where do I start with my family history?

[robbiedog]

Hello
I am new to all this but would like to start to research my family history?
What do I need to do to get going?
Thank you

[BridgetM]

The first thing I did was talk to my father, who's now 81. 

[robbiedog]

Thanks for your reply.
Not really an option as he has been gone for 75 years!
But appreciate you replying anyway.

[groom]

Hi welcome to Rootschat.

Bridget is right, talk to as many family members as you can before it is too late. The cry of most genealogists is, "If only I'd asked...."

You need to start with what you know and work backwards. Your birth certificate will give your parents' names,their marriage certificate will give both of their fathers' names and then gradually work backwards until you get to before 1911. Then you can start using the censuses. You can find birth, marriages and death information on

 http://www.freebmd.org.uk/

Ask as much as you like on here, everyone is friendly and will help. Dont post the names of anyone who might still be living though, and we can't post anything from the 1911 census.

Jan

[stanmapstone]

You could have a look at Family history and research, First steps in researching your family history
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Familyhistoryandresearch/index.htm


Stan

[pinot]

Hi Robbiedog and welcome 
            You could do a lot worse than have a browse here on Rootschat: click on the 'Welcome' button on the RC Homepage, then at the bottom of that page you'll find areas of interest; the beginners section will keep you going for a day or two. Two of my favourite sites (afterRC  ) are GENUKI and CYNDISLIST.
                          Best wishes,
                                                   Pinot
                           

[millymcb]

Hi Robbiedog - and a welcome from me too?

Do you have any old family documents?  Even the most mundane things may provide useful clues. The first thing I did was get out everything we had (luckily my grandmother had kept lots of odd things in a box that my mother had - and will eventually come to me)  There were a few birth and marriage cetificates which were obviously helpful - but also old bank books, receipts for funeral expenses and burial plots, some letters between her and my grandfather when they were courting, letters from my grandfather's employer when they married, a copy of an old auntie's will, quite a few old photos which she had taken the trouble to write names on before she died and even an old scrap of paper my great grandmother had written the name and number of a canadian solder on (researching it I found out the soldier was in fact one of her nephews and it led me into a whole new are of research.

I went through it all picking out dates, names and addresses which I could use later as clues or to cross check information.

A few other useful sites to get you going:
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/
https://www.familysearch.org/

Milly

[Seoras]

First thing you need Robbiedog is your parents marriage certificate as Groom said earlier,this will give you their parents and the area of the country your search begins.Good luck,it's a fascinating journey.

[amazon510]

Take careful notes!  Make note of where you found every fact.  I have spent so much time going back over ground I covered early on, just because I couldn't remember where I found something or what my scribbles meant at the time.  I have a big accordian binder for keeping notes, original documents, photos, etc.  A laptop with genealogy software would also be handy in this day and age, plus a scanner so you can take digital copies of documents and photos family loan you.

J.