KNOW-HOW: WANT TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE?
ONLINE RESOURCES MEAN ANCESTOR HUNTING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER. START BUILDING YOUR FAMILY TREE…
BUILD YOUR FAMILY TREE ONLINE
Our experts:
LAURA BERRY, GENEALOGIST ON TV’S Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC), Find My Past (YESTERDAY), So You Think You’re Royal? (SKY), AND Tracing Your Roots (BBC RADIO 4). SHE IS AUTHOR OF Discover Your Ancestors’ Occupations (S&N GENEALOGY, 2015) AND HAS HER OWN GENEALOGY RESEARCH COMPANY, LAURABERRY.CO.UK
MIRIAM SILVERMAN, GENEALOGIST AND FAMILY HISTORIAN AT ANCESTRY.CO.UK
WHERE DO I START?
TALK TO AS MANY RELATIVES AS YOU CAN AND GATHER AS MANY ORIGINAL BIRTH, MARRIAGE AND DEATH CERTIFICATES, OR OLD DOCUMENTS LIKE PASSPORTS OR RATION BOOKS SO THAT YOU HAVE SOME FACTS TO WORK WITH. DOUBLE-CHECK FACTS THOUGH. PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS REMEMBER ACCURATELY. CREATE A PROJECT BOARD.
PIN PHOTOS, MARRIAGE/BIRTH CERTIFICATES, POSTCARDS, ETC ON A BOARD TO PIECE TOGETHER A STORY. INVEST IN A SOFTWARE PACKAGE WITH A TEMPLATE TO HELP CREATE FAMILY TREES – ROOTSMAGIC, £18.40- £49.95; OR FAMILY HISTORIAN, £35.99. THE GENEALOGY SITES BELOW ALSO HAVE FREE TEMPLATES AND TOOLS.
ANY APPS TO USE ON THE GO?
CAMSCANNER.COM ACTS LIKE A MOBILE SCANNER FOR COPIES OF DOCUMENTS, AND HAS OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR) TECHNOLOGY TO SEARCH FOR KEYWORDS.
WHICH ARE THE BEST WEBSITES TO USE?
THE THREE LARGEST – FINDMYPAST.CO.UK, ANCESTRY.CO.UK AND THEGENEALOGIST.CO.UK – ALL PROVIDE ACCESS TO CENSUS RETURNS AND THE GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE’S INDEX TO CIVIL BIRTH, MARRIAGE AND DEATH CERTIFICATES, WHICH WILL TAKE YOUR RESEARCH BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF QUEEN VICTORIA’S REIGN. ALL OFFER A FREE 14-DAY TRIAL, PROVIDING BASIC INFORMATION, BUT
YOU THEN SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE DETAILED, IN-DEPTH COVERAGE. SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM AROUND £10 PER MONTH. THERE’S A LOT OF OVERLAP BETWEEN THESE WEBSITES,
AND NO SINGLE SITE IS A ONE-STOP-SHOP.
IT’S WORTH TRYING THEM ALL AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIODS THEY OFFER. IF YOU HAVE GOT SCOTTISH ANCESTRY THEN SIGN UP TO SCOTLANDSPEOPLE.GOV.UK