Gather Some Leaves for Your Family's Tree

 

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

It's meteorological autumn in the northern hemisphere, so in this post I share some interesting genealogy sources that will hopefully lend detail and colour to the leaves of your family tree.  I’ve collected some free guides for records of the British Isles.

No matter how many times you’ve used these records, you can always pick up more tips on how to read or use them in a different way, especially by studying the official guides written by their keepers.

Scotland

National Records of Scotland Research Guides: Individual guides for each record type, from adoption to wills & testaments.

Did you know that you can search for and view historical images on ScotlandsPeople at no cost? These include categories such as aerial photography, historic sites and monuments, society, and transport. Today at midday (UK time) should see the scheduled launch of their refreshed website, so check it out and see what goodies you can find among their image collections.

England & Wales

The National Archives: How to look for records of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales.

National Library of Wales: Help with your family history research – including Getting Started, and guides to different record types like tithe maps. 

Ireland

PRONI: Archives for family and local history.  A comprehensive listing of resources for tracing ancestors on the island of Ireland.

National Archives of Ireland: Sources for family & local history.  An introduction to what’s available via the Archives in Dublin and its website.

And for anyone interested in learning more about researching Scots ancestors, this Saturday you can join the latest Scottish Indexes Conference. Wherever you are in the world, the organisers have planned a conference schedule to suit you. Hear from experts on an intriguing mix of subjects which are bound to help you - especially if your ancestor was, among other things, a postman, a criminal, or a burgess...or perhaps all three.