Genealogy Chat

I am relatively new to the research element, having spent lots of time with family bibles etc collating names and the talking to any relatives I have left. I have lots of names of parents, cousins, aunts, uncles Great grandparents etc but no definate dates or birth places, how is the best way to proceed. Also I have never looked at a census, do you oneed to have any specific information before you go? many thanks in advance for al your help.

Dear Rachel, You should check out "new to GR" on the homepage for lots of hints and tips. Also there is a thread on here which lists useful sites. You need to work backwards from the definites you know. That is, your mum and dad. You have their birth dates, places, marriage details. If they are still alive you will have their parents names and rough ages (their fathers names and occupations will be on their marriage cert - their mother and fathers names and address on their birth certs). When you have your grandparents info, you work back from them, in a similar way. You can view the 1881 census free of charge on the familysearch site. And also the IGI which gives older records which will require double checking as many are submitted by people just like us! To view other censuses (part 1851 - complete 1901) you need to subscribe to ancestry. To get a reference to be able to order a certificate you will need to look on FreeBMD which is being produced by volunteers and is not complete or 1837 online which is pay to view. When you get back before 1837 you will then have to start looking at parish registers for details of BMD. But, one step at a time - write down what info you have already and decide what you need next. Good luck. The boards on here are brilliant for helpful people.

Sheila and Helen, Thanks, I will go to that link on the front page next and I have posted on Public records to see if anyone can get me more info on my 3xGreatGrandad Eden. I'll attempt to plough through, I think the hardest thing is deciding on what to research 1st. Rachael

Well, as I said Rachel, you must go backwards, dont jump about as you could end up with the totally wrong people and that will be a real pain. Work back from mum and dad and get all the facts right first time.