Want to search for wills and administrations for the British Isles from 1861-1941? You can do so at Ancestry.
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.
If you have ancestors who ran their own businesses, the National Register of Archives (NRA) database is a great resource.
Events concerning our ancestors may not have made the national news, but you could find a report in the local press.
Sometimes, birth and death certificates only give the address of where the event occurred, which can make it hard to locate surviving records. However, Hospital Records Database, a joint project between the Wellcome Library and The National Archives, contains almost 3,000 entries searchable by place as well as name.
Sometimes tracking down your ancestors by name in the census records is a thankless task. However, The Genealogist has a search engine that lets you search for places rather than people.
Probably the most comprehensive online catalogue of archive holdings around the country is Access to Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a. The only problem is that a name search can be too specific and a general search can give you an overwhelming list of results. The secret is in using the advanced search feature.
Everything you need to get your capital family history research underway
Useful sites for tracing your Irish ancestors across both Eire and Northern Ireland
Grab yourself the current issue of Your Family Tree (Autumn 2006 – issue 43) and you’ll find that the cover feature is a very useful article about how to use records of the poor in your research. The article is intriguing and extensive, especially if your research is mainly based in England and Wales.
Our aim is to make tracing family history accessible and rewarding for everyone. Your Family Tree offers practical advice, written by experts, on all areas of family history research. Subscribe Now
