Welcome to a rewarding hobby
Please find below what I hope will be helpful basic information, although many people
find that joining their local Family History Society [see your local library] gives
the best access to lectures and a wide range of FFHS [Federation of Family History
Societies] publications.
The UK has an enormously rich and varied collective archive of historical information.
While it was not designed for those of us who develop a curiosity about our ancestors
- it serves the purpose just as well as if centuries of material had been collated
with us exactly in mind!
Obviously recent history offers us the most readily available and fullest source
material. For example, UK census details are available from 1841 to 1891; Civil
Registration in England and Wales [birth, marriage & death certification] was
introduced in 1837, see local Register Offices & St Catherines House; the keeping
of Parish Registers (baptisms, marriages and burials) was instigated by Thomas Cromwell
in 1538, copies found in Parish Churches and County Record Offices; County Trade
and Post Office Directories run from early 1800, see local museums and Libraries;
and people have been writing wills for centuries. Since 1858 see Principal Registry
of the Family Division, those before centralisation usually in the Record Office
of the ancient diocese.
The further back you go the tougher it gets - but with the lateral, or dare I say
devious mind - it is possible to unearth extraordinary details of the lives of your
ancestors.
Addresses that might be useful:
Principal Registry of the Family Division Postal Services & Copies Dept.
Duncombe Place
York YO1 2EA |
Gwent Family History Society
The Secretary
11 Rosser Street
Waunfelin
Pontypool
Gwent NP4 6EA |
Gwent County Records Office
County Hall
Cwmbran NP44 2XH
Telephone: +44 (0)1633 832214
|
Civil Registration
St. Catherines House
10 Kingsway
London WC2B 6JP |
Hereford Record Office
The Old Barracks
Harold Street
Hereford HR1 2QX
Telephone: +44(0)1432 265441
|
Monmouthshire Registrar District
26A Monk Street
Abergavenny NP7 5NP
Telephone: +44 (0)1873 853182 |
It is also worth noting that as well as local studies books, census on fiche etc.
it is possible to access Ancestry.com free of charge from the public computers
in the Monmouth Library. It is used extensively by visitors researching their
family history, as is the Nelson Museum.