Genealogy Chat

i'm new to the site. i'd really like to go as far as possible on my family tree. i only know as far back as my grandparents on both sides, but without talking to my family (who i hardly ever see) i don't know how to make sure dates etc are accurate. where do in start? any good starter tips would be very helpful.

Hi Riki - and welcome! You'll probably get heaps of advice, but this is what I did - firstly write everything down that you know for sure - dates of birth etc. Then when you get a gap, apply to the GRO for a birth certificate of the oldest person you have and that will give you info on their parents..and so on it goes. You can also check the census and see where they lived and who was in the household. Good luck! Di Sydney

Riki Start with yourself you know those details. From your birth certificate you can get fathers name and mother name and also her maiden name. Then it's a case of slowly going backwards, try to verify things as goor you'll end up with afantasy tree not a family tree (as Vera would say!! quite rightly too) Also use the links on your home page there's advice on there and if you have a specific question post it on here and someone will usually try and help Last all have fun and good luck Shelli

Hi Ricki If you have your g/parents names and you know their approx age start off with the free sites such as Latter Day Saints & FreeBMD. click on the links on the left hand side of the screen to access them. Best of Luck Terry

Hi Rikki I would definately agree with everything everyone has said so far. Have a look on the links page , you should get some ideas from there. I have found that there is nothing like a bit of information to get family members going on for hours with stuff you've never heard before! If you can get a bit further back and then share the info with them I'm sure they'll be more forthcoming! (Also be aware that the Latter Day saints iste is brilliant, but is not always accurate so you will need to confirm the stuff you find there with certificates etc...) Good luck & I hope you get as much pleasure out of this as I do! Regards Maxine

Hi Riki As you are new to this I thought I would just give you a clue about the Census etc. All these links that I talk about are on the "Links" page. FreeBMD is good up to about 1900. It is not complete so don't worry if you can't find someone you definitely know info about. This site is free. Latter Day Saints is the 1881 census and is also free. If you find someone in your tree in this census, it gives you the whole household and the address where they were living, so is a good site to use when you get that far back. There are errors on this site (as has already been mentioned) so you will need to back up these details. Ancestry.com were doing a free 14 day trial for the 1891 census. I didn't have any joy with this, but it's worth a try as I know many others have. The 1837 site is good up to about 1980, but is still not complete (even though it makes it sound as though it is). This is a pay to view site but is reasonable. Each sheet is 10p to view and it's a minimum of 5.00GBP - at the moment you get 55 views for your money as they are working on the site. There is also the 1901 census. Again, you have to pay for this. When you use this site and find someone you need - click on the SCAN image. This costs 75p and gives you the whole household. If you just click on the name, it costs you 50p and you only get that one single person - so a waste of money to my mind. Hope this helps and hasn't bored you to death before you start. Good luck with your search and don't be afraid to ask questions. You will always get help.