You are here: Home » Getting started » Top starter tips

Quick tip: Tweak FTM settings

Family Tree Maker 2011 boasts many new features, but some of the more subtle ones can be missed if you’re not careful.

0 Comments | Read more

Quick tip: Probate calender

Want to search for wills and administrations for the British Isles from 1861-1941? You can do so at Ancestry.

0 Comments | Read more

How To: Choose family history software

Anyone serious about using their computer for genealogical purposes will need some form of dedicated software.

0 Comments | Read more

How To: Search the 1901 Census

Some of the most important documents for your family history research are the decennial censuses from 1841 to 1911. These allow us to work out where our ancestors were on census night, what they did for a living, the extent of their families, their state of health, and even the languages they spoke.

0 Comments | Read more

How To: Understand a marriage certificate

Some of the most important records you’ll ever use in your family history research are those for marriages, which can provide a wealth of information and reveal a great deal about your forebears’ lives. Tracing such records may not necessarily always be easy, however, particularly if your ancestors married abroad or belonged to a dissenting church, while the history of statutory registration across the British Isles varies enormously from country to country.

0 Comments | Read more

How To: Interview a living relative

As part of FindMyPast‘s Start Your Family History Week, YFT is getting involved and showing you how to take your family history further.

Today we kick off with every family historians first step – talking to living relatives.

0 Comments | Read more

Quick tip: Calculate relationships

Working out how two different individuals on your family tree are related can be a bind if you’re trying to do so by hand. Are you second cousins once removed or third cousins?

0 Comments | Read more

Quick tip: 1901 Irish Census

The 1901 Irish Census is now available online for free at www.census.nationalarchives.ie. Unlike the British equivalents, the original schedules survive and include significantly more details.

0 Comments | Read more

Quick tip: GRO for beginners

If you’re new to family history and about to use the General Register Office indexes, it’s wise to familiarise yourself with the system first.

0 Comments | Read more

Quick tip: Archives made easy

About to visit an archive? Make sure you read this first.

0 Comments | Read more