Historical Past - Family Tree!

[Coinery 1,148]

Where do you start?

Edit: I mean, software, resources, starting points, etc.?

Edited December 14, 2013 by Coinery

[Asumel 6]

When my granddad started he checked church records and just asked around the family for old photos and information.
you can they try Kew records ( natrional archives )and local records offices

im not sure what software he used, and most of the info he got was free, he said it wasn't worth paying for the online sites to fine these things out.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Asumel

[Coinery 1,148]

When my granddad started he checked church records and just asked around the family for old photos and information.

you can they try Kew records ( natrional archives )and local records offices

im not sure what software he used, and most of the info he got was free, he said it wasn't worth paying for the online sites to fine these things out.

Thanks Asumel, a good start!

[Asumel 6]

No worries, I think he didn't bother with any software and instead had the info on a hard drive because he wanted to do the "tree" by hand. I can find out for you if you like?

[declanwmagee 122]

Family Tree Maker, for software. I haven't used it in a few years, but it was darned good back then....

[Colin G. 147]

Family Tree Maker, for software. I haven't used it in a few years, but it was darned good back then....

I agree Family Tree maker is very good and if you buy a copy you will get 6 months free on the Ancestry.co.uk website to search all the records. A great combination and there is some really useful information on there. My advice is that you will encounter many trees that will slot in to your tree as branches come together..take them on face value...a majority are inaccurate. Always check and double check everything.

Certificates can also give you some great information..but they are about £9 a copy now so it does not take long for it to start adding up, but they are often the only way to tie things together.

[Accumulator 52]

I did most of my research before the internet existed but have helped others since. Ancestry.co.uk seemed to be the best website in terms of available data, though other sites may have caught up. Generally the type of records held by on-line resources will only let you research back as far as 1837, if your ancestry is english, the year when national registration of births, marriages and deaths became compulsory (actually the Hardwicke Marriage Act meant that marriages alone have been recorded since 1753, though not kept centrally). Sites such as Ancestry will give you access to the national registration records (the GRO), but they are actually available to search free here. Whilst numerous other records have been indexed and 'digitised', the vast majority, in the form of parish records, remain sitting in county repositories and the only option is to visit and spend the necessary hours poring over old record books. Much more fun that sitting at a computer!

Edited December 14, 2013 by Accumulator

[Peckris 579]

If you use ancestry.co.uk, then whatever you do, stop using your mother's maiden name as a security 'clincher' on other sites e.g. banking - someone could break your security very very easily. Seriously.

[Nick 329]

If you are fortunate enough to have Scottish roots, more information can be obtained from Scottish certficates than from the English equivalents. Typically, post-1860 Scottish certificates contain the details of both parents (including maiden names) or both sets of parents in the case of a marriage.

[Geordie582 18]

MyHeritage is a good site to try

[Coinery 1,148]

Many thanks for the tips, it's something I'd like to get involved with when time allows!

[RLC35 288]

MyHeritage is a good site to try

Geordie, Thanks for the lead, that is a great site!

[Coinery 1,148]

MyHeritage is a good site to try

Geordie, Thanks for the lead, that is a great site!

Are we thinking MyHeritage is better than My Ancestry? Trouble is, I don't know what I want from a site?

[RLC35 288]

MyHeritage is a good site to try

Geordie, Thanks for the lead, that is a great site!

Are we thinking MyHeritage is better than My Ancestry? Trouble is, I don't know what I want from a site?

I have Ancestry.com and I like it, and it is easy to use, and has a extremely large database. Myheritage is also easy to use, and is free, which I like also.

Ancestry is based in the USA, while MyHeritge is UK based, so both have a advantage for the user.

[Peckris 579]

If you use ANY genealogy site, then whatever you do, stop using your mother's maiden name as a security 'clincher' on other sites e.g. banking - someone could break your security very very easily. Seriously.

[Colin G. 147]

If you use ANY genealogy site, then whatever you do, stop using your mother's maiden name as a security 'clincher' on other sites e.g. banking - someone could break your security very very easily. Seriously.

Doh...I only just got that one...

[DaveG38 405]

MyHeritage is a good site to try

Geordie, Thanks for the lead, that is a great site!

Are we thinking MyHeritage is better than My Ancestry? Trouble is, I don't know what I want from a site?

I went for findmypast.com for a few reasons. Firstly, they were the only site at the time (about 4 years ago) that offered access to all census returns - many other only gave you the 1911 census at a premium price. They also have a good many parish records in their database, and the number is increasing all the time - these can be cross-referenced against the Mormon database (free), so is very helpful. They also give access to military records and to the electoral rolls all included in their annual package.

I've used them extensively, and although the annual fee might seem high at around £100 or so, when compared to the sheer volume of data I have accumulated and the costs that I would have had to meet if I'd travelled to Kew or wherever, I think I've had a pretty good deal from them. Conservatively, in terms of travelling etc. I reckon that my £100 fee would have been covered by a couple of trips to London at best. I calculate that I've had the equivalent of around £20,000 worth of data if you calculate that in days out to the records offices. Then there's the wear and tear on me of all that travelling plus time wasted and the delays in getting information, which mostly don't occur online, and as far as I'm concerned the online option has proved to be a fabulous resource.

[Geordie582 18]

I have tried all three mentioned and found MyHeritage and Findmypast to be useful. I thinkAncestry is overpriced and the others can be reasonable provided you tailor your search. I liked the website provided by MyHeritage. Here's mine.

http://www.myheritage.com/site-192711321/stoker

[Colin G. 147]

I have tried all three mentioned and found MyHeritage and Findmypast to be useful. I thinkAncestry is overpriced and the others can be reasonable provided you tailor your search. I liked the website provided by MyHeritage. Here's mine.

http://www.myheritage.com/site-192711321/stoker

I think Ancestry has improved over the last couple of years, especially now you can submit corrections to the data, because as you can imagine spelling at the time was not great and then combien that with a computer reading text and you have a recipe for lots of disasters. However I would agree that the Free BMD is also a useful tool. They are all much the same but the way the search facilities operate mean that you may not find a record on one but then stumble across it on another because of the way the search tools operate.

https://familysearch.org/ is another good free one and bizarrely they have plenty of the parish church records on microfiche and will e-mail you scans of the actual register entry if it is one they have a copy of. It takes a while to get a response but as a free service it is great...and you soon realise that with family trees it is a time consuming process so there is no rush.

Most of your work can be done on Family Tree maker, so I usually just end up having a one month subscription every 6 months and do all my downloading in one go. Genealogy is one of those things that I have found I pick up and put down so a 12 month subscription would not be much use to me.

Edited December 16, 2013 by Colin G.

[Peckris 579]

If you use ANY genealogy site, then whatever you do, stop using your mother's maiden name as a security 'clincher' on other sites e.g. banking - someone could break your security very very easily. Seriously.

Doh...I only just got that one...

Do share the joke! I was being quite serious. I've stopped using my mother's maiden name on most sites ever since my sister started doing genealogy on ancestry.com and posting family details that anyone who had quite basic details could research.

[Colin G. 147]

If you use ANY genealogy site, then whatever you do, stop using your mother's maiden name as a security 'clincher' on other sites e.g. banking - someone could break your security very very easily. Seriously.

Doh...I only just got that one...

Do share the joke! I was being quite serious. I've stopped using my mother's maiden name on most sites ever since my sister started doing genealogy on ancestry.com and posting family details that anyone who had quite basic details could research.

I thought you were joking about the fact that if you were using your mothers maiden name on a genealogy site that it may not be the best security question...I should read more thoroughly

However you have reminded of another issue, just because you may be happy for your tree and the information within to go public, do not assume that all family members will feel the same. Family history can be an emotive subject and it highly possible that you may stumble across information that needs handling with discretion. Invite family members to it by all means but I would never publicise my tree.

[Accumulator 52]

If you use ANY genealogy site, then whatever you do, stop using your mother's maiden name as a security 'clincher' on other sites e.g. banking - someone could break your security very very easily. Seriously.

Doh...I only just got that one...

Do share the joke! I was being quite serious. I've stopped using my mother's maiden name on most sites ever since my sister started doing genealogy on ancestry.com and posting family details that anyone who had quite basic details could research.

I thought you were joking about the fact that if you were using your mothers maiden name on a genealogy site that it may not be the best security question...I should read more thoroughly

However you have reminded of another issue, just because you may be happy for your tree and the information within to go public, do not assume that all family members will feel the same. Family history can be an emotive subject and it highly possible that you may stumble across information that needs handling with discretion. Invite family members to it by all means but I would never publicise my tree.

All very valid points, and I'm certainly not about to publish mine. Most of my work was completed about 20 years ago… all the way back to 1560, so an awful lot of data! I've found that, much like coin collecting, the younger family members really aren't that interested in their ancestry. Maybe when they're older?

[davidrj 194]

the younger family members really aren't that interested in their ancestry. Maybe when they're older?

They will, once their own kids start asking questions. My grandchildren love looking at old photos from the "black & white days"

[scottishmoney 29]

It is a lot different world now doing ancestry research as opposed to 20+ years ago. The internet has made so much more available - whereas in the past I had to travel to distant places to look up information.

I also learnt long ago never share too much of what you find - especially if it contrasts popular family stories. Gees, imagine, I found ancestors that had "shotgun" weddings that happened only a couple of months before the birth of their first child etc. It is just confirmation that people are people no matter when and where - but you don't mess with older relatives by sharing that info.

OTOH my family research did confirm why there was such an anti-English feeling - 1692 and 1745 were the times!

[RLC35 288]

It is a lot different world now doing ancestry research as opposed to 20+ years ago. The internet has made so much more available - whereas in the past I had to travel to distant places to look up information.

I also learnt long ago never share too much of what you find - especially if it contrasts popular family stories. Gees, imagine, I found ancestors that had "shotgun" weddings that happened only a couple of months before the birth of their first child etc. It is just confirmation that people are people no matter when and where - but you don't mess with older relatives by sharing that info.

OTOH my family research did confirm why there was such an anti-English feeling - 1692 and 1745 were the times!

Per the "Shotgun" weddings....The first child can come anytme, after that they take 9 months each! LOL!