Article Contents
- 1 Research help elsewhere on Cutlock
- 2 UK data and trees
- 3 General Archives
- 4 Discussion forums
- 5 Online help
- 6 Places
- 6.1 Multiple places
- 6.2 East Anglia
- 6.3 East Midlands
- 6.4 Home Counties, including Essex
- 6.5 Lancashire and Cheshire, north west
- 6.6 London
- 6.7 Northumberland, Durham, Tyneside
- 6.8 South East England
- 6.9 South West England
- 6.10 West Midlands
- 6.11 Yorkshire/Humber/Lincs
- 6.12 Wales
- 6.13 Scotland
- 6.14 Ireland
- 6.15 Islands
- 6.16 Abroad
- 7 General
Links to useful material are compiled mainly as they crop up in Cutlock & Co research (with help from Who Do You Think You Are magazine and other sources). General articles on the site will also have related suggestions.
Research help elsewhere on Cutlock
- Cutlock research page for links of direct relevance to the family tree.
- Specialist websites covering migration, crime, institutions, military, peoples and nationalities, living conditions.
- Newspapers, maps and visual resources also have their own page.
- Notes on using Ancestry.co.uk, and related Family Tree Maker software. NB A section on Gedcom tools has been started at the end of this page.
- Glossary, with some common ‘pet name’ variations.
UK data and trees
Paid subscriptions are needed to do anything much here, but check for 14 day trials, any free access offers, etc.
- Ancestry UK site. Also see our Ancestry notes and tips page.
- FindMyPast. Also see their Australian/New Zealand site.
- Genes Reunited. Owned by the same company as Findmypast.
Other less well-known British sites, with their own particular range of databases:
- The Genealogist continues to develop significantly, with census, BMD, nonconformist records etc. plus less standard stuff such as tithe maps, poll books, the 1910 ‘Domesday’ survey. There’s a connected family tree site, TreeView.
- Deceased Online has burial and cremation records for the UK.
Also available:
- MyHeritage – tree building/genealogical social network. They now also own WorldVitalRecords, with millions of historical records (mainly USA, UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada) and what they claim to be the world’s largest collection of historical newspapers.
General Archives
Generally free, although there may be some charges.
- Internet Archive Finding old material online, not just old websites. Out of copyright and copyright-free text (books) could include works of interest.
- National Archives Directory of archives has web and contact details for the vast range of record repositories in the United Kingdom, listed geographically.
- National Archives themselves, based at Kew. The centre for official records (if the documents you want aren’t held locally, try here).
- Historical Directories – a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919.
- GENUKI (UK and Ireland Genealogy) has helpful info on sources of records across the British Isles, and is worth a browse for other info, such as a map of pre-1974 counties.
- AIM25 – archives in London and the M25 area. A project “to provide electronic access to collection level descriptions of the archives of over one hundred higher education institutions, learned societies, cultural organisations and livery companies within the greater London area”.
- FamilySearch – UK records (a Mormons-run site). A mixture of transcriptions, browsable record images and finding records held elsewhere. Also a ‘global’ family tree facility .
Also see
- Community Archives and Heritage Group has links to many community history resources (UK/Ireland). Family and Community Historical Research Society.
Discussion forums
There are plenty of places online where you can post requests for help, raise issues etc. Which ones work for you can depend on the topic and definitely depends on the helpful people who may change in availability as their interests evolve. It also helps to phrase queries clearly with plenty (but not overwhelming) details on names, dates, places, events etc. On most forums anyone can browse/search but you need to register to post queries.
- Rootschat has helped crack a few problems for me. Make sure you find the right area (board) to place your request/info.
- Ancestry.co.uk on Facebook Some useful official announcements and chatty help from subscribers.
- Ancestry message boards. Again it pays to find the right place to post.
- Genes Reunited has a Community discussion area which some people obviously like. Wouldn’t be my first choice as I don’t particularly like how the site works.
- British Genealogy Forums Supported by Parish Chest, you need to subscribe (free) to use this.
Online help
- Ancestor Search All sorts of pointers to family history courses, record offices and other local sources, and the national/online stuff too. England/Wales focus.
- GenGuide Descriptions of and information on genealogical sources (records) – occupations, emigration, census, civil, parish and property registers etc.
- Expert Genealogy provides a way of accessing paid, professional genealogical research help. Also see Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives.
- FamilySearch has a useful research wiki – not just about its own record collections.
- GenealogyInTime has an “ancestral search engine”.
- Connected Histories Use to search across a number of digital resources related to early modern and nineteenth century Britain (started 2011). Some sources require subscription, higher education or library access.
Places
There are official archives and history centres in most English (and Welsh?) counties. There are also loads of local projects, transcribing and collating information from parish registers and other sources from their patch. Rootschat is a good place to find more (and to ask for help).
Quite a few of the links below are sourced from Who Do You Think You Are magazine, which features an area each issue.
Multiple places
- Victoria County History “an encyclopaedic record of England’s places and people from earliest times to the present day”.
- Vision of Britain 1801 to 2001 – maps, statistical trends, historical descriptions (including from well-known writers).
- Parish registers – Ancestry and FindMyPast are competing on putting online transcriptions and images of parish registry entries (baptisms, weddings, burials) around the country, and other local sources (such as workhouse, nonconformist records). An out-of-date and incomplete list:
- Ancestry: London, Liverpool, (West) Yorkshire, Dorset, Ireland. And various smaller extracts.
- FindMyPast: Manchester, Cheshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire; much of Wales, plus many smaller sets in England counties.
- Also check Online Parish Clerks Links on UKBMD, which connects to various local volunteer initiatives on collecting parish-based genealogical information. Sussex OPC has a simpler list of county OPC projects around England.
- Society for One-Place Studies (international); Register of One-Place Studies (mainly UK?).
- Find local family history societies below or via Family History Federation (was Federation of Family History Societies).
East Anglia
For Norfolk, see Cutlock & Co page.
- Suffolk Archives.
- Suffolk Family History Society has an index of parishes and deaneries.
- Suffolk Records Society.
East Midlands
- Bedfordshire Community Histories hosted by Bedford Borough Council.
- Derbyshire Family History Society.
- Leicestershire and Rutland Family History Society, Rutland Local History and Record Society, Leicestershire Industrial History Society.
- Leics and Rutland Record Office at Wigston Magna.
- Lincs to the Past, run by Lincolnshire County Council.
- Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway has a resources section giving local family history societies etc. Also worth checking People section e.g. detailed page about Framework Knitters.
Home Counties, including Essex
- Essex Records Office, and its web catalogue Essex Archives Online – subscribe to access images of parish registers and wills.
- Essex Society for Family History.
- Berkshire Record Office.
- Buckinghamshire Record Society.
- Buckinghamshire Archives online resources – the county council archives.
- Buckinghamshire Family History Society.
- Oxfordshire History Centre.
- Oxfordshire Family History Society.
- Oxford College Archives.
Lancashire and Cheshire, north west
- Lancashire BMD The county’s Family History Societies are collaborating with the local Registration Services to make the indexes to the birth, marriage, death records freely searchable.
- Lancashire Online Parish Clerks Project BMD transcriptions from parish registers across the county.
- Lancashire Archives – online catalogue includes North West Sound Archive.
- National Museums Liverpool includes various institutions with useful archives, such as Merseyside Maritime Museum.
- Tameside Family History.
- Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society.
- Archives plus incorporates various Manchester and area archives.
- Manchester and District Council of Synagogues has an online burial records search
- Family History Society of Cheshire.
- Cheshire Archives.
- CheshireBMD.
- Cumbria Archive Services.
London
- London Lives 1690-1800, “crime, poverty, social policy” and “A fully searchable edition of 240,000 manuscripts from eight archives and fifteen datasets, giving access to 3.35 million names.”
- Museum of London collections.
Northumberland, Durham, Tyneside
- Northumberland Archives; Woodhorn Museum;
- Northumberland and Durham Family History Society.
- Family and Local History records at Durham University Library; the Library’s North East Inheritance project is creating an online digital image catalogue of over 150,000 wills and related archives from across County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.
- Durham County Record Office including indexes to the Durham Miners’ Association trade union records.
- Durham Records Online.
- Tyne and Wear Archives.
South East England
- Kent archives, including History and Library Centre.
- Medway Archives Centre.
- Exploring Surrey’s Past.
- Surrey History Centre.
- The Keep opened late 2013, housing East Sussex archives – records office, University of Sussex Special Collections. and more.
- West Sussex Records Office, or West Sussex Past portal.
- Sussex Record Society.
- Sussex Online Parish Clerk.
- Sussex Family History Group.
- Knightroots, as well as their own family history, acts as a Hampshire genealogical resource (Online Parish Clerk). Note: link problem 31 Mar ’15
South West England
- Devon Heritage.
- Devon Family History Society.
- Cornwall Online Parish Clerks – transcriptions from parish registers across the county, and more. Cornwall Family History Society.
- Cornish Archives Network – directory. Kresen Kernow is the new home (from Sept. 2019) for official Cornish archives.
- Dorset: Dorset History Centre; Dorset Family History Society.
- Gloucestershire (Glos): Glosgen – parishes info, particularly war memorial inscriptions; Gloucestershire Family History Society; Gloucestershire (official) Heritage Hub; more useful links from Glos Local History Association. Gloucestershire Police Archives.
- Lloyd George Survey of Land Values: Gloucestershire. Undertaken over a number of years from 1909, for a national land tax which was never implemented.
- Forest of Dean Family History Trust has various record sets in its resources section.
- Bath Archives has a Bath Ancestors online database; Bath BMD.
- Somerset page on Cutlock & Co.
- Wiltshire Family History Society.
- Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.
- Wiltshire Museum Archive and Library.
- Moonrakers Wiltshire Genealogy and Wiltshire History site.
West Midlands
- Birmingham History Forum Discussion boards with loads of info on resources and particular interests.
- Trace your ancestors in Birmingham, from Midland Ancestors (previously known as Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry). Also has resources for Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
- Birmingham Libraries Archives and Collections, also see The Iron Room blog.
- Birmingham Burial Records from the city council.
- Black Country History – finding material in the museums and archives of the area.
- Coventry Collections.
- Herefordshire History.
- Midlands Historical Data Covering Warwickshire/Birmingham and also Shropshire, Staffs, Worcestershire.
- The Melocki site has transcriptions and information on various Shropshire parish registers. Also some very old Hereford ones.
- Staffordshire Names Index from Staffordshire & Stoke On Trent Archive Service.
- Staffordshire Asylum Records project.
- Warwickshire BMDs.
- Windows on Warwickshire.
- Worcestershire Archives, and The Hive, Worcester.
Yorkshire/Humber/Lincs
- Lincolnshire – Lincs to the Past.
- Hull History Centre
- Paul Gibson – a personal history of Hull.
- Yorkshire Archaeological Society Has parish register and other publications of interest.
- Yorkshire Burials (was Indexers).
- Sheffield Indexers.
- York Family History Society Has an index to prisoners at York Assizes, as well as more usual information.
- Heritage Quay – archives held by University of Huddersfield.
- West Yorkshire Archive Service.
Wales
- Archives Wales online catalogue for more than 7,000 collections of historical records in 21 Welsh archives.
- National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth – various relevant collections including probate records and Crime and Punishment database.
- Cymru 1914: mass digitization and digital archive of primary sources relating to the First World War from the Libraries, Special Collections and Archives of Wales.
- Community Archives Wales – enabling communities to present their own history in their own words.
- People’s Collection Wales.
- Familysearch Wales wiki page.
- Association of Family History Societies of Wales.
- Ceredigion Archives – also have a blog.
- West Glamorgan Archive Service.
- Swansea has a Cambrian Index database, hundreds of thousands of newspapers entries on local people.
- Pembrokeshire Archives.
- Powys Archives, county museums.
- Carmarthen Gaol Felons Register (1844-71) on Welsh Legal History Society website.
- John Ball’s Welsh Family History Archive has various interesting material, even recordings of place-name pronunciations.
Also see Rhondda, Mid-Wales and South Wales pages on Cutlock and Co.
Scotland
- ScotlandsPeople The official site for Scottish genealogy research.
- National Archives of Scotland merged with the General Register Office for Scotland in 2011 to become National Records of Scotland.
- Scottish Archive Network for an overview of what’s available in different archives.
- National Library of Scotland Family History section has resources such as post office directories available online.
- Familysearch Scotland wiki page amongst other things has useful maps showing counties/regions.
- ScotlandsPlaces
- Scotland BDM Exchange – sharing information about ancestors found in Scotland.
- Scottish Association of Family History Societies Has useful info such as burial grounds, pre-1841 population lists.
- Scottish Genealogy Society. Their library has various clan and family histories.
- Glasgow City Archives at the Mitchell Library and their connected Glasgow Family History website.
- Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society.
- Heritage Hub for Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre, and online catalogue.
- North East Scotland Roots “directory to the organisations and institutions in the City of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire which hold original records or secondary sources” for family history.
- Shetland Family History (using The Next Generation web software), Shetland Family History Society.
- Scottish Indexes site has a range of searchable material.
- Old Scottish Genealogy & Family History may also be worth a visit.
- Scottish Monumental Inscriptions. Also see Moray Burial Ground Research Group.
Ireland
- Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). The family history section includes material from a Wills digitisation project.
- For online birth, marriages and death records, see General Register Office NI.
- National Archives of Ireland and their National Archives Genealogy Website.
- Ireland’s census 1901 and 1911 at NAI.
- Irish Genealogy – various church records.
- Irish Ancestors, the website of Irish Genealogical Research Society.
- National Library of Ireland has Catholic parish registers.
- Roots Ireland.
- FindMyPast Ireland.
- Irish Archives Resource, helping you find relevant collections open for public research in Ireland.
- Library Ireland genealogy pages – pedigrees, street directories etc.
- Irish Family History Foundation has a major database of Irish genealogical sources searchable online, including parish records.
- Irish Genealogy eBooks – a round-up of free online resources.
Islands
- Isle of Man – Isle of Man Family History Society, ManxBMD, Manx Notebook, Isle of Man Registry Office. The iMuseum site is due to have archive material available online from spring 2012.
- Guernsey Ancestry site from a local researcher has basic info and some useful links.
- Guernsey’s Local Studies and Family History Research Centre, the Priaulx Library.
Abroad
- Families in British India Society. The Kabristan Archives tries to capture graveyard inscriptions from Indian sub-continent, Sir Lanka, and also Jamaica and Ireland. Genealogy Sri Lanka.
- Trove from National Library of Australia, includes newspapers. Ryerson index to contemporary death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers. Australian Cemeteries Index – gravestone photos and transcriptions. Queensland Birth Death Marriage certificate search.
- France: French Genealogy Blog has plenty of info and web links. English language version of the French genalogy database filae.com, new autumn 2019.
- Germany: German Computer Genealogy (in German), Anglo-German Family History Society, English translation of German words in Genealogy.
- NZ: New Zealand Government’s Birth, Death and Marriage Historical Records website. Archives New Zealand. Also see government guide to family history records.
- Canadian source sites used in compiling Cutlock and Co data are on our other Research page. Additional sites worth a visit include Canada GenWeb for useful links, Library and Archives Canada genealogy section also has list of family history groups, as well as census records (for free – up to 1921 at Sep. 2017), passenger lists, etc.
- British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa looks interesting – they have a section on British Home Children for instance.
- USA Government website page on Genealogy and family history. Ellis Island for searches on people passing through the Port of New York, from 1892 to 1924; also try Castle Garden for earlier.
- South America: South American Brits Database. British Settlers in Argentina and Uruguay – studies in 19th and 20th century emigration.
- Family and Colonialism Research Network “connecting researchers interested in the history of the family in colonial contexts”.
General
- Currency converter at National Archives – the value of old money in today’s terms. Well, as at 2005, as its not being updated. Or try Measuring Worth – RPI or average earnings calculations.
- Institute of Historical Research There are various collections of note in the open-access library.
- British History Online Includes free digital versions of various historical sources, covering a variety of subjects. “Some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles.”
- British Association for Local History website has a Useful Links section of local societies and other relevant organisations.
- Grow your own family tree blog from Alan Stewart (another one using WordPress) keeps an eye on developments, including new online resources.
- British GENES blog (Genealogy News and Events) from Chris Paton.
- Wikipedia on Cousins – describes how to work out relationships and other useful stuff.
- Oral History Society.
Gedcom tools
As I spotted a few, a quick collation.