Geneology

[denjohn]

What kind of information can be got from a visit to Family Records Centre in London.

[dot.hawkes]

The Family Records Centre contains records of Civil Registration for Births deaths and marriages in England and Wales from July 1837 , These are indexed within quarters, march,June, Sept, Dec and within each quarter the biths are indexed alphabetically by the surname the child was registered with in th case of a birth, this was either the father's name if a father was entered on the certificate, or the mothers name if the father was not present at the registration and the couple were not at the time married. If the couple were not married but the father was present to add his name then it may be indexed under either parent.

The index of deaths is organised in a similar way in quarters and within quarters alphabetically by surname

The index to marriages is indexed the same but u need to match the bride and grooms name within the same quarter and with the exact same registration district and page number which is also in the inde3x

At he FRC there are also Census Returns for England and Wales from 1841 to 1901, there are various indexes but the best ones are the surname indexes.

The copy registration certificates can be ordered at the FRC as can photocopies of the census pages, when i was last there u could copy these straight from the screen.

[waimarie]

Hi denjohn, Sorry to butt in on your thread but a quick question for 'dot'. Out of all of the services you mention, aren't they all now available on the 1837 web site? I'm interested as I do a bit of family research and always looking for new sources of information.

[stoo_pid]

(2 parts)

The 1837 site does have some of the data that you get at the FRC but not all (for example, it only has the censuses for 1861 & 1891). You also have to pay to view records on 1837online.com, whether it's the record you're looking for or not (you don't know until you've paid). There is no charge to view any of the records at the FRC (although, of course, if you don't live in London there will be the cost of travel & possibly accommodation).

[stoo_pid]

The best online source I know of to match the FRC is Ancestry.co.uk. You have to pay if you wish to have full access but you can often find what you're looking for for free from the search results / indexes. You can also view the Birth, Marriage & Death indexes for free (although this is still in the beta stage & occasionally the page you need is missing - another advantage if you can get to the FRC in person).