Genealogy Chat

Hi, Can anyone tell me please how to search for rellies in the gap that is not covered by Ancestry (post 1910) and when it starts again in 1980's. I would use too many credits up wading through the pages on 1837online and cannot renew at present anywa? Are there any other 'free' sites? Thanks Gill

I don't know of any sites where these are available. If you can't get to Kew or Islington try your local records office which can usually be found in your county town as they may hold BMD indexes on fiche/film. The only other alternative is your nearest LDS centre. Good luck Janet

or your nearest main library that would have BMD indexes on fiche/film. Joy

Thank you all, I thought local libraries only had bmd's for that particular county. I know our Norwich one only covers Norfolk, and Lowestoft only covers Suffolk. The only way to access the total amount is through the London FRC or 1837online, or so I thought. It looks like saving up for a trip to London!! Gill

No The BMD records from the GRO are the whole of England and Wales and are exactly the same as 1837 online. You have to search every quarter of every year on microfiche. It really annoys me when people give the info that all data is only held in London. Most main libaries and County Record Offices hold this info and not just for their own county. It would be impossible to split it into counties. What they do have only for their own county is Parish Registers and all of the census. Margaret

Our nearest records office is Winchester and that has the GRO BMDs for the country, and our nearest main library is Portsmouth, ditto! And we go to the FRC in London when we need to search the census, too. Joy

You could try the Local Family History Society to the place you are searching. The Isle of Wight FHS have started to put BMDs from 1837 onwards on to their Website. It is possible that others are doing likewise. Good luck Jim

Hi Gill, There really shouldn't be any need for you to go to London to search the BMDs. As Margaret pointed out, most county record offices and many main libraries now hold the GRO indexes. When I first started researching, I had no choice about where to go as the indexes were only held at St. Catherine's House in London, and with three children I didn't get the chance to go very often. I am totally indebted to my local record office at Winchester, for once they acquired the BMDs there, I never went to London for them again. I much prefer doing research in the county record offices, and I only go to London when it's absolutely necessary. I also like to use 1837 because I can save the images, and if I want to I can search at 3am! Carole

Thank you for clearing that up for me. Yes it was me being stupid, it is the PARISH records that I can only get locally - of course the library has everything on fiche. I have spent so long absorbing myself into the websites i forgot about the good old legwork I did a couple of years ago. Sorry for the stupidity and thanks again. Gill