Recommended Sites

See Links on the right of this page - - - - -

• Ancestry is very useful, with basic membership costing £12.95 for a month's membership (or just over £100 for yearly membership).  I found census, parish and military records especially good.  Unlimited access to their entire library costs about 50% more.  The reduced version which can be accessed at the library is a good starting point.
• Genesreunited I have found good: it's about £20 per year for the basic service (or can be accessed using a 'credit' system, or their 'platinum service' is about £80 per year).   It's possible to get in contact with other people (anonymously initially) and to look at other people's trees and then share information.  Through this I've found several 2nd/3rd cousins and therefore much more information. 
• Freebmd has also been useful (1837 onwards) nearly everything is on there although only up to a certain date.  With marriages a choice of two or three spouses is given.  It's helpful in that after about 1910 maiden name of mother is given with births which helps with cross-checking.  Covers England and Wales.
• FamilySearch is an excellent starting place for people before 1837, although it is very patchy so not totally reliable.  As well as births, death and marriages there are also most census and other items.
• FreeCen, as the name suggests, deals with censuses.  Records seems to be incomplete but where they are present they are pretty comprehensive.  Records include Scotland.

Some sites I haven't really tried but have been recommended by a friend experienced in this sort of thing:

• Genuki (http://www.genuki.org.uk/) it's an amazing site with literally hundreds of links.
• Rootsweb now seems to come under Ancestry.
• pro.gov.uk - I can't find this yet.
• Cyndis List(http://www.cyndislist.com/uk/) - a massive site with a 'no frills' index.
• The Society of Genealogists (http://www.sog.org.uk/)
• The National Archives: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/
• The BBC (bbc.co.uk/familyhistory)
• UK Births, Deaths and Marriages (ukbmd.org.uk), seems to now come under Ancestry.

Example from 1891 census: 

WADDON Charlotte Sislaw S F 63 Companion To Sister  Devon - Stoke Damerel Portsea Landport   

(This is my Great Grandmother's sister Charlotte Waddon, living with them at the time of this census: relation to head of household, single status, female, age, occupation, place of birth and present abode.)


A friend has just joined findmypast.co.uk and says it's excellent as, unlike genesreunited, it's possible to put in more than one tree at a time.  Costs just over £100 a year but could be well worth it for some people.

• I order certificates through the Government Records Office, see links at the side.  It's reasonable and fast.

Any suggestions here would be welcome .....