Genealogy Part 11 – Some Genealogy Online Services
This section will look at some of the more popular services for genealogists in the UK. I’ve ben reluctant to do this, as the providers are continually changing what they provide! However many people have asked me for my opinions on the different providers, so this is my personal view. You should do your own research before spending any money!
This part of the course is a work in progress -and not yet finished.
Ancestry
Ancestry is the UK’s largest family history site. It’s owned by the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world. Different subscriptions are offered.
Records include:
Birth, Marriage & Death, including Parish
Birth,
Baptism & Christening
Marriage & Divorce
Death, Burial, Cemetery &
Obituaries
England and Wales, Birth, Marriage and
Death Indexes, 1837-2005
UK Parish Baptism, Marriage and Burial Records
Census & Electoral Rolls
UK Census Collection
U.S. Federal Census Collection
Canadian Census Collection
Other Censuses
Immigration & Travel
Passenger Lists
Citizenship & Naturalisation Records
Immigration & Emigration Books
More…
Military
Draft, Enlistment and Service
Soldier
Veteran & Prisoner Rolls & Lists
Awards & Decorations of Honour
More…
Schools, Directories & Church Histories
City & Area Directories
Professional &
Organisational Directories
Telephone Directories
More…
Tax, Criminal, Land & Wills
Land Records
Court
Governmental & Criminal Records
Wills & Probate
More…
Reference
Dictionaries & Almanacs
Research Guides & Finding Aids
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Almanacs, Country Studies & Gazetteers
More…
Family Trees
Public Member Trees
More…
Stories & Publications
Stories, Memories & Histories
Newspapers & Periodicals
Royalty
Nobility & Heraldry
Photos & Maps
Pictures
Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers
There are also Special Collections.
This is the UK home:
and this site is for American based users:
Find My Past
Findmypast is a privately held UK-based online genealogy service owned by British company DC Thomson. There is a wide variety of census, directory and historical record information available. Although it is possible to search their indexes for free, a payment or subscription is required to access the full data.
Genes Reunited
Genes Reunited (was formerly known as 1837 online) is a sister-site to Friends Reunited. It’s cheaper, but doesn’t have all the features that Friends Reunited has.
The Genealogist
The Genealogist is an easy to use service, run by Genealogy Supplies (Jersey) Ltd which is part of S&N Genealogy Supplies.
Different services are provided for different subscriptions. The main features of the the different services is shown here.
Searches can be done in a variety of ways:
- All Records
- Births & Baptisms
- British & International
- Census
- Census Other (1821 and 1831 Censuses for St Marylebone)
- Court & Criminal (Chancery Proceedings, Criminal Registers, Lancashire, London, Transportation Records, Worcestershire)
- Deaths & Burials (BMD Registers Deaths, Civil Registration Deaths, Headstone, Military Deaths, Overseas Deaths, Parish Record Burials)
- Education Records
- Immigration, Emigration & TravelI
- Insolvents & Bankrupts
- Marriages
- Military
- Miscellaneous
- Newspapers & Magazines
- Occupational
- Parish Record Books
- Peerage, Gentry & Royalty
- Polls & Electoral Rolls
- Reference Books
- Tithe & Landowner
When doing searches for names you have of doing three sorts of searches:
- Phonetic
- Standard
- Exact
which can be quite useful.
Births & Baptisms
When searching Births & Baptisms records, you are given the following options:
- All records from Births & Baptisms
- BMD Registers Baptisms
- BMD Registers Births
- and also a map of results
- Civil Registration Births
- Overseas Births
- Parish Record Baptisms
Roots UK
Roots UK is part of S&N Genealogy Supplies and offers a cut down version of the services of The Genealogist. Records include the electoral roll for London in 2005; birth, marriage and death index records for England & Wales from 1837-2005; and census transcripts for the whole of 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 & 1901 (England & Wales). Standard searching is free, viewing a full record uses credits the first time you view it.