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Top tip - using the Genes Reunited community

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Sue in Somerset

Sue in Somerset Report 6 Apr 2008 17:52

If people are on the 1851 census their place of birth and (approximate) age will be on there.
You look for the baptisms of known ancestors in places they say they were born (these aren't necessarily the same place but it's a start!).

Try the IGI (read top thread on Tips board for how to use).

If you are lucky your ancestors lived in the same village for generations but that doesn't always happen.

If you get stuck on a line follow others which link in. Often female lines lead to interesting new sets of relations.

Collect all examples of a surname around the one you are researching in case these turn out to be siblings or cousins.

Put unusual names into Google.

Search online for information about the parishes that interest you. Many places did Millennium projects on local history and you may find an ancestor mentioned in a local book or website.

Look for variants of surnames because these spellings were not fixed until very very recently.

Look at the National Archives site for online wills. Not all wills are there but you may be lucky enough to find one of your ancestors.

Some Local Records Offices have downloadable documents or searches available for records they hold. Put in names you are interested in.

Systematically work your way through the A2A site http://www.a2a.org.uk/

Try these
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/

Find out the meanings of the surnames in your tree and where they originated. If they are place names or one source names it may help you find areas to look.

Find out about the jobs your ancestors did as that may help you understand whether or not they may have moved around the country or stayed in one small area.

The list of things you can do is endless and everyone's tree is going to go off in a different direction BUT most of all don't expect it to be easy, already out there mapped out for you to find, or to be something you can do in a few weeks.

Good luck
Sue

Sara

Sara Report 6 Apr 2008 17:37

Just the usual census, had a lot of help from very kind people on GR. Fairly new to this!

ErikaH

ErikaH Report 6 Apr 2008 17:26

Where have you looked already?

Sara

Sara Report 6 Apr 2008 17:26

Expert help needed. Where else do I look for relatives earlier than 1800s.?