Useful Family History Links
The following is by no means an exhaustive list of Family History sites as there are other sites that do this already. Consequently the first couple in my list are Family History ‘portals’ that are a good starting point if you want to find sites covering a particular aspect of the subject.The rest are some of the more important or popular sites for UK research and a few we have been asked to add.
GENUKI – www.genuki.org.uk
Excellent starting point for UK & Irish research. Arranged geographically, the site has a wealth of information and links to other sites.
Cyndi’s List – www.cyndislist.com
Whatever the Family History topic you want to research you should be able to find suitable sites from here !
The Federation of Family History Societies –www.familyhistoryfederation.com
The Federation co-ordinates the work of all UK family history societies.
The Guild of One Name Studies – www.one-name.org
The Guild is for all researchers carrying out in-depth research into a single surname.
The Society of Genealogists – www.sog.org.uk
The SoG has an extensive library in London with resources covering every county in the UK
The National Archives (formerly The Public Record Office) – www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
The Family Records Centre – http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/index.htm
Most English central government records are held here. Their site has very useful data sheets about their holdings and how to find what you want, as well as an on-line catalogue.
The FRC site had no on-line data, but details of the services they offer. The site has moved to Direct.gov
FreeBMD – www.freebmd.org.u
A site using volunteers to compile an on-line database of Births, Marriages and Deaths from the indexes held at the Family Records Centre.
Certificates On-Line – www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificate
The quickest and cheapest way of ordering your birth, marriage and death certificates if you know the GRO reference. They can also do searches.
The War Graves Commission – www.cwgc.org
Find your ancestor’s war memorial. Also has details of the memorial grounds.
Family Search – www.familysearch.org
The Mormon Church site with on-line searchable databases eg IGI, 1881 Census etc. Also a catalogue of their holdings.
A2A – Access To Archives – www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/advanced-search.aspx?tab=1
Composite database of holdings of most County Record Offices and other archives.
Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain – www.jgsgb.org.uk
A Useful site for tracing Jewish ancestors. They also publish a series of booklets.
British Genealogy.com – www.british-genealogy.com
A free site with a wealth of useful information and links about British genealogy – worth a visit.
BBCi Legacies – Legends – www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/uk_index.shtml
Local history stories from around the uk, currently featuring Myths and Legends.
UK Family History Researcher – www.familyresearcher.co.uk
Jane Hewitt is a Coventry-based family history researcher and a member of the Coventry Family History Socierty. Her site includes a list of Coventry Blitz Victims, the Dictionary of Old Occupations, Local Home Guard Photos and memorabilia.
My History – www.my-history.co.uk
Commercial site selling genealogy software (very good s/w comparison chart), books and PR transcripts (mainly Lancs & Yorks).
Family Tree Portraits – www.familytreeportraits.com
A Coventry based company producing quality framed family tree portraits from your photos. Also has a new ‘Archive of Faces’ where you can upload and search photos of people.
Pickard’s Pink Pages for Warwickshire Genealogy – www.hunimex.com/warwick/index.html
This website has numerous lists of information relating to genealogy in Warwickshire.
Lanchester Interactive Archive – www.lanchesterinteractive.org
Celebrates one of Britain’s greatest engineers and inventors,Frederick William Lanchester