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Welcome to the ENGLISH PROJECT
It is hoped that this will be the place to come if you are looking for help researching family in England. (There are seperate projects for Welsh,Irish and Scottish ancestry)
There will be links and tips and hints and it may develop into a Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness area, if people are kind enough.
Please feel free to contribute sites that you feel would be helpful to others.
Research Resources
Births Marriages & Deaths
For parish records, census, births, marriages, deaths and much more.
An ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records.
The registers of Births, Marriages, and Deaths began in 1837, although at the start not everyone reported their births, marriages and deaths. Until recently, when these records were transcribed by volunteers, they were only available in London where you would go to view the massive volumes filled with Victorian handwriting. Once you have gathered the information from FreeBMD (or the old volumes) you have what you need to order a birth, marriage or death certificate either from the General Register Office or from the appropriate local one, if they agree.
Example:
Input
Surname Smith Forename Barton County Lancashire
Result
Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
------------------------------------------------
Marriages Mar 1840 (>99%)
CHADWICK Ann Chorley 21 198
HALL Joseph Chorley 21 198
HALL Richard Chorley 21 198
PRESTON Thomas Chorley 21 198
RATCLIFFE Jane Chorley 21 198
ROSCOE Margaret Chorley 21 198
ROSE Elizabeth Chorley 21 198
SMITH Barton Chorley 21 198
If you happen to know the name of the partner when looking up a marriage you may find them listed here as well. In this case Elizabeth Rose was the wife of Barton Smith so I would be more certain that this is the record I want to obtain.
If you think you know approximately where your ancestor was from but you don't recognise the place name given, you may wish to know more about the place named (in this case Chorley). To do this click on Chorley and then the link to find out more 'here'.
Civil registration for births, marriages and deaths started in 1837 for England and Wales. The GRO maintain the national archive of all births, marriages and deaths dating back to 1837.
This is where you can order your certificate Online using the information gathered from Free BMD.
i.e. Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
SMITH Barton Chorley 21 198
If you are looking for a certificate for someone with a common name like Smith you may need to apply for more than one certificate and ask that they check the certificate for known facts.
Using the above example. Had there been more than one Barton Smith I could apply for them all but ask that they check for wife Elizabeth Rose. (or another fact I was sure of like father's name or occupation or an address.) This means that should one of the certificates match correctly you only get charged the full price for that one.
links to nearly 1500 sites that offer online transcription of UK BMD and census material.
For records of birth, baptism, marriage, death and burial taken from non parish sources.
Stands for free registers, their aim is to provide free Internet searches of baptism, marriage, and burial records, which have been extracted from parish registers and non-conformist church records in the UK. The recording of baptisms, marriages and burials in parish registers began in England in 1538 and is separate and distinct from the civil registration process that began in 1837.
central database for UK burials and cremations. Search registers by Country, Region, County, Burial Authority or Crematorium free of charge. If you wish to see the image there is a small charge.
If you are lucky enough to find an ancestor listed here, then you're guaranteed a photo of the grave. Everyone listed on the site has had a photo taken of the headstone.
Census
An ongoing project, the aim of which is to provide a "free-to-view" online searchable database of the 19th century UK census returns.
Although this is a pay to use site it is FREE to search and view the 1881 England and Wales census.
Jewish Records
The home of Jewish genealogy, free, easy-to-use genealogy website features thousands of databases, research tools, and other resources to help those with Jewish ancestry research and find family members.
Medieval
Medieval source material on the internet: Heralds' Visitations and the College of Arms.
A useful source for English medieval genealogy. Lists people who held land directly from the King (which obviously wasn't every big landowner, but many gentry families can be found in these records). Basically, when somebody died, a list of his (or her) land holdings was made, together with a list of heir or heirs to the land. Of course, in simple cases the eldest son was the sole heir, so younger siblings wouldn't get mentioned. But there are lots of more complicated cases with additional information.
Military
People, places, ships, organisations and events associated with the Royal Navy since 1660.
Search for the will of a soldier who died while serving in the British armed forces between 1850 and 1986. Free to search, £6 for a digital copy of the will.
Reference
A site giving useful information about genealogy or Familly history research in the United Kingdom as well as local information for those unfamiliar with the UK.
This is an index, by county, of the registration districts of England and Wales.
The UK government's official archive, from Domesday Book to websites. The National Archives is home to millions of documents, files and images that cover 1,000 years of history.
A digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles whcih was created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust.
Powerful search engine for huge database of Gazetteers, historical maps, travel writing of earlier centuries, sponsored by U. of Portsmouth & others; this one site has helped me find the right place out of misspelled locations in Britain more than any other aid.
A brilliant parish search tool for genealogists. You can search for a parish, calculate distances between parishes, list surrounding parishes and see the Chapman codes ( set of 3-letter codes identifying the traditional administrative divisions in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands)