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*** 480 Links to Local, National and General Websites ***
| Main Links | Family History Societies |
| Local Websites | Special Interest |
| General Utilities | History |
| Archives | Maps |
| Irish Research | Scottish Research |
| Military Research | Migration |
| Computer Stuff | Fun Stuff |
Main Links
GENUKI - This site is an absolute must and your first stop to find out which resources are available to family historians in all parts of the UK and Ireland.
ROOTSWEB - to join geographic and topic based mailing lists, and checkout research guides etc.
CYNDI'SLIST - a comprehensive list of websites, for anything to do with family history.
FAMILY SEARCH - The LDS Family History Library catalogue, the I.G.I (International Genealogical Index) on-line, and the 1881 Census. Also their Record Search Pilot site - click on search then record search pilot - lots of new databases appearing here, and all FREE
I.G.I. Batch Numbers - Hugh Wallis' site that enables easy searching of the I.G.I. (International Genealogical Index) by surname within individual Churches.
Cheshire BMD - Transcriptions of local Registrars' Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes. All Tameside birth, marriage and death indexes are now on-line amounting to more than 1.5 million records. Mothers' maiden names are now beginning to be added for birth registrations. click here for more details. Please check the coverage pages for other Cheshire regions.
Lancashire BMD - Using the programme pioneered by Cheshire BMD. Check here if your ancestors were just over the border in Manchester or Oldham. Please check the coverage pages since these records are not as up-to-date as those for Tameside.
UK BMD - Using the prototype developed by Cheshire BMD, other local counties are coming on board, including Lancashire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, North Wales and West Midlands. Click on Local BMD. There is now the facility for cross browser searching - click on localBMD on the side menu and then UKBMD Multisearch. Debyshire marriages are available, hiding under parish registers at Find My Past.
UKGDL.org.uk - UK Genealogical Data and Lists. This is Ian and Sharon Hartus' website launched 2009. Basically Sharon has scoured GOOGLE for months to discover any local websites which might contain anything from Tax Lists, Trade Directories, Hearth Tax, Poor Law Returns, Bastardy, Court Records, basically any useful lists and sources which might add a little colour to our family histories. This is a massive undertaking. The format is easy to use, particularly if you are also used to their UKBMD interface. Congratulations to Ian and Sharon.
UKMFH.org.uk - UK Military Family History. This is Ian and Sharon Hartus' website launched 26 February 2010. Military Family History is a discipline in itself and to this end Ian and Sharon have again trawled the internet to bring you the most complete website of links to the whole range of military topics. This time they have made the site keyword searchable. 
Free BMD - The FreeBMD Database was last updated on Fri 13 Aug 2010 and currently contains 189,058,797 distinct records (240,932,526 total records). The coverage on their information pages, virtually complete up until 1936 and making good progress towards 1940. The reference numbers relate to those held at the General Register Office and are not particularly useful when applying to local register offices. I would try to search one of the UK BMD sites first and apply for certificates locally.
Certificates On-line - offers the ability to apply directly on-line for certificates from the General Register Office at Southport. Certificates cost 9.25 pounds and postage is free.
Ancestry - UK And Ireland Subscription website. There are now several payment options to suit light or heavy use of the site. All the Censuses with Original images are complete for 1841 -1901. There are also two BMD index searches available via Ancestry, another version of Free BMD until 1915 and then their own indvidually indexed entries from 1915-2006. British Telephone and Trade Directories. This should help to trace 20th century ancestors. WWI army pension records are now complete on-line.These are the records of soldiers who were refused or denied a pension and includes their attestation papers, sadly though only 30 percent of these records have survived.. Check the databases on the home page for details of other recently added resources. New from July 2010 the Boer War Casualty lists. More recent databases are the Parish Registers from the London Metropolitan Archives, Criminal Registers and the Calendars of Wills 1861-1941. Ancestry has a growing collection of Migration records including people entering from long haul destinations. It can be increasingly difficult to find the correct databases and it's worth getting used to using the card catalogue.
Find my Past.com -The only website with the wole of the whole of the 1841-1911 census databases on-line. Original GRO Indexes of the National Brith Marriage and Death registers. From July 2010 all the birth registrations on the site have been indivdually indexed. They also have the whole of the 1841,1851,1861,1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses on-line. Also includes registrations notified to the British Consul of Births, Marriages and Deaths which occurred abroad, and a newly added database of Soldiers who died in the Great war to make it easier to order their death certificates.One of their newer sets of records are those of the Chelsea Pensioners; these will soon be complete up until 1913. Find my Past have also entered into partnership with Family History Societies and many resources previously held on Family History on-line are now available via FMP, including many parish register indexes. Derbyshire Local BMD indexes are searchable at FMP in a rather strange place under Parish Registers. Part of the Find my Past website covers everyone departing for long haul destinations from British ports 1890-1960.
Lost Cousins - free to register and to join enter your ancestors details from the 1881 census and match to others with the same ancestors. They also have an excellent newsletter to subscribe to.
BMD Index.Co.UK - A rival to 1837 on-line 5 pounds for three month's subscription, 14.95 pounds for 12 months, fully surname searchable. The complete GRO Index is now searchable on-line.
The Genealogist - Now offering all-in subscriptions similar to Ancestry, incorporating BMD Index.co.uk plus complete census transcripts 1841, 1851, 1861,1871, 1891 soon to add 1901 - 1881 is available eslewhere. Also inlcuding Phillimore's Parish Register transcripts and many more datasets.
BMD Registers.com The National Archives in conjunction with S & N Genealogy - nonconformist, Jewish and Quaker registers searchable on-line - quite expensive for images. These now seem to be part of the all-in subscription to hthe Genealogist - see above.
British Origins - in association with the Society of Genealogists the most accurate census transcripts 1841, 1861 and 1871 plus a multitude of specialised databases - very useful for Wills or if any of your ancestors have strayed to London and the South East.
Family Relatives.com Family History Social Networking plus GRO indexes and Parish Register Transcriptions . Overseas BMDS currently FREE. Annual subscriptions 30.00 GB Pounds very cheap - watch this space.
About.com - Don't know why I haven't found this site before, but seems to be a world wide resource of information about family history and genealogy. Very up-to-date news articles and links to all sorts of topics.
Family Search WIKI - worldwide on-line family history encyclopaedia based on Wikipaedia.
Family History Societies
The Family History Society of Cheshire - Includes details from all the eighteen groups that make up the society, Cheshire Wills on-line, Cheshire BMDs and the Cheshire Surname's Directory. Brand new web design will mean that lots more information will be appearing on-line
The North Cheshire Family History Society - Have very good information on Burial and Monumental Inscriptions in North East Cheshire.
Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society - Have their own research library in the centre of Manchester, and Oldham, Bolton, Irish, Scottish and Computer Branches.
Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society - Covers Lancashire north of Manchester and Liverpool upto the Cumbrian border.
Derbyshire Family History Society - Offers a reasonably priced postal research facility.
The North West Group of Family History Societies - Keep up with North West Events.
The Federation of Family History Societies - Keep up-to-date with National initiatives.
The Society of Genealogists - search their on-line SOGCAT (library catalogue).
The Lancashire Parish Register Society - Order books, microfiche or CDs of early indexed and transcribed Parish Registers. Find out their latest news and information about the projects they are working on: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/lprs/
Federation of East European Family History Societies including Anglo German.
Catholic Family History Society
Local History Websites
Tameside Local Studies - Family and Local History resources and their Image Archive consisting of approximately 12,000 old photogaphs - fully searchable.
Tameside Local History Forum - Brand new with information about the 30 groups actively involved in local history in Tameside.
Tameside Radio real local community radio.
Carl's Cam - Carl Rogerson's website full of photographs of the local area, War Memorial transcriptions and information on Cheshire Boundaries.
Carlscam's Stage Coaches - wonderful new website with detailed maps and information about stage coach travel in Cheshire circa 1831.
Ashton Pals - Linda Corbett's new website, The Ashton Territorials, 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment during WWI.
Manchester Regiment website - Including a very helpful forum with experts on hand to answer questions.
Stockport 1914-18 Stockport Men who died in the Great War with potted biographies.
Ashton-under-Lyne Photo Blogspot - Interesting daily photo site with well researched historical captions.
Gerald England's new Old Hyde Blogspot
YESTERDAYS - Ian Rhodes' archive of extracts from 'The Reporter' 100 years ago.
Albion URC Fellowship - Albion Congregational Church - Then and Now.
Ashton-under-Lyne.com - photos, history and message forum.
Audenshaw Local History Society - Fairly new website for a not so very new, but very active local history society.
New website full of fascinating, photographs, stories and historical facts about the very oldest part of Stalybridge. Quote from the author:
I dug around, and found that the whole area has a fascinating history; riots, Bodysnatchers, Chartists, unpopular vicars, rooms of .. ahem … ill repute, the rise and fall of the Industrial Revolution with its ‘dark Satanic mills’. The more I discovered, the more fascinating it seems.
Denton Local History Society - A relatively new and growing site all about Denton.
Hollinwood Canal Boat Society - Aiming to restore this picturesque route.
Hydonian Blogspot - new and excellently researched blog about historical Hyde.
Mossley.net - a History and Photo Guide to Mossley.
The Wooden Canal Boat Society - Based in Ashton.
Cotton in Ashton-under-Lyne -a history of Cotton Mills in Ashton-under-Lyne.
Carrbrook Village - All aspects of village life and history.
Saddleworth Historical Society - This site is crammed with photos, maps and information about all the villages and hamlets that make up Saddleworth.
Ancient Parish of Glossop - Including 19th and 20th century Trade Directory transcriptions.
Derbyshire and North East Cheshire - Early Trade Directory and Census transcriptions.
Glossop Heritage - Information and details of opening times etc.
Stockport Hatworks Museum - Crammed with information about the local hatting industry. Lots of the exhibits originally come from Denton, though they are not labelled as such.
Longsight Memories - comprehensive Longsight archive including Belle Vue.
Our Manchester - A short history of Manchester with pages devoted to Longsight, Belle Vue, Memories and Childhood Games etc.
Manchester 2004 - Website originally created to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in 2002 - has a really good section on the history of the local area.
Lancashire Businesses online - The University of Manchester has placed the records of 3000 small businesses between 1760 and 1820 online - most relating to Manchester and Liverpool. You can search via name, business and document for your grocer or wheelwright and read documents related to them. If you had any middling type families in Manchester or Liverpool at this time you could be very lucky and find a copy of original documents relating to them.
Manchester Cathedral's Website - incuding quite a good history section.
Aidan O'Rourke's Photographic Website with modern day photos of Manchester.
Salford Hundred - Information and Maps about the Parishes that made up the old Salford Hundred.
Gorton History - Local and Family History in Gorton and Openshaw.
Manchester's 'Little Italy' Anthony Rea's wonderful webpage about Little Italy at Ancoats including history of the Ice Cream Families.
Brookfield Unitarian Memorabilia - Robert Siddall's Church History pages.
Lancashire Oracle - Peter Cox's Lancashire Genealogy Pages.
Cheshire Look Up Exchange - a growing list of volunteers willing to help people researching their Cheshire ancestors.
Lancashire On-line Parish Clerks - now covering churches and chapels in Ashton--under-Lyne, Denton, Hurst, Mossley and Stalybridge
Cheshire Parish Register Project - stalled for quite a while, but this project seems to be active again with regular up-dates, works quite well after you have learned the system of searching the databases and codes.
Cheshire Antiquities - A scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities, including photographs and potted histories of Cheshire Towns and Villages.
All about Cheshire wiki just started by Cheshire Record Office.
Ray Hulley's Website - Hulley Family History plus much more particularly old Macclesfield Hundred Records
East Lancashire SMITHS - New website aimed at building up a database of SMITH surname families in East Lancashire
Lancashire On-line Parish Clerks - Stalybridge Parish now added with the baptisms from Ebenezer Methodist Chapel 1813-1837.
Yesterdays Journeys Very ambitious website run by Mike Spencer with indexes mostly to poor law records of settlement, removal, bastardy, wills and court records from Derbyshire Quarter Sessions. The sections includes information from all over the UK since our ancestors were far more mobile than we think particlarly the section on Vagabonds.
Special Interest Family History Websites
Commonwealth War Graves Commision - On-line searchable database of Commonwealth Forces who died in the two World Wars plus 67,000 civilians who died as a result of enemy action.
Visions of Britain - Crammed with demographic information extracted from various national statistics 1801 - 2001, historical descriptions, maps etc.
Family Search WIKI - worldwide on-line family history encyclopaedia based on Wikipaedia
British Industrial Schools - looking for missing ancestors.
Workhouse Site - Information about Workhouse Unions in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Rossbret Institutions - important, workhouse, asylum and prisons website.
Index of Lunatic Asylums and Mental Hospitals - a county by county guide - a resource created by Middlesex University.
Photographs and Architectural details of Victorian County Mental Asylums.
Manchester Family History Research - a Manchester Record Agent's own website, but full of information about poor law and court records in Manchester Archives.
Complete Newgate calendar of debtors and criminals 17c-19c hosted by University of Texas at Austin.
British Industrial Schools - looking for missing ancestors.
Hidden Lives - The hidden lives of children in care 1881 - 1918.
Database of British Home Children - from the Canadian National Archives.
A Forum for Descendants of British Home Children/a> British Home Children to Australia North West Railway Workers - A Cheshire Record Office searchable database of North West Railway Worker's staff registers.
London & North West Railway Society - Crammed with information for North West Railway enthusiasts.
Railway Ancestors Family History Society - including a very useful message board to register and exchange information.
Sources for London Lives include poverty, crime, social policy, apprenticeships etc. A fully searchable edition of 240,000 manuscripts from eight archives and fifteen datasets, giving access to 3.35 million names.
London Docklands Transcribed Parish Registers.
A History of Music Halls and Theatres
Travellers Site - Fairground, Travellers, Gypsies and Travelling Showmen.
Gypsy Ancestors - Do you have Gypsy ancestors.
Canal Junction - boat people and the Canal Heritage Trust.
British Postal Museum Heritage and Archives Ellis Island - American Family Immigration Centre - database of passenger arrivals through Ellis Island between 1882 - 1924.
Coal Mining Resource Centre - National database of mining deaths and injuries.
Black Sheep and Police Index - Also includes Victoriana, and much more taken from newspaper reports.
Lancashire Constabulary - records with search facilties.
Lancaster Castle - Dungeons, Witches, Convicts and Transportation.
Capital Punishment in the UK - massive database of information; some of it is pretty gruesome.
Capital Punishment - The resource site for the history of capital punishment in Britain. Welcome Trust Medical Archives - History of Medicine and location of archives.
Church of England Portal - database of C of E Clergy.
Methodist Ancestors - Rylands Library Database.
The Manchester City Council Burial Database
Craig Thornber's Website - A history of Medicine and Local History of Cheshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
GOONS - The Guild of One Name Studies.
Family History - General Utilities
Tameside Surnames Directory- run by the Dukinfield Group Family History.
Lancashire Surnames Directory - run by John Burns.
Surname Profiler - Graphs of surname distribution for 1881 and 1998
The Etymology of British Place Names - sources of places names in the UK
Gazetteer of British Places Names - exhaustive list of 50,000 place names.
Behind the Name - An Etymology of First Names.
Given Names 1450-1650 - Old English and Latin Names.
Interesting Surname Database - this site has potential, but proceed with caution regarding heraldic information.
World Surnames Profiler lots of fun mapping out surnames worldwide.
Surname Find It - computer programme help in searching for surname variants.
Understanding the IGI Although written from an American perspective - lots here to explain the history of the International Genealogical Index (IGI)
Family Tree Charts - really good free family tree charts.
Roots Chat - easy to use Genealogy message board.
Family Tree Forum - similar to Roots Chat, but with some research guidance and a Forum WIKI.
Gen Queries One place clearing house for Genealogical Queries worldwide.
A - Z of Genealogy - Topic based help list.
I.G.I. Batch Numbers - Hugh Wallis' site that enables easy searching of the I.G.I. (International Genealogical Index) by surname within individual Churches.
Hugh Wallis' Middle Name Index - Searchable index of middle name from the IGI.
FamilyBMD.com - Making family history research easier.
GENUKI Church Database - This site identifies which churches fall within a given radius of the places your ancestors lived and access to maps, photos etc.
REGISTRATION DISTRICTS - Civil Registration Districts in England and Wales.
GOOGLE Searching - Hints and Tips to make the most effective use of GOOGLE as a search engine.
New genealogy search engine - Full launch with hundreds of thousands of new links in April 2009!
Historical Directories - Site ran by Leicester University with searchable trade directories throughout England and Wales.
Acts of Parliament List of various Acts of Parliament affecting Family History
1901 Instututions - Jeff Knaggs personal webpage where he has extracted all known institutions from the 1901 census.
Census Finder - A good start to find out what information is available local to the area you are researching.
The Court Service - Excellent guide explaining the Probate process for Wills.
Cheshire Wills on-line - Fully searchable index of Cheshire Wills
Lancashire Wills on-line - Fully Searchable index of Lancashire wills from the mid 15th Century to 1858. The site is in beta testing mode and should be complete by the Spring of 2005
Derbyshire Wills - Alphabetical will calendars for Derbyshire.
On-line Probate Indexes Beta Version of National Archives Wiki showing on-line Wills Indexes.
Family Deeds - rescuing old deeds and documents.
Deceased Online Website in beta testing mode, eventually hoping to unite Local Authority Burial and Cremation Databases.
Will Transcriptions New website where Will transcriptions are being collated throughout the country.
Rulers of England - Useful King List.
BMD Certificate Exchange Growing collection of surplus to requirements certificates.
Wikipedia - Old English Language.
Old Medical Terms - Ron Hall's collection of websites offering information on old medical terms.
Symbols on Gravestones and their meanings.
Latin Translations - Ron Hall's collection of websites offering Latin translations.
History Timelines - from the BBC website.
Useful Historical Dates - John Owen Smith's list of useful dates for local and family historians.
English Ecclesiastical Calender, Regnal Years, Day of the Week and more.
Date Converter - Calender converter for all dates.
How Much Is That Worth Today - Spending power conversions from 1264-the present time.
Currency converter - Currency Converter from the National Archives website.
English Currency - through the ages.
Weather Timeline - A timeline of notable weather events in England - really interesting.
Telephone Finder - British Telecom's site offerring free telephone directory look ups.
192.com - Much revamped and improved website - 10 free telephone look ups a day and a paid site with lots more information available..
Post Code Finder - The Royal Mail's website.
Land Registry - Searchable Land Registry database.
BMD Certificate Tutorial - Everything you should need to learn about Birth Marriage and Death Certifixates in England and Wales
Old Handwriting - On-line tutorial offering help in trying to read old documents.
Old Handwriting Tutorial on the National Archives Website - A Guide and On-line tutorial offering help in trying to read old documents.
Palindex - The best paleography tutorial I have found on-line.
Google Books - Old and rare books downloadable in PDF format for free. Go to Advanced Search and then click on full view before you search.
Old Archived Books - two definitive histories are now available to download for free: Samuel Hill, Byegone Stalybridge (1907) and Thomas Middleton Annals of Hyde and district : containing historical reminiscences of Denton, Haughton, Dukinfield, Mottram, Longdendale, Bredbury, Marple, and the neighbouring townships (1899)
Abebooks - Search out old and rare books for sale.
S & N Genealogy Supplies - Census records, trade directories and old maps available to purchase on CD.
GENFAIR - One-stop shop for Family and Local History.
The Parish Chest - On-line Family History Store - masses of links etc.
Downloadable Parish Register Books from the Internet Archive
Price and Associates - professional genealogists, but this is a superb page of weblinks - nearly does away with this one:)
Pharos Tutors - approved Genealogy Course at reasonable rates.
Ancestor Search Info Excellent How to Guide - plus lots more.
Your Family History - Dr Nick Barrett's latest venture, a new and different Family History Magazine asking for contributions and queries from family historians. Sign up for a free on-line newsletter or subscribe to the magazine.
History Websites
Derek Gillards website giving a short history of Education in England
Spartacus.Schoolnet - All Social and Industrial history in one website, including Child Labour, Slavery, the Textile Trade.
Poor Law correspondance papers held at the National Archives
Spinning the Web - The story of the Cotton Industry.
Cotton Times - History's great upheaval.
BBC Cotton History - all about the background to the cotton industry in Britain.
Cotton Town - A very comprehensive history of Cotton in Blackburn, but many of the themes equally apply to any of the North West Cotton Towns.
The Hat Site - The History of Hatmaking
The Victorian Web - Website created by the University of Singapore has a really comprehensive overview of Victorian Life.
Roger Vaughan's Victorian Photo Gallery - A huge gallery of Victorian and Edwardian photographs including help with dating techniques.
Daguerre.org - Brilliant early photographs of 1840s and 1850s America.
Wedding fashions - phototgraphs from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
National Archives Beta Labs site.
Victorian London - 19th Century London Social History.
Friedrich Engels - A complete on-line translation of his book 'The Conditions of the Working Class in England' published in Liepzig in 1845.
Bastards and Baby Farming in Victorian England - prizewinning essay.
British 19th Century Newspapers - subscription site but worth it if you have a weekend to spare.
Gazettes On-line - Fully 20th Century coverage especially useful for appointments etc. during both World Wars
Guardian and Observer Newspapers' Digital Archive - Pay site, but with full Guardian Newspaper archive 1821-date, and the Observer 1900-date will release images back to 1785 in the new year sometime. A little difficult to get used to using the search engine and saving articles, but worth it because the Guardian Newspaper started off as the Manchester Guardian, so holds quite a lot of local news in the early years.
Manchester Central Library you can join the Manchester Council 24 Hour Library for free and have access to several reference sources including the Times Digital Archive 1785-1985. Similarly the Times Digital Archive is available via Cheshire Library membership.
Lancashire On-line Reference Library - join their On-line Reference Library – you don’t have to live in Lancashire. Their on-line archive includes the Times Digital, the British 19th Century collection and the 17th/18th Burney Collection.
Liverpool Chronicle extracts this is a wonderful personal project by Caryl Williams who has indexed masses of entries from the early Liverpool Chronicle. Not just extracts from newspapers, but almost a one-stop Liverpool resource for family historians.
Swansea index to the Cambrian the first English Language Welsh Newspaper 1804-1914.
Moving Here - 200 years of Migration to England.
Quarrybank Mill and Styal Homes - National Trust website about the community and industry created by Samuel Greg of Styal.
Parliamentary History of the Slave Trade.
Lancashire Historical Highways - Interesting information about the introduction of proper roads through Lancashire.
Medieval Genealogy - Pages and pages of Medieval sources and information.
Domesday Book - The Domesday Book on-line - fully seachable. The site has just been revamped and not all pages are working as yet.
The Peerage - Noble and Royal Family Genealogies.
Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire- including Volume Indexes.
BBC Local and Family History - Includes lots of research guides and places to post your family photographs etc.
BBC Voices - Regional Accents and Word Maps and Curios
British Library - Sound Archive - On-line collections from the British Library - fascinating dialect recordings.
Brtitish Pathe - Pathe News Archive
Chartist Ancestors - a well constructed website for anything you need to know about the progress of the Chartist Movement.
British History OnLine - Freely searchable database of main Historical sources, including maps, county histories, ecclesiastical papers and parliamentary archives.
History Pin - a new development for Google maps and Street View. Pin your History to the World. Historypin invites you to dig out, upload and pin your old photos, as well as the stories behind them, onto the Historypin map. Uniquely, the site allows you to layer your old images onto modern Street View scenes, revealing a series of windows into the past.
ARCHIVES
Family History at Manchester Central Library - New Link to - Comprehensive Family History section from the Manchester City Council website.
Greater Manchester County Record Office - Archive and Family History Sources
Chester Record Office A joint partnership between the new Cheshire East and Chester and Cheshire West Councils - this is via the Cheshire East Council's website, from which there is easy access to their on-line materials.
Lancashire Record Office - old maps on-line and masses of records for the Quarter Sessions
North West Archive Centres - Complete list of Archive Repositories in Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
The National Archives - Much re-vamped and re-branded website. Searchable database of PCC Wills proved at Canterbury before 1858, Downloadable World War 1 Medal Cards, access to the Library Catalogue with estimates for copying and very good research advice pages.
a2a - Access to Archives, searchable database - lots of Tameside and Manchester Coverage
Borthwick Institute - University of York and Prerogative Court of York Archives.
Old Bailey - Proceedings at the Old Bailey becoming available on-line.
BOPCRIS - British Official and Parliamentary Papers.
Thousands of on-line Newspapers
British Library English Accents and Dialects - Sound archive of regional accents - mostly from people born in the 1890s and recorded in the 1950s. I even have trouble understanding accents from my local region - helps you to understand how census enumerators could get names and places wrong.
MAPS
Gazetteer - brought to you by GENUKI - enter a place name and be taken to an information page and various on-line maps.
Large Scale Maps of Manchester and Salford 1857, Manchester 1922 and Liverpool 1874.
Old Maps - Detailed old Ordinance Survey maps on-line searchable via place name or gazetteer- sadly not as good as previously since maps are no longer free.
Ordnance Survey - Free to view modern day Ordnance Survey maps.
Historic maps of Ireland. At the Ordnance Survey Ireland website you can view current and historic maps of Ireland. It may take you a couple of minutes to figure out how it works, but once you have, you can switch almost instantly from a modern satellite map to one of several 19th century maps - still positioned on precisely the same point. If there's something similar available for Britain then I'd love to find it!
Early Scottish maps from the National Library of Scotland.
Google Maps - Brand new interactive mapping with the GOOGLE difference.
British History OnLine - Freely searchable database of main Historical sources, a much improved maps database of the original first series OS maps, county histories, ecclesiastical papers and parliamentary archives.
Gen Maps - Old maps searchable by county
Lancashire Old Maps - Old Maps available from the Lancashire Council website.
Baedeker Guide Maps - 1910 Map of Manchester.
WebbAviation fantastic modern aerial views of towns and cities of England and Wales.
ALAN GODFREY MAPS: excellent value at around £2. 25 per map
WHERE’S THE PATH? Displays OS maps and Google aerial images side by side and works comfortably and intuitively, to see the clear OS view moving in synchrony with the Google aerial image and with synchronised cursors and live coordinates. Each window can be scaled separately, with the wider view showing an outline window delineating the coverage of the more zoomed one. Several different map types can be selected including the very useful option of 1930s and 1940s OS maps.
Researching Irish Sources
Irish Genealogy Toolkit - fabulous newish website I have justt found with all sorts of guidance for people researching their Irish Family History.
Free 1901 and 1911 Census from the Irish National Archives website. News from the Irish National Archives: All thirty-two counties for 1901 were launched last Friday 3rd June. All thirty-two counties for 1911 have been available on this site for some time now. Click on search census and then there is a drop down menu for which ever year you want to search. Both are totally free to search.
Library Ireland Books plus Historical and Topographical Ireland
Irish Family Research - searchable databases of Directories, Griffiths etc. plus Maps.
Irish Genealogy.com - Using English, Welsh and Scottish records to trace your Irish Ancestry.
Irish Family History Foundation website making information from county family history centres avilable on-line, now adding 1901 and 1911 census information - pay per view.
My Irish Ancestry - join Irish Family History Communities.
National Library of Ireland- including Parish Registers and a Genealogy Help Desk
Dublin Heritage - A Dublin Library intiative - transcribed Dublin Parish Registers Searchable on-line.
Emerald Ancestors - an excellent pay per view website specialising in Vital Reocrds and the 1901 Census for Northern Ireland.
Irish Genealogy Projects County by County database of volunteer transcriptions.
Irish Pension Search - A searchable database of the census records which survived the burning of the records in Dublin in 1922.
Ireland Gen Web - County by County pages including information on Griffiths Valuation and Tithe Applotments.
Northern Ireland Gen Web- County adopted pages.
Irish Genealogical Research Society- mostly London based collections of Wills indexes and family deposited records.
Irish Roots- Virtual Irish Community and Message Boards
Ulster Historical Foundation - 2 million records on-line, some free, some to members only - membership 30 GB Pounds per annum.
Public Records Office Northern Ireland - mostly Government, Legal and Family Deposits.
General Register Office Northern Ireland - now processing certificates on-line.
Irish War Memorials - this site aims to develop a database of Irish War Memorials with photographs and transcriptions.
Church of Ireland Archive - the survival and location of Church of Ireland Parish Registers.
Irish Ancestors- Pay Per View (and seemingly quite expensive) for access to the Irish Times Newspaper Archive.
National Archives of Ireland - Parish Records, Wills, Transportation, Tithe Applotments, and Primary Griffith's Valuations.
General Register Office - Republic of Ireland - copying service for Births before 1900, Marriages before 1950 and Deaths before 1966.
Irish Census Records and Census Substitutes- County links to some transcribed sources.
The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust Ltd - all encompassing guide to researching Irish Military History with guides and on-line sources.
Irish History in Maps and Surname Distribution - interactive website with special emphasis on Ancient and Medieval Counties and Baronies.
Historic maps of Ireland. At the Ordnance Survey Ireland website you can view current and historic maps of Ireland. It may take you a couple of minutes to figure out how it works, but once you have, you can switch almost instantly from a modern satellite map to one of several 19th century maps - still positioned on precisely the same point. If there's something similar available for Britain then I'd love to find it! Irish Famine History in Contemporary Illustrations - Pictorial History of the Famine.
Ireland List Griffith's Valuations
Irish Convicts to NSW plus other Irish Rebels.
Don't forget to check the Irish pages at GENUKI, ROOTSWEB and CYNDI'S LIST.
Scottish Research
Scotlands People - BMD information, Census Returns and Wills indexes all searchable on pay-per-view.
Early Scottish maps from the National Library of Scotland.
National Archives of Scotland - details of search services and collections.
National Library of Scotland - searchable on-line catalogue.
General Register Office for Scotland - In addition to BMD Registration from 1855 there are details of Old Parish Registers, Irregular Border Marriages etc.
The Scottish Association of Family History Societies
Happy Haggis - probably the best Scottish Genealogy Page
Registers of the Scotland Executive Agency - National Land and Property Registers.
Scottish Archives Network - one step catologue to sources in Scottish repositories.
Scottish Geneaology Society - library of microfilmed census returns parish registers etc.
Military Research
UKMFH.org.uk - UK Military Family History. This is Ian and Sharon Hartus' website launched 26 February 2010. Military Family History is a discipline in itself and to this end Ian and Sharon have again trawled the internet to bring you the most complete website of links to the whole range of military topics. This time they have made the site keyword searchable.
Commonwealth War Graves Commision - On-line searchable database of Commonwealth Forces who died in the two World Wars plus 67,000 civilians who died as a result of enemy action.
Carl's Cam - Carl Rogerson's website full of photographs of the Cheshire and Lancashire War Memorials and a searchable database of transcriptions.
Tameside Local Authority War Memorials - a searchable database of war memorials in Tameside
Denton Roll of Honour - seachable database of approximately 2,000 men from Denton who served in the first World War.
Family History Using Military Sources - guide produced by Tameside local Studies and Archives Library.
Millbrook Roll of Honour - missing rolls of honour from Millbrook, Carrbrook and Hey Heads.
Missing from Stalybridge War Memorial - Kathryn Booth's Great War Project - names missing from the Stalybridge War Memorial
Includes the enlistment papers of Britsh born servicemen who enlisted in Australia - seven from Stalybridge. Military and Naval Officers deaths worldwide from 1750 A guide to UK Military and Regimental Museums British War Graves photos supplied free of charge. Medieval Soldiers Database - Fantastic research project listing soldiers found in the National Archives in medieval documents, right up until the battle at Agincourt, including the names of archers.
Museum of the Manchesters - Research Guide through the Regiment's Archives at Tameside Local Studies Library.
Ashton Pals
- Linda Corbett's new website, The Ashton Territorials, 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment during WWI.
Manchester Regiment website - Including a very helpful forum with experts on hand to answer questions.
The Lancashire Fusiliers website.
Stockport 1914-18 Stockport Men who died in the Great War with potted biographies. Amazing amount of research went into this site.
Trafford War Dead - Have just found this wonderful website of nearly 7,000 names from the Boer War onwards, which have been researched by George Cogswell.
Commonwealth War Graves Commision - On-line searchable database of Commonwealth Forces who died in the two World Wars plus 67,000 civilians who died as a result of enemy action.
The War Graves Photographic Project The aim of The War Graves Photographic Project is to photograph every war grave, individual memorial, MoD grave, and family memorial of serving military personnel from WWI to the present day and make these available within a searchable database.
Military History at the National Archives - research guides and holdings at the National Archives.
The Great War Archive - Oxford University Project to collect memoirs and memorabilia.
The Long Long Trail - A History of British Forces in the Great War.
The Few - Battle of Britain.
Regiments.Org - The most comprehensive site you will ever come across, concerning everything to with military regiments, battles, contact addresses, references and so on.
War Brides - Passenger lists of War Brides transported overseas.
Military Hospitals - Military Hospitals and Convalescent Homes.
Introduction to British War Medals
Military-Genealogy - various rolls of honour.
National Archives - Hospital Records - for records of WW2 Nurses - also location and survival of records for most UK hospitals.
Roll of Honour - names listed on a large number of War Memorials.
Great War Digital Archive of Poetry and Memories of the Great War.
Imperial War Museum click on Family History - lots of links and help sheets.
National War Museum - army past and present. First World War.com - battles, propaganda, maps and photos.
Battlefields 14-18 - army structure and battles.
In Flanders Fields - from the Flanders Fields Museum in Belgium - in three languages, with information about Belgian, French, German and UK troops.
Battle of the Somme - an account with maps and photos.
Paths of Glory - some information about ID tags, pay books etc.
Red Cross - recources and photos of the Red Cross role in wartime.
Caring on the Home Front - St John's Ambulance and Red Cross activities during WW1 - click on Search the Library for numerous factsheets, video and audio clips, including a gas mask display.
Wellcome Trust - video from the Welcome Trust Library of shellshock patients taken at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Dartmoor.
Wellcome Trust - information from a past exhibition on War and Medicine.
COFEPOW - Children and Families of Far East Prisoners of War website - lots of information - click on seeking information.
Bob Saunders Marine Links - All you need to know about researching British Seamen and their Ships.
Australian Defence and Merchant Navy forces WWII Maritime Memorials to seafarers and maritime disasters. Cardiff Registered Ships and Mariners Swansea Registered Ships and Mariners 35,000 Mariners copied from the Somerset Record Office by Aubrey Brown. History of forgotten Asian, African and other foreign seamen on British Ships East India Company Ships and their Crews. Port Cities UK - A History of All things Naval from the Port Cities of London, Liverpool, Bristol, Hartlepool and Southampton
Royal Naval Records from the National Archives - Information about more than half a million people who joined th Royal Navy between 1853-1923, now downloadable.
Naval History.net Excellent website with masses of information regarding naval history from the Great War to the Falklands.
Welsh Mariners' Index - An on-line index of 23,500 Welsh merchant masters, mates and engineers active from 1800 to 1945, compiled by Dr. Reg Davies. Boer War - Anglo - Boer War.
South African Roll of Honour - A searchable database of South Affrican Casualties.
Asplin Military History Resources - including a searchable database of nearly 40,000 men who enlisted for the Boer War 1899-1902.
Canadian Expeditionary Force - First World War.
Wartime Memories Project - for people to add memories and photographs.
UK National Index of War Memorials - searchable database of National War Memorials.
Channel 4's Not Forgotten Web Page - search for WW1 Soldiers who died.
Gazettes On-line - Fully 20th Century coverage especially useful for appointments etc. during both World Wars
Don't forget to check out all the indexed military records at Ancestry, FindmyPast, FamilyRelatives.com
Migration
Moving Here - 200 years of Migration to England.
National Archives - Information about Naturalisation as a British Subject plus searchable catalogue of naturalisation papers.
Tweety Bird Genealogy - massive geneaolgy links sites, plus passenger lists and information on British Home Children
British Home Children to Australia
Slave Trade Abolition Petition - the transcription work of the 1806 petition in support of abolition of the slave trade, undertaken by several members Manchester and Lancs. FHS.The archives are very keen to know of anyone who recognises a possible ancestor amongst the signatories. The website hopes to host transcriptions of other petitions soon.
Ellis Island - American Family Immigration Centre - database of passenger arrivals through Ellis Island between 1882 - 1924.
Castle Garden - American Family Immigration Centre - passengers passed through Castle Garden before Ellis Island became the main route into North America.
Automated Genealogy Not a really good title for this site, but one which does give an up-to-date view of the progress of Canadian Indexes which are free to search on-line.
Life and Death in Quarantine on Grosse Ile (Canada) 1832-1937.
Vital Records for Nova Scotia - excellent website with images to view online, but you do have to pay to download them.
The Hudson Bay Company Archives
British Columbian Archives and BMDs
Searchable BMDs for Nova Scotia.
Canadian National Archives - Check this page for the multitude of free on-line information bases, including Census and Military and British Home Children etc.
Canadian Naturalisations 1915-1932
Welsh Mariners' Index - An on-line index of 23,500 Welsh merchant masters, mates and engineers active from 1800 to 1945, compiled by Dr. Reg Davies.
Olive Tree - Ships Lists - Very useful information about migration and free to search passenger lists.
The Ships List - Comprehensive passenger lists website.
Australian Family History Compendium - gateway to Australian Archives and Sources.
Coraweb Cora Nunn's comprehensive Australian Genealogy pages.
an Introduction to Australian Shippling Lists
New South Wales State Archives.
New South Wales Births, Marriages and Deaths
Mariners' Records and Ships Lists - New South Wales -
Australia and New Zealand Passenber Lists.
National Archives of Australia.
New Zealand, Birth, Marriage and Death records on-line. New Zealand Newspapers - This has mentioned in several places, access free to an archive of New Zealand newspapers. Quite a lot of reporting of things back in England. Queensland Government Transportation Database
Convict Links - comprehensive list of sources and links.
Convict Central - great site - including all convict ships details, Western Australian Convicts - Millitary Pensioners sent to Australia to settle - Convict women sent to the female factory - stories about individual convicts.
Convicts Australia - recommended by a friend as the best site she has found for convict ancestors giving varied information about convicts transported to New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. This is goldmine, not only of tickets of leave and certificates of freedom, but absconders, Government Regulations, Old Bailey indexes, Newgate Prison Records and much more even convict tatoos.
Public Record Office of Victoria - searchable databases of assisted and non assisted arrivals.
Australian On-line Newspapers - search the newspapers archive, mostly from the Sydney Morning Herald. The Ryerson Index - to contemporary obituries in Australian Newspapers Awesome Genealogy - comprehensive passenger lists links.
National Archives of South Africa.
South African Genealogy - an excellent site to begin your search for South African Records, starting with how to guides, types of records, databases and repositories.
Anne Lehmkuhl's comprehensive South African Research Resource.
The East India Company -For people with ancestors in the East India Company including births, marriages and embarkation lists.
Jamaican Family History - Asked for information as to how to research Jamaican family history. This site seems to be pretty comprehensive, it’s a pay site, but not too dear – a kind of mini Ancestry for Jamaica . Huguenot Library collection hosted by the University of Central London. Don't forget to check out all the indexed military records at Ancestry, FindmyPast, FamilyRelatives.com
Computer Stuff
Tribal Pages - The easiest on-line tool for creating a family tree website.
Wholly Genes Software - producers of The Master Genealogist.
Brothers Keeper - Oficial site to download software.
Legacy Family Tree - download free version of Legacy Family Tree.
Roots Magic - Cheaper rival to Family Tree Maker - download a free demo.
Personal Ancestral File - Free Family Tree software from the LDS Family Search website - follow the links to download products.
Family Tree Maker - Arguably the most well-known family tree software.
Downloadable family history forms and charts
Webuser - On-line version of Britain's best selling internet magazine.
w3schools.com The largest free web design tutorial site.
HTML Goodies - Primers and Tutorials for HTML and other aspects of Web Design.
StatCounter.com - free stats on visitors to your webpage.
Bravenet - Help and Resources for all website designers.
Pico Search - Add a free search engine to your website.
Moon and Back Graphics - Beautiful free Website Graphics. I designed my Photogallery using these graphics.
Paint.NET - light version of photo and image editing with most of the features you would be likely to use in a professional programme like Photoshop.
Splashup - formerly Fauxto, is a powerful editing tool and photo manager. With the features professionals use and novices want.
My Imager - Your everything On-line Image Editor .
Photobucket - free on-line photo hosting site.
Dynamic Drive - Lost of free scripts and effects for websites.
Javascript Kit - Lots of free Javascripts and Applets
Fun Stuff
Family Tree Folk - Reviewd by Family Tree Magazine "Genealogy-themed gifts have been around in the US for some time, but they are only just starting to appear in Britain. Family Tree Folk is a new entry into the field".
Make Poverty History - most important website of 2005.
care2.com - Environmentally friendly website with lots of free animated e-cards to customise and send
Free Rice - Improve your word power and donate rice for free.
Trouble at' Mill - A Gradely Read for Gradely Folk - Lancashire Dialect Recipes.
Friends Reunited - Get in touch with old schoolfriends or just browse the message boards for your old school.
Genes Reunited - Find people researching your family names.
Digital Spy - showbiz, entertainment and media news.
Whirlygig - British TV and Radio nostalgia including sound clips of old theme tunes etc.
TV ARK - on-line TV Archive Museum - old averts, children's programmes, cult programmes etc.
UK Homefront - Nostalgia, Nostalgia, Nostalgia!
Your Memories.co.uk - Nostalgic memories of 20C British Life.
Every Hit plus Chart Trivia Singles, albums, charts, music trivia and awards.
Old 78 Records as MP3s One man's project to convert his old 78rpm records collection to downloadable MP3s.
British Garden Birds - Really useful website with all the information you need to understand your garden visitors.
yournotme.com - Find out how many people in the UK have the same name as you and leave them a message.
ONS Surname Statistics - Searchable database of Surnames taken from the 2001 Census.
Nationmaster - nation by nation statistics and maps etc.
The Foody - National, Regional and Historic including Roman and Medieval.
The Food Timeline - Fascinating timeline about food from ancient times to modern, eg who made the first potato salad and the roots of traditional recipes from all over the world
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