Genealogy Chat

hi all, I have come to the point where I really need to go further back then ancestry will let me, I need to start using the 1841, 51 and 61 census results. the thing is that my families are from all over the contry and so it would cost me a fortune to buy the all discs that I would need. I know you can get index books, but my question is what info do you get from the books and does each book just cover the village in question or do they do counties? Does all that make sense to anyone, I am a bit confused! Many thanks, victoria

Good morning Victoria... Im also waiting for the replies to this thread... I think they are all haveing a lie in! lol Want a cuppa? Gerri. WAKE UP EVERYONE!!!! :o)

hi gerri, sorry, hav you already put this up on the boards? I really want to trace back further, but there is just no way I can afford the cds. I just want to know whether it is worth getting the books and how much info you can get from them. oh, i would love a cuppa, i think I will put the kettle on! victoria

No peace for the wicked, is there? Anybody can set to and prepare an index. There are no standards as to what they contain or what they cost. Occasionally there are full transcripts, but these take ages to prepare. Some are simply lists of surnames with the folio numbers. Most have Christian names, ages, birth place and folio number. Generally they were produced to save time in finding entries, while encouraging us to look at the original images. If you don't know what exists, try googling the Federation of Family History Societies website. This is an umberella organisation for (MAINLY) English and Welsh family history societies. This should lead you to county organisations, and the Genfair website gives details of publications that can be ordered on the net. B

It is worth checking the internet, I have the 1851, Somerset Wiltshire Gloucester and parts of Worcester it cost £14, it was transcribed in Canada, a few mistakes but its worth it. They have a head of house index, but if you know where they may be living then you can go to the parish and look. When I find what I want I put it into Excel. I think its John Barrington that did this but I can't be sure unless I hunt through my papers. Irene

Hi, A lot of family history societies have indexed censuses for their counties and you can buy the indexes direct from them. Remember that the LDS have filmed all of the censuses 1841 - 1891 so anyone can access any census if they live near an LDS centre. You pay a small fee to order the parish you want and it is ordered for you and kept at the centre for a month. When it arrives you can use the facilities at the centre to search the census. I'm currently searching the 1861 census for Bedwelty (Ebbw Vale and Tredegar) and I expect it will take about 4 hours all together. Gwynne

Victoria As you will have gathered, there is a motly collection of indexes to some parts of some censuses for some years. If you can get to the Family Records Centre in London, they have all the censuses for everywhere, plus various indexes - some on microfiche and others are handwritten lists in a folder in a filing cabinet. nell

hi all, thank you all for your replies and suggestions. Now at least I can have a go at tracing my family back further. I didnt really have much clue before. I thought the only way was to get hold of the cds. Thanks once again, victoria