Putting detail on family tree

[neddyw]

I have got over 500 names on my family tree and now want to start finding out detailed information about these people. Where is the best place to start? I have a census transcription for almost all of them so have ideas about occupations etc. Everyone is working class - farm labourers, spinners, weavers, carpenters etc. so no professionals to look up and no country estates left in wills. Many of them came from Manchester so could have been involved with trades unions and politics.

Any help appreciated.

[dotty.]

You will need to revisit their census entries and then use the OS maps and contemporary trade directories to find out possible enmployers, schools and Churches they may have attended. Manchester Record Office holds a vast array of corporate records and union records.
Using the information from civil registration documents you can identify occupations at times other than the census returnds which will help to back up your research.
People would mainly walk to work and so you would be looking quite close to home for most employers.
It is important to research the extended family to identify how they came by their home/work, very close family connections often led to a change of address or work.
You should look at the Parish Register entries too, and find where they are buried, family connections and religious affiliations can be turned up in graveyards.
School admission and attendence records will show their schooling and also possible half time attendence, especially in the Manchester cotton industry. Half time certificates will give actual employer and job role,

[echokilo]

The most important thing I found with tracing my family tree was to ensure everything is recorded in detail - and I use tribal pages to record everything and it's on line so safely stored. There is a charge but it's only a small annual amount - and the website is http://www.tribalpages.com/ In fact I am sure when I started mine in was free initially. It allows you to share the information readily with others searching for the same surnames, and you can search for links in other tribal pages trees. Genes Reunited is also useful for "meeting" others involved in the same searches - but it goes without saying that you should always search for the information yourself to double check the detail. Good luck with your research - I do less with mine these days as with over 3500 people in the tree it started to get a tad too vast!!

[neddyw]

Many thanks for info. Think I'll palm the kids off and spend day in Manchester Library!

[dotty.]

neddyw you need to go to the record office rather than the library, The Record Office is in Marshall Street not far from Piccadilly, you'll neede a readers ticket so take 2 forms of id that include your name and address, you are issued with a readers ticket that last a few years, you can only use pencils and no erasers are allowed,
you can check the catalogue here:
http://www.gmcro.co.uk/

The Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society library and research centre is in Piccadilly and easy to get to, they have restricted opening and you would need to take an annual membership (£15 per year) but it is a great library and will help you tremendously.
http://www.mlfhs.org.uk/