British and Irish resources

Archives, record offices and genealogical organisations

• Familia

Guide to genealogical resources in public libraries in the UK and Ireland.
 
• National Archives of Ireland

This site provides information about genealogical material held in the Archives, including the Ireland to Australia transportation database.
 
• National Library of Ireland

Family history research guide to relevant records held in the National Library of Ireland (Dublin).
 
• ScotlandsPeople

The official online source of parish register, civil registration and census records for Scotland. Provides a fully searchable index of Scottish births from 1553-1903, marriages from 1553 to 1928 and deaths from 1855 to 1953. In addition, indexed census data is available from 1881 to 1901. This is a fee-based site.
 
• Scottish Archive Network

The Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) provides an electronic catalogue of the holdings of more than 50 Scottish archives, and access to digitised historical records such as court records, tax records, emigration records, and poor relief records. Also provides family history guides and research tools.
 
• UK National Archives (Public Record Office and Historical Manuscripts Commission)

The National Archives was formed in April 2003 by bringing together the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission. This site provides information about genealogical research in the United Kingdom, including the 1901 census, family fact sheets which provide details on tracing an ancestor, and research information leaflets. Records available online include the 1901 Census for England and Wales, and probate wills from 1384 to 1858. Initial searches are free but charges apply for viewing records.
 
• UK National Archives research guides

Research guides provide background information on a wide range of subjects such as UK military records, convicts, court records and will give you specific advice that will help you to search the UK National Archives catalogue.

Births, deaths and marriages

• 1837online.com

A fee-based site for the records of the General Register Office, including indexes of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales from 1837 to 2001 (St Catherine's Index). Registration is required.
 
• Barbara's registration web page

This website aims to help people tracing their family history by explaining the usage of the different entries on birth, marriage, and death certificates throughout the history of civil registration in England and Wales.
 
• Family History Online

Produced by the Federation of Family History Societies (UK), this site allows you to search over 5 million records including parish registers, monumental inscriptions, censuses, poor law documents and others. A fee is charged to view the records.
 
• FamilySearch

This site from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints provides a searchable database of more than 300 million names. The database includes the Ancestral File indexes and the International Genealogical Index. It also provides access to the Family History Library Catalogue as well as thousands of indexed web sites. The 1881 censuses for Canada and the British Isles (England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man), and the 1880 US census are available online.
 
• FreeBMD project

The FreeBMD Project aims to provide free Internet access to Civil Registration (St. Catherine's House) indexes for England and Wales. The index is compiled progressively by volunteers, but is not verified by the Public Record Office.
 
• General Register Office Ireland

The General Register Office Ireland is the central civil repository for records relating to births, deaths and marriages in the Republic of Ireland. Records of births, deaths and Roman Catholic marriages date back to 1st January 1864. Records of marriages other than Roman Catholic marriages date back to 1st April 1845.
 
• General Register Office Northern Ireland

Details of records held by Northern Ireland's General Register Office, including birth, death and Roman Catholic marriage registers from 1864, and non-Roman Catholic marriage registers from 1845. Other records held include adoption registers, marine births and deaths, consular births deaths and marriages, and war deaths. The site includes an online application service for birth, death, marriage and adoption certificates.
 
• General Register Office UK

Information about how to obtain a birth certificate, a marriage certificate or a death certificate, and how to use the services at the Family Records Centre.
 
• Origins.net

One stop access point for English Origins, Scots Origins and Irish Origins. Several databases are included such as Boyd's Marriage Index, Griffith's Valuation and enhanced IGI searching for Scottish Records. The names are searchable but a fee is required to view the results.
 
• UK BMD

This site provides links to web sites that offer online transcriptions of UK births, marriages and deaths. Many sites offering UK census transcriptions are also linked from here.

Census records

• FreeCen UK census online project

A free online searchable database of the UK census returns from 1841 to 1891. This database is not complete and the focus is on 1891.
 
• 1901 Census

The 1901 British Census lists 32,000,000 people and includes information such as age, address, occupation, where individuals were born and who they lived with. This database allows you to search by name and address and by vessel (if the person was on a ship at the time of the Census) and by institution if the person was in a hospital, orphanage, prison etc. The names are searchable but a fee is required to view the results.

Convicts

• The National Archives of Ireland to Australia transportation database

This site provides an online index to records relating to transportation from Ireland to Australia covering the period from 1788 to 1868. Results of searches contain details such as name, age, crime, sentence, and the ship on which the convict was transported.
 
• Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674 to 1834

More than 100 000 full-text transcripts of criminal trials held at London's central criminal court. Many convicts sent to Australia were tried at the Old Bailey. The site includes English social history of the period.

Directories and maps

• Digital Library of Historical Directories

Digitised 18th, 19th and early 20th century local and trade directories from England and Wales. Directories include lists of names, addresses and occupations of the inhabitants of the counties and towns they describe. Search by name, occupation, addresses and other keywords.
 
• Historical maps of the United Kingdom

This site provides access to approximately 85 000 images of maps from between 1846 and 1899. There is also a County name gazetteer which lists counties as they existed around 1850. Selecting a county will present you with a gazetteer of towns and villages in that county.
 
• Ireatlas townland database

This site has a searchable database which covers the baronies, townlands, parishes and counties of Ireland. You can combine various criteria to narrow your search.
 
• Mapco

MAPCO's aim is to provide genealogists, students and historians with free access to high quality scans of rare and beautiful maps. Featuring digital images of maps of London and Adelaide. Maps currently online include London 1767 and 1850 and Adelaide 1880. More maps will be added over the next few months.
 
• Scottish town plans, 1847 to 1895

The National Library of Scotland's digital collection of over 1,900 sheets of surveys covering 62 towns surveyed between 1847 and 1895.

Local history

• British Association for Local History

The national body in Britain promoting local history and serving local historians. The association publishes The Local Historian, quarterly journal, and Local History News, a topical magazine, both of which are indexed and archived on the website.This gateway site to local history also provides links to local societies and national local history bodies.

Occupations

• Old occupation names

An alphabetical list of old occupations and their meanings.

Passenger lists and immigration

• Immigrant ships to New Zealand from the United Kingdom & Ireland 1835 to 1910

A listing of immigrant ships to New Zealand from the UK and Ireland, with links to information about passengers where available.
 
• Lloyd's Register of Shipping Index

On this site you will find the registration details of a vessel such as the rigging, the tonnage, dimensions, propulsion, owners and her Master. These have been transcribed from the Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping from 1764 up to 2003
 
• What passenger lists are online?

A directory of passenger records. Links to USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and European countries.

Useful sites

• Ancestry.co.uk

Genealogical records from the British Isles and Ireland. Includes fee-based access to 1871, 1891 and 1901 British censuses.
 
• Cyndi's list of genealogy sites on the Internet

A major resource with links to information arranged by country and by specific topic area.
 
• Family history in India

This site provides information and links to sites for people tracing their British, European and Anglo-Indian family history in India, Burma, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
 
• GENUKI

This site provides access to a large collection of genealogical information pages for England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
 
• Irish ancestors

This site has a number of searchable databases, which cover place names and surnames, including extended histories of the name. It also provides information on subjects such as published family histories and heraldry in Ireland.
 
• Medieval English genealogy

This site provides information about useful resources for tracing medieval English genealogy.
 
• RootsWeb

This site provides access to more than 100 000 message boards and mailing lists on family history. In addition, you can search the surname list to contact other genealogists who are researching the same family.
 
• Tracing your Scottish ancestry

This site, provided by the Department of Geography at the University of Edinburgh, contains a collection of resources designed to assist those wishing to trace their Scottish ancestry.
 
• FamilyRecords.gov.uk

This site aims to help in finding government records and other sources for family history research. Includes information on births, marriages & deaths, census, and migration. Also includes information about archival institutions in the FamilyRecords.gov.uk consortium.

Tutorial

• Genealogy classes

This site is designed for people who are new to researching their family history on the Internet. It includes lessons about getting started on the Internet and useful information about online research.
 
• Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 to 1800

A practical online tutorial to assist in reading handwriting found in documents written in English between 1500 and 1800. Provided by the National Archives of the UK.


From the NSW library