Genealogy Chat

Hi im new to this and i need to check records before 1837, which is the best way to go about this and has anyone any advice on searching, what website to use, or data source etc any help would be appreciated emma x

depends what you are looking for (www.)familysearch.(org) remove brackets is quite good but information needs to be verified

Emma Basic information for newbies can be found on the GR homepage - scroll down to Getting Started. But to answer your immediate question, parish records can be found on www.familysearch.org - its free, but all records ought to be checked where possible with the original registers, which sometimes have further information. Parish registers are usually with the relevant county records office. They are generally on microfilm/fiche. Some records offices and local family history societies have fiche or paper transcripts available to buy. You can sometimes find information on a payperview basis on www.familyhistoryonline*com. Replace * with . and check that the county and town/parish you want plus the timeframe you want are covered, before you pay for searches. Good luck. nell

im looking for births and marriages

is ancestry good for this type of search? emma

A good place to start is the IGI which is here for free http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp Remember, it is only a finding aid and all records found need to be checked with the original. The same goes for any index you may refer to. If you are local to the area being researched, then the county record office will hold the actual parish registers (well copies of them) If you are not local, try the Family History Society for the county you are looking for. Most have indexes for sale and some offer a search facility at a small cost.

so just to clarify I need to go to my local library which holds all the records(ive been a few times lol) and i will be able to find births etc there, is their nothing like this on ancestry emma x

In answer to your question about Ancestry - no, its not very good at this type of search. The reason is there is far too much! I have spent all day at a county archive today looking at just the years 1775 to 1825 in onl one or two parishes! There's SO much stuff! Even then I ddn't come away with the answers I was hoping for. Before 1837 is when family history gets more time consuming but even more fascinating (and frustrating) Anne

Emma - give an example of what you want to find and someone is certain to look up on the IGI and then tell you where it is and how to do it for yourself.... Peter

thankyou peter! im looking for a marriage for a Thomas Maudsley in prescot lancs between 1830-1833, he married a margaret not sure of her maiden name, he was born about 1812 thanks again emma x

Hi Emma There is nothing obvious in the IGI (I looked for marriage 1820-1840)which may just mean that the parish records haven't been transcribed. Did they have any children after 1837? - you could then get Margaret's maiden name from one of the birth certs Only possibility listed is Thomas MAWDSLEY + Margaret Forshaw 28/1/1840 in Burscough (wherever that is!!) Peter

I cannot find them on the pallots marriages either

Burscough is in Lancs

I knew that much cos I did the search using Lancs - but is it near Prescot (wherever that is) (lol) Peter

its near Ormskirk , dont know how near to Prescot that is !!!

Prescot is about 15 mins from Liverpool if you go east -ish! The Prescot Reg office covers places like widnes,ditton.rainhill and of course prescot. They will liase off their own bat with the other local offices -halton/warrington, if they havent got the info you request. Widnes Library holds lots of local info - parish records etc. Burscough is about 30-40 mins away north ish!!! -in a car but it was probably quicker in the 19th c if you had a mind to go there. Its nearer to southport. cheers

The tiny amount of information that Ancestry has online seems exclusively from printed sources, usually available in large libraries (and the actual books will explain what any strange abbreviations mean). Family search has more, but it is only an index and again it is the tip of the iceberg. If you find someone on familysearch, then great - but remember that the parish nextdoor may not have been indexed, and that was where your ancestor was from. If you can get to one of the mormon's libraries, you can order microfilm of parish registers for a modest amount (if they have filmed the registers you want) By the way, don't ignore the burials. There's at least one tree on GR where the 'ancestor' was buried as an infant, as a glance at the original registers would have shown. It is worth checking to see whether there is a family history society for the area in which you are interested. They have often produced marriage indexes pre 1837. Even if these are not on familyhistoryonline, they will search them for a small fee.