Genealogy Chat

Thank you all very much - fingers crossed i should be ok! c x

Claire Records offices are NOT scary. The staff are usually very willing to help you locate what you want, show you how to operate machines, etc. Remember your taxes are paying their wages and the records office is for YOU and others. I would repeat the advice above - take a clear plastic wallet with paper, your notes, pencils. [offices have sharpeners] Write a list of what you want to find out in priority order in case it takes longer than you think to find what you want. Make a note of where you found all your info and where you searched and didn't find anything, to save doing it again. Have a look round at all the info. Make sure you take some water and food to sustain you - sometimes these places are next door to food outlets, but sometimes the choice is v. limited. Enjoy yourself. nell

You can look at what Chester Office holds by going to their web site. It is out of my area and I don't know what they hold. Ones I use have GRO index of births, marriages and deaths on fiche, sorted by year and then quarters then alphabetically so that can be searched freely. It covers 1837 to about 1995 ish. Parish records for the local area will be available on film or fiche probably. If there was a church wedding after 1837, the marriage entry for that event will contain all the information that you would find on an ordered certificate. Birth certificates and death certificates are not available but if you find the right parish registers, you may find a baptism or burial entry.

Thank you both for your replies! Gwenyth, i've never seen a film/fiche reader let alone booked one - it's going to be very interesting! i do have another question tho. Do they keep copies of birth/marriage/death certs at these places and if so can i get copies there rather send off for them? c x

Each office will have their own rules, so it's wise to check but there are some general ones. Have you booked film/fiche readers? You will need some identification, sometimes photographs of yourself. There is a system of sharing access between Record Offices and you just show your card once one office has issued it and you are in the system. Take pencils only to write with and paper. Some offices allow note books, others don't. I keep mine in a see through zip wallet, but some offices only allow loose paper and no type of bag. Go with a clear idea of what you hope to find, ie know what dates and places to look. Record where you find information and record where you've looked, even if its a negative find. It will save you looking for the same information at a later date. Don't worry too much about making sense of all that you find. ... Time will go soooo fast!....Just get the information recorded and spend time at home fitting it all together. Have a great day.

HI Claire and welcome. As I'm 12000 miles away in NZ, i have never visited the REcords office but good luck!

I'm planning to visit Chester Records Office next thrusday - does anyone have any handy little tips coz i've never been before. I'm hoping it becomes a regular thing, so i should be able to do researching for peeps when i get my head around it all. Claire x