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Family History for Free

How to do genealogy research - tips from members who have been there, done that ...
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meekhcs
Posts: 468
Joined: 02 Jun 2020, 18:19
Location: Lincolnshire, but Hampshire born and bred!

Family History for Free

Post by meekhcs »

Whilst we can spend a fortune on subscriptions there are an awful lot of records that are out there for free, if you know where to look.

Record Offices - if you are lucky enough to live in the area where your Ancestors live these are a goldmine of information. As Thunder mentioned in another post on here you can search the catalogues before you visit to plan your time well. They will usually have films etc. of original records which are a Primary Source (more on sources another time). NB original records should always be viewed if possible because Transcriptions will contain errors.

FamilySearch the largest free online resource for Family Historians containing many original records. However NB many transcriptions are added from all sorts of sources and cannot always be relied upon. PLEASE explore the site well before diving in, especially the catalogue

FREEBMD and FREECEN as an alternative to the BMD and census records on Subscription sites, however these sites are still expanding.

Freereg NB This site only contains transcriptions but can be useful to pinpoint an entry before visiting a Record Office.

Google As mentioned elsewhere it is worth having a look.

This is a very brief outline. There are many many more free websites out there
Sally
meekhcs
Posts: 468
Joined: 02 Jun 2020, 18:19
Location: Lincolnshire, but Hampshire born and bred!

Re: Family History for Free

Post by meekhcs »

Here are three more resources that I really should have mentioned in my original post

OPC Projects - or Online Parish Clerk projects to give the full title. Many individual counties have a free opc project underway. These are not to be confused with County Family History Society's, which charge a membership fee and have online shops to purchase reords. OPC's are mainly transcriptions only, so original documents sould always be checked, put together by volunteers who have a specific interest in the villages they represent. Some projects are better than others. Personally I have found Dorset to be excellent https://www.opcdorset.org and I believe Lancashire is too -https://www.lan-opc.org.uk . Hopefully members around the country will add others to the list.

Dusty Docs http://www.dustydocs.com This is a comprehensive list of records available online for Parishes with in the UK. Some of the websites they list will be fee paying and some free.

Cyndi's List https://www.cyndislist.com › .This is the worldwide equivalent of Dusty Docs, but works on the same principles.
Sally
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