Genealogy Resources

The UK census is the bedrock of British family tree research. You need enough information to take you back at least as early as April 1911 before you can start using the censuses for research. With a bit of luck they'll take you back beyond 1841.

• UK census dates.
• FreeCEN. Free searches of the 1841–71 and 1891 censuses. NB that it is not (yet) complete.
• Ancestry UK. You have to pay, but Ancestry has full coverage of the 1841–1901 censuses, and has full images for 1911 census returns (but these are not yet fully searchable).
• 1911census.co.uk. Alternative source for the 1911 census, with better search capability.

Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales began in 1837; before then records of baptisms, marriages, and burials were a matter for the local church administration. Civil records for England and Wales are held centrally by the General Register Office ('GRO'), and are also held in local register offices (which can generally be visited in person if you want to view and/or obtain a copy of a record).

• FreeBMD. You can search FreeBMD by name(s), place, and date to find the GRO index reference for England and Wales births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales. The project aims for complete coverage of events in the years 1837 to 1983. As of February 2012, births coverage is essentially complete up to 1938, marriages up to 1951, and deaths up to 1950.
• The GRO certificate ordering service. If you have a GRO index reference, you can order birth, marriage, or death certificates online for £9.25 each.