So are you ready to start tracing your family tree? Then let’s get cracking…

It all starts with you…

Before you can meet your ancestors you need to start with yourself. It’s tempting to launch straight into searching records online with your surname and seeing what comes up, but resist that urge! You need to start with what you know and work your way back methodically. Otherwise you could find yourself putting all your time and energy into tracing the wrong line.

You don’t want to end up having an emotional Who Do You Think You Are style moment with dear old Archibald Coggles only to find he’s a complete genealogical stranger…

…And your real great, great grandfather is still locked away in the records, rolling his eyes and wondering where your shoddy detective skills came from.

So, get yourself a pen and some paper, whack the kettle on, crack open a packet of biscuits and simply record everything you already know.

Start with yourself by writing down your full name and date and place of birth. If you are married, record the details of your marriage and spouse. Do you have any children? What about brothers and sisters?

Next record your parents’ full names and the places and dates of their major life events, such as birth, marriage and death. Do the same for your grandparents and any generations before them that you know of. What did they do for a living? Did they have any brothers or sisters? Write it all down, it could provide useful clues later on.

Sketch out a family tree going back as far as you can. Unsure of the exact dates? Simply put an approximate date preceded by a c. for circa. Don’t worry if you’re not 100 percent sure whether some details are accurate or not. This first stage is all about getting a starting point to begin your research.

Gathering the evidence

Now you’ve recorded what you already know it’s time to raid your cupboards and lofts in search of official documents and family memorabilia.

Birth, marriage and death certificates, photographs, medals, letters, passports, wedding invitations, newspaper cuttings…

…anything that provides evidence for what you’ve already recorded or reveals new facts and stories about your family.

Top of your wish list are birth, marriage and death certificates. The information they provide is genealogical gold dust and will form the foundations of your research.

You can always obtain copies of certificates if you don’t have the originals. But there are costs involved, so make sure you’ve conducted a thorough search to avoid wasting money later on.

So what have you got? Photographs of unknown ancestors you want to identify? A military medal hinting at a potential war hero? Or a couple of birth, marriage or death certificates to get you started?

Don’t worry if your attic doesn’t contain any genealogical gems. It is still possible to trace your family tree even if you have no handy documents to get you started.

Time to interrogate Aunt Maud…

Once you have written down all you know, and made that cupboard even messier than it was before you started pulling out the family archive, it’s time to ask the family.

Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins…

Talk to as many people as you can. Living relatives are often your greatest source of information. They can recount tales of your ancestors’ antics and give an insight into their character that you may never get from official records.

You may hear stories, rumours and family legends that pique your interest and fuel your research. Even if your relative didn’t meet your ancestor in person they may have heard stories about them from their parents.

But before you get distracted by the stories try to find out the following information about each ancestor they are aware of:

Full Names: Don’t forget to ask for middle names as they are a great way to narrow down the search for your ancestors in official records. Especially if you are searching for someone with a common surname. Also be aware that the names you hear could be nicknames.

Date of Birth: A full date is great but even if you can just get a rough idea of the year it’ll help. They may know what month their birthday was in, or roughly how much older or younger than them the person was. Any extra details are useful.

Place of Birth: Knowing someone’s place of birth will make the process of tracking down their birth certificate and census records much easier. Don’t assume people were born where they currently live. Even if your interviewee isn’t sure where your ancestor was born maybe they know where they were Christened?

Details of Marriage: Place, date, maiden names, bridesmaids, best men…were either of the couple married before?

Date and place of death: This gives you evidence to help you track down the death certificate or a will if you don’t already have it. Plus it is possible to work out a birth date from a death record which could help you track down their birth certificate.

Other Family Members: Did they have any brothers, sisters or cousins whose names they are aware of? Names of siblings can be a great way to ensure you are looking at the right family on the census records.

Occupation: Not just an interesting fact but also a useful detail to narrow down a list of potential ancestors with the same name in official documents.

Once you have recorded these basic details just let your relatives talk about their memories and stories. Just asking a simple question such as “What were they like?” “What did they do?” can produce amazing stories and insights that all add colour to your family story.

Other questions that can give you a lead to start your research include:

• Did they fight in the war?
• Did they travel abroad?
• Did they move around the country?
• What were their hobbies and interests?
• Were they rich or poor?

You may also want to bring any photos you found so your relative can identify people you don’t recognise. Do they have any photos you can see or copy to include in your research?

Do they have any official documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates that they can let you copy? If not then do they know who does?

Keep in mind that not everything you hear may be fact. Memories can become distorted over time, stories mixed up or 19th century rumours passed down as fact. Dear old Aunt Maud may be telling porkies without even realising it.

It is important also to remember that not everyone may be comfortable talking about certain episodes in your family’s past. Stories may have been fabricated to cover up a scandal that still affects those living today.

And just because you find Somerset’s number one sheep rustler Great Uncle Jack a bit of a hoot doesn’t mean others will too. This is also important to remember when sharing your research. So tread carefully.

Take lots of notes, as some details that may seem insignificant at the time can suddenly become incredibly useful or meaningful later on when added to official documents.

You could even take an audio or video recording of the interview. As well as being useful, a recording is also a great thing to pass down to those future members of the family who will never get to meet Aunt Maud in person.

What do you want to research?

So you’ve exhausted all the sources of information about your family from documents you or others already own and from speaking to your family. It’s now time to figure out what you want to research.

Have you got a specific story or family rumour you want to investigate?

Or do you just want to see how far back you can go and see what stories unfold?

If you want to trace as many ancestors as possible and don’t have any preference where you start your research I’d advise starting with the least common surname in your tree. Or the line you already know the most about.

Researching common names can be tricky, so it’s good to start your research with a less common name whilst you cut your genealogy teeth. After you’ve traced one line and learnt how to search the records available then you can tackle the Smiths and Joneses with more ease.

So, once you’ve decided where you want to start it’s time to go online and start piecing together the evidence available to you to unlock your family story.

In the next issue I’ll show you how to get started online with birth, marriage and death records.

The indexes alone can help you with your research, but they also offer the key to your ancestor’s birth, marriage or death certificate. These documents offer a wealth of information about your ancestors’ lives and can provide the clues to the next generation back.

So read on to find out how to use the GRO Index with Unlock Your Family Tree’s ultimate guide…

What Is The GRO Index?

In 1836 it was decided that all births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales should be registered in order to keep track of the growing population.

And so following the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1836, the General Register Office (GRO) was established. Thomas Henry Lister was appointed as the first Registrar General to oversee the collection of records.

England and Wales was split into registration districts, each with its own Superintendant Registrar. Each district was then split into sub-districts where a local registrar was responsible for recording all births and deaths in the area.

A register of marriages was kept by the officiating minister at the parish church (or other place of worship) with a copy sent to the local registrar.

The registrars sent all the records they had collected to the Superintendant Registrar who then compiled indexes of the records for the whole district.

Once a quarter each Superintendant Registrar sent copies of their records to the Registrar General in London.

At the General Register Office (GRO) the quarterly records from all districts were then indexed to create a central index for all of England and Wales. This central index is known as the GRO Index.

Each life event has its own index split into quarterly volumes, with the individual records listed alphabetically by surname.

To order a copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate you will need to consult these indexes in order to find the GRO index reference number corresponding to the record you are after.

The GRO index reference number consists of the Volume and Page Number of the register where the event is recorded.

What Information Can You Find In The GRO Index?

Birth Index

The birth index provides the names of all people whose births were registered in that quarter arranged alphabetically by surname. It is possible that someone was born in one quarter but their birth not registered until the next quarter, so bear that in mind when searching.

For each entry you will find the following information:

Name - You will at least find surname. You should find the full first name in most cases or in earlier records an initial. Middle names may be recorded in full, by initial, or not at all.

Registration District – The Registration District containing the sub-district that your ancestor’s birth was registered in.

GRO Index Reference Number – This reference number consists of the Volume and Page Number of the register book in which the birth was recorded.

Mother’s Maiden Name – From 1^st July 1911 onwards the mother’s maiden name was also added to the indexes making it much easier to find the correct entry.

Example of an entry on the birth index covering Oct, Nov and Dec 1855:

Marriage Index

As with the birth indexes you will find name, registration district and GRO reference number for each individual who married in that quarter.

As the indexes are arranged alphabetically by surname, the bride and groom will be listed separately. However, they will have the same GRO reference number. So it is possible to check you have the correct record if you know the name of both spouses.

For example:

On page 262 of the Quarter 2 (April, May and June) 1875 Marriage Index we find the groom

And on page 183 we find the bride

Now that the indexes have been transcribed into searchable databases online it is possible to see a list of all the people whose marriage entries appear on one particular Volume and Page Number of the register. So if you do not know the name of your ancestor’s spouse you can at least narrow it down to a list of the people who are registered on the same page.

For example:

If we did not know who Eliza Pitt’s spouse was we could narrow the potential grooms down by seeing the names of all men who have the same GRO reference number 1c 705.

However, you do not need the names of both spouses to order a marriage certificate. You can just apply with the details of either the bride or the groom if you are unsure.

After 1^st January 1912 it gets a lot easier thanks to the inclusion of the surname of spouse in the index. So had our example couple above got married after this date their entries would have appeared as follows:

Death Index

The death index provides the name of the deceased, registration district and GRO reference number. From 1866 onwards the age of the deceased was also included. The date of birth of the deceased replaced age at death from 1969 onwards making it much easier to ensure you have the right person.

Example of a death index:

Quarter 2 (Apr-May-Jun) 1921

Where Can I Search The GRO Index Online?

FreeBMD: This excellent website aims to provide a searchable online database of the GRO index for free. A huge amount of effort has gone into the transcription of the indexes by volunteers. They are making excellent progress and now depending on which type of life event you are looking for the database is pretty much complete from 1837 up to around the 1940s/1950s. You can see the progress of the project for each type of the record on the website.

Ancestry: You can also search the FreeBMD database from 1837 to 1915 free on Ancestry. For the birth, marriage and death indexes from 1916-2005/6 you will need to be a member.

Find My Past: A fully searchable database of the birth, marriage and death indexes are also available to search at Find My Past. However to see the original image of the index (or a transcript) and get the GRO reference number you will need to have a subscription or use Pay As You Go credits.

Next Steps

Once you have found the correct record for your ancestor you can order a copy of their birth, marriage or death certificates.

Step 1: What Do You Already Know About Your Family Tree?

Begin your family tree research by recording all the information that you already know. There are many computer packages that you can use to record your family tree, but to begin with all you need is a pen and paper. Sketch out a family tree, putting yourself first and then working back. Record full names and any birth, marriage or death dates that you know of. You can use the prefix c. (circa) to indicate an approximate date if you are unsure. It is also important to note the places where these events occurred.

Once you have recorded all the basic information you can start to add other details about your family’s lives that may be useful later on in your search. What did they do for a living? Did they fight in either of the world wars?

Step 2: Interview Your Family

The next step in your quest to discover your family tree is to talk to your relatives. Elderly relatives are perhaps the greatest family tree resource as they can put a personality to the names and dates. It’s amazing the stories that can be revealed in an interview that you would have otherwise been unaware of. You never know till you ask!

Write down your interview questions before you start. It’s easy to forget to ask vital questions as you become absorbed in the family stories that are revealed! Family secrets, myths and legends can provide you with a starting point into avenues of research you had never even considered. E.g. Did anyone travel abroad? Is there a black sheep in the family? Are there any tales of heroism in the war? Is Aunt Edna convinced you are all descendants of an illegitimate son of King Charles II?

Before you begin asking questions it is important to remember that some family secrets may still need to be kept a secret and your interviewee may not wish to reveal certain information. It is also worth keeping in mind that the details and dates you hear could be inaccurate. Events from the past can get mixed up and confused in people’s memories. Ancestors could also have been known by nicknames rather than the name that appears on official records. Use the information you are given as a guide to your research, but the golden rule of family research is not to regard anything as fact until you have historical evidence to back it up.

Be sure to record all the information that you hear. Even if it seems insignificant now, it could provide useful clues later on. You will find many records of people with the same names and ages in the same place on census returns. Anything you can find out that will point you to the correct person is worth remembering and noting down. Making an audio/video recording is a great way to capture all the information for yourself and future generations.

Step 3: What Do You Want To Research?

Next you need to decide which branch of your family tree you want to trace first. You may have a particular line you want to follow, or a story that you want to look into. Maybe your interviews have revealed ancestors whose lives have intrigued you.

If you don’t have any preference about where you start then go with the least common surname. When you start to consult historical records you can find that hundreds of people existed with the same name at the same time. The rarer the surname, the easier it is to trace that line.

If you don’t have any particularly unusual surnames then look at first or middle names. A distinctive name can make finding the correct records much easier and is a great way to start learning how to find your family tree.

Step 4: Use Historical Records

Here is a quick overview of the essential records you will use in your quest to find your family tree:

Birth, Marriage and Death Records (BMDs)

From 1st July 1837 onwards it became law for all births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales to be registered. These records provide vital information to help you uncover the next generation back.

A birth certificate will reveal the names of your ancestors’ parents, including their mother’s maiden name. Once you have discovered the names of the parents you can then track down their marriage certificate. This will then reveal the names of their fathers and their father’s occupation. You will then have a wealth of information to help you search for more certificates and the census returns (our next vital record) to go back another generation.

Birth, marriage and death records can also reveal other interesting information, such as occupations, addresses, ages (which can be used to estimate a birth year) and even cause of death.

You can order duplicate copies of your ancestor’s birth, marriage or death certificates from the General Register Office (GRO). To do this you will first need to find the GRO index number that corresponds to the certificate you require. To find out more about the GRO index and how to order certificates read our guide here:

Using The GRO Index To Find Births, Marriages and Deaths

Census Records

A census has been taken in England and Wales every 10 years since 1801 to provide information about the population. The census records are kept private for 100 years in order to keep the details of the living confidential. Once 100 years have passed the records are available for the public to view.

The first four censuses aren’t much use to those aiming to find their family tree as they only provide a simple head count of the population.

For the 1841 census it was decided that the names of all the people living at each address should be recorded, along with their ages, occupations and birthplaces. Details of the relationship between the members of a household were included from 1851 onwards. In the 1911 census (the latest to be released) you can even see the original form your ancestor filled in, including their signature!

The information provided by the census returns allows you to piece together the members and events in a family tree by providing a snapshot of the family every 10 years. For example you may see your great great grandparents as newlyweds on the 1881 census. By the 1891 census you meet their children including your great grandparent. In later censuses you see the children leaving to get married and start their own families. You may see their occupations change, their living conditions change and their relationships change. The details you find can provide leads on other avenues of research and help you track down birth, marriage and death certificates.

Previously the census was only available in record offices and local libraries. The 1901 census was the first census to be made available to search online upon its release in 2001. The popularity of this resource has lead to the online publication of all the previous censuses in a searchable form on many subscription/pay per view websites. The latest census to be released is the 1911 census.

Parish Records

As well as BMD certificates you may also be able to find your relatives in parish records. Anglican churches have recorded the details of the baptisms, marriages and burials they carry out from 1538 onwards. This makes parish records an especially useful resource when trying to trace your family before the introduction of national registration in 1837.

Unfortunately searching for parish records is not as straight forward as searching for BMD certificates. You will need to have a good idea of where the event occurred before you start. There is no one place where all parish records are kept. To see these records you will have to travel to the the area in which the event occurred. Some parish records are still held by the church, some are kept in local record offices or libraries.

However things are getting easier for the online family historian. In the last couple of years many popular family history websites have started to upload and transcribe parish records, making them easy to search online. A record that may have taken hours of research to track down in the past can now be found and viewed online with just a few clicks of your mouse! The coverage is getting better by the day so even if you can’t find your ancestors today they may appear in the very near future.

Don’t Just Collect Names and Dates

Finding the names and significant dates of the members of your family tree is just the beginning. There are hundreds of other records out there that you can compile to create a full picture of your ancestors lives. The National Archives, local libraries and museums are an absolute treasure trove of records and resources containing information about the way our family used to live.

Finding your family tree can really bring history to life. You will discover how major historical events have had a direct impact on you and your family.

Here is a taster of what other records are available to help you tell your family story:

Migration: Did your family move from Ireland to England to escape the effects of the potato famine?

Did the industrial revolution inspire your ancestors to move from the country to the city? Did your great grandparents emigrate? Or are you a descendant of someone who made the move to this country dreaming of a different life?

War: What impact did the World Wars have on your family story? Was a member of your family tree killed in action? Do you have a war hero in the family?

Living Conditions: How did your ancestors live? Where did they work? What were they wearing? Did they make an impact in their community?

More and more records are being added online daily that can be used to uncover your ancestor’s lives. Unlock Your Family Tree will keep you up to date with the latest records available. Be sure to check the site regularly for more tips and advice. Good luck with your search!