AncestryData
    Newsletter

    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿English Genealogy: Follow Your Family Through Local Records

    Build an English family timeline using civil registration, parish registers and household records. Work from a documented place and event to find the next connection.

    Ancestry

    Ancestry

    Holiday Sale: 65% off AncestryDNA. Offer ends 11/19. Terms apply.

    Discover your ethnicity and find relatives with AncestryDNA.

    Ancestry

    Ancestry

    AncestryDNA® with Traits

    Ethnicity estimate, DNA matches and personal traits.

    Chapter 1 · Use names with dates and relationships

    Choose a civil record or census household

    Start with the event closest to what you already know. Use FamilySearch’s England guide to choose civil registration or census resources and learn what information the records may contain.

    Compare the full household and addresses rather than copying the first matching name. Check the responsible certificate service, image access and fees through the record holder’s current guidance.

    Records worth exploring

    • Birth, marriage and death indexes
    • Certificates
    • Census returns
    • The 1939 Register where relevant

    Your next step: Find one record and test it against at least one known relative, address or occupation.

    Sources for this chapter

    Chapter 2 · Not all family records are held nationally

    Identify the parish and its record holder

    Find the parish for the event and check the relevant county or local archive. Church registers, nonconformist records and local copies can have different coverage.

    Use The National Archives’ research guides to distinguish its holdings from records held elsewhere. A catalog reference can identify an offline document even when no image appears in a name search.

    Records worth exploring

    • Parish baptisms, marriages and burials
    • Nonconformist registers
    • Local archive catalogs
    • Maps and directories

    Your next step: Note the parish, denomination when documented, archive and date range for your next search.

    Sources for this chapter

    Chapter 3 · Use independent evidence to resolve uncertainty

    Add context with wills, work and migration

    When common names or conflicting ages make a match uncertain, look for wills, occupations, military service or migration documents. The National Archives’ subject guides explain how to approach these collections.

    Keep the original reference for every fact and avoid joining families just because the surname and county agree. Record an unanswered question instead of filling a gap with an unsupported relationship.

    Records worth exploring

    • Wills and probate
    • Military and maritime records
    • Migration records
    • Land and occupational records

    Your next step: Select a second record type that could distinguish your person from someone with the same name.

    Sources for this chapter

    Another way to explore your roots

    Considering a DNA test alongside your document research? Compare what the different tests offer and review their privacy choices before deciding.

    Compare DNA testing options

    You don’t have to research alone

    Compare research approaches, ask a focused question and connect with people exploring related roots. Follow the evidence wherever your family’s journey leads.

    Sources & further reading

    These guides and record holders are starting points for your own research. Check the coverage and access conditions of the particular collection; a missing online result is not proof that a record never existed.

    Explore all genealogy tips
    Ancestry

    Ancestry

    Holiday Sale: 65% off AncestryDNA. Offer ends 11/19. Terms apply.

    Discover your ethnicity and find relatives with AncestryDNA.

    Ancestry

    Ancestry

    AncestryDNA® with Traits

    Ethnicity estimate, DNA matches and personal traits.