Non-Conformist Registers
By Paul Wilkins - 01/09/2010
A couple of weeks ago I discussed Parish Registers of the Church of England. It is important to note that this church was established in 1534 when Henry VIII broke away from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself Supreme Head of the English Church.
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Monumental Inscriptions
Monumental Inscriptions (MI) have long been a useful source for family historians.
How do we find out where our ancestors were buried? Have a look at where they were last living, for example in the census, then have a look at a map and see where the nearest churches (both Church of England and Non-Conformist) and cemeteries are located.
Wills and Probate Records
Where there's a will there's a way or should it be "Where there's a will there's a relative". It seems that relatives do "Come out of the woodwork" when a will is announced and made known. Anyway if you are researching your family history, wills and probate records are extremely important to consider. You may say there isn't a will in my family, you would be surprised at the number of students who have looked and found something.
Parish Registers
Parish registers are a very important source of information, especially when you get your family history beyond 1837. They started in 1538, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Vicar General decreed that all parish priests had to keep a register of all baptisms, marriages and burials. There are not many records kept before this date except a few monks recording the events of prominent families. In 1597, Queen Elizabeth I ordered that a yearly copy of these registers be sent to the local Bishop, these copies are known at Bishop's Transcripts.
Census Returns
In England and Wales a census has been taken every decade since 1801. The returns for 1801 to 1831 were not much more than a headcount of the numbers of people who lived in each parish, but from 1841 they become more useful because names were recorded, together with information about them.
Civil Registration; a record going back 172 years
Welcome to our second articles in a series on how to trace your family history. This month we will be looking at Civil Registration.
How to begin to trace your Family History
Welcome to the first column on family history. Each month I will be looking at various records and offering tips to help you trace your family history.
This month I will be offering tips on how to get started. I have outlined what I perceive to be 5 of the most important steps when starting to trace your family history.
Royal Research and Gentle Genes
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"When my grandmother died I was given an old tin box full of his family papers. It was a treasure trove of letters and diaries, old sepia photos, bills and a detailed paper trail of two hundred years of colonial existence." Author Barbara Erskine vividly describes a lifetime's interest in Genealogy.
Discover how to trace your family tree – by joining our live webchat this Wednesday
Fascinated by the past? Love to find out more about your roots? Then join in our live webchat this Wednesday - and ask the experts for their top tips on how to trace your family tree.
Find out who you are
If you are one of the many thousands who tuned into the return of the BBC’s popular family history series ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ last month, you might like to know that you can now trace your own history, free, with Ancestry.co.uk.
First World War records now available online
Ancestry.co.uk in partnership with The National Archives is now offering key sets of First World War records on their website for the first time.
Time travelling to our Victorian pasts
Tony Robinson has done his share of time travelling over the years. Now he has turned his attention from digging up the past to digging up ancestors – metaphorically speaking that is. He talks to Tony Watts.