Researching Family History.
My Mum wants to provide access to a research website as a gift for my OH, who is coming up for an interesting birthday. I know of one or two examples, but would appreciate some feedback on any good websites others have used, and what might be decent value for money. Thanks for any help. 
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I subscribe to both Ancestry and Find My Past. I’ve been full of good intentions to give one up, since I retired eight years ago. Both are similar, and the searches work in similar ways, Occassionally one will have some new records before the other.
You can have an online tree on Ancestry, though mine is not up to date, as I use Family Historian on my computer.
i think they both will have free trials, so you could try them out.
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I used Ancestry and loved it, I haven' t renewed my subscription because I had found so much information and it was expensive just to make a few searches. Will be paying again in 2021 when the next census is available. I found some living family members through their message board.
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Many thanks, I had taken a peek at Ancestry site. Looks like you can do either UK or Worldwide search for different prices. Think they have an offer on at the moment as well.
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This is a bit of an aside to the usual routes of researching family history. I knew that my fathers family originated from Germany in the mid 1800's. So not perhaps the easiest route to to discover things. One clue we had was that my Great Grandfather was a photographer and owned a shop in Brighton. One day I discovered a website that had a history of Sussex photographers and low and behold I discovered the history of my fathers side family all in one go. The only problem with researching family history is that you have to prepare yourself for shocks, I will say no more
David
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Takethedogalong I'm not sure how to phrase this question without causing offence 😂 but if your OH family stayed local - a subscription to that local record office online, which hopefully will have digitised it's parish registers, you'll need these pre 1837, not all record offices were prepared to give up the earning capacity of these!I used to work in our local record office and know 😉😉.
Essex have done parish registers and some electoral registers, and the wills they hold. There's also the opportunity to search your local record office holdings for other things which 'puts the flesh' on your lists. Things like proccess books of indictment for the naughty ones. Admissions and discharge for indoor relief, and outdoor relief, at the workhouse and board of guardians together with parish relief which came before. Gosh there's some sad tales there 😢
Personally I preferred Find My Past to Ancestory for searching and at the time I retired had mostly the same sources. Don't forget if you use these sites they have been indexed for names and errors have and probably do still appear!
David the number if folks who were shocked by early babies etc was amazing let alone anything else! Parish registers spare no ones feelings, bastard, base born are there for all to see 😢
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Thanks DK, it’s OHs project really, but I suspect I won’t be able to resist taking a peek back into mine. When Dad died last year, we realised that he had only one Christian name rather than the two he sometimes used, and that did appear on a few of his documents. We were somewhat puzzled until we realised he had been baptised as RC, and I think it can involve the name of Saints? As you say, all sorts of things get thrown up. Should keep OH busy through his dark evenings though.
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That’s a very good tip B2, could form part of research. We both have parents who aren’t local to where we live, born elsewhere. There are railway connections and of course they moved with the lines and depots as things progressed. I will be chuffed to bits if we could get back far enough to tell if Dad came from Viking stock, he certainly looked the part, very tall, blond hair, icy blue eyes and cheekbones!
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I will be chuffed to bits if we could get back far enough to tell if Dad came from Viking stock, he certainly looked the part, very tall, blond hair, icy blue eyes and cheekbones!
Nothing like aiming high! 😂😂😂. Most parish records start 1500's if they survive, and no offence meant, peasants aren't over recorded 😂😂on the other hand if there's nobility........... if you know which railway you may get somewhere with employees records. So much stuff is now closed for 100 years now to ensure no living persons are compromised.......
Lots of trips in your van, visiting the appropriate record offices. Whole new dimension to our hobby. (We had several visit us, some quite regularly cos we were a great crew 😉😉)
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Several members of my family have enjoyed getting our DNA tested, all special birthday presents and each one unique. We used Ancestry DNA but there are others. Ancestry offers basic DNA results spanning 2000 years. That's one idea.
A subscription to a local family history society is another, depending where you want to start. I've belonged to a London based one but now use two, Somerset & Dorset and Devon. If you've local interests these can be goldmines and you can attend meetings on all sorts of FH subjects. You might find someone has already done research on your family and they usually provide access to a huge range of local family history.
Other than that I've subscribed to Findmypast and also use the excellent and free FreeBMD website.
PS we're from a high percentage of Viking stock but the dark haired variety...looks can be deceptive.
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It is aiming too far I agree!🤣 OH has some links wrong side of bedsheets with some titled aristo allegedly, but that might be his Mum aiming high! 👑 My family had employment links to Wentworth Woodhouse so who knows what that might throw up. I don’t know anything further back than my Grandparents on both sides.
We love a good graveyard as well, must admit.
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I made some notes one afternoon when Mum and Dad were staying with us, they came out with a few surprises, including a possible murder somewhere.😲 Mum has Alzheimer’s now, not too advanced, but she occasionally comes out with a memory we haven’t heard before about someone not previously mentioned. We will be piggybacking onto research other family members have done previously as well. It’s should be interesting. Dad had dozens of Kelly’s Directories, they are great for tracking down a lot of things. He traced all the previous occupants of our old house back for us, including their occupations. He was a regular down at our Library’s Archives section.
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Thank you !
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Yes spelling isn't rigid even in this day and age!
You're right Oneputt about not paying, but that does restrict you to opening hours - sadly Essex has reduced it's hours from 50.5 per week to less than 30 most weeks and only one Saturday a month rather than every 😢. But the resources are fantastic and knowledgeable staff, who don't need to know the details of your personal family history 😉😉, are worth their weight in gold 😂😂😂.
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I have a friend whose family were quite scattered so he often used his UK holidays to visit various county record offices, it's an interesting hobby. I've had to do long distance research so I've occasionally paid a record office search fee to look up something for me. Locally I had a "ticket" to enter (you take identification and obtain a search ticket.) A few years ago I used a morning on a rally holiday on Jersey to search the Record Offices there. I was pounced on by an incredible person who rushed around finding all the things I wanted as time was limited, thanks to him I came out with copies of wills, lists of births etc. People who enjoy searches can be so helpful.
One of the free sites I have used a lot is this one GENUKI LINK.
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Thanks brue, I used that one yesterday. Came up against the 100 years restriction on something I was looking for, but it’s very addictive, you just can’t help wanting to know more.
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Its an excellent but addictive hobby .Be wary when checking early census'' for children's ages ,they tended to be blocked into 0-5 ,5-10 yrs which can confuse matters .But hard work does pay off .After a number of years my wife has traced her direct lineage back to 1066, it took some doing ,and quite a few wrong turns .😁.Above all enjoy.
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..or rubbish handwriting.
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We have a family story, of a relative (my partner's great grandfather) being in the Army in India at the time of Kipling's stay there, meeting Kipling, and his name being used as one of the characters in 'Sergeant's Three'. My partner has now found more information and he was actually serving in India at the same time, so we're now going down to the National Archives in Kew, next week, to find out exactly where his service took him and whether it is likely that he would have met Kipling during that time.
We have photographs of him, taken with his wife and family, outside a house which looks very similar in style to one featured on one Kipling website so we're quietly optimistic that there may be some truth behind the story.
We have used a variety of websites - and discovered that you can get completely free access to several genealogy websites at our local library (part of the Leeds libraries group).
Good luck to anyone who is doing similar research. My Aunt did my father's family, starting in the 1950's when she was a librarian, and has managed to get a history going back to the 1400's. Our family name underwent several changes between the 1400's and the present day.0 -
Don't forget you can also look up Forces records too, this is an example of a WW1 military record.
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Thanks brue. My paternal Grandfather was in the Navy at some point, but I think he would have been too young for WW1, and too old for WW2. He was an engine driver as well so may have been needed at home. I do know Dad’s Mum was killed in 1942, when he was just a young teenager. She was hit by an army lorry in the blackout.
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TDA newspapers will give you details of the incident, if you know where it was. You could try for the coroner's report - probably closed but may available if you can show direct line and you are nearest next of kin.
My husband's aunt, she was in her late teens, was killed whilst cycling near Bishops Stortford. She was cycling with a friend as a train went past - a soldier had a round in his gun and fired it out of the window 😲😢.
We also have husband's grandfather's navy record, came through the family gives dates and vessels he sailed on. A friend got her father's service records and followed his war. We have details of both father's service but haven't done anything with it - FIL was torpedoed twice, not going to do that one!
There was a census taken just before ww2, a population count I believe it's online via Ancestry or Find My Past but you'll definitely have to pay for that.
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That's the 1939 census, quite interesting details but some who might be alive still are missing from the lists.
Naval documents seem to be passed on to the recipients at the end of service. I have my grandfather's which includes the big discharge document with lists of ships etc. If the document corner is intact all is well, if it's missing the discharge was not a happy one.
Happy hunting one and all, it's an intriguing hobby.
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Yes brue, not a 'normal census in the true sense and many missing from the lists!
Yes our naval discharge papers have the corner in tact 😁. Gave us a giggle when we read that if the corner was missing it was dishonourable. We'd have been none the wiser in this day and age. All about being in the know!
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