Tracing my family

[pb100191]

Does anyone know a site (free) where i can search my name and it will come up with my great grandad etc?

[dot.hawkes]

Not really, you have to do abit of work, the sirte is free but you have to go on there armed with the right information. Start by asking your parents anmd eldest living relatives what their names are in full, when and where they were born, and who they can remember from their childhood, like grna[arents etc. Find out who has any of the birth registrations, (birth certificates) and see what you can turn up. then, when you ac\tually know who you are looking for, you can start using the General Register office Index for Births marriages and deaths, which you can search at
ancestry.co.uk
free of charge, but you need to know how the index worked, in that, in each calendar year, there are 4 quarters that cover registrations from jan/feb/mar then apr/mayjune/then jul/aug/sept thern oct/nov/dec. An event, like a birth or even a death, may be registered in the quarter follwing the event, as there was a 6 week deadline for registering births (fines were only introduced when the responsibility shifted to the person registering the event in the 1870s as i recall, and so some births may have been recorded later than six weeks or not at all.
You will also be able to check the 1901 census index for the whole of England and wales once you know who you are looking for and where they may have been living in 1901, this is also available on the above site.

ask again when you have managed to accumulate some basic info.

Dotty

[spudqueen]

Hi pb100191 I wish it was that easy! I've been trying to find out the real name of my Great Grandfather for about three years! Seriously though, follow dots advice and use caz1975s websites, but please note that it is www.1837online.co.uk. Bet of luck with your research, it can take a while but it is fascinating!

[pb100191]

thanks for your help guys