Old School

In the rush to find records online, you might sometimes neglect one old school research method that will help you build your family tree: using your resource-full public library.  If, like me, you’re old enough to remember microfiche and microfilm, you’re perhaps wondering whether your local library still has that kind of thing.  Chances are they do, but why not take a walk to your nearest branch and find out?  Or check out their website for details of their family and local history resources.

And while we’re on the subject, public libraries may also hold newspaper archives, gravestone inscriptions compiled by your local heritage society, census indexes and other publications specifically for your county or region – sources that you won’t find anywhere else.  And, of course, there’s always the trusty reference section with its trade directories, atlases, and gazetteers.

Before you grab your library card and dash off: while you’re there, ask the staff about their free digital resources.  Many libraries offer no-cost access to online services, such as Ancestry’s Library Edition, The British Newspaper Archive or the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (its entries cover the obscure and the bad, as well as the great and the good).  Now, what are you hanging about here for?  Get yourself down to the library before it closes!

Moneysaving Genealogist at Work

I've enjoyed two great days at the Family Tree Live show held at Alexandra Palace in London this weekend.  In one of my workshops I shared the websites listed in the previous post (here) and introduced myself as "the Martin Lewis of genealogy".  I'm a big fan of the UK's premier Money Saving Expert (https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/) and as a passionate economiser, I pride myself on knowing how and where to find the best value for money - even with family history websites.  So today I've become the "Frugal Family Historian".  Follow my blog for regular ideas on how to avoid paying a fortune for the information you need to expand your family tree and add to your research skills.

Free Genealogy Websites

Some of these sites will require registration at no charge to allow you access to their free resources (marked with a * ).  Having subscribed to all of these at one point or another, I can assure you that unwanted emails won’t be a problem.  It’s the subscription sites that spam you!

Searchable Sites

FreeUKGenealogy  https://www.freeukgenealogy.org.uk

FamilyRelatives.com  http://familyrelatives.com/ *

British overseas BMDs & missing persons

CWGC  https://www.cwgc.org/

National Archives  http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

FamilySearch  www.familysearch.org *

Old Bailey https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/index.jsp

Search indexed court proceedings here for 1674-1913

Listings Sites

Cyndi’s List  http://www.cyndislist.com/

Online Parish Clerks e.g. Downe, Kent  http://www.kent-opc.org/Parishes/Downe.html

Background Sites

GENUKI  https://www.genuki.org.uk/

NLS Maps  https://maps.nls.uk/

Handwriting

National Archives  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/

Scottish Handwriting  http://www.scottishhandwriting.com/index.asp

Irish Genealogy

Irish Genealogy  https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/

Irish census 1901 & 1911  http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

Graveyards

FindaGrave  https://www.findagrave.com/

BillionGraves  https://billiongraves.com/

Parish or county graveyard projects e.g. http://gravestones.rosscromartyroots.co.uk/

(These can often be found listed on Parish Clerks’ websites)