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Starting your family history

  • do your homework - collect as much information from relatives, family papers and old photos as you can so that you have a name, place and approximate date to start from. 
  • don't worry if you can't find out much - often we can help you to get started.  You can also spend time with one of our Searchroom Buddies - Contact us to make an appointment.
  • decide what you want to do - do you want to trace the male line or both sides of your family?  It is better to concentrate on one branch of the family at a time.
  • bring details of all the information you have - it can include a clue you hadn't realized.
  • read a book - there are many guides to tracing family history that will give you basic information about sources to help you, and show you how to organize your work.
  • get organized - you can find information in a wide variety of sources so you need to keep careful notes of what you find and where you found it.  It is important to make a note of all the sources you check, even if you don't find any useful information in them.
  • check the Online catalogue - this shows the sources available for your area.  Most of our parish registers (baptisms, marriages and burials) are available on self-service microform so you can use them immediately.  If you find references to original documents you would like to see you can pre-order them so they are ready for you when you arrive.