Directory of Family History
Websites
www.amberskyline.com/treasuremaps
Tutorial on how to research your family tree
Large free database of lineage-linked
databases
An ‘all American’ site with links for
searching information relating to other countries. Colourful and quite exciting
to look at but sadly it’s information on the UK was decidedly out of date in
places including still listing John Major as leader of the Conservative Party
(well it is only 6 June 01 after all!) It does allow people to store photos and
family history and if you’re researching the US is more useful.
http://www.archivesinfo.net/uksites.html
A useful list of the archive information
available in the UK. Links into archival sites although some do not work! A
useful UK information source to what records might be kept and where.
British Isles Genealogy
Big Family - UK/Ireland Family History
Research Centre to order birth, marriage and death certificates online
Links to UK and Irish sites, and other
British islands
The site for the on-line 1901 Census
Returns, which is eagerly anticipated. The index is free, but there is a charge
to view the actual records on screen.
The official site of the Commonwealth War
Graves Commission. The CWGC site takes as its inspiration George V’s assertion
that "the whole circuit of the earth is girdled with the graves of our
dead", giving access to records of nearly 2 million war graves (and the
names of 60,000 civilians who died in the Second World War) as well as, in
two-thirds of cases, details of next of kin.
You can search the main database - the
"Debt of Honour" register - by surname, initials, war, year of death,
and force (army, navy etc) - a very flexible search tool.
This site is undoubtedly an invaluable
resource for any family historian who has lost relatives from the Commonwealth
in conflicts during the last century through to the present day.
Another US site but more useful although it
is still somewhat out of date in it’s background info to the structure of the
UK. However, it is used by other sites as a link and has a good facility for
searching by name and geography. A good starting point with lively attractive
pages.
As with "surnameweb" and
"rootsweb", this is a site which scans across the Web for pages that
match your name or subject search. Its own blurb, however, would suggest that
it is much more powerful than either of the above, providing gateway links to
no fewer than 103,350 sites across the world, and having received more than 18
million hits.
Cyndi Howells, who has created the site, has
thousands of British links ranging from "Bert’s English genealogy
page" to well-chosen ephemera, such as history of the copper industry.
www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/catalog.html
Directory of Royal Genealogical Data is a
database containing the genealogy of the British Royal family, along with other
European rulers
http://www.earl.org.uk/familia
An excellent guide to UK public libraries
and their resources and appeared to be kept well up to date. Includes a search
facility to find which library might hold the resources you need.
The UK and Ireland's guide to genealogical
resources in public libraries
Hosts over 100,000 family history message
boards
UK government site giving details of
government departments and offices of relevance to family history.
Aims to give easy access to information and
links to the main UK family history sites on the Web
This is the Web site of the Church of Jesus
Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) and gives free access to (most
of) their unparalleled worldwide database known as the International Genealogical
Index (IGI). This database has been compiled over many years through
transcripts of parish registers, census’ and the like, the whole being
amalgamated into a single, easily searchable database. And it is constantly
growing with new names added daily: it is a site worth returning to again and
again.
The site will also help you find your
nearest Mormon Family History Centre, of which there are many in the UK, where
you can receive expert advice on family history research and request specific
records.
As the name suggests, this site is devoted
to actually building your family tree - although after a free demonstration of
how it works, to go any further you have to buy the software!!
The site does, however, offer a free ‘Find
Your Family’ search option in which the net is trawled for any occurrences of a
surname you may care to mention.
This is a US based site, and having tried
one or two surname searches myself it was not surprising to find that most of
the hits appeared to be of American origin.
Federation of Family History Societies -
UK-based international association
An on-going volunteer project, FreeBMD
stands for Free Births, Marriages, and Deaths. The FreeBMD Project's objective
is to provide free Internet access to the Civil Registration index information
for England and Wales. The Civil Registration system for recording births,
marriages, and deaths in England and Wales has been in place since 1837 and is
one of the most significant single resources for genealogical research back to
Victorian times. The FreeBMD project only contains index information for the
period 1837-1901. Arranged by county, and, if known, by town.
Gendex Genealogical Index
You definitely need to know what you are
doing to use this site! A wide range of sources to access but its index
structure is not the easiest to use and I did not succeed with my search at
all. With time and patience it can provide a lot of information and ways
forward.
Has over twelve thousand links, most of them
to online searchable databases, such as ship passenger lists, church records,
cemetery transcriptions, and censuses for England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland,
Europe, U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand
GenealogyPortal.com is a joint project of
Stephen Wood (The Genealogy Home Page) and Matthew Helm (Helm's Genealogy
Toolbox), authors of two of the oldest comprehensive genealogical Web sites. It
is designed to assist genealogists in finding information that is not readily
accessible through traditional genealogical link sites.
Helm's Genealogy Toolbox can be used to
identify genealogical resources either by using the global search engine or
browsing through categories
Genealogical forum from genealogy.com
Genealogy search engine
www.genhomepage.com/communications.html
Mailing lists and discussion forums for
genealogy
Genealogy discussion forums listed in three
categories: state/country, surname and topics. Within each category there is a
list of forums and mailing lists.
A free site maintained by the Federation of
Family History Societies, to guide and assist searchers (especially first
timers). Very simple information, all text, no gloss or interactive facility.
Good basic information, focusing on the UK and Ireland.
Altogether a most useful site, taking you
through the basics of beginning your family history, developing realistic
objectives, and narrowing your search. The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
section will allay a lot of fears and myths about family history research,
whilst a link to world genealogy newsgroups and bulletin boards could put you
directly in touch with people working on the same name elsewhere in the world.
The ‘Contents & Search’ option gives
access to a county by county listing of where to find such things as archive
offices, church records, registrars of births, deaths and marriages, and data
on emigration. What would appear to be missing, unfortunately, is any mention
of the county library services which are invariably the first port of call for
anyone beginning family history research.
The British Heraldic Archive is dedicated to
increasing interest in heraldry, chivalry and genealogy
This site has advice about getting started
in local history, as well as information about local history societies and
local history courses in the UK.
The (UK) Public Record Office collects all
official documents and manuscripts relating to England and Wales. This site
tells you what is available and how to access the material. Part of the
catalogue is now online, and there are lots of useful leaflets to browse
covering all sorts of topics. This site provides a good first stop for local or
general historical research.
Comprehensive, well laid out and very
colourful. See also census.pro.gov.uk
Large, partially free genealogy site, USA
orientated.
Very similar to "Surnameweb",
although here it is made much clearer as to which sites are going to be
searched for your surname. In fact it searches a standard list of about 45
databases across the world, leading to somewhat less of a US bias. These
databases are clearly listed, enabling the user to eliminate these from future
Web searches.
www.rootsweb.com/~maillist
- access to hundreds of mailing lists hostted by RootsWeb.
www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html
Genealogy mailing lists on the Internet.
This is an easy to use guide to the
resources of the Society of Genealogists, and offers "a unique combination
of research material, guidance and support for those interested in family
history". As well as a list of parish registers held by the society the
site also gives details about the contents of their own (book) library in
London and how to gain access to it. Most researchers will probably find the
following sections on the Web site most useful:-
Full text versions of the society’s leaflets
which give practical advice on how to begin, useful (book based) sources, and
addresses of other research bodies to contact. Full text articles from the Genealogist
magazine which includes an index to surnames of families who have been the
subject of articles in the magazine - a quick and easy way to see if anyone
else has been working in your area.
Full text articles from the society’s Computers
in Genealogy magazine - useful tips on using IT for genealogy with worked
examples.
All in all a most useful site for anyone
beginning their family history, wanting some practical advice on how to begin,
and where else to go when the search starts to broaden.
"Surnameweb" allows you to scour
the Web for occurrences of a particular surname. In fact the site describes
itself as "the largest collection of surname genealogy sites and surname
origins" in the world. As far as I can determine, searches cover
predominantly American sources, the US census featuring heavily.
For those researching the Scottish clans,
try the Gathering of the Clans Home Page
In contrast to some of the other
".com" and ".org" sites discussed above (e.g.
"familytreemaker", "surnameweb" and "rootsweb")
this is a site devoted specifically to genealogy in the UK. It is helpfully
divided by region - England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland - with surname lists
and contact details (both online and postal) for family history societies in
each area.
By selecting "England" and
"Counties" you can access the Nottinghamshire pages which list a
number of useful research institutions in the county - Archives, Registrar
Offices are listed, but as with Genuki above, no mention is made of resources
in libraries.