English Family History Research on the Internet
An Overview
By Alan
E. Mann, AG®
I've summarized some of the ways that I've
used the Internet for genealogy research in eight categories, for which
examples and key Internet addresses follow in outline form.
|
I. Access records (original, transcribed, extracted) |
|
|
III. Coordinate research |
|
This page was updated in August 2005. Some
of the addresses may have changed. If you find errors, please email me at alan.familyhistory@gmail.com
so I can make corrections to the online version.
I.
Access records (or
transcriptions, extractions, or indexes)
·
Majority
available are listed on GenUKI (www.genuki.org.uk/big/) FOR EXAMPLE:
o
o
o
o
o
o British Jews database (www.jewishgen.org/databases/UK/)
o
o Somerset visitations (web.ukonline.co.uk/nigel.battysmith/visitations/)
o
·
·
Major online
document archival sites in
o PRO (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
)
o Family Records (www.familyrecords.gov.uk)
o Documents Online (www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/)
PCC Wills!
o Access to Archives (www.a2a.pro.gov.uk)
o
Familia (www.familia.org.uk).
·
Major British commercial web sites
o
Origins (ScottishOrigins as well) www.origins.net (free search at www.originsnetwork.com)
o
The Genealogist
has civil registration index images, census, directories, and more – free
access for indexing www.thegenealogist.co.uk
o
1837online – mostly civil registration, but also 1861 census
(www.1837online.com)
o
Ancestry.com
·
British Royal
Genealogies
·
Simple
extractions and indexes to specific databases are numerous, for example:
·
UKGenWeb archive - www.worldgenweb.org/archives/england.html
·
Locate
additional databases or records using
o
Check Knoblauch's list of
miscellaneous databases (www.softek.net/gerald/gensrch.htm)
o
FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/WebSites/frameset_websites.asp)
o
A categorized list (www.cyndislist.com, www.genealogylinks.net, www.genealogysitefinder.com,
etc.)
II. Reference Library (The
Internet is a vast reference library--use it!)
o
National Register of Archives search (www.nra.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/
) covers millions of documents in hundreds of archives
o
PRO catalog (www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/Default.asp)
full class lists, searchable; indexes many documents (military, legal)
o
the Electronic Access to Resources in Libraries (EARL
at www.earl.org.uk)
o
the Consortium of University Research Libraries web
Online Public Access Catalogs (CURL's COPAC at copac.ac.uk/copac/)
o
LibWeb (sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/brit.html)
o
UK Academic libraries with online catalogs (www.niss.ac.uk/lis/opacs.html)
o
The British Library (official copyright office of the
·
Parish locator
(& radius search tool) (www.genuki.org.uk/big/parloc/search.html)
·
Manorial
Documents Register (
·
Many
miscellaneous specific lists and reference helps, such as
III. Coordinate
research (find others working on
the same family)
·
Contact others
working on the same families
o
RootsWeb Surname List (over 1,000,000 surnames) rsl.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/rslsql.cgi
o
Find if there is a web page, mailing list, or society
for the ancestor’sfamily or surname using sites such as www.ffhs.org.uk/,
www.cyndislist.com/surnames.htm,
www.familyhistory.com/societyhall/main.asp,
www.familysearch.org/Eng/Share/Collaborate/frameset_share.asp,
www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html,
and www.genealogy.com/links/c/c-people.html
o
There are similar services in book form. The Internet
can help you find out about the books--e.g., GRD
- www.ozemail.com.au/~grdxxx/index.html.
·
Use Query
databases to find other researching your ancestors
·
Use mailing
lists (see if anyone can help)
o
See a list of mailing lists at www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html.
o
Mailing lists are messages (questions, announcements,
information, etc.) about a specific name, family,
or place that are forwarded to all interested parties. To get messages,
subscribe to the mailing list (instructions in preceding link)
o
Surname lists check for you ancestors’surnames
o
Many mailing lists have archives that allow you to
see past messages
o
GEN-MEDIEVAL Mailing List
o
See many more such items listed at www.cyndislist.com/mailing.htm#Queries.
·
Use newsgroups
IV. Collaborate
with others (find others working in the same
area or the same name)
V. Check compiled
sources -- take advantage of what’s already been researched
·
Check
collections of family genealogies turned in by others
·
Check huge
databases containing many different records
·
Check data on
other collective online indexes
·
Use indexes to
records on the Internet
VI. Find
instructions (get information on how to research)
VII. Find where
records are located
VIII. Share
research findings, store & preserve your research.
o
Use www.myfamily.com
for family space with many functions (no longer free)
o
Get help creating a society from www.familyhistory.com/societyhall/main.asp
©Copyright 1997-2005 by Alan E. Mann. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part
of this syllabus material
in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval or the
Internet, must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.
NOTE: This entire article is
online at www.alanmann.com/England.htm