Genealogy

[Doodle]

I don't know a great deal about my ancestors so thought I'd give the genealogy thing a go and having done a bit of searching I can't go any further without paying a subscription to get access to BMD certificates and Census/War records etc. Not sure which site to subscribe to so any recommendations/info would be much appreciated before I part with my cash.

Mrs KG

[marmite]

Mrs KG.

Re the war records, I obtained my dads army records from when he was in the war 39-45.

Can't remember where I applied for them but I can find out from all the stuff I received if needed. ( think it was army records) Although a google search would also assist you. I had to complete an application form plus a cheque for the search. I also had to prove he was family, I think I also sent a copy of his death certificate. The stuff I got back was amazing, all the details of when he went to North Africa and Egypt details of his trip up Italy with the 8th army all the little troubles he got in with his mates etc.

You will have a long wait until they send the stuff back to you, in the end I sent them an e-mail complaining of the long delay, I reminded them that if the service was free I would just have to grin and bear the wait, but as I had paid for the service I expected all the details be sent in a timely manner, received the stuff a couple of weeks after my complaint.

[Loiseau]

Mrs KG,

If you are based in France, then sadly you probably will not get far without subscribing to one of the genealogy websites such as Ancestry or Find My Past. (If you are in the UK, then most public libraries offer free access to Ancestry on their computers; or if you are in the London area you could go along to the National Archives at Kew where there are banks of freely accessible computers on which you can look at Ancestry.)

Those two main contenders offer subscriptions of various levels, I think from 3 months to a year. I cannot comment on the differences between them, as I have only used one, but Find My Past does include access to the British Newspaper Library, which the other does not. Occasionally there is news of a free weekend on one or the other, so if you are a Non-subscriber you could get access for a concentrated couple of days' research, and test each one out.

Both these would give you access to the UK censuses, from 1841 to 1911. I have even consulted the US and the French censuses through my Ancestry subscription.

Neither one will show you the birth/marriage/death records though. You need to do as much research at home as you can, to establish when and where these events might have taken place. You can then search the indexes for these online without subscribing to anything, and thereby acquire the vital reference numbers, but to view the actual certificate you have to order each certificate from the UK General Record Offfice. I can't remember the cost offhand - I think around £10 - and it can take a month or more to receive it.

I have found recently quite a lot of the marriage certificates are scanned and put online on Ancestry, so if you are lucky you might find one of these without shelling out the money to the GRO. They are very useful, as you get the name and occupation of the bride's and groom's father, which takes you back a generation.

I am also finding more and more original baptismal records scanned and available via the same source.

Also on Ancestry, I managed to see original WW1 documents for my grandfather and for my father in law.

It is not possible to see WW2 records in this way, though. You would have to write in, as the poster above says.

The only free source of records is the International Genealogical Index, compiled by the Mormons (www.familysearch.org). If you are lucky, you may find baptism/marriage/burial details of ancestors, but best if you have unusual names to search for!

Good luck with your searches. It's a very addictive process!

Angela

[Doodle]

Wow, thanks both for the info. (Unfortunately, I am in France so will have to pay up) I have been using familysearch which has supplied me with some information but I hadn't allowed for the fact that surnames I thought wouldn't be that popular actually are very popular and when combined with Jonathan's father being Robert whose father was Robert and his father also a Robert I've given myself brain fog and then confused dates of marriage with one or other of the Roberts! I do absolutely agree with you that it is addictive and I've spent hours without realising it only when the OH delivers a cup of tea and says shouldn't you take a break and I've only been at it on and off for a couple of weeks.

Thanks again, Mrs KG

[Chrissie]

A lot also depends on how unusual or common the surnames in your family are. You can look on the Genes Reunited site for people who have the same or similar ancestors but to be able to contact them you need a subscription (which is not very expensive). If someone out there has already done the research this can help enormously BUT beware of anything you find online which has been put there by individuals as there a lot of idiots out there who just slap in duff and dubious information. One person online appropriated my meticulously researched tree about 5 years ago and mangled it beyond all recognition, including having me marrying my own father!......

Good luck with your researches - be warned, it is very addictive.

Chrissie (81)

[pomme]

You do not need a subscription to get BMD certificates. You can buy them directly from the official General Register Office GRO There are other sites offering BMD certificates but they are commerical sites who charge you more and then get the certificates from the GRO.

It is easier if you have a BMD reference which you can get from a search of the free BMD records at FreeBMD  which has transcriptions of the records from 1837- circa 1975

There are related volunteer-transcribed databases, a free census project FreeCEN and a free parish register project FreeREG. Both cover England, Wales and Scotland but they are not comprehensive.

Family Search is another good free resource for worldwide BMD and census information. This page gives a full list of the English records available for searching however it usually only gives a transcription and a link to subscription FindMyPast for the images.

Various Online Parish Clerks have free online searchable BMD, banns, burials databases

[Doodle]

Thanks Chrissie & pomme. I've been sat here for several hours wandering through the mentioned websites and have found some useful info. I do need to see BMD certificates now to confirm that I am on the right track. You have all given me access to a lot of free information and the census' are great but I'm finding that I'm not just tracking back BM&Ds but am noting down the occupations & other bits of information and have even found - well I think I have - that several children were being looked after by the church so I can only presume that the parents must have died - how sad is that.

Mrs KG

[Loiseau]

Yes, there can be a few shocks when you find family in the workhouse, or - in the case of my husband's family - prison!

Still, I always maintain. The black sheep are more interesting than the others, if only that you are likely to find more records or newspaper about them!

Angela