Showcasing Hampshire History
Talk given on 14th September 2024 to an Audience Showcasing Hampshire History
Civil Registration
Civil registration began in England and Wales on 1 July 1837.
www.freebmd.org.uk indexes from 1837-1997 – Free birth, marriage and burial registrations index. On marriages you can filter the search by including the spouse’s forename and or surname; on the birth index the mother’s name before marriage can be added on searches from September 1911. Please note that the index has not been completely transcribed yet.
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/menu.asp – note these records are for England and Wales. Any restrictions on availability are shown on their website. On the GRO website the mother’s former name is shown from 1837.
You need to register to carry out a search. From this page you can search the General Register Office GRO, order a PDF certificate, a digital image or a copy of a certificate.
Birth and death records – Digital Image cost £3 – available once payment is made, note not all images are available.
Birth and death records – PDF image cost £8 and are available within 4 working days.
Copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate cost £12 and are sent within 4 working days.
Census Records
The first census records that are of use to the family historian is the 1841 census, but remember:
Relationship to the head of the house is not shown, i.e. a man and a woman with the same surname and similar ages may not be married but could be siblings.
Marital status is not shown
Ages were rounded down to the nearest 5 years, i.e. someone aged 33 would be shown as being 30, this rule applied apart from children whose ages are shown.
The census only asks if the person was born in the county where they were residing in 1841, the only exception is if born abroad when F is notated.
http://www.freecen.org.uk – Free census index, excludes 1921 census. There are various filters that can be applied, these include occupation and marital status. Please note that the index is not complete.
Parish registers
The first parish registers began in 1538, however, records do not always go that far back.
www.freereg.org.uk – Free parish registers for baptisms, marriages and burials. If a specific place is searched, you can also request for nearby places to be included in the search. On marriages you can also search by the names of the witnesses. Please note that the index is not complete.
Websites for free
https://www.familysearch.org/en/ – On this site searches can include those for births, marriages, burials and some censuses.
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk – The National Archives besides having a catalogue of their records they hold (a few are available to download for free on registration) they have over a 150 research guides that will guide you through the records pertinent to your research.
https://www.genuki.org.uk/ – this site is a virtual reference library of all things genealogical for the UK and Ireland.
Pay To View Websites
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk
Some libraries offer free use of Ancestry and FindmyPast.
The Curious Custodian 