Family Tree Research for beginners

Borrowed a book from my local library about tracing family trees. Then found that most large city libraries run a course on family trees. Attended, pretty basic stuff but got the addresses of some good websites.

Used a recommended site freebmd.rootsweb.com and entered my father's name. Came back with ref: Sheffield 9c 640. This is what's called a GRO reference (General Register Office for Births, Deaths and Marriages). I applied in person for the certificate at Sheffield Registry Office £7.00. Told it might take up to 2 weeks. Found you can do it online at www.gro.gov.uk for the same price, saves petrol and easier.

Received father's birth certificate in the post, giving address where he was born and details of my grandfather and grandmother that I never knew. Now I know why my father's middle name was Higgins, it was my grandmother's maiden name. Next step - search for my grandfather again at freebmd.rootsweb.com (it's free as the name suggests, but records are not complete yet) - nothing found.

Stumped I thought, how do I find my grandfather's birth certificate as you need the year. It came to me that his age would be on his marriage certificate (if I could find it) then I'd know which year he was born. I knew my father was born in 1906, so I worked backwards from there (assuming that they were married at the time). I used www.1837online.com but you have to pay. 55 credits for £5 but that's not as bad as it seems.
You can't search for a name and it just pops up. The pages are copies of original lists, about 450 names per page covering every birth, marriage and death since 1837. They are indexed in periods of 3 months, Jan-Feb-Mar / Apr-May-Jun / Jul-Aug-Sep / Oct-Nov-Dec.
You select either birth, marriage or death, then select a period to search. When you do a search, it only returns a list of pages where the surname *may* appear (no cost yet). I selected 1905 to 1906 which returned 8 quarterly periods. Clicked on Oct-Dec (one credit deducted). It lists surnames you entered (and others) but may not be the ones you want. I got down to 1905 Jul-Sep page and there it was. The record I wanted, found for (6 credits = about 60 pence) and never left the house.
Now I have a GRO reference of the marriage record, back to www.gro.gov.uk and ordered a certificate.

Received a copy of my grandfather's marriage certificate (George William Exton). Gives his age as 36 years when he got married in 1905, so I need to look in the registered births for around 1869. Found a record in 1868 that matches. Applied for that birth certificate (yes, another £7). Other info on certificate: great-grandfather called William Exton (Cow keeper). My grandmother's age was show as 35 years, so I looked that up out of interest and found that she lied about her age. She was actually 37. All women lie about their age *grin* so that's something else to consider in your research.

Certificate arrived but something doesn't ring true. DOB doesn't match the age on the marriage certificate. Did he lie about his age? Was his middle name registered? The info on early certificates is very limited.

Been looking at the 1881 Census at www.familysearch.org (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) which is free and very good, though hard to use at first, to try and cross reference my results. Found two George Extons (1867 and 1868) both with middle name of William and fathers named William in the Lincs area. Both match exactly. Applied for a second birth certificate. Very frustrating!

Joined www.genesreunited.co.uk at a cost of £7.50. You can search for names that others have researched and there's plenty, but it seems weird that you have to put in a request to look at someone else's family tree. Requested 5 Extons trees to view. Got 2 replies but nothing connected. Still waiting for 3 replies, but I've got a feeling their membership has lapsed.

Had to have a re-think. Used www.familysearch.org and on the 1881 Census, I found a George W. Exton who had a brother, Arthur. Following Arthur's details to cross check. On www.1837online.com found the GRO details and applied for his certificate. This is harder than I thought.

Certificate finally arrived in the post for Arthur Exton confirming a cross reference connection. Now I can apply for William Exton (great grandfather). It will be sometime before I receive it.

Received my great grandfather's certificate (which is cross referenced with the other certificates) and now feel I've got somewhere.

• www.1837online.com (55 credits minimum) - £5.00
• Father's birth certificate - £7.00
• Grandfather's marriage certificate - £7.00
• Grandfather's birth certificate (details don't fit, Arrgh!) - £7.00
• Grandfather's birth certificate (correct one) - £7.00
• GenesConnected (1 year subscription) - £7.50
• Arthur Exton's certificate - £7.00
• Great grandfather's birth certificate - £7.00

This is what the top of a registered birth record looks like:-

Not everything is clear and in a straight line as you would expect. But pages can be enlarged (magnified) and saved to your computer to study later. To view the records, you need to download a free self-installing viewer from their site, which is very easy to do. Not all records are a 100% legible. If they're not readable, there is a link to inform them and you're not charged.