| I started tracing ancestors way back in the early | | | | There are also transcripts provided if you have |
| 80s when the internet had not yet been born, | | | | difficulty deciphering some of the writing. |
| and the computer was yet to become a | | | | Parish registers may still need a journey. |
| household item. When I first began to get | | | | However, the vast majority of registers now |
| interested in my heritage, the first place to visit | | | | reside at the local county record offices, rather |
| was St. Catherine's House near the Aldwych in | | | | than the parish church, and if it's too far for you |
| London where you could search the civil | | | | to travel to search for an ancestor who only |
| registration indexes and order certificates. This | | | | might be there, you can still use the internet to |
| was easier for me than most people because I | | | | search the online International Genealogical Index |
| was living in London and working near the | | | | provided by the Church of the Latter Day Saints |
| Aldwych at the time. | | | | to help with your parish searches. |
| Almost every lunch time I used to walk round the | | | | It is no wonder that genealogy has increased in |
| corner and spend an hour going through the | | | | popularity over the last couple of decades. It is |
| indexes. These were in large, heavy books | | | | quite possible to find ancestors going back to |
| arranged in date order along lines of shelves. I can | | | | 1837 without having to go out of your front door! |
| still remember the sound of continual thuds and | | | | But easier does not necessarily mean better. You |
| rustling paper as my fellow researchers took | | | | have to take far more care when searching |
| down those books and painstakingly looked | | | | online. Some internet records have been |
| through page after page. It was hard work, and | | | | transcribed carelessly, and the indexes on some |
| the act of lifting those heavy tomes made my | | | | sites are notoriously inaccurate. This means that |
| arms ache after an hour of searching for my | | | | you may not always find your ancestor at your |
| grandmother's birth details, which seemed to | | | | first search attempt. If the name has been spelled |
| continually elude me. | | | | incorrectly because the transcriber has mistaken a |
| Before the age of computers, you had to travel | | | | 't' for an 'l' or an 'a' for an 'o', it may not come up |
| if you wanted to trace English ancestors. This | | | | on the index at all, even with the phonetic name |
| would either be to London, to the relevant county | | | | search switched on. |
| record office to look at census records, and often | | | | Be wary, too, of family histories that have been |
| to the local parish church where many parish | | | | uploaded onto websites that claim to go back |
| registers were still held. This often meant that | | | | centuries. If you find one of your ancestors on |
| you had to contact the local church warden and | | | | these trees, make sure that the original |
| ask for permission to look through the registers. | | | | researcher has done a professional job and that |
| Today, we have it easy. With internet access you | | | | the information is backed up with solid evidence. |
| can sit in the comfort of their own armchair with | | | | The internet has certainly made tracing ancestors |
| a laptop and search the civil registration indexes | | | | easier, but the very fact that it is easier tends to |
| with a few clicks. You can even order them online | | | | encourage people to make assumptions - and as |
| without getting off your chair. | | | | a professional genealogist I know the pitfalls of |
| You can also view all the census records, and the | | | | this. Never make assumptions. Always try, as far |
| indexes are so arranged that you can look for a | | | | as you can, to back up any possibilities with hard |
| specific ancestor without having to trawl through | | | | fact. Have fun tracing ancestors online, but be |
| a whole parish to find the household you want. | | | | careful out there! |