Over the last few decades, with the growth of the Internet, the ability to research your family history online has become an invaluable asset for family historians, and the number of readily-available resources and online services has hugely increased, making it the most popular method people use to conduct their research.
A lot of websites offer general information about genealogy, or guides on how to begin your research, but there are also many that offer family historians the opportunity to hunt through official records and data.
These services have changed how people research their family history and, due to the ease and convenience they offer, they have become a much more popular way to research, rather than having to search the records at a local Record Office, or buying specific record-sets on CDs to search through.
Records and Features
Websites like rootsuk.com give people the opportunity to search various records such as census records, birth, marriage and death records (BMD Records), the Electoral Roll and other record types online, for a small fee. On Roots UK, for example, for £5 you get 100 credits which means you can view 100 records.
Advanced features on subscription-based websites, such as thegenealogist.co.uk, include a Surname Distribution map, a 'SmartSearch' feature, and a Map Explorer (a feature unique to The Genealogist), and name variants/nicknames.
Do you want to research your Ancestors online?
If you are interested in researching your family history online, we have compiled a small list of guides to our favourite websites that we think you’ll find useful when deciding which resources and records you would like to use.
Search for your Ancestors Online
The Genealogist provides a free search for Births, Marriages, Deaths, and Census records, all of which are the key records in any family history research.
You can try using the free Genealogist search to look for an ancestor using the form below!
