Although many of the web-building websites such as Ancestry do require a subscription, there are sources of information for which there is no charge. These include baptisms, marriages and deaths which have been transcribed from church records by dedicated teams of volunteers and a good number of census records are available at no cost.

Most free genealogywebsites, that is website listing old records, etc

The free-to-use websites I use are as follows:

  • Familysearch.org
  • Free UK Genealogy
    • FreeBMD (Births, Marriages and Deaths)
    • FreeCEN (UK Census Returns)
    • FreeREG (registers of baptisms, marriages and burials of the Church of England and other organisations.)

Many of the websites shown in my Resource List are free for personal use to a greater or lesser extent, but please check on the given site to be sure.

I will write a more detailed report on these at a later date and maybe include a comparison chart.

FamilySearch.org

Birth certificates usually show:

  • Date and place of birth
  • Name and gender
  • Names of parents (including mother’s maiden name)
  • Father’s occupation
  • Name, description and address of the informant
  • Date of registration

Marriage certificates usually show:

  • Date and place of marriage
  • Forenames and surnames of bride and groom
  • Ages of bride and groom (‘full age’ means 21 or over)
  • Abode of bride and groom
  • Father’s name and occupation for both bride and groom
  • Names of witnesses

Death certificates usually show:

  •  Date and place of death
  • Full name
  • Age at death
  • Occupation
  • Cause of death
  • Name, description and address of the informant
  • Date of registration