NEW FROM USA

[eileenjim]

Hi, We are from Colorado in the USA and have been doing genealogy for about 15 years. WHAT FUN! We are planning on being in London the 1st of April and we were wondering if there would be someplace we could go to find any records on our families that came from the London area? Is there a genealogy library or office that would have records we could search? Would we have better luck that using the internet?
Our families NORRIS, DRAPER, ADAMS, GOODE, MARSHALL, RICHMOND, ELLIOTT, HUNT, AND HOLDER. The Marshalls came from Linton Hill and the Goodes from Gloucester, I don't know where either one of these places are.
The rest of the group of names came from the London area, I think.
Anyhow, would appreciate what you all think about us spending time looking for ancestors while in London, or should I just use the internet?
Thanks
Eileen and Jim
jnen49 (at) q.com

[Geoffers]

Welcome to the B-G forums.

Do take time to have a good browse around.

I've edited your e-mail address so that it does not appear as a direct link.

If you are not sure of locations within the UK, do use one of the many online maps to help you understand the geography - streetmap, multimap, Ordnance Survey, etc.

The best place to look for records depends on what you are trying to find out and which time period. There are many record centres, holding various sources - The National Archives (TNA), for London there is The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA), there is the Society of Genealogists (SoG) - plus others.

Gloucester is about 100 miles west of London.

There are several places caled Linton Hill - which one do you want?

The best basic advice is to plan what you want to find out, and then research where to find the information so that you are able to avoid wasting valuable time.

To point you in the right direction we would need some more information - who, when, where, what do you want to find?

The best place to find information is in record offices.

[Mutley]

Welcome to the forum.

As Geoffers advises you really need to be clear in your mind, exactly, what information you are looking for.

Census and births, marriages and deaths can mostly be found on line. 'Meat on bones' may need to be looked up locally.

London, back in the 'olden days' covered Surrey, Middlesex, Kent and Essex.

Are you looking for criminals or black sheep, workhouse records, wills, newspaper reports or military records. Do you want to know where or how they lived, about their occupations or where they were buried.

If you can say what and where you looking for we can probably point you in the right direction so you can have an enjoyable experience.

[jannic]

Hi

As said above it really depends what you want to find out but I would suggest that you start by researching what is available at the records offices covering the greater london area.

The London Metropolitan Archives has most of the registers for this area on fiche and film. Their website has an online catalogue to consult telling exactly what they have (London Generations).

The Surrey History Centre in Woking covers the County of Surrey including some of the metropolitan area such as Richmond upon Thames. They too have an online catalogue on their website so you can plan ahead.

The folks on Brit-Gen are very helpfull and will do their utmost to help you make the most of your time here in the UK.

Good luck
Jan

[SBSFamilyhistory]

hi and welcome to the madhouse.

For any help with the Goodes from Gloucester, I am a volunteer with the Gloucestershire Family History Society and would be glad to see what I can find for you.

Sue