Growing the family tree

Simon Fowler considers resources which will help you bring alive the people on your family tree

You have talked to the relations, pored through the family photographs, bought birth, marriage and death certificates and traced your ancestors through the census returns. But what next? Here are some suggestions to take your research forward.

Parish registers

If you got married in church or a chapel then you will have signed the marriage register. As well being legal proof that you tied the knot, these registers go back to the 16th century and so are an invalued source for family history.

Baptism, marriage and burial registers were first kept in 1538, although few survive before the early 17th century. In theory they record all such events, because everyone had to have their children baptised, get married in church and be buried in the churchyard. In practice, however, many parisioners preferred to worship in their way as Baptists, Methodists and Quakers for example, so parish records aren't complete.

Initially only the barest information was noted down in the parish records, generally the child's name and its father in baptismal records, the names of the couple getting married, and the name of the person being buried. From 1754, for marriages, and 1812 for christenings and funerals more details had to be recorded.

Registers are to be found at county archives. Indexes to baptisms (and to a lesser extent marriages) are in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) online at familysearch or at many libraries. Burials are included in the National Burial Index (NBI). This is not online, but available at many libraries. Neither the NBI nor the IGI is complete. Both Findmypast and in partcular Ancestry have large collections of parish registers on their websites.

Military records

Almost every family has somebody who has served in the forces, particularly during the two world wars. There is a mass of information about these men (and a few women), but you do have to know whether were in the Army, Navy or Air Force and the unit or ship they served with. It also helps to know whether they were an officer or just an ordinary soldier or sailor because there are different records.

Most records are at The National Archives at Kew, London. Their website contains a lot of information which can help you get to grips with these records or you can ring and they will send you a leaflet (020-8876 3444).

First World War service records for the Army are online at Ancestry although only about a third survive. However medal information cards provide basic information (also on Ancestry).

If you have an ancestor who fell during either war there is information about them on the Commonwealth War Grave Commission's website or ring for information (01628 634221). Pre-1913 Army service records are online at findmypast. Army officers' records are not yet online. Naval and RAF records including officers are at Documents Online.

However no records for men who were in the services after the end of 1920 have been opened. Next of kin or former service personnel can get copies by contacting the Veterans Agency (0800- 1692277).

Wills

Until fairly recently only about one person in ten made a will. Few people had much to leave so possessions were shared out among the family. Even so people of all backgrounds did make wills so they are worth checking out.

For wills created after 1858 there is a national system. Write to: Postal Searches and Copies Department, The Probate Registry, 1st Floor, Castle Chambers, Clifford Street, York YO1 9RG (01904 666777). Wills cost £5 each.

Wills created before 1858 were proved by the church as they were through to be a contract between the will maker and God. Finding them can be a nightmare, but start with the largest court - the Prerogative Court of Canterbury - whose wills are all online at documentsonline or in person at The National Archives. Otherwise local archives may have wills for their area.

Names

There are some 16,000 surnames in Britain, although most people share a few names, notably Smith, Brown, Williams, Taylor and Jones. Naturally it is much easier to research a person or family with an unusual surname. Howver, surname spelling changes over time, so you need to be aware of other ways in which the name could be spelt: Hayward could be written Heywood or Ayward. Shakespeare had his own name spelt 81 different ways.

Historically most men and women shared the same few forenames - John, Henry, George and William; Ann(e), Elizabeth, and Mary. As a result it can often be very diffcult to work out which John Smith in a baptismal register is your ancestor.

Using Libraries in your research

Libaries, particularly those with local history and local studies sections, can be very helpful. They will have books on family history which you can borrow or browse.

Local study libraries may have copies of the most important genealogical records for their area, particularly parish registers and census returns. They can also order specialist books for you through the Inter-Library Loan Service and give you details of local family history societies and courses where you can learn more and meet like minded people.

Many libraries subscribe to Ancestry so you can use their website for free.

In addition, every English county (and most Welsh ones) has a county record office which collects archives for their area. You can find details at nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon or from the phonebook.

Find your nearest library here.