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  1. #1
    Super Moderator - Completely bonkers and will never change.
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    Oct 2004
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    Default My list of 'essentials'

    https://www.genuki.org.uk/
    Probably the best source of information for the UK and Ireland. If you want to go straight to the country/county, then click on 'United Kingdom and Ireland' in the top left corner.
    Be aware that this site can be very addictive and lead you to all sorts of places far removed from your original query.

    https://www.familysearch.org/
    An excellent source of baptisms and marriages from approximately 1600 to 1850. Be aware that 'submitted' entries can be unreliable, and that 'about' can mean up to 20 years either way!

    UPDATE MARCH 2023
    A lot of things have changed on FamilySearch in the sixteen years since I first posted this link. Firstly, records have expanded from just baptisms and marriages to now include deaths/burials. The years have expanded from almost since records began in a particular country to almost the present day. And many indexes now have images available.
    There are still millions of records which remain unindexed but you can still search them. Laborious, as people familiar with going through the pages of unindexed parish registers held at the county archives in pre-internet days will confirm, but also, as those same people will confirm, it can be extremely rewarding. For tips on how to search those unindexed records see this video.
    youtube.com/watch?v=P1J3kQ3uAQQ

    RootsTech is a genealogy event organised every year by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the 'owners' of FamilySearch). They have speakers from all over the world, and many of the talks are available online.
    https://www.familysearch.org/en/root...2yHwcGzlp00xxw


    https://www.freebmd.org.uk/
    First port of call for tracking down post 1837 birth, marriage and death certificates, which can then be ordered on-line from the GRO.
    https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...ates/login.asp

    The original GRO Index didn't start recording age at death until 1866, and mother's maiden name until September quarter 1911. The GRO has now added those details to its index, but it's only available via the GRO website. See the above link, and once you've signed in, on the next page should be a box labelled 'Search birth and death indexes'. Click.
    UPDATE Dec 2019
    The GRO have recently added deaths 1983 - 2019 to their online Index. Hopefully this 'adding the current year' theme will continue in the future. Obviously, you can order any certificate issued by them, not just those in the online Indexes.
    Make a note of the link given in this post, and order directly from it. (Ignore the Passport Office heading, that's just the government department who oversee the GRO.) There are other sites out there who pay to be shown as first results when using a search engine, but they will charge you an arm and a leg for a certificate which you can easily order yourself for GBP 11.00. You can usually spot the 'other sites' because they will ask you for the date and place of the birth/marriage/death - which are usually two of the reasons why you're applying for a certificate in the first place.
    Black-and-white PDF copies of the earlier birth and death certificates can be ordered for £7.00. The site will show you if that option is available.
    Further update January 2024
    Some of the earlier birth and death certificates are now available as digital downloads, currently priced at £2.50. If it's available, it will show as an option once you click the radio button to order a certificate.
    With the digital image you get just the 'strip' of information shown on a certificate. No column headings, etc
    The PDF certificate has a heading detailing the registration district, sub-district, year, event, and where the registration took place, and then the column headings. So it's basically what you get on a full certificate except that it's pared down to all the important information, is not labelled as a certified copy, and is in black-and-white, not colour.

    https://www.dixons.clara.co.uk/Certificates/indexbd.htm
    The site which tells you almost everything you could ever want to know about BMD certificates. Note that the given cost of certificates are now out of date.
    UPDATE August 2019
    Just had a 'having trouble finding that site message'. In which case, this is an ideal candidate for the 'Wayback Machine'(see the last link in this post). This is the link.
    https://web.archive.org/web/20161006...es/indexbd.htm

    https://www.freereg.org.uk/
    An ever-increasing site listing transcriptions of parish registers (PRs) in England, Scotland and Wales. Transcribers always needed.
    UPDATE: February 2023
    Burials on FreeREG are no longer just those in parish registers.
    There are an increasing number of non-conformist burials, as well as some town/city cemeteries.
    To find which records are available for a particular town, click the 'search' link until the page shows 'county and place records'.
    Do read the paragraph at the top of the page regarding coverage, etc. before starting to search.

    https://www.freecen.org.uk/
    Another ever-increasing site, this time listing census entries for England Scotland and Wales. Transcribers always needed.

    https://www.englandgenweb.org/
    Similar to Genuki though (in my opinion) not so 'complete'. Still worth a look though because the sites often have different details.

    https://www.cyndislist.com/
    One which is often not mentioned nowadays, but which is a mine of world-wide information. It's not quite true to say that if it's not on cyndislist it doesn't exist, but almost.

    And should you ever find a site which leads to a 'page not found' try accessing the site via The Wayback Machine at
    https://www.archive.org/index.php
    There's also lots of stuff to be found by clicking on the 'moving images', 'texts', etc links at the top of the page.

    ADDED September 2022

    Having realised that this list was made fifteen years ago I feel these two should also be added to the list.

    Firstly the British Newspaper Archive (of which all but the latest updates can also be found on FindmyPast).
    https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
    More pages are being uploaded every week so if you can't find something always look again every few months. Coverage varies and there can be gaps within a newspaper. e.g. 1818-1846, then there's a gap until 1875-1901. Unless you have a very common name try not to restrict the place or paper too much because often events were reported in newspapers away from the local area, and while the local paper is not yet in the Archive the non-local paper might be. The most weird and wonderful things can be reported, as well as the usual births, marriages and deaths. A friend found that his great-grandfather was hauled before the courts on at least three occasions for failing to send his children to school, while I've found my grandfather winning fishing competitions, as well as a brilliant article about auntie being the new girl working in the library.

    The National Archives (TNA) in Kew.
    https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
    Guide to their research guides.
    https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/...research-guide

    Pam
    Last edited by Pam Downes; 03-02-2024 at 9:03 PM. Reason: Updated links

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