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Free Article : Starting Family History Research

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Starting Family History Research

This article relates primarily to research in the British Isles. Researchers of families in Scotland, Ireland or Wales will find some minor differences in relevant dates and Parochial activities and archiving.

Researching your family history is becoming one of the most popular leisure activities of recent times and a great deal of this is due to the fact that the internet is one of the richest sources of relevant information. However, it must also be remembered that, just because a fact is reported on the internet, it does not necessarily mean that it is a proven fact. An error can be uploaded to a site, discovered and uploaded again to another site and, before long, the same error has been reproduced several times and your internet checks reveal the same information, but in different locations, appearing to verify the fact. ALWAYS use internet information as pointers and do your own checks from original sources.

When you start your research you will discover that, in most cases, it comes together fairly quickly and easily especially if you have some basic facts about one or more of your parents and grandparents. A bonus would be if there are living relatives, who can show you pictures, letters and other miscellaneous items, together with anecdotal evidence, that will 'flesh out' your family story. If you can take your family back to 1901 and the latest available census return (to 1911 when this census is made available to the public later in 2009) then the latter half of the 19th century opens up for you as you can investigate the census returns of 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. Each return has slightly different information; some more relevant than others. These returns are indexed and available on the internet from various subscription or pay-to-view sites. It is also possible to access the information at local libraries and Local History centres. Most of these will have the local returns available to browse on micro fiches or micro film. The census returns will enable you to find siblings, homes, occupations, ages etc., which can then lead you to the births, marriages and deaths (BMD) records in the Local Records Offices.

To take your research back to the first half of the 19th century and even further you will need to investigate the Parish Records. Keeping these records became a legal requirement towards the end of the reign of Henry Vlll and many survive to this day although unknown numbers have been lost over the centuries. Additionally, the coverage during the years of the Commonwealth, 1648 - 1660 was more patchy and not monitored. These records are a collection of all the documents relating to the Parish and cover everything from costs and collection for Poor Relief to the building and repair of roads and bridges to discovering the paternity of a child born to a single mother. Most importantly, for the Family History Researcher, they also record Baptisms, Marriages and Burials in the Parish. The earlier ones are more brief and tell us when children were baptised and who the father was; the date of marriages and the names of the couple; burials give a date and sometimes an age and relationship. The amount of detail often depended on how literate or keen the priest was. As time passed more and more information was added on a more regular basis and the maiden name of a mother would be recorded at a baptism; parents' names and occupations would be added at marriages; and more details of relationships and age would be included on burial records.

A valuable site for all Family History researchers is that of the 'Family Search' site, the International Genealogical Index. The site indexes baptisms and marriages (burials only appear when they relate to an earlier christening). The records are the result of the activities, of members of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints, as they filmed the baptism and marriage registers in Parishes wherever the local Bishop would give permission. Coverage is vast but not complete and this fact should always be taken into account and, of course, as with all transcribed materials, errors creep in. The indexes provide basic information of names and dates plus the name of the church in which the event took place. They are invaluable as they indicate which Parish Records should be searched more thoroughly at a local records centre or library as there is frequently more information on the entry. Also, the years that weren't filmed need to be searched for additional family events. The years covered stretch from the late 1500s to the middle 1800s. After 1837, and the requirement for Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths in England, the index entries become much more patchy.

We mustn't forget the value of membership of a local Family History Society to the researcher. These societies give a variety of talks and workshops, hold numerous local resource materials and provide help and information. Many now have websites and host forums so that even if you cannot get to the society meetings you can access relevant information.

No introduction to Family History research can omit mentioning the National Archives website which is uploading vast amounts of information in an on-going programme. There are free indexes to search and, if you find the information you need, then the details can be accessed on a pay-to-view basis. It's not the easiest site to navigate but it is well worth the effort needed to familiarise yourself with it. The site not only provides a wealth of detailed information but also contains many 'help' articles on a variety of topics, including how to read old handwriting styles (useful when you are trying to read an old, handwritten will or other document).

There are a number of key dates in history, when legislation was introduced or ammended, which are important in helping you to find relevant information. Most relevant ones include:

1601, the Poor Law Act;
Settlement Acts of 1662, 1691 and 1697;
1751/1752, the change from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorain Calendar;
1753 Hardwicke's Marriage Act;
1813, George Rose's Act;
1834 Poor Law Ammendment Act;
1837 General Registration Act in England and Wales;
1855 Civil Registration introduced in Scotland;
1858 Wills had to now be proved in civil courts instead of ecclesiastical;
1882 Married Women's Property Act;
1929 minimum age for marriage was raised from 14 to 16 years.

Keep your records carefully. Paper records should be stored in logical folders, boxes etc. If you use a computer for record keeping then keep at least 2 other, up to date back-up copies on separate storage devices. Record unproductive searches also as this will help prevent doing it twice but, as well, information that seems unconnected to your stoy at one time might actually fit in as more facts are discovered. It might all seem a little unnecessary when you start but the records pile up swiftly and you're not going to be faced with the daunting task of sorting out lots of records if you start as you mean to go on.

Finally, when you're ready to start, approach the research methodically and keep meticulous records. Start with known family members and their details, working backwards in time. It is rarely productive to try to work forward from a person that might be an ancestor, especially if you want to find a link! Never take facts at face value and as proven until you've checked out the original source for yourself. Decide how you will approach the history and ask yourself some important questions first:

Do I want to just research my direct line? This includes parents, grandparents, great grandparents etc., but excludes siblings.
Do I want to include siblings of my direct ancestors?
Do I want to include siblings and also their descendants? Obviously, the more you extend your family tree the more complex and convoluted it becomes but it also brings more interesting facts and stories to light.
Do I want to extend my research to find living but unknown relations? Not so easy to find 20th century information as it comes into the area of data protections and privacy.
Do I want to extend my research into finding out how the ancestors lived, what their lives would have been like etc. This takes us into the realms of Local History which in itself becomes a fascinating and rewarding study.

Article Ref : http://www.stijlnet.com/pages/contentwriting/articles/free/2009/0002-family-history.html (First published 12th January 2009)

Author(s) : stijlnet.com site writers for OnlineFamilyHistory.info

Title : Starting Family History Research

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