Steps to Family History (England and Wales)
Step One - What do you already know?
You probably know a great deal about your family history already but are not yet aware how much. Write down everything you can recall about your family, noting down names, dates (approximate dates are fine as you will be checking them later) and known events - start with yourself and any brothers and sisters and then work back to your parents and grandparents, not forgetting uncles, aunts and cousins.
Step Two - Research at home
Look for family memorabilia such as birth, marriage and death certificates, personal letters and documents, photographs, bibles and books with inscriptions on the flyleaf, war records and medals, education awards, diaries, old receipts plus anything else which has a name, date or address which will give you clues to your family's history.
Step Three - Talk to your family
Talk to as many relatives as possible to find out what they may know or what memorabilia they may have. Jot down their reminiscences; look in the attic and at the back of drawers. If you can, take with you equipment, such as a camcorder or a tape recorder and camera, to make a record of your conversation and their memorabilia.
Do be sensitive about other people's feelings. You may be very pleased to find a 'skeleton in the cupboard' but others may not feel the same way.
Don't despair if you have no relatives or can't find out much as the minimum information you need to actually get started is your own date and place of birth (here speaks one that knows and I now have over 3000 relatives and am still counting).
Step Four - Getting back to 1901 using Civil Registration Records
You may already be lucky enough to know enough about your family history to be able to look for known relatives in the 1901 census (see step five) but if not you are going to have to use civil registration documents, that is birth, marriage and death records, to get you there.
By looking at birth and marriage certificates you can work back from yourself to try and discover your four grandparents and then your eight great grandparents and then your sixteen great, great grandparents.
- Your birth certificate will show your father's name and your mother's maiden name.
- Then your parent's marriage certificate will show the names of both your grandfathers.
- Then your parents' birth certificates will confirm your grandfathers' names and will show your grandmothers' maiden names.
- Then your grandparents' marriage certificates will show the names of your great grandfathers.
- Then your grandparents' birth certificates will confirm your great grandfathers' names and show your great grandmothers' maiden names.
- And so on.
Note as civil registration began in 1837 the number of generations you can discover using birth and marriage certificates will depend on your age and also the age at which your ancestors had their children. (see: More about Civil Registration).
Step Five - 1841 to 1901 using Census Records
When you have got your direct line back to the end of the nineteenth century then you can use the census returns to expand your family history research not only backwards but also sideways.
Census returns lists all the people - men, women and children - living in a house (whether resident, boarding, visiting or working) on the night the census was taken. Information given includes name, age, marital status, sex, occupation and (after 1841) place of birth together with their relationship to the head of the household.
Using the information gained from the census can lead you in the direction of birth certificates for your direct ancestors and their siblings, whilst the disappearance of family members between censuses will lead you to marriage certificates (particularly for those family members reaching marriageable age) and to death certificates (particularly for elderly family members). You will also gain an insight into how your ancestors might have lived by looking into the household, its members' occupations and also at the neighbours and the surrounding area. (see: More about the Census)
Step Six - Using Church records especially prior to 1837.
Parish records are one of the most useful sources of information before civil registration started in 1837. Parish registers were first ordered to be kept in 1538 though some of the very earliest ones have not survived. Parish registers record baptisms/christenings, marriages and burials but not births or deaths, sometimes you will be lucky and a date of birth will be shown. (see: More about Church Records)
Step Seven - Do remember to kill off your ancestors or find a re-marriage
Large families were very common but infant mortality was extremely high. Don't be surprised if you find that a newborn was given the same name as a previous child. Also many adults died whilst still young, particularly women in childbirth, and you will often find widows and widowers remarrying sooner than we would expect today.
It is very important to make sure that you are not rushing backwards with your family research by researching someone who has a similar name and age, but owing to their premature death either as a child or as a young parent, is not your direct ancestor.
FamilyHistoryOnline is very proud to have a large number of burial records from the Federation of Family History Societies National Burial Index.
Step Eight - Probate Records (Wills)
Wills provide the cast iron evidence needed for family research as they give precise relationships within family groups. On average a will names ten people, usually relatives, and often spans many generations. Illegitimate children and other 'unspeakables' may be acknowledged. Wills are not just for those researching the rich and famous as you may be lucky to find that your more 'common ancestor' is the testator of a will or is mentioned in someone else's will. (see More about Probate Records)
Step Nine - Other Records - Specialist Indexes
There are many other types of record that you can use for your family history research. Some of these records can be found on FamilyHistoryOnline:
- Marriage and Licence Bonds and Allegations - Berkshire, Wiltshire and Lincolnshire
- Poor Law records - Settlements Lincolnshire
- Criminal records - Quarter sessions Shropshire and Wiltshire
- Occupational records - Hemp and Flax growers Somerset
- Political records - Freeman of Ipswich Suffolk
- Land records - Land Tax Billinghurst Sussex, Tithe awards Yorkshire
- Gravestone Inscriptions - Cheshire, Cornwall, Dorset, Glamorgan, Norfolk, Wiltshire
- Military Records - Army Deserters, miscellaneous Counties including Scotland)
- Deeds and other Documents - miscellaneous Counties
Step Ten - Going further
Don't forget to make a note of everything you have found, or not found. Record where you looked and any source references so that you, or someone else can find it again.
Enjoy your research, by discovering your unknown ancestors, by finding out more about how your ancestor lived and survived in the past, by digging up some juicy scandals, or by just solving the many puzzles that surround family research.
Use your hobby to gain more skills with using the computer, reading old handwriting, delving into the realms of Latin and toning up your research techniques at your local library or repository.
Gain new friends by joining your local family history society.
Put something back into family history by transcribing more records.
