Find Ancestors

SURNAMES If you know that there are a few different spellings of the surname you're looking up that have been used, be sure to provide them as possible alternatives! You never know when they will crop up under one spelling or another!

HINTS AND TIPS FOR POSTING Message originally submitted by Lyla :- If you have a lengthy request, no matter how nicely you set it out it will still bunch up and look horrible when you post it. The best way round this is type a very simple note such as "See Below". Then you can reply to your own thread and set it out clearly. _____________________________________________ Message Originally submitted by Lyla :- Just one more thing I'd like to add which really helps the people doing lookups. If some information has been found for you, please say whether it is relevant or not on your thread. (you can still send a personal reply as well if you feel the need). Sometimes there are lots of people searching on your behalf who would like to know the outcome even if they werent able to post the answer first. Also, if you start a new thread about the same family as in a previous thread, please mention what information has already been found for you so that people dont keep repeating the same lookups. _______________________________________________ Message Originally submitted by Heather in North Warwickshire :- Please check your old threads because sometimes additional information has been added AFTER you've posted your thankyou message

Message originally submitted by Richard Platell GC - LOST THREAD? If you "lose your thread", i.e. a thread that you either created or on which you have posted a request has dropped off the first few pages of the board, then click on the "view your threads only" link (located on the right towards the top of the board). The board will then show only the threads which you have created or to which you have added a message. Then, when you have found and opened the required thread, click on the "All Replies" link to see other people's subsequent messages on that thread. If you feel that your query hasn't been resolved, then "nudge" the thread as explained above. If you have received any responses (whether helpful or not!) , then add a short message to let others know that you've at least seen the response (this will also nudge the thread back up the board, serving 2 purposes at once!).

CENSUS LOOKUPS Heres some tips for getting a response to your census query. 1) Make sure you put which census you want the lookup for in the subject bar, along with which area you're wanting the lookup in, e.g. 1891 census Leeds. Just putting 1861 census lookup often isn't enough to make people look. 2) Give the full name of the person(s) you're looking for. Also include (if you know it) the year they were born, where they born, their last known occupation, their last known address. Also make it clear where in the country you expect that person to be. 3) If you've found the person(s) in other census returns it can sometimes help to tell people about it. 4) Be reasonable in your request. Some names are more common that others and so even just giving the likely county they will be in isn't enough. If you can't give a lot of information, don't worry. Make it clear on your topic that you don't know any more that what you have already given. 5) Be patient. Few census returns are indexed either by name or address and so it can involve a lot of searching. 6) Always say thank you :) 7) The 1861 census is one of the least accessible as few indexes have been produced for it. Therefore it is the 1861 census requests that are the hardest to find info for. 8) Please remember that some lookups will cost the kind person doing the lookup for you! For example the 1901 census is free to search but to see the images it costs. Beaware of this when asking for lookups. ______________________________________________ Message originally posted by Lyla :- Census information (taken from the Getting Started section on your home page). The first true census was taken in 1841, enumerating everyone by name, with adults' ages rounded down to the nearest five years and stating whether each person was born in their county of residence. From 1851 to 1901 they include names, ages and places of birth. Ages and birth places may be recorded incorrectly but usually they can lead you straight back to the right baptism register. The dates of the censuses were 6 June 1841; 30 March 1851; 7 April 1861; 2 April 1871; 3 April 1881; 5 April 1891 and 31 March 1901. They can be searched at the Family Records Centre (see above). The 1901 census is fully indexed at www.census.pro.gov.uk and the 1881 census is indexed at www.familysearch.org. Those for Scotland are at New Register House. Those for Ireland only survive for 1901 and 1911 and are at the National Archives, Dublin, with copies at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. __________________________________________________ Originally posted by Benjamin Caine :- On the subject of censuses, ages werent always accurate, of course, and some people just didnt know exactly how old they were. Also birthplaces were also unreliable, and sometimes people didnt know exactly where they were born and were bought up in a different part of the country to where they were born and put their birthplace as where they grew up. Also if you find an ancestor who was married under the mums maiden name and the father married the mother a few months later, it is possible the man who the mother married might not of been the child's real father. ___________________________________________________ Originally posted by Lesley M :- Before asking for census lookups, check to see whether they are available online to search yourself. The 1881 and 1901 censuses for England (and Wales?) are available to search free of charge: 1881: www(.)familysearch(.)org 1901: www(.)census(.)pro(.)gov(.)uk (remove brackets) If you are unable to find them yourself, or need more help (such as images for the 1901 census), make sure you include as much information as possible in your request. If you have not managed to find the people you are looking for, include what details you have been searching (eg spelling variations, place of birth etc). If you have found who you are looking for in the 1901 census and would like the image of the household, include the details you have found - it makes it a lot easier for someone else to locate the right person again.

HOW TO NUDGE A TOPIC Sometimes topics don't get answered because it was busy or because the person who can help you wasn't around when you posted it. If you feel your topic hasn't been answered, rather than post a new topic, you need to 'nudge' it to the top. Heres how Add a reply to your topic. Most people will send a message along the lines of 'nudge' or 'bump'. By adding a new message you have put your topic back at the top of the list again. Now go back to your topic and find your message which says 'nudge' or 'bump' or whatever it was you used. Click on the delete message option at the top of that message. On the next screen click the delete box underneath the box with your message in. You of course don't have to delete the message, but some people feel this makes the topic tidier. Why not test out this new found skill by bumping this topic up for others to read? :)

GENERAL LOOKUP ADVICE 1) Decide what it is you need looking up. Its no good just posting a name and hoping for any old information. Do you want to find their death? their birth? their marriage? a specific census entry? 2)Check that someone hasn't already offered the lookup you're asking for. There are usually a few ancestry topics etc. and some people have access to specific census returns. Use the search box to look for topics. 3) Always make sure you put the area that your person is in in the title to your post, e.g. 1871 census Wakefield lookup! . A lot of researchers can only help with certain parts of the country and so look at those posts first. 4) Give as much information as you can about the person(s) you want us to look for. A name is not enough! 5)Let us know what you've already tried looking at, what you've found and discounted and anything that might stop us re-doing research you've already done. It means you get the answers you are looking for. 6) Above all, be patient :) Like all boards there are busy times and not so busy times. It may take a few hours or a day or two to get an answer, but most topics will be answered! If you're worried that your message hasn't been seen, read below to find out how to nudge your post so that its back at the top of the board. 7) Always say thank you :) People are more likely to be helpful and friendly again if you do. 8) Be aware that some of the websites that people ask for lookups on are not actually free. For example if you have failed to find a birth, marriage or death on FreeBMD and you ask someone to do a lookup for you on the 1837online website, it costs 40p per page! So when someone asks for a 10 year period to be searched it wil cost somewhere in the region of £16 (40p per page, per quarter, and there are 4 quarters in the year)! For the 1901 census images cost 75p etc. So please think before you ask someone to spend lots of money when you can sign up to these websites and search yourself.

Contents :- 1)General Lookup Advice 2) How to nudge up a topic 3) Census Lookups 4) Lost Topic? 5) Hints and Tips for posting 6) Surnames 7) Births, Marriages and Deaths 8) Certificates 9) Parish Records Lookups 10) IGI 11) General Genealogy Advice 12) Search Engines 13) Thank you! 14) Dates 15) Important Notices - regarding recent lookup requests etc. 16) Searches Before 1837

This topic is intended as a helpful introduction to make sure you get the best results from your lookup requests. Please take the time to read it, all the way to the bottom as more stuff gets added. If you have any tips you'd like to add just add them. If you think theres something else I need to add advice on, let me know :) Please keep bumping this up for people to read! Thank you