In this section we will endeavour to teach about Parish Records-Where they are-Where you can search for them-Joining a Family History Society-How to keep your paper work organised-Having it published
They have details of where all the records are kept (Mainly
County Records Offices), but there are many commercial web
sites which offer you at a price transcribed parish records
(See Favourite Sites for details). The first thing you have
to do is find out where the parish is and how far from
other parishes your ancestors may have lived in.
This is where the "Parish Locator" comes into it's own, with the ability to print a list of parishes say within 5 miles of your main choice. It also prints out a chart showing their location relationship.The program can be down loaded free from the site.
Parish Clerks Online is a volunteer organisation similar to FreeBMD. Coverage is still limited, but before you pay for access check the site.
Parish Chest is basically a store, covering a wide range of genealogical items. The way it is set up provides you with a lot of useful info including a list of Family History Societies.
This is the one site that will help you in your
searches.
Quite a few allow outsiders to search their members
interests, and if not may allow you leave an enquiry for
members. They have transcribed a very large amount of data
from Parish Registers. Until recently you could search the
massive data bases for a few pence.
They have passed all their registers to www.findmypast.co.uk-although
you will have to pay, I found this source very useful!
There are a number of aspects you need to consider, especially if there is a lot of information coming in.
Here I have tried to visualise where my ancestors, were
located
If a name and area tie in with your connections then you
can look at map and see if it matches your research and see
the entry in my tree. This is on a separate page, which
still needs to be completed at time of launch.
There is a separate page on my Family Genealogy PAge, which contains details of family history that I am struggling with. This is certainly the case with Thomas Randall my GGGrandfther as at this moment in time we are unable to verify his birth parish. You will see that we make a suggestion based on names chosen for their children, which may help identify.
Finally may I thank you for reading the two sections and
hope that the information which is of more specific type
than just a general genealogy web site, has assisted you to
resolve specific problems. You will find a list of Web Site
addresses applicable to Genealogy and other matters on my
Favourite Links page
When you first start your research and follow the normal
approach of seeking information from older living
relatives, progress seems fast. As you continue
researching, using the internet, local libraries, and
government sources, you suddenly find that your research
raises many questions that are not easily answered from
your current experience.
As you will have see, this page tries to give you
information which will clarify such areas as,
relationships, deciphering old writing, old medical terms,
naming traditions, assessing age queries and many more.
I have sent you to the appropriate pages on The National Archive Site, which covers all aspects of the census taken in the UK since 1841.
References of B/M/D are on the books of original entry, completed by the Registrar in the appropriate District. These can be obtained from many sources : Libraries, sites such as Ancestry and the FreeBMD site. Sometimes someone will give you a reference, and it useful to be able to locate the area of origin. The G.R.O site which also covers passports has a lot of useful guides
To help researchers to identify U.K. Counties a Mr Chapman introduced a standard system of abbreviated codes. For example "Dorset" is shown as DOR. I have used "www.genuki.org.uk" one of the best sites covering every aspect of County information, which you will come across later.
You will come across problems in trying to accurately calculate between various events. You may be trying to work out the likely age from a census against a possible relative. This is were the RJT Date Calculator - An aid for Family Historians is valuable and can be down loaded free.
I have already mentioned this site, which enables you to search from 1837 to nearly the present time, for Births-Marriages-Deaths. The reference given, enables you to order a Certificate from the G.R.O. Also it enables you to use a reference to check if that person is a relative. One good tip if you have searched using the name and place for a marriage and have found a suitable entry, is to click on the page of the volume shown at the right. This will show the spouses name and the maiden name of a female. This could tie in with information that has been family hearsay.
On the Internet there are many sources to guides that you can utilize to assist you in furthering your research. Many are general guides to Genealogy Research, quite a few provide clarification of specific areas or sites. Most Genealogy Sites provide guides on most aspects.
We have a separate page for the FamilySearch Site (LDS), this entry is specific to a part of the site that gives you a huge guide to all sources of information on family history. From this point if you go back to guidance/articles and put England in you will see a large list of other guides
GEN-UKI is one of the largest sites which is used as a gateway to all aspects of Country-County-Parish-Maps-Census-Court Records-Names-Poor houses-Heraldry etc. 47 Headings in all, providing you with facts and information on where data can be seen (Parish Records for example) You will be returning regularly to the site as new relatives are found in different parts of the U.K. and Ireland.
As well GEN-UKI The National Archives has a good section on
Palaeography: reading old handwriting
Medical terms have changed over the years and this list
helps to identify what your ancestors may have died
from.
Naming Traditions are very helpful when searching for the
right family. If you have 3 choices , with their Mothers
and Fathers there is a good chance you will have a winner,
if tradition had its way.
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