The world of genealogy is changing all the time these days, with new information coming online every year. To find out as much as you can about your ancestors, you will need to use as many different sources as possible. There are several online genealogy databases - some are free, and some are subscription only but also sometimes have offers such as a month's access for £1 - and you can access some of them at libraries.
The largest subscription websites are: Ancestry; Find My Past; The Genealogist. All of them have all the census records and civil registration records for England and Wales, but it is always useful to check another site if you cannot find what you seek, as search facilities differ, and sometimes the information is found more easily on a different site. Ancestry and Find My Past also have parish records, military records, immigration and travel records, and social records such as directories, schools and employment, but their coverage varies widely. Ancestry has wills and probate records, Find My Past has 19th century newspapers, while The Genealogist is good for tithe maps and non-conformist records.
There are also free websites for genealogical data, but in general they do not cover the same vast range of information. One of the best is Family Search, and it is always worth checking when an ancestor is hard to locate. Others are Free BMD, which has civil registration records, Free Reg for parish records, and Free Cen for census records, although all of these only offer rather patchy information.
If you have any Scottish ancestors you will need to use the pay-per-view site Scotland's People. Civil registration records for Irish ancestors can be found free at Irish Genealogy, while catholic parish register records are available by subscription at Roots Ireland.
Susan Francia
Family History Research Services
01822 820855
www.family-historyresearch.co.uk