Get started on your family tree for your own ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ reveal

Is your family history a mystery?

Research conducted by leading UK family history website Findmypast has revealed a national family history knowledge gap, with only 10% of Brits knowing any general information about their ancestors beyond their grandparents’ generation, including names, addresses or what job they did.

Nearly half (47%) have never even seen a photo of them.

With celebrity revelations of hit genealogy programmes like the BBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” and Channel 4’s “My Grandparents’ War” showing a growing trend and providing inspiration for many to trace their roots, the research reveals that people are struggling to know where to start.

Around one-third of people have already started researching their own family history, but nearly half say it’s difficult to start. Few realise that the tools to begin your journey are right at your fingertips, with family revelations ready to be unlocked at the click of a mouse.

Family history websites such as Findmypast provide all the resources needed to trace your roots back to the reign of Henry VIII and beyond, while exploring the lives of your ancestors in vivid detail across billions of records – from historical newspapers to parish registers.

With families coming together for the first ‘normal’ Christmas after years of restrictions, it’s the perfect time to gather the information you need to get started on a journey that will bring generations closer together.

Jen Baldwin, Research Specialist at Findmypast, said: “We’re seeing a growing general trend around family history and awareness of the amazing stories that can be revealed through research into the past. Family history is about exploring and understanding your own identity, as well as building connections with those around you.

“With Christmas being a moment when families come together to do just that, it’s the perfect opportunity to explore those old family myths and legends, pool generations of knowledge and confirm the facts, and get started on a fascinating and rewarding pursuit that’s totally unique to you.”

To help budding researchers, Findmypast has created a handy seven-step guide to getting started online.

Finding your past: how to discover ancestors online

The celebrities appearing on “Who Do You Think You Are?” may seem incredibly lucky to have their family stories revealed, but most people don’t realise that almost anyone can now access the historical records used by shows' experts.

Before digitised records became available online, family history researchers would have to pursue records in person, in archives and record offices across the country. Now, with a wide variety of websites, apps, and other resources, your ancestors are just a few mouse clicks away.

1. Getting started

First things first, sit down and make a note of everything you already know, focusing on names, dates and locations. This will form the basis of your initial research.

Talk to your relatives about their memories and what they know about the family. Findmypast’s research showed that nearly two-thirds (64%) admitted they regret not asking their older family members more about their lives, especially about what their childhood was like (46%) and if they lived through any famous historic moments (37%). 53% also stated that they wish that they had taken the time to record their ancestors' life stories before they passed away.

Every detail can help, no matter how trivial. Ask older family members first as they’re more likely to have encountered some of the people you’re researching, or to have heard stories about them.

Search the attic. Check old photographs, letters or documents and other heirlooms for clues to the past.

2. Search online

The billions of records now available online contain a wealth of information for building out your family tree, with records covering countries and people across the globe.

When searching for ancestors, it’s always best to start off broad by searching for a name and year of birth. Once you have a better idea of what and who you are looking for, you can narrow things down from there.

3. Build a family tree

The best place to store your discoveries is in an online family tree. Many online tree builders, including Findmypast’s, are free, easy to use, and jam-packed with useful features.

Helpful ‘hints’ automatically match the names, dates and locations you have logged for each ancestor to potentially relevant records, speeding up your research and improving the accuracy of your tree.

Trees also allow you to connect with others. Features such as Findmypast’s Tree Search allow you to search other members’ trees to find ancestors in common, as well as merging these into your own tree to quickly progress your research.

4. Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish Records: The essential building blocks

Birth, Marriage and Death records

Civil registration in England & Wales began in July 1837 and the General Register Office (GRO) has recorded the details of all births, marriages and deaths ever since. Their meticulously kept records

are widely available online and will provide you with all the information you need to identify ancestors and uncover previous generations.

They can reveal:

• Where and when your ancestors were born, married or died
• The names of your ancestor’s parents
• The name of your ancestor’s spouse
• The names of your ancestor’s children

These records will also provide you with the details you need to order copies of original certificates from the GRO website. Certificates will provide you with even more detail to aid you in your hunt.

Parish Records

Between 1538, when Britain split from the Catholic Church, and 1837 when the responsibility for keeping records was taken on by the government, the chief source of records of daily life are parish records.

Parish records provide a fascinating look not just at your family history, but also at the history of our society, with details of baptisms, marriages and burials dating all the way back to the reign of Henry VIII.

Millions of parish records from all corners of the country now can be explored with ease as more and more county councils digitise their archives making them available online.

5. Become a census detective

Now easily accessible on many websites, Censuses have been taken in Britain every decade since 1801 (barring 1941, when war prevented it). Due to data protection laws, the information contained within Censuses are only made publicly available after 100 years. You can find complete Censuses for England and Wales online from 1841 up to 1921.

Censuses can provide a wealth of information about your ancestor; they are a snapshot in time of a household on one particular night. You will often find information for entire family units in one record. This will include:

• names
• ages
• addresses
• places of birth
• occupations
• Relationship to the head of the household
• ‘Infirmities’
• and much more

The amount of information contained and the regular nature of these documents make them one of the best tools at your disposal for jumping back through the generations. Use the details you find in 1921 to jump back and search for your family in 1911. After repeating this process going back decade by decade, you should find yourselves in the 1840s in no time!

The 1921 Census – now online

Published online for the first time by Findmypast in January 2022, the 1921 Census is the last to be published online until 2052, as the 1931 Census was destroyed in a fire and it was not collected in 1941 due to the war. So, discovering your ancestors in the 1921 Census could really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The 1921 Census could reveal where your ancestor was living, what they were doing, and who they were doing it with in the summer of 1921. During this period of great social change, England and Wales had just emerged from the horrors of the First World War, a global pandemic, and vast unemployment. Were your ancestors embracing the roaring 20s, or just managing to put food on the table? The 1921 Census can help you find out.

6. Check the news

Historical newspapers are an incredible resource as they can provide rare insights into the daily lives of your ancestors.

Local papers include more than just announcements of births, marriages, and deaths. You might find the family’s black sheep in accounts of criminal trials, tragic accidents that befell hapless ancestors, or advertisements for wares from the family business. You might even see a picture of your ancestors right there in black and white.

Local newspapers also provide a glimpse at major national and local events, through the eyes of the community. The role and story of significant events, such as World War I or tragic events of the devastating world-wide flu epidemic of 1917-1919 are reported through a local lens, allowing you to further understand an ancestor's experiences within their local community.

7. Uncover colourful stories

Once you’ve grown your family tree, it’s time to add some colour to your research by taking a closer look at the life your ancestor lived.

Amongst the billions of records available online, you will find a wide variety of documents that can help you learn a surprising amount about the defining moments of their lives. Use the details you have uncovered so far to search for your forebears in;

• Travel and migration records – find out where they went, why and who they travelled with
• Crime and punishment records – were they a perpetrator or victim of crime? Learn about the nature of the offence and the punishment that followed
• Government and institutional records – Find out if they ended up in the workhouse, joined a trade union, ended up in court or represented a society
• Military records – uncover details of their military service such as where they fought, the rank they held, the wounds they received and the medals they won
• Education and work records – uncover details of their education and working lives
• Directories and social histories – find out if your ancestor owned a business and explore their local community