Tracing your family history can be a fascinating project for the whole family, and you can find out a lot from the comfort of your own home. However, it can be difficult to know how to go about tracing the past, so here are 10 quick tips to get you started.
1) Make a basic family tree
Begin by listing all the relatives and information you already know. Include dates and places of birth, marriage and death, and any other information.
2) Find birth, marriage, and death certificates
Further information can be gleaned from these certificates which document a person’s life, and details such as a place of birth or maiden name also provide useful clues for continuing your research.
Copies of certificates for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can be obtained from the appropriate General Register Office.
3) Look in your own home
As well as documentation such as birth certificates, objects like family heirlooms, mementos and photographs are also invaluable and will really bring your family history to life. So dust off the boxes in the attic and have a look.
4) Talk to your family
Relatives and friends of the family may already have done some research that will help, and older relatives can be goldmines of information. Ask for copies of documents and collect family stories and anecdotes to flesh out the past. When talking to relatives, ask if you can record the conversation or take notes.
5) Search a census
Censuses recording personal information have been taken in the UK since 1841 and include fascinating information such as the number, age and occupations of people living in a household. Censuses up to 1911 are now available to search free online, with a small fee charged for viewing the documents. The National Archives website has census info and links to online databases.
6) Look at military records
As well as the National Archives military records are also available from other sources such as the Imperial War Museum and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which holds records of Commonwealth forces who died in WWI and WWII.
7) Examine a will
Wills provide all sorts of useful information about a person and their property, and are available from a number of sources. To learn about finding and interpreting wills go to the National Archives, or Family Records online.
8) Immigration records
Also available from the National Archives, immigration records will help you trace the movement of your ancestors from one country to another.
9) Join forces
For advice and support in your search, consider joining a family history society. Find out more at the Federation of Family History Societies.
10) Employ a historian
If your search has gone as far as you can take it, but you are still hungry for more, employing a researcher or historian to trawl records for you can be a good way to take things further.
1) Make a basic family tree
Begin by listing all the relatives and information you already know. Include dates and places of birth, marriage and death, and any other information.
2) Find birth, marriage, and death certificates
Further information can be gleaned from these certificates which document a person’s life, and details such as a place of birth or maiden name also provide useful clues for continuing your research.
Copies of certificates for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can be obtained from the appropriate General Register Office.
3) Look in your own home
As well as documentation such as birth certificates, objects like family heirlooms, mementos and photographs are also invaluable and will really bring your family history to life. So dust off the boxes in the attic and have a look.
4) Talk to your family
Relatives and friends of the family may already have done some research that will help, and older relatives can be goldmines of information. Ask for copies of documents and collect family stories and anecdotes to flesh out the past. When talking to relatives, ask if you can record the conversation or take notes.
5) Search a census
Censuses recording personal information have been taken in the UK since 1841 and include fascinating information such as the number, age and occupations of people living in a household. Censuses up to 1911 are now available to search free online, with a small fee charged for viewing the documents. The National Archives website has census info and links to online databases.
6) Look at military records
As well as the National Archives military records are also available from other sources such as the Imperial War Museum and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which holds records of Commonwealth forces who died in WWI and WWII.
7) Examine a will
Wills provide all sorts of useful information about a person and their property, and are available from a number of sources. To learn about finding and interpreting wills go to the National Archives, or Family Records online.
8) Immigration records
Also available from the National Archives, immigration records will help you trace the movement of your ancestors from one country to another.
9) Join forces
For advice and support in your search, consider joining a family history society. Find out more at the Federation of Family History Societies.
10) Employ a historian
If your search has gone as far as you can take it, but you are still hungry for more, employing a researcher or historian to trawl records for you can be a good way to take things further.
