Family History

Family history

Find out about your family history by:

• collecting information about the family around you
• talking to older family members about them, their parents and wider family
• consulting archives and record offices
• searching on the web.

Searching

Start in the present and work from what you know – the full names and dates of birth of your immediate family.

You might have copies of birth, marriage or death certificates, which will help you to trace your family tree back further. If, for example, you have the birth certificate of one of your parents, it will give you the maiden name of his or her mother too.

But don’t worry if you don’t have copies of these documents. Births, marriages and deaths started being recorded by the government in the late 1830s. Find out how to search for these in the National Archives * site. To trace your family back before 1837 you will need to look at parish records.

Record information

Record the information you have found.

You will need files to store your certificates, photocopies and letters and you will probably want to start charting a family tree and using a computer to help you.  Software to do this can be purchased or is available free such as the Personal Ancestral File at the Family Search website*.

Look at official records

Don’t be daunted by the number of records available or worry about visiting a record office. Some records are available on the web but in the end you will need to visit a record office, library or family history centre where you can view copies of the records on microfilm or fiche.

Find out how to access some types of official record* such as certificates of birth, marriage or death, census returns, military records, tax records and probate records (wills).

Family history societies

Remember, you are not alone.

Join a local family history society* and sign-up to e-mail mailing lists on the family history topics that interest you.

Usually, you can join a society or list in the area where you live and/or the area where your research interests are (even if you live 1000s of miles away).

* Hampshire County Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Useful Hampshire Sites

• Hampshire Archives and Local Studies - information on what sources are available, how to access them, and planning your visit
• Hampshire heritage - sources for tracing your family history across England and Wales, and in Hampshire specifically
• Ancestry Guide* - England and Wales censuses; England and Wales Civil Registration Index from 1837; US census data and much more - this website is only available free of charge through selected libraries and Hampshire Archives & Local Studies.

Other useful sites

• Family Search* - free Family History, Family Tree, and Genealogy Records and Resources from Around the World.
• Rootsweb* - guides and online communities where you can share your family history.

http://www.findmypast.com/home.jsp* - searchable online resources

* Hampshire County Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.