General | Adoption Records | Armed Services | Bedfordshire | Beginner's Guides | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Censuses | Historical Dictionaries and Old Handwriting | Irish Family History | Maritime and Passenger Records | Multicultural | Overseas | Religion | Scottish Family History | Welsh Family History | Wills and Probate
General
Ancestry Library Edition
Available free in Bedfordshire libraries. Click the link or the logo at the top of the 'Local and family history A-Z' page. To see a list of UK records, at the home page click 'Search' tab, then scroll down and under 'Browse by location' click 'UK and Ireland', then click the required country. At the list of records, click the 'View all...' link under each category
http://virtual-library.culturalservices.net/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.local_studies/ancestrylibed.htm
Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA)
Includes directory of professional researchers who abide by the association's code of conduct.
http://www.agra.org.uk
BT Archives
Details of access to the archive in London of telephone directories dating from 1880.
http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTsHistory/BTgrouparchives/index.htm
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
An extensive list of links to sites worldwide.
http://cyndislist.com
Discovery
Discovery is The National Archives' catalogue enabling you to search its records and the catalogues of over 2,500 archives and institutions across the UK and some archives and institutions abroad. You can search for any term, including names of individuals.
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Electoral Registers at the British Library
A guide to the electoral registers held at the British Library's Social Policy Information Service. Includes an explanation of the content and history of electoral registers
https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/uk-electoral-registers
FamilyRelatives
Includes births marriages and deaths indexes, selected parish records and miltary records
http://www.familyrelatives.com/
Familysearch
You can search millions of names on this site, which is produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Includes the IGI (International Genealogical Index), the 1881 British Census, and much more.You can find the nearest Family History Centre, run by the Church, by clicking the 'Library' tab.
http://www.familysearch.org
Federation of Family History Societies
Includes full text of leaflets to help with your research.
http://www.ffhs.org.uk
Findmypast.com
A range of original records for searching and viewing. Includes births, marriages and deaths indexes, selected censuses, death duty registers, divorces records and some passport applications. Also has a 'Living relatives' database that includes electoral roll searches
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/
Genes Reunited
Add your family tree, search for lost relatives and discover your ancestors
http://www.genesreunited.co.uk
Genuki
The main gateway site to sources for the UK and Ireland with links to gateways for worldwide information. An entry point to a vast amount of information.
http://www.genuki.org.uk
Hall Genealogy Website - Index of Old Occupations
A really helpful site for anyone trying to make sense of a census. If you can't find what you're looking for on this index, there are other useful links displayed
http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html
Historical Directories
A digital library of eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century local and trade directories from England and Wales. This is a project on progress being carried out by the University of Leicester.
http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/
Historypin
Dig out, upload and pin your old photos, as well as the stories behind them, onto the Historypin map. You can layer your old images onto modern street view scenes
https://www.historypin.org/en/
Lloyd's List Marine News 1740-1837
Lloyd.s List is a newspaper devoted to shipping news. In particular it records the movements of ocean going vessels and marine news of casualties, .speakings. and other events involving individual vessels.
http://www.maritimearchives.co.uk/lloyds-list.html
London Lives 1690 - 1800
A fully searchable edition of 240,000 manuscripts from eight archives and fifteen datasets, giving access to 3.35 million names
http://www.londonlives.org/
Lost Cousins
Matches you with cousins researching the same ancestors. It also gives family history tips and guides. Free to join and to use many benefits of the site. Extra benefits are available to subscribers
http://www.lostcousins.com/
Medieval Genealogy
Very informative site for medieval genealogy and related historical topics.
http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk
Mocavo
A search engine for genealogists. Also includes digitised books and other documents uploaded by Mocavo users.
http://www.findmypast.com/mocavo-info
National Archives Currency Converter
A useful site for both family historians and historians. Click on Old Money To New to find out how yesterday's prices compare to 2005's prices, or click on Buying Power to find out how 2005's prices compare to yesterday's prices
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/
One Place Studies
A one-place-study (OPS) considers your ancestors in their physical and social context. By learning about your ancestors' neighbours, and studying the historical environment and events, big and small, that took place within a village, you can gain a greater understanding of your own genealogy. An OPS studies all the historical residents of a particular place by gathering all the historical records, memorabilia and stories that mention those residents, and analysing them to reconstruct its family trees and gain insights into the social and economic workings of that place.
http://one-place-studies.org/
Proceedings of the Old Bailey
A fully searchable digitised collection of all surviving editions of the Old Bailey Proceedings from 1674 to 1834. This is 'the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court'.The site also includes historical background and information about associated records (other books and documents about crimes tried at the Old Bailey).
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org
Rollco
Provides records of Apprentices and Freemen in the City of London Livery Companies between 1400 and 1900
http://www.londonroll.org/
Roots Dictionary of Genealogy & Archaic Terms
Dictionary of many common terms found in genealogy work, mainly taken from standard sources
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~randyj2222/gendict.html
Society of Genealogists
Details of the society, including access to, and holdings of, its library (in London), in particular the list of countrywide parish registers held there.
http://www.sog.org.uk
The British Newspaper Archive
Digitised British historical newspapers. Millions of pages already online, mainly up to 1900 but some later. Constant additions. You can access for free in Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Libraries. Or from home you can search for free, but there is a subscription to view.
http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
The Genealogist
Includes birth, marriage and death indexes, censuses, parish records indexes, directories, land owner records, wills and testaments and Knights of England
http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk
The Workhouse
All aspects of workhouse history, including locations, buildings, life, rules, memories, inmates, staff and administrators and more
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/
WorldGenWeb
A site made up of regional and country websites. Select a country to see national and local information resources. All the country web sites have a system for submitting surname queries. Many also have free email lists. This is a volunteer-based project.
http://www.worldgenweb.org
Yesterdays Journey
Yesterdays Journey records the names of people who had dealings with documentation and officials and it gives brief summaries of the types of paperwork involved, such as Settlement Examinations, Settlement Certificates, Removal Orders, Bastardy and Apprenticeship Indentures and so on. It deals primarily with Derbyshire but it does cover the whole of the British Isles as people moved on, or were moved on, as well as overseas.
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~spire/Yesterday/index.htm