Tracking Down Your Ancestors

Tips on researching and tracing your family history

About this Site

Welcome to the online version of "Tracking Down Your Ancestors". On this site, you can read the full text of "Tracking Down Your Ancestors". This book provides advice on tracing family, covering the use of public records and death records to trace your family, as well as using online family searches. You can sign up for our newsletter, or download the PDF version of the ebook from the online store.

About the Author

Dr Harry Alder, a prolific writer and long time researcher, shares invaluable lessons and the gems of discovery you can expect as you track down your ancestors. Here he passes on his passion for the subject, his first-hand experience, lots of practical tips and key web sites to support your research.

Chapter List

Introduction
Getting Started What Do You Know?; Who Do You Know?; What Do You Want?; One Name Studies; Getting Started Online; Start Up Guidelines;
Online Family Searching Surnames; Familysearch.Com; Gedcom; Ancestry.Com;
Harnessing Internet Sources Mailing Lists; Newsgroups; Your Own Website; Finding And Using Professionals; Familia; Family History Resources Online; Cyndi’s Resources; Exploring Deeper And Wider;
Tearless Transcribing Making Assumptions; Fields; Lifetime Logic; Vital Information; Civil Birth, Death And Marriage Records;
Organised Support Society Of Genealogists (Sog); Federation Of Family History Societies; Guild Of One Name Studies (Goons);
Vital Public Records Purposes And Processes; Vital Statistics; Census Returns; Exploring The Catalogue;
Interpreting Old Records Knowing What’s Important; Having The Right Attitude; Comparison Of Archives; Conventions And Caveats; Mediaeval Public Records;
Getting To Know Your Ancestors Name Searches; Place Searches; Inheritance Records; Immigrants To Britain; Emigrants And Britons Abroad; The Armed Forces; Prisoners And Criminals; Coroners’ Inquests; Litigation; The Established Church; Nonconformists; Roman Catholics; Jews; The Poor; Lan