RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees No. 28

If your English or Welsh ancestors were born in 1837 or later, it is fairly easy to trace your roots to and in the "old country" — thanks to the national civil registration. Of course, identifying your ancestor among many with the same name can be both the challenge and the fun.

Book Since July 1, 1837, it has been required that every birth, death, and marriage be registered with the central government. This means there is only one place you need to look for one of these records. However, there were no penalties for not registering prior to 1875, so compliance between 1837 and 1875 was not 100 percent. Events were registered at a local public records office, which retained a copy, so each record should be available in both the local and the central records office.

	English Record Offices and Archives on the Web: Arranged alphabetically by county.
	History of English Place Names
	Welsh. Welsh Record Offices and Archives on the Web: Arranged alphabetically by county.

The records are indexed by type, and then by Book name. Indexes are produced quarterly. The Family History Library (FHL) has microfilm copies of the civil registration indexes of all births, marriages, and deaths for England and Wales through 1980. However, the library does not have any actual civil registration certificates, but it may have the church baptism, marriage, or burial records for the same time period. The actual certificates must be ordered from England and currently cost about $16 each.

Ordering Birth Registration Certificates from England and Wales,
is a detailed article on the subject by Mark Howells.

Certificates in England and Wales

FHL's Research Outline (look under England): England

FHL's Research Outline (look under Wales): Wales

Major sources you can use for tracing English and Welsh ancestors are:

Civil Registers (births, marriages and deaths)

Census Records

Parish Records

Census and parish records are arranged geographically so you must know where your ancestors resided at specific time periods. The Civil Registration is nationwide, but unless the surname is most unusual, you will probably need to know at least the county to be sure you have the right person. The only major geographical change affecting genealogical research for England and Wales is the one whereby the counties were restructured in 1974. Genealogy records are filed by old county boundaries, so the use of a pre-1974 map is needed. Parishes corresponded closely to the villages of the same name. A rural parish may i Book nclude a village and two or three hamlets. In larger cities there will be several churches so it will be necessary to determine in which parish your family lived.

If your ancestor was still living in England or Wales in 1851 and you know where he or she was living, try the 1851 census. It will reveal the birth place. These records have been filmed and are available at the Family History Library. Book Check the British IGI (International Genealogical Index) at FamilySearch for all your surnames, as many of England's parish records have been entered into this data base. The British IGI also will reveal in which localities your surname(s) were prevalent

Clues to your family's history are often found in overlooked places. Be sure to search among your family's papers for:

Passports

Scrapbooks

Photo albums

Old letters and envelopes (bearing a post office stamp and date)

Discharge papers or certificates of good conduct in the British army (these papers usually give the immigrant's town of birth)

Newspapers clippings

Obituaries

Family Bibles.

Once you have exhausted the resources of the Family History Library, there may be additionally records in England that you would want to examine, either personally or via a hired Book researcher. The National Archives has many records that are not available elsewhere. The Society of Genealogists in London also has many published family histories and the largest collection of transcribed parish registers. Each county in England has its own record office and they often have additional land, church, taxation, and other records that you will not find elsewhere.

Map of England and Wales

EnglandGenWeb Project

FreeBMD Free Births, Marriages, and Deaths (an ongoing England and Wales project)

British Isles GenWeb Project

Familia Libraries Index (England, Wales, and Channel Islands

British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) Genealogy Links

GENUKI (UK & Ireland Genealogy)

Researching from Abroad

Interlink Bookshop of Victoria, B.C.
(Many hard-to-find British books and maps)

Folk Music of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales & America

RootsWeb's Mailing Lists provide excellent ways to find and share information about your ancestors and the localities in which they once lived. Use both surnames and localities for best results.

How to Subscribe and Unsubscribe
to RootsWeb's Mailing Lists

It's easy — just click on the list you want. When the "mail-to" window pops up, write just the single word "subscribe" in the body of the message. That's all.

If you want to unsubscribe from a list, click on it and write just the single word "unsubscribe" in the body of the message.

All RootsWeb Mailing Lists also have a Digest Mode option. New lists are added continually. Check the index for up-to-date information.

England

GENBRIT-L — Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.britain newsgroup for the discussion of genealogy in Great Britain and the islands.
ENGLAND-GenWeb-L — A mailing list for anyone with an interest in the EnglandGenWeb Project as described on the EnglandGenWeb site at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~engwgw/
This is a companion list to the Project and will therefore focus on Project activities. Specific research queries should be posted to other mailing lists dealing with England genealogy.
SURNAMES-BRITAIN-M — Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.surnames.britain newsgroup for surname queries related to Great Britain.
GEN-TRIVIA-ENG-L — A mailing list where one can share ancestral recipes, poems, rhymes, ditties, slang words, sayings, etc. This list will address England only so that other English mailing lists are not cluttered by such postings.
BORDER-L — A mailing list for anyone interested in genealogy, history, or culture related to the counties which surround the border of Scotland and England. A unique culture evolved in this area which was different from both southern English and either highland or lowland Scottish culture. Many people from the borders were transported to Northern Ireland or left for the colonies.
ENG-BLACK-COUNTRY-L — A mailing list anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the Black County towns of the English Midlands which are situated to the North and West of Birmingham.
MI-ENGLAND-L — A mailing list for those interested in Monumental Inscriptions on gravestones, etc. in England. This list is essentially for discussions and queries on methods of recording Monumental Inscriptions; where to find information on who holds collections of records for various places, graveyards, etc., and discussion on the maintenance, or otherwise, of graveyards and headstones.
BEDFORD-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the counties of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, England. You can subscribe on the web at http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hughw/subscribe.html
BERKSHIRE-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Berkshire, England.
BERKSHIRE — See also WESSEX-PLUS
BRISTOL_AND_SOMERSET-L — A mailing list for those interested in genealogy and local history in the city of Bristol and the county of Somerset, England.

BRISTOL — See also WESSEX-PLUS
BUCKS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Buckinghamshire, England.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE — See ENGLISH-FENS
CHESHIRE-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Cheshire, England.
CHANNEL-ISLANDS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Channel Islands (Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey) which lie off the Normandy coast of France.
CORNISH-L — A mailing list for researchers of ancestors who are in Cornwall, England or emigrated from Cornwall to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or any other location. We are dedicated to tracing our Cornish ancestors and learning more about our ancestors' culture, occupations, and traditions (a companion list, CORNISH-GEN, exists for those with a stricter genealogy focus).
CORNISH-GEN-L — A mailing list for researchers who are in Cornwall or whose ancestors emigrated from Cornwall to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or any other location. This list observes a strict genealogical focus (a companion list, CORNISH, exists for those with a broader approach allowing the discussion of many varied but Cornish-related topics).
ENG-CORNWALL-MENHENIOT-L — A mailing list for anyone who is interested in the City of Menheniot, Cornwall, England.
ENG-CORNWALL-ST-COLUMB-MAJOR-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the Parish of St. Columb Major, Cornwall, England
ENG-CORNWALL-ST-IVE-L — A mailing list for anyone who is interested in the City of St. Ive, Cornwall, England.
ENG-CORNWALL-RUAN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Parish of Ruan Lanihorne, Cornwall, England.
ENG-CORNWALL-VERYAN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the parish of Veryan, Cornwall, England.
CUMBERLAND-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Cumberland, England.
DERBYSGEN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Derbyshire, England.
DEVON-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Devon, England.

DEVON — See also WESSEX-PLUS
DORSET-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Dorset, England.

DORSET — See also WESSEX-PLUS
DUR-NBL-L — A mailing list for anyone with a pure genealogical interest in the counties of Durham and Northumberland in the northeast part of England. A finely focused genealogy 'drier than bones' discussion group, where recipes, etc. are not allowed, making this not a list for everyone. General genealogical discussions not dealing with this area are not appropriate for this list.
ENGLISH-FENS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, England.
ESSEX-UK-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Essex, England.
GLOUCESTER-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Gloucestershire, England.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE — See also WESSEX-PLUS
HAMPSHIRE-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Hampshire, England.

HAMPSHIRE — See SUSSEX-PLUS
ENG-HUNTINGDONK-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Huntingdonshire Interested individuals might want to check out
Huntingdonshire EnglandGenWeb (website)
HUNTINGDONSHIRE — See ENGLISH-FENS
ISLE-OF-THANET-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Isle-of-Thanet, England.
ISLE-OF-WIGHT-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Isle of Wight, England.

ISLE-OF-WIGHT — See also SUSSEX-PLUS
KENT-ENG-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Kent, England.

KENT — See SUSSEX-PLUS
LANCSGEN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Lancashire, England.
ENG-LAN-MIDDLETON-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Town of Middleton, Lancashire, United Kingdom, and the surrounding areas and suburbs of Oldham and Rochdale.
LEICESTERSHIRE-PLUS-L — A mailing list for anyone with an interest in genealogy, family surname origins, or historical research related to the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland, England.
ENG-LINCSGEN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical, historical, or geographical interest in the Lincolnshire, England. Additional information can be found on The Lincolnshire Genealogy Mailing List web page at http://www.neep.demon.co.uk/lincsml/
ENG-LIVERPOOL-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the City of Liverpool, England, and surrounding areas. Interested individuals may want to check out the Liverpool and S.W. Lancs Family History Society website at http://www.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk/.
LONDON-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the City of London and county of Middlesex, England. Border inquiries related to neighboring counties (e.g., Surrey), which have relevance to the list, are also welcome.
MIDDLESEX_COUNTY_UK-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Middlesex, England.
MIDMARCH-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the counties of Breconshire, Herefordshire, Monmouthsh, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, England.
NORFOLK-L — The Norfolk Genealogy Mailing List is an e-mail list for anyone with genealogical interests in the county of Norfolk in England. Additional information can be found on the Norfolk-L Genealogy Mailing List web page at http://www.oz.net/~markhow/genuki/NFK/norfmail.htm.
NORTHANTS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Northampton England.
NORTHUMBRIA-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the counties of Northumberland and Durham, England.
NOTTSGEN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Nottingham, England. You can subscribe on the web at http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hughw/subscribe.html.
OXFORDSHIRE-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Oxfordshire, England
OXFORDSHIRE — See also WESSEX-PLUS
ENG-SOMERSET-FROME-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the city of Frome, Somerset County, England.
SOMERSET — See WESSEX-PLUS
STAFFORDSHIRE-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the county of Staffordshire, England.
SUFFOLK-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Suffolk, England.
ENG-SURREY-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical and local history interest in the County of Surrey, England.
SURREY — See SUSSEX-PLUS
SUSSEX-PLUS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Sussex, England and the adjacent counties of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire.
WARWICK-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of Warwickshire, England. You can subscribe on the web at http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hughw/subscribe.html.
WESSEX-PLUS-L — A mailing list for anyone who has an interest in genealogy or general and local history related to and incorporating the counties of Berkshire, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire, England.
ENG-WESTMORLAND-L — A mailing list for anyone who has an interest in genealogy or general and local history related to Westmorland.
WEST-RIDING-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in West Riding, Yorkshire, England prior to 1974.
WILTSHIRE-EMI-L — A mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information regarding emigrants from the County of Wiltshire, England to anywhere in the world in any timeframe.

WILTSHIRE — See also WESSEX-PLUS
ENG-WORCESTER-L — A mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information regarding family, local, and social history for the County of Worcestershire, England.
YORKSGEN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the County of Yorkshire, England.

Isle-of-Man

ISLE-OF-MAN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Isle-of-Man, British Isles.

Wales

BlaenauGwent-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the areas of Nantyglo, Blaina, Brynmawr, Tredegar, Abertillery, and LLanhilleth in the County of Monmouthshire (Gwent), Great Britain.
CARMARTHENSHIRE-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the County of Carmarthenshire, Wales, United Kingdom. Appropriate topics for the list include genealogy, family history, and general Carmarthenshire information.
CARMARTHENSHIRE FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY (Web site).
CLWYD-L — A mailing list sponsored by the Clwyd Family History Society for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in north-east Wales, United Kingdom — in effect, the pre-1974 counties of Flintshire, Denbighshire and the Edeyrnion district of Meirionethshire.
DYFED-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Wales, United Kingdom Counties of Cardiganshire, Carmartheshire, and Pembrokeshire.
FRONGOCH-WALES-L — A mailing list for descendants of the residents of Frongoch farm in Northern Wales (3 miles from Bala) which traces its history back to the 14th century. Documentation that one's family actually lived on this farm is needed.
GLAMORGAN-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the County of Glamorgan, Wales.
POWYS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Wales, United Kingdom Counties of Breconshire, Radnor, Montgomeryshire, Flint, Denbigh, Caernarfon, Anglesey, and Merionthshire.

Kangaroo Genealogy in Australia

RootsWeb's Australia-connected Mailing Lists

How to Subscribe and Unsubscribe

It's easy — just click on the list you want. When the "mail-to" window pops up, write just the single word "subscribe" in the body of the message. That's all.

If you want to unsubscribe from a list, click on it and write just the single word "unsubscribe" in the body of the message

All RootsWeb Mailing Lists also have a Digest Mode option. New lists are added continually. Check the index for up-to-date information.

AUSTRALIA-L — A conference for anyone with an interest in Australian History - not exclusively genealogy - including the history of events involving Australians or their ancestors elsewhere in the world.
AUS-ACT-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
AUS-VIC-DANDENONG-RANGES-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in those areas surrounding the Dandenong Ranges in the outer eastern region of Melbourne, Australia (i.e., Ferntree Gully, Dandenong, Pakenham, Gembrook, Healesville, Mount Dandenong).
AUS-KOORI-L — A mailing list for the discussion of genealogy, family history, and history matters relating to the Australian Aborigine.
AUS-HIST-WOMEN-L — A mailing list for anyone interested in the genealogy and history of women in Australia.
ARIA-L — A mailing list for Australians and New Zealanders who are researching their Italian Heritage, Culture and Ancestry.
AUS-MILITARY-L — A mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information on Australian military history and the research of Australian military ancestors from 1788 to the present.
AUS-NQ-L — A mailing list for anyone with genealogical or historical interests in North Queensland, Australia, north from the Tropic of Capricorn to Cape York and west to the Northern Territory border.
AUS-NSW-SE-L — A mailing list for anyone with historical and genealogical interests in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This list will focus on the south-east portion of NSW, with particular emphasis on the coastal area from Helensburgh to the Victorian border and westward to the Great Divide.
AUS-NSW-NORCO-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the North Coast area of New South Wales, Australia. Additional information on this area can be found on the Bellingen Genealogy Web at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nswbelli/
AUS-VIC-GOLDFIELDS-L — The goldfields of Victoria (Australia) were the lure that brought many immigrants to the state of Victoria in the 19th century, and were a source of great affluence for the state in its formative years. This list covers the history and the genealogy of the people of the geographic area, loosely defined as the golden triangle of the cities of Ballarat (Central Highlands), Bendigo, and Maryborough and their environs.
GENANZ-L: Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.australia+nz newsgroup for the discussion of Australia and New Zealand genealogy.
GENANZ-D — digest mode
GENANZ-I — index mode
AUS-NSW-HUNTER-VALLEY-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia, which encompasses the cities of Newcastle, Maitland, Cessnock, and Singleton.
AUS-VIC-BELLARINE-PENINSULA-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. Additional information can be found on the Bellarine Peninsula web page at http://www.zades.com.au.
AUS-NSW-MANNING-VALLEY-L — A mailing list anyone with a genealogical interest in the Manning Valley of New South Wales, Australia including the towns of Wingham and Taree and surrounding villages.
AUS-NT-L — A mailing list anyone with a genealogical interest in the Northern Territory, Australia.
AUS-NSW-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
NSW-ORANGEBATHURST-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Orange Bathurst area of New South Wales, Australia.
AUS-NORFOLK-IS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Norfolk Island, Australia.
AUS-QLD-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the state of Queensland, Australia.
AUS-QLD-SE-GERMANS-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the descendants of the Germans who migrated to South East Queensland, Australia.
AUS-SAGEN-L — A mailing list for anyone with an interest in the history and genealogy of South Australia, Australia. Interested individuals may want to check out the SAGenWeb Project web page at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~aussa/.
AUS-TASMANIA-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Tasmania, Australia.
AUS-VIC-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the state of Victoria, Australia.
AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Geelong and District area of Victoria, Australia. Interested individuals may want to check out the Geelong and District Home Page at http://www.zades.com.au/geelong/.
AUS-VIC-GIPPSLAND-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest or an interest in family, local and regional history relating to the Gippsland area. For the purpose of this list, Gippsland is that area of the state of Victoria, Australia, east of Dandenong (an eastern suburb of Melbourne), north of the coast, south of the Great Dividing Range, through to the North South Wales border. The main towns include Warragul, Leongatha, Korumburra, Traralgon, Sale, Bairnsdale and Orbost. European occupation of this area generally began about 1835.
AUS-SA-YORKE-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, Australia.
AUS-WA-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the state of Western Australia, Australia.

Sheep New Zealand

New ZelandGenWeb

RootsWeb Surname List — RSL New Zealand

Mailing Lists

NEW-ZEALAND-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in New Zealand.

South Pacific Islands

PacificGenWeb Includes links to: AustraliaGenWeb, MelanesiaGenWeb, MicronesiaGenWeb, PolynesiaGenWeb, and others.

Mailing Lists

PACIFIC_ISLANDS-L — A mailing list for the discussion and collaboration on genealogy and family history of indigenous peoples from the Pacific. Additional information can be found at PacificGenWeb.
MICRONESIA-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in the Federated States of Micronesia.
PAPUA-NEWGUINEA-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Papua New Guinea, and the surrounding island including New Britain (Capital City Rabaul) and the Solomon Islands.

India

Family History in India for those tracing British, European, and Anglo-Indian families in India, Burma, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This includes histories of some British Army regiments that served in India during colonial times, links to other regimental history Web sites, rolls of members of some regiments that served in India, and the diary of a soldier who served in India in the Green Howards.

	Indian Office Records with links to modern Indian cities and towns and information about these records.
	European Cemeteries in India
	British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia
	Church Records in Colonial India

Mailing List

INDIA-L — A mailing list for anyone who is interested in tracing their British and European Ancestors in British India. Additional information can be found on the British Ancestors in India web page.

South Africa

AfricaGenWeb
South African Genealogy
South African War Virtual Library. Includes, among other things, Boer Forces, U.K. and Commonwealth Forces (British, British S.A., Australian, South Asian, New Zealand, and Canadian Forces); Biographies — Africans and the War, Women and the War.

South Africa Mailing Lists

SOUTH-AFRICA-L — A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in South Africa (additional information on tracing your South African roots can be found on the South African Genealogy web page
SOUTH-AFRICA-SOURCES-L — A mailing list for the members of the Genealogical Forum of South Africa (G.F.S.A.) and anyone else interested in the preservation of genealogical sources in South Africa.

		Index to Guides Page
		RootsWeb Guides to Tracing Family Trees are written & compiled by professional genealogists Julia M. Case, Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG & Rhonda McClure

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