Family History

General

A2A - Access to Archives
Access to Archives enables you to search catalogues from archives throughout England. You can search for any term, including names of individuals. On the search page, click 'Help' to read how to search most effectively.
http://www.a2a.org.uk/

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://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/ webingres/ bedfordshire/ vlib/ 0.local_studies/ local_studies_a_z.htm

Ancestry.com
Search census records, parish and probate records, civil registration records, directories and many other databases. You can also view and share family trees online, take part in a 'message board' and download charts and forms. 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://www.ancestry.com

Archon
Includes contact details for record repositories in the UK and for certain overseas repositories.
http://www.archon.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ archon

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

British Genealogy.com
Click 'Resources' for useful guides to major types of resource, for example parish registers, censuses, gravestone inscriptions.
http://www.british-genealogy.com

British Origins
Online records including England and Wales Gazetteer maps, Boyd's marriage records, English census records, burial records, court depositions, apprenticeship records, wills and more.
http://www.britishorigins.com/

BritishIslesGenWeb
A site made up of sites for each country and region of the British Isles. Each country site links you to county sites. This site is part of WorldGenWeb, a volunteer-based project.
http://www.britishislesgenweb.org/

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

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
http://www.bl.uk/ reshelp/ findhelprestype/ offpubs/ electreg/ electoral.html

Every Generation
"The online community resource to the black community" with family history and history resources.
http://www.everygeneration.co.uk/

Family History and Genealogy Resources
Links to web sites and articles. At 'Expert links - England' there is a list of many databases and web sites enabling you to see quickly which are free and which are not
http://pricegen.com/ resources.htm

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.com/

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

Helpers (Higher Education Libraries in your PERsonal history reSearch)
A guide to using the resources held in London University's libraries and archives for family and local history research. Includes descriptions of relevant archival and manuscript collections, special tutorials and introductions to higher education libraries and archives, details of access arrangements and digitised examples of the material described
http://helpers.shl.lon.ac.uk/

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://www.historicaldirectories.org/

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
http://www.historypin.com/

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.cityoflondon.gov.uk/ lloydsList/ search.aspx

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/

Mapco: Map And Plan Collection Online website.
High quality scans of rare and beautiful antique maps and views, for genealogists, students and historians. Includes highly collectable 18th and 19th century maps and plans of London and the British Isles. Also 19th century maps and engravings relating to Australia.
http://mapco.net/

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.mocavo.com/

Moving Here
Online resources that record and illustrate the migration of Caribbean, Irish, South Asian and Jewish people to England over the past two centuries. Includes a 'Roots Gallery' giving guides to tracing ancestors.
http://www.movinghere.org.uk

Name Thesaurus
A technology for finding surname and forename variants
http://www.namethesaurus.com/

National Archives - 19th Century Poor Law Union and Workhouse Records
You can search and download documents from a number of Poor Law Unions across England and Wales.There is free access to the records because this is a project by The National Archives with the aid of, and in partnership with, volunteers in several parts of the country. You can search by first name; last name; place name, which can be a village, town or county; occupation or any other words mentioned in the document, for example 'Chartism�, �Strike�, �neglect� or �death�.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ documentsonline/ workhouse.asp

National Archives - Looking for a Person?
'Research signposts' lists that can help you uncover a person's history. The National Archives holds many records which can help you find out about people's lives and careers. The signposts also point to useful records in other archives and organisations, and reveal which records are available online.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ records/ looking-for-person/ default.htm

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/

National Archives: Change of Name Research Guide
Detailed information about recent and historical records. Only in a small percentage of cases is there a central record of changes of name by deed poll or otherwise.
http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=176

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://www.one-place-studies.org/ about.html

Online Parish Clerks
Offers free transcriptions compiled by volunteers for 10 counties, giving access to details from parish registers, census and cemetery records, churchwardens' accounts, overseers' accounts, land tax records, wills, directories and church and village histories. This is not complete and some parts are better than others. A work in progress but worth a look at
http://www.onlineparishclerks.org.uk/

Origins.net
You can search online databases of major records and see results for a small fee. Origins.net links you to 'English Origins', 'Irish Origins' and 'Scottish Origins' and also includes 'Origin Search', a specialist search engine which crawls the web specifically for genealogical information.
http://www.origins.net/

Parish Finder
You can find the location of a parish, calculate distances between parishes and list all parishes within a specified distance of any parish.
http://www.parishfinder.co.uk/

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 Library Newspaper Archive
Digitised British historical newspapers. Millions of pages already online, mainly up to 1900 but some later. Constant additions. You can search free, but there is a subscription to view
http://www1.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

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