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identifying ancestors pre1830

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Elizabeth

Elizabeth Report 28 Dec 2008 17:37

hi, this might sound a really daft question but If I am tracking my ancestry before 1830's is the only route through Parish records? If so what is the best and cheapest way to do this? IGI records give a pretty clear picture to about 1720 for me but without anything being confimed.
Lizzie

KathleenBell

KathleenBell Report 28 Dec 2008 17:52

You can order parish records from your nearest LDS Family History Centre (addresses for these are on www.familysearch.org) It costs just a few pounds to order the records on film and the Centre will keep the film for about a month to give you time to view it.

The staff at these Centres are very helpful and will not mention their religion to you unless you ask about it. The centres have loads of records (different things at different centres so it's worth phoning and asking what they have). Anything that they keep permanently on the premises will not cost you anything to search - only the things they have to order in - although they will accept donations which do not go to the church but go to help the Family History Centres.

They all have different opening times as they are staffed by volunteers so check before visiting.

Kath. x

Sue in Somerset

Sue in Somerset Report 28 Dec 2008 17:55

The IGI is a useful guide to parish records and is the first place to look but you do need to be aware that some are guesswork submitted by people. Look for the extracted records as they are more likely to be accurate and taken from actual records.....though there can be mistakes in transcriptions.

Then you need to do a lot of googling online. Some parish records are online or there may be online parish clerks available to do look ups.

If you can get to a local Records Office for the area you are interested in then you can look at a variety of useful documents such as land records.

Try finding wills for ancestors. Some are online but just a few.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/

this is useful too
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/advanced-search.aspx?tab=1

Good luck

Sue