Sami Lee
Well-known member
#1,004
Quote
Can you be more precise about what you're wanting of family history? To find out about your own family? Or something more general? (TBH I'm not sure what a night school can really show you
that you can't do already!)
If you're looking specifically for your own recent British ancestors (from 1837 when registration was made compulsory) you could start here
FREE BMD -
https://www.freebmd.org.uk/
FREE CEN -
https://www.freecen.org.uk/
(I've transcribed many census and other records for these two).
FAMILY SEARCH -
https://www.familysearch.org/en/
If you haven't already watched these, I'd recommend:
Who do you think you are? (
UK TV series on notable people's family history - it's a bit light and doesn't show much how to DIY in depth)
Finding your roots
(Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jnr - US TV series on notable people's family history - shows how proper research is done and use of DNA testing. I really like this one, Prof Gates is a proper academic and usually gets to the heart of things!)
Note that all these programmes invariably become tearjerkers! It's often very moving when you find real evidence of your forebears and some of the facts of their lives and struggles.
Enjoy
Chocolategoggler said:
Thanks for your extensive reply Sami Lee
I would like to join with like-minded people in a class or something so we can bounce off each other.
I will look at what you have suggested. I have been on a site similar to Ancestry and printed off birth, marriage. death and census records but although I am not nosy I do want to know why, both for general as well as family history I sussed out through watching Who Do You Think You Are that my great grandparents didn't marry straight away as one or both was already married. I even went to mediums as I have a photo which everyone thinks is me but it is over a 100 years old and my ancestors on the other side told me to not search online but visit graveyards and where they used to live and also to get family records and photos from a family member as his wife would destroy them out of spite. When I got these records there was a letter in there which made me bawl as it was so beautiful and which made me understand a relative's behaviour due to the terrible burden placed on him as a male child. Through my family tree search I can see a thread running through the family as to why my dad is interested in certain things and chose the job he did - like osmosis. It's fascinating. Sorry for waffling on but thanks for your help.