Free genealogy online websites can be found at the Who Do You Think You Are? site.
Census Records – The National Archives
The censuses from 1841 to 1921 are available online. Links to our official partner websites, Ancestry and Findmypast, for each census () are listed in the table below. Images and indexes for all censuses from 1841 to 1911 are available on both of these sites, and on a number of other commercial websites ().
It is free to search on these sites, but there is a charge to view full search results and digitised images. However, you can view censuses from 1841 to 1921 free of charge on site at The National Archives in Kew, and from 1841 to 1911 at many libraries and record offices and at FamilySearch Centres worldwide. The 1921 Census is also free to view via Findmypast at the Manchester Central Library, on St Peter’s Square, Manchester, supported by the Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society helpdesk and the Archives+ Team, and at the National Library of Wales, in Aberystwyth.
Many local and county record offices also hold microfilm or microfiche copies of the census returns for their own area, excluding 1911 and 1921. Use Find an archive to find contact details for local and county record offices.
Family Search
A free site where you can access birth, marriage, death and
children details world wide. These details tend to become less available after
1875.
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- Complete and searchable data for the 1881 Census
- All searches in Family Search will look for similar spellings
Ancestry.co.uk
They offer a free trial but after that you have to pay either monthly or yearly. There are different levels of membership. There are many aspects of information available on this site and it is growing. Highly recommended.
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- All Census and counties
- You can copy the original census image to file and/or print
- Telephone Directories
- Others
- All Census and counties
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S & N Genealogy Supplies
- CDs for all Census Years and Counties
- Parish records – Marriages etc.
- Kellys Directories
- Pigots Directories
- Other Directories
- Landowners
- Titled and Gentry
- World War 1
- Ships
- Telephone directories
- Maps
- Many more
Local Village and Historical Society Websites
Books and written data re: Local History and parish records. Family memories.
Name corruptions
Apart from the Family Search site most of the others require details of names to correspond with the details on their data. The data is only as good as the input and first names can show as initials. First names can show as nick names e.g. Lizzie for Elizabeth. The surnames can easily be corrupted e.g. Wynn instead of Winn. Do not make assumptions that the current name (as at 2007) is the original spelling or that the name has always been spelt the same way. In many cases the census writers transposed information incorrectly and sometimes families directly connected have ended up with slight differences in the surname.