Basic Records


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Basic Records

From here you can go to pages detailing records you might like to try to locate.

This set of links deals with "basic" records.

When you have exhausted these there are  "Beyond Basics" pages.

Before you go anywhere else we suggest that you read these words of warning from lister Elizabeth (Cardoza) Taylor

I have a cousin who is very experienced in (and teaches) ancestral research who swears by the theory that the date is more likely to be correct the closer it was recorded to the event in question (and when a person involved in the recording was also involved in the event).  This pertains, for example, when you have varying birth dates from baptismal certificates, census records, marriage registration, death certificate and/or tombstone.

birth registration information likely to be provided by mother (or father) fairly soon after the event. Personal involvement in the birth would increase the likelihood of remembering the date accurately. One concern is the "fudging" of dates to make sure that they fall within the mandatory registration period - this would be likely to only be a matter of days (or at most weeks).
census information could have been provided by anyone in the household
and, particularly in the case of children, there is a possibility of confusion of dates when there are several children in the house; later in life, the day and the month might be right (if they celebrated birthdays) but the year might be an estimate ("oh, he's about 50, does that make it 1831?")  Especially, watch out for the age as reported on the 1841 census - in this census there was supposed to be rounding of ages to the nearest lower 5 year mark, e.g. someone who was anywhere between 40 and 44 would appear as 40 someone between 45 and 49 would appear as 45; etc.
marriage record (if it contains birth date information) - it should have been provided by the person concerned but it is unlikely to have been supported by other documentation; there is always the "white lie" to make oneself older or younger to satisfy the circumstances.
death registration all information provided by a grieving relative or someone who is less well informed of the details - no proof of the information provided is required.
tombstone information - as above; in addition, you have the rounding effect, especially when only the year is put on the stone - e.g. someone who was born in Dec. of a given year might have the following year put on the stone.

Just something to ponder in accepting or evaluating date information!

Census page: Details of census records that are available and examples of entries.

Civil Registrations page: This page tells you all about the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths.

Electoral Registers and Burgess Rolls page: Details of how to use Electoral Registers to find out more about your ancestors.

Religious Records page: Details of Jewish records available in Britain.

Trade and Street Directories page: Examples of entries and what you need to already know to be able to use directories effectively.

Copyright © 2002 Sherry Landa. All rights reserved.
Revised: 02/22/03 17:10:22 -0000.