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When researching your family history it is essential before arriving at the Record Office that you have as much information about your family history as possible.

 

Family members are a good source of information for your research, as well as family records such as certificates, letters, old photographs and dates; the areas where family members lived, the type of jobs they did, the churches they attended are all vital to your research.  Ancestry Library Edition is free to use at most UK libraries, and is an excellent resource for those researching their family history and much more.

Website:  About Ancestry

 

Listed below are websites which will help you with your family research.  Most are free to use and can give comprehensive results.

 

 

FreeBMD

 

FreeBMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. The recording of births, marriages and deaths was started in 1837 and is one of the most significant resources for genealogical research. The transcribing of the records is carried out by teams of dedicated volunteers and contains index information for the period 1837-1983; they have not yet transcribed the whole period.

Website: FreeBMD

 

 

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

 

These records span billions of names across hundreds of collections; including birth, marriage, death, probate, land, military, IGI extracted and more. (Maintained by the Church of Latter Day Saints).

Website:  Family Search 

 

 

ScotlandsPeople

 

If you are researching UK genealogy, your Scottish ancestry or building your Scottish family tree, ScotlandsPeople have almost 90 million records to look through (Free search only, pay for full details).

Website:  ScotlandsPeople

 

 

The National Archives of Ireland

 

The Census of Ireland 1901/1911 and Census fragments and substitutes, 1821-51. Website:  Archives of Ireland 

 

 

India Office Family History Search

 

There are 300,000 births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials in the India Office Records.

Website:  India Office Family History 

 

 

FreeCEN

 

FreeCEN is an ongoing volunteer project to make 19th century UK Census data available on one database.  It aims to provide a “free-to-view” online searchable database of the census returns from 1841 to 1911.

Website:  FreeCEN 

 

FreeREG

 

FreeREG is an ongoing project to provide online indexes of baptism, marriage, and burial records, which have been transcribed from parish and non-conformist registers of the United Kingdom.

Website:  FreeREG

 

Family History Societies

 

Sites and services of some local family history societies can be found on our Links page.

 

Newspapers

 

For some historical newspapers and magazines which can be searched online without payment, see our free online newspapers links.
 

Our Families project

 

The data collected in this project researching families and properties in Berwick’s High Greens, Low Greens, and Ravensdowne can be seen on the Our Families pages.

 

 

Military sources

 

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

 

 

The Commission’s casualty database lists the names and place of commemoration of the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars.

 

It also records details of the 67,000 Commonwealth civilians who died “as a result of enemy action” in the Second World War.

 

It is possible to search by surname, date, war, rank, regiment, awards or any combination of those criteria.

Website:  Commonwealth War Graves Commission

 

 

Ministry of Defence

 

The Ministry of Defence is the custodian of the records of service of Service personnel and Home Guard records until they are opened to general public access at the National Archives. Subject to the payment of an administration fee and provision of a death certificate (except where death was in service), certain information can be provided from the records of service of Service personnel on request under the publication scheme.

 

If you require military service records, further information can be found on the MOD website.

 

 

 

 

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Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives

 

Below are useful links to the Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives.

 

User guides and forms

You can obtain copies of any of the User Guides and Leaflets for help in using the archive (as well as Copyright Order and Booking Forms, Governance documents, Archives Consultative Committee Minutes,  Archives Newsletter, Price Lists, Finding Aids and Rules / Procedures).

Web page:  User guides and forms

 

They inclulde the following indexes:

 

Northumberland Farms Index circa 1860

For those researching 19th century farming in Northumberland this index provides a useful resource.

Web link:  Farms Index circa 1860

 

Northumberland Wills index 1858  – 1899

Two indexes of Wills cover an area from the Tyne valley to Berwick-upon-Tweed, providing a useful resource for those researching their family history.

Web links:

Northumberland Wills index 1858 – 1878

Northumberland Wills index 1879 – 1899

 

 

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Durham University Library

 

Durham University Library’s North East Inheritance project has funded the creation of an online digital image catalogue of over 150,000 wills and related archives from across County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. These provide an invaluable insight into north-eastern people and communities, their family relationships, trades and lifestyles. The wills date from the 16th Century to the mid-19th Century and many are accompanied by inventories of the goods belonging to the deceased, bonds, accounts, and a variety of associated documents.

Website:  Pre-1858 Durham Probate Records

 

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