Wargrave Local History Society

1: Start with what you know
Start in the present and work from what you know - the full names and dates of birth of your immediate family -copies of birth, marriage or death certificates will help you to trace your family tree back further. If, for example, you have the birth certificate of one of your parents, it will give you the maiden name of his or her mother too. You can order copies of other certificates it is important to obtain primary source and they contain useful information that will allow you to trace back your line.

England and Wales
Civil registration of life events was introduced in England and Wales in 1837. Indexes to the certificates are held by the Family Records Centre, Myddleton Street, London (FRC). Once you have found the reference in the index, you can fill out a form to apply for your certificate. There are also microfiche copies held by most of the County Record Offices, whilst there is a useful searchable database at http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl (at present covering events from 1837 to about 1915 or so) that will give you the General Register Office (GRO) Index reference. You need to note the place and ‘quarter’ when the event took place as well. You can then order a certificate online at http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/#0.

Scotland
Civil registration of life events was introduced in Scotland in 1855. The certificates are held by the General Register Office for Scotland. To obtain a certificate that is less than 100 years old you can order your certificate in person, by post or by telephone. For historical births, marriages or deaths, indexes and images are available on the internet on the "Scotland's People" website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk - the website is run by Scotland Online on behalf of the General Register Office for Scotland. A pay-per-view website, including indexes and digital images of the statutory registers of births (1855-1903), marriages (1855-1928) and deaths (1855-1953) for Scotland, the 1891 and 1901 Scottish censuses, and indexes to the 1881 census and Old Parish Registers of baptisms and marriages.

2: Talk to your family
Perhaps one of your ancestors or a relative has done some genealogical research before - this could save you a lot of time, especially if they have already obtained official certificates etc. Ask elderly relatives about their memories. You might find it useful to compile a list of questions before you start to help you focus on what you are trying to find out. You might also find old family photographs, letters, diaries or a family bible which can also give you clues to the past. It is worth asking your relatives if you can poke around in the attic. Be careful, however, as people’s memories are not always accurate !

3: Keeping your own records
You will need to formally record the information you have unearthed, and will need files to store your certificates, photocopies and letters. You will want to start charting a family tree maybe using a computer to help. As you gathering more and more pieces of information, you need to organise this information systematically - easier if done from an early point in your research. It can be done manually using notebooks, files etc, but computers can help not only to store information but to view and print out the information in different ways. You can existing computer programs (such as word processors and spreadsheets) to store the information, but it can be more straightforward to use a dedicated package for managing your family tree. They have different tools to present the information, and enable you to track relationships between family members. They can also import and export data in GEDCOM files. (GEDCOM is a standard format for genealogical computer data which allows you to move information from one software package to another). The most commonly used are probably:-.

Name	Publisher and Web sites
Family Historian	Calico Pie.
Family Tree Maker	The Generations Network
Heredis (For MAC)	BSD Concept
Legacy Deluxe	Millennia Corporation, USA .
Personal Ancestral File (PAF)	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

4: Looking at official records
Some records are available on the web but in the end you will need to visit a record office, library or family history centre where you can view copies of the records on microfilm or fiche. Some records are held ‘nationally’ (eg military records at the National Archive at Kew, old newspapers at the Newspaper Library in Colindale), but many helpful records will be found in the County Record Office for the area where the person lived. (eg electoral rolls, street directories, workhouse records, parish registers)

5: Life Events
Births, marriages and deaths only started being recorded by the government in July 1837 (and later in Scotland) - this is known as civil registration. To trace your family back into previous centuries you will need to look at Parish records - the Church of Latter Day Saints has an index to many, but by no means all - of these, known as the International Genealogical Index (IGI) available on fiche in many libraries, or on-line at
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp

6: Census Records
The first census for England and Wales was done in 1801, and thereafter every 10 years. However, the first set of detailed records are in the 1841 census. Only census records of over 100 years ago may be seen, to protect the privacy of individuals who may still be alive. The census details can be viewed on microfilm at the Family Record Centre, and photocopies made there, or from sets of cd roms which are available from several suppliers, or from several online (subscription) websites. www.ancestry.co.uk is probably the best of these, as it holds all the available census details (and also has the GRO indexes). Census records will tell you the place of birth of a person, as well as their occupation, age and address, and often will give family relationships that help in tracing a family tree.

7: Wills
Wills are useful, as they not only tell what a person owned when they died, but normally add family relationships. For wills proven from 1858 onwards, the index can be consulted at the Probate Search Room, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London or on microfiche in many record offices. Copies can be ordered by post from the York Probate Sub-Registry, Castle Chambers, 5 Clifford Street, York, North Yorkshire, YO1 9RG - stating the name address and date of death of the individual. Request a copy of the will and the grant of administration - the fee is currently Ł5 For wills pre 1858, it is necessary to find which probate court - (administered by the C of E) - administered the will. This could be a national record (Prerogative Court of Canterbury - found in The National Archives at Kew - or via their website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline. ) - or locally by the diocesan or archdeaconry courts (both to be found in the relevant county local record office).

8: Getting help
You can join a local family history society and sign-up to email mailing lists on the family history topics that interest you. There is a list of Family History Societies on the Federation of Family History Societies' website www.ffhs.org.uk.

Useful addresses
Berkshire Record Office, 9 Coley Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 6AF
is the nearest Record Office, and is open Tuesday 9.00am - 5.00pm Tues and Weds, 9.00am - 9.00pm Thurs, and 9.00am - 4.30pm on Fri.

Reading Local Studies Library is on the top floor of Reading Central Library, Kings Road, Reading, RG1 3BQ,
and is open 9.30am -5.30pm Mon and Fri; 9.30am - 7.00pm Tues and Thurs; 9.30am -5.0pm Sat

Useful websites
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
These pages give you information about how to obtain a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, a civil partnership certificate or a death certificate, and how to use the services at the Family Records Centre.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/RegOffice/
English and Welsh Register Offices - Birth, Death and Marriage certificates can be ordered (in most cases) from the offices listed.
http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/
This site, aims to help you find the UK government records and other sources you need for your family history research.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/civreg/places/
Lists towns in England and Wales and the Registration District for it.
http://bmd-cert-exch-site.ourwardfamily.com/
This is a handy site if you have accidentally bought the wrong certificate! Or sometimes you get lucky and some one has bought yours by accident!
http://www.ancestry.co.uk/
Subscription site which holds 1841 to 1901 census for England and Wales, 1841 to 1861 Scotland, and (some) telephone directories - plus Birth, Marriage and Death indexes for free searching.
http://www.findmypast.com/
Another subscription site, including the UK census details for 1841, 1861, 1871 and 1871, military records, occupation records, directories etc
http://www.originsnetwork.com/
Subscription to British Origins, Scottish Origins, Irish Origins or Total Origins.
http://www.genesreunited.com/
Subscription is required for free access and viewing of trees, but you are able to communicate and search for family members for free and place your tree for others to see and contact you. An ideal place to find and communicate with new people researching different lines of your family tree.
http://www.bigenealogy.com/
British Isle Genealogy for England, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales, Channel Island, Isle of Wight. England Genealogy & Ireland Genealogy can be difficult to track down on the web & these pages present new data and act as a guide to finding the latest UKI genealogy on the web.
http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/
Subscription website but you can search free. They publish on-line records compiled by Family History Societies - quality data from experienced researchers with local knowledge providing more accurate details. You can search over 66 million records including parish registers, memorial inscriptions, censuses, poor law documents and others
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp
Search free on their Genealogy Records & Library, Family History Library Catalog, Birth, Marriage & Death Vital Records U.S., British, & Canadian Census
http://www.rootsweb.com/
The primary purpose and function of RootsWeb.com is to connect people so that they can help each other and share genealogical research. There is a page to answer the question "But where do I begin?" often asked by new users when faced with all the options available at RootsWeb.com., as there is a very wide range of groups possible to join.. They include ‘message boards’ that are arranged by county (or similar sized area).
http://www.curiousfox.org.uk/uk/reg/reg.lasso?
Curious fox provides a resource for finding and identifying UK villages, and allows family history researchers to make contact and share knowledge at a village level - by village name or surname.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/searchthearchives/default.htm
The National Archives (formerly known as the Public Record Office) at Kew house many ‘official’ documents, which include military records, company records etc etc, as well as ‘government’ administrative papers.
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/
The London, Belfast and Edinburgh Gazette searchable
http://www.a2a.org.uk/
The A2A database contains catalogues describing archives held locally in England and Wales and dating from the eighth century to the present day
http://blpc.bl.uk/
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest libraries. Potential researchers have to show that they have first tried other appropriate resources before being granted a reader’s ticket.
http://prodigi.bl.uk/nlcat/welcome.asp is the catalogue for the British Libray’s Newspaper Library, housed at Colindale.
http://www.uk.olivesoftware.com/
Searchable database from several issues of British newspapers News Of The World, Weekly Dispatch and Daily News, provide a fascinating picture of world industry in mid nineteenth century.
http://www.historicaldirectories.org/
Historical Directories is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919. It contains high quality reproductions of comparatively rare books, essential tools for research into local and genealogical history.
http://www.companieshouse.co.uk/
The WebCheck service offers a free of charge searchable Company Names and Address Index which enables you to search for information on more than 2 million companies. You can carry out a search on a company by using either its name or its unique company registration number.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/contents/
This holds a wealth of genealogy tips, notes and details - some national, but much on a ‘county’ basis (and down to ‘parish’ level) with links to other relevant sites.
http://www.cyndislist.com/
The major Genealogical site with 262,500+ links for family history!
http://www.genealogy-links.co.uk/index.html
Is exactly that! Links to genealogy sites.
http://www.berkshirenclosure.org.uk/
New Landscapes makes use of the latest digital technologies to provide access to historic manuscript maps and documents online. The maps and land awards on this site show the process of enclosing the common fields of the county of Berkshire between 1738 and 1883.
http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/home.asp?JS=True
This Picture Gallery contains illustrations of the industrial age, social history, architecture and archaeology, dating from the 1840s to the present day. The stories set the photographs in a wider context.