basic record finding

[mshrmh]

Neil - previous posters have clarified the post civil registration BMD records for England & Wales.

Individual county records offices don't tend to share records for their county. Most have some national records - eg the GRO BMD inidices on fiche or via an internet link. Some areas have certain records that are online - if you browse the RootsChat "Resources" area for the relevant county they are often listed there.

Also most records offices have a website that has a section (or more) for family historians - these are useful for identifying the types of records they have & where they are located. Some have online catalogues, not always complete, and of varying degrees of complexity for searching. It is also possible to search the catalogues of many archives (not just county records offices) together via the A2A system on the National Archives site:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/

[touchofmange]

thanks people that's really helpful.

[Nick29]

In case Nick's answers cause any confusion to inexperienced researchers  the BMD Indices were held at Middleton Street Islington, which is now closed, they were never  at Kew, which is still very much open and is of course the National Archives.

Sorry, I was confusing myself with an archived 2006 web page which was at the time when Kew was actually closed for a short time, so that arrangements could be put in place for the moving of stuff from Middleton Street to the National Archives.  I've never actually been to either Kew or Middleton Street, because I didn't really start researching family history until 2007, and both places were too far away for me at that time.

[Jebber]

No problem Nick, I just thought I would clarify matters for the uninitiated.

Frustratingly, the books of BMD Indices are now in storage within walking distance of my home in Dorset, but out of reach of the public, such is progress.

[touchofmange]

can i ask another question, i'm not so much looking for anyone in particular, but wondered if you have a regime for sifting through large family groups?

i've gone back through the censuses and reached a dead end (so far) with my research. In trying to unravel all the various relatives or not with the perry surname, i've got myself a bit muddled with clues and where to go next really. I figured there may be a more systematic way of tidying these people and their many offspring and siblings etc, the pages of notes i've made are now forming into one giant puzzle and i can't see the wood for the trees.  Do you have a set way of checking and sorting that just gives you a routine or something to follow and allows you to complete and set out what info you have, hopefully revealing what needs to be done?

appreciate any help. thanks

[gortonboy]

hi,,rather than write notes,,it would probably help you if you recorded everything on proper family tree charts etc.try this link..you can print of some charts,,then fill them in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/record_sheets.shtml

[behindthefrogs]

The problem with filling in everything on a tree chart is that it doesn't take long to run out of space.  I find it better to give everyone a reference number and fill that in on a tree that contains just the basic BMD dates.  I then file everything using that reference.

In the system I use the reference number consists of pair of letters for each surname and then a number for each person with that surname, working back through time, allocated to each ancestor and their siblings.  Any descendents of siblings are allocated a number after a decimal point etc. going forwards in time.

This system means that people can be recorded in the order that you find them and no renumbering is necessary if a few gaps are left for possible missing siblings.  Photographs certificates etc are filed using the same numbering system. 

[mshrmh]

can i ask another question, i'm not so much looking for anyone in particular, but wondered if you have a regime for sifting through large family groups?

Neil - I use one of the family history programs - there are several around. It allocates a number to each person, so although I may have several relatives called Hannah Bailey each has a distinct number. It links each individual, for example, to their census appearances, as well as listing the standard BMDs. It allows me to add, say a scanned marriage certificate & link the details to bride, groom, fathers, witnesses etc that appear on the tree, so that if someone witnesses their sibling's wedding I have a note of date, place & event on the tree record for the witness.

I think most of these programs are versions of databases & if you're a competent database user you could create your own. I started with spreadsheets, but they were getting increasingly unwieldy as my tree grew, so I went for a purchased program - there are several around & some free ones.

[johnxyz]

I'm slightly worried that the answers throughout this thread have not stood back far enough and addressed the underlying questions. This latest part starts with Neil asking   

can i ask another question, i'm not so much looking for anyone in particular, but wondered if you have a regime for sifting through large family groups?

To me that suggests Neil has amassed quite a lot of data but is struggling to make sense of it all.

The first answer has to be not to try to start somewhere in the middle, or at the older end and work towards the present, but the traditional "start with what you know" ie yourself. Then start working backwards. The tree then builds up as a logical structure. Once you have gone back to grandparents, you can if you wish then also start to follow back down their children, ie your aunts and uncles, and hence cousins.

Whichever way you go, there is for each person a set of data. It makes most sense to record it on a person by person basis. This can be  a computer or on paper. There are 4 essential elements:

basic biographical data, supplemented by more detailed information as it becomes available

and 3 links which point to
their parents
their children, if any
their partner(s) if any

The basic data set for each person must have a unique label, the links then point to other people, ie other labels. If done on a dedicated computer programme, this is handled pretty much automatically and if done well makes it simple to step from person to person and follow baranches through the tree. It should also facilitate display or printing of specific charts.  But it can be done on paper, or on a computer without a specific programme.

In the context of the question, the "what  needs to be done next" then becomes a matter of identifying the end points, which are those people for whom you do not have a full set of links.

Above all its this logical following of a trail from person to person. Finding another family of a given name and trying to work out where they fit is best avoided at the start.

Apologies for a slightly lengthy and "philosophical" reply!