The Genealogist Research Guide

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Census

1911 Census

TheGenealogist.co.uk has transcribed the 1911 census to create fully searchable records, using our unique search tools including the Master Search, Family Search and Address Search.

The 1911 census was taken on the 2nd April and contains millions of more records than the previous 1901 census. This is the first available census to be filled in by your ancestors, enabling you to view their handwriting.

The 1911 is thought to be one of the most important record sets as it will show family records in detail before WW1. It will give details of where your ancestors lived, who with, age, place of birth and occupation as you would expect.

Additional pieces of information included for the first time are nationality, duration of current marriage, number of children born within that marriage, number of living children and the number of any children who had died. Extra occupation information may show details of the industry in which they worked.

With access to colour images, your ancestors own handwriting and the extra information provided on the census you can really bring your ancestors to life.

 

Scottish Census

A sample of the 1851 Scottish census is currently available.  This can be found on the Search page under 'British and International Records'

Records are searchable by Name, Age, County, Birth Place and Street.

The results will provide Forename, Surname, Age, Relation, Profession, Birth County, Birth Parish, Area and Street.

Contains approximately 59,000 entries.

Parish Records

Diamond subscribers have priority access to new Parish Records, which include Baptisms, Marriages, Marriage Banns, Marriage Licenses, Burials and Bishops’ Transcripts.

Please click here for full details of all Parish Records available in the Diamond subscription

British & International Records

TheGenealogist now offers more extensive records for the whole of Great Britain. Scottish records include directories from 1773 to 1930, landowner records, parish registers, school/university registers and wills. Irish records include directories, wills, landowner and heraldry/pedigree records. We have also added directories, almanachs, pedigree and roll of honour records for the Channel Isles.

Counties currently included in our International section are Australia, South Africa, India, America and New Zealand. To access these go to the 'British & International Records' section on the Search page, where you can select a country from the drop-down box, then click 'Search' to view all records available. 

International records include directories, army/regimental records, wills, early passenger lists to America, civil service lists, almanachs, electoral registers and telephone directories. Almanachs are annual publications containing data and statistics for the area. Many of these also include residential and business listings, similar to those found in directories

Peerage & Heritage Records

Peerage and Heritage records document the ancestry of titled and landed families in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Entries can contain details of individual peers providing biographical information such as births, marriages and names of family members.

These records are not only limited to researching upper class ancestors, as inter-class marriages occurred frequently, particularly with the younger children, and can provide useful information for many family history researchers.

“An enormous number of people, of all classes and financial status, are descended from noble families, particularly because the wealth and importance of families varied substantially over time. Younger sons of a family were often not as wealthy as their fathers. For example, the youngest son of a duke might join the army but not reach the rank of captain. His youngest son might have been a farmer. His son may have been a shopkeeper and his son only a labourer. Marriages also linked one class to another. Thus daughters of kings might marry nobles, daughters of nobles might marry knights, daughters of knights might marry local yeoman and so on. It is therefore possible to trace a family relationship that extends, within only a few generations, from the highest in the land to the lowest. In view of the number of ancestors that you have, it is possible that pedigrees of the nobility will be relevant to your family tree.”
- extract from Ancestral Trails by Mark Herber p.617-618

We currently have Peerage & Heritage records covering all of the UK ranging from 1664 to 1921, which include Burke’s, Kelly’s and Debrett’s Peerage records.

The records are from books (Printed Books), which the Master Search enables you to enter a name and view results within the books, or browse through the images with the aid of bookmarks. 

Royal Records

These Records range from 43AD to 1939 covering various royals, their families, peerages and those who fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War.

Please click here for a full list of records available.

Visitation Records

Heraldic Visitations began in 1530 and were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms in order to regulate and register the coats of arms of nobility and gentry, and to record pedigrees. By the fifteenth century many families were adopting coats of arms as symbols of wealth and power but not all had a legitimate claim to them. As surviving visitation records include pedigrees and often the evidence that was used to prove these, including family details, background and ages, their records provide important source material for genealogists.

Visitations records are currently available for individual counties and the whole of England and Wales, with years ranging from 1530 – 1921.

Poll Books & Electoral Registers

Poll Books give names, addresses, occupations and show how people voted in the election. The Poll Books available on TheGenealogist pre-date the census records and go back as far as the 1700s, making them a valuable resource for family historians. For full details of available records and how to use them, go to the 'Poll Books & Electoral Registers' section from the main menu.

Diamond subscribers have access to a wider range from 1832 to 1919, including Australian electoral registers and voters who were absent during the first world war.

Regimental Records

These can provide details of battles and campaigns the regiment were involved in and also lists the regiment’s officers, including various personal details relating to their birth, parentage, marriage and military career.

 

Regimental Records currently available

Newspapers & Magazines

Historical newspapers and magazines were written as events were occurring and provide contemporary accounts of the world your ancestors lived in from day to day. They provide insight into opinions of the time and can also provide information on individuals which would not otherwise be recorded.

Currently available:

War Illustrated 

British War Magazine with reports and pictures of events and battles during the First World War from 1914 to 1919.

These books give a great insight into our ancestors war efforts, full of facinating articles, covering weekly accounts on the progress of the war as it happened.  

The Illustrated London News

 Bookmarked by article and are easily searchable, containing many announcements of Births, Marriages, Deaths, Obituaries, Wills & Bequests, as well as reports of accidents and offences from across the country. The Illustrated London News was founded in 1842 and was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper. We currently have issues online from 1842-1869 & 1890 with more to follow.

- SS Great Britain Times -

The ‘Great Britain’ was designed by Isambard Kingdon Brunel and built in 1843. It was the largest ship in the world at almost 100 metres, and the first iron screw-propelled ocean steam ship. Originally designed as a Trans-Atlantic passenger ship with a capacity of 252 passengers and 130 crew, its original purpose proved to be unprofitable, and the ship was sold to Gibbs Bright & Co in 1846. There had been an increase in emigration to Australia, fuelled by a new Gold rush, and the SS Great Britain was re-fitted with a new upper deck, increasing its capacity to 750 passengers. Over the next 24 years, the ship carried over 16,000 emigrants to Australia.

The SS Great Britain launched its own weekly newspaper for passengers in 1865, and TheGenealogist has digitised issues of the newspaper, which are now available for all Diamond subscribers. These include interesting details about the ship and its progress, as well as incidents onboard and events such as birth and deaths. The last issue of the journey also provides a passenger list with names of those in intermediate, second cabin and saloon.

- The Great War - History of the World-Wide Conflict

Contains 272 issues, full of illustrations and information gathered by a team of war correspondents at the time.

Filled with pictures, maps and background detail, each issue has been scanned in full colour. It provides a valuable insight to how the First World War was fought.

Occupational Records

Occupational Records can provide a greater insight into the lives of your ancestors. They can be used to complement census records, and as some contain address details and pre-date 1841 they are a valuable substitute for the pre-census years.

A selection of what is currently included:

Actors and Playwrights

• Biographia Dramatica - A biographic record of actors, playwrights and their works from the 1500s to 1811. Information includes background history and a record of their individual works with dates.
• Who's Who in the Theatre - 1922 records

Bankruptcy Lists

• List of Bankrupts with Their Dividends 1786-1806 records


Clergy Lists

• 1911 Clergy List
• 1929 Crockford's Clerical Directory records

Imperial Calendars

 • 1895 British Imperial Calendar records

Law Lists

• 1066-1870 Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England
• 1824 Clark's New Law List • 1826 Clarke's New Law List
• 1856 Law List
• 1900 Solicitors' Diary, Almanac & Directory
• 1911 Justices of the Peace records

Medical Lists

 • 1727-1898 Roll of Army Medical Staff
 • 1895 Medical Directory - London, Provinces, Scotland & Ireland records
   
Teacher Lists

 • 1917 Official List of Registered Teachers records

Telephone Directories

Early telephone directories for 1899 to 1900 covering the whole of the UK, and international phone books for areas of Australia ranging from 1924 to 1934.

Records include the head of household, address and can also include their occupation. Searchable by surname and forename or can be browsed page by page with the help of bookmarks.

Court & Criminal Records

TheGenealogist provides access to early court rolls from 1394, and registers of convicts sent to Australia between 1787 and 1867.

Court rolls and criminal records can provide a wealth of interesting and unique information for family history researchers, with details of property, possessions and family members as well as crimes that had been committed.

Currently available:

Transcript Records

Australian Transportation Records

Book Records

The Court Rolls of Tooting Beck Manor Vol.1 1394-1422
Worcestershire County Records - Calendar of the Quarter Sessions 1591-1643
Court Rolls of the Manor of Hornsey 1603-1701

Freeman and Burgesses Books

Norfolk, Freemen of Norwich 1317-1603

These Freemen were individuals who had earned privileges and the right to work in the city of Norwich. Contains names and occupations of the Freemen.

List of Burgesses, 1875

This book contains a list of burgesses in the borough of Bedford and prominent members of the town. Contains names, addresses and the nature of their property held.

Full Content List

Please click here for a detailed list of all the Diamond content available

 

War Memorials

With 100,000 records at the launch at WDYTYA Live 2013 and a fast growing coverage it could quickly find those ancestors with a memorial.

Records ranging from soldiers lost in the Boer War in 1901 to more modern day conflicts such as in Northern Ireland, there are a number of records to access in our War Memorial collection.

Using the sophisticated search technology, with just the basic details, you can locate full information on where a soldier is commemorated, find out more details such as the regiment he was in and full location of the War Memorial and even see images of the war memorial itself to view the name of your ancestor!

Each transcript brings up details of the memorial with overview images of the entire memorial and is connected to Google Maps with StreetView to see the precise location of the memorial. The memorial is in turn linked to the Imperial War Museum’s Memorial Archive, giving you further details about the memorial, such as who built it, when it was built, who paid for it and more.

Find your ancestor using just their name, locate their memorial and add the images and information to your family history records or even plan your visit!

Our example shows a council worker from Islington, London. Using the SmartSearch on TheGenealogist we input his basic details:

 

The result gives the following accurate results, with A T Jackson appearing, listed in The Royal Field Artillery.

 

 

 

From the full record transcript, we find out that our ancestor was a member of Borough Council Staff, at London Islington Council. Clicking on the ‘View Original Image’ gives us a view of his name on the war memorial.

 

 

 

A full image of the war memorial and other relevant images with useful information are provided to really get a feel for where your ancestor is commemorated. There is also a click-through option to Google Maps with Street View, so you can view the actual street and location! TheGenealogist brings everything together on one page, making things as easy as possible in your search quest.

 

 

With high resolution images, TheGenealogist takes you to a clear view of the war memorial. See your ancestor’s name in the list of commemorated war deaths.

 

 

The many images provided include close up shots and more distant images. Here we see the outside location of the memorial, in this case, Islington Council Offices.

 

There’s a handy link to Google Maps with Street View allowing you to view the memorial in panoramic detail (if located outside). Here we are able to see the outside street which is handy if planning a visit to familiarise yourself with the area.

 

Finally, we have the option to click-through to the Imperial War Museum War Memorial Archive to get full details on the war memorial we are interest in. With full address, type of memorial and inscription it is the final piece of the jigsaw.

 

 

Naturalisation and Denization Records

Formally launched at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live show 2013, over 150,000 unique Naturalisation and Denization Records are now available. With records ranging from 1609 to 1960, over 300 years worth of rare and hard to find records are now available for family historians.

With over 145,000 records of overseas nationals achieving British Naturalisation plus over 5,000 Huguenot records now added as well, there's a wealth of unique information to access.

Before 1844, naturalisation was granted by a private act of parliament. This process of naturalisation was expensive and only a few could afford it. Denization on the other hand, although requiring a payment was a more affordable option.

Egon Ronay was granted British Naturalisation in 1952 and we find his records easily using the MasterSearch feature.

 

Naturalisation records are an invaluable way of tracking down an ancestor who was born abroad and then settled in the UK. With the political and social upheavals over the last few centuries, many people have made the journey to the UK to start a new life.

There's a substantial chance that many family history researchers will discover they have ancestors who originated from overseas. A copy of the actual list of certificates granted is also available.

 

As well as providing the date an ancestor may have received British Naturalisation or Denization, other details are provided such as changing their name when they arrived in the UK, for example Jonas Kaluzevicius in our records changed his name to a more English John Smith!

Headstone Database

Headstones

The ‘International Headstone Image Database’ was launched by TheGenealogist in 2014.

With headstones nationwide suffering from erosion, and burial grounds from closure for new developments, it is more important than ever to preserve the records of our ancestors and the International Headstone Database is designed to meet the challenge.

This searchable transcript database allows you to view photographs of the headstone and see photographs of the church and surrounds. Maps are also available for the latest additions to the records.

Using the sophisticated search technology on TheGenealogist, you will be able to, with just the basic details, locate full information on where an ancestor is buried both quickly and easily.

Using the Master Search, simply opt to search for a Person within Deaths and Burials and you can enter a Forename, Surname, Year and use the Keyword box for any additional information you have that may be included on that record. For example you could enter the name of the Parish.

 2015 Headstones 1.jpg

Once the results load, you can narrow the results using the sub categories from the menu on the left, as shown above you can click on Headstone.

 

Using the icons on the right of the result you can click to open the Record or Image:

2015 Headstones 2.jpg

UKindexer.co.uk hosts the new volunteer side of the project. Volunteers from around the world are now offered the chance to join the project. With every headstone photographed or transcribed, volunteers will earn credits towards subscriptions at TheGenealogist or products at Genealogy Supplies.

For further info please see: http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2014/the-hidden-treasures-of-gravestones-209/