parish registers and that is where you need to search next.  Some may be available online - no idea.  Try entering "parish register Beverley" into Google and see what comes up.  Older people in the census, particularly 1851, can also help provide another starting point to look for baptisms etc.

The IGI is always a good starting point as you say, but there comes a time when you need more concrete information.  Some parish registers may be very descriptive in their burial records and even the most humble parishioner will be given an age and some description.  Some if not most will not.  But they must all be buried somewhere, even without a headstone. You could ask for look-ups in the National Burial Index or search for burial records online.  Familyhistoryonline (a pay per view site) may also be albe to help you out here. And even humble parishioners can sometimes leave a will - definitely look for those.

Also check the a2a website:
http://www.a2a.org/uk/
for your ancestors name or abode.  You would be amazed what sometimes crops up.

Names which are used regularly are often a sign of all the same family.  Then there are settlement certificates/removal orders or other poor law records, if your ancestors happen to fall into that category.  Other parish chest records as well.  The list is potentially endless.  Even humble folk leave some trace behind them.  Whatever you do, don't give up - serendipity is a wonderful thing. 

Good luck

Nell

[Barbara F]

J H
When I need to research a new area of the country I always look at this site http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/

There is a page for each county which has lots of links and should tell you where parish registers are held and whether there are any transcriptions either on-line or on CD ROM/microfiche.  There are links to Family History Societies who also have transcript information.  Some have a look up service.  The Yorkshire page looks very informative.

Once you have located the registers, I have found that the best method is to extract all details for the required name over a given period - particularly if you have to travel to the Record Office or have to get a researcher to extract the details for you. This means that you can look at the data at your leisure and you can then try to link all the odd bits of information together.  Once you have your theories about family groupings you can test them out against census data, wills etc. Remember that people born in the 1770s may still be alive in 1841 - quite a few of mine were!

Good luck

Barbara F