Family history

 

 
How to start

 

Tracing ancestry can be a very long and time-consuming process, so before launching into the project it is important to take some preliminary steps:
 
  • Decide which line of the family to trace. It is easy to be sidetracked by coming across records of other branches of the family, or unrelated families of the same name, and so waste time and effort. Always work backwards from the known to the unknown.

 

  • Gather as much information as possible from relatives names, dates and places. Even when some of the information proves not to be accurate, it can often provide useful clues or pointers in the right direction.

 

  • Read one of the many guides to family history research which are now available.

 

  • Try to find out whether any previous research has been completed on a family name. The best way to do this is to contact the local Family History Society.
 
Civil registration

 

Since 1, July 1837 all births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales have been recorded by local registrars. These records are kept in local Register Offices, but every quarter registrars send copies to the Registrar General who will then keep a full set of records for England and Wales.
 
The General Register Office index to the births, deaths and marriage records is held at the Family Record Centre, 1 Myddleton Street, London EC1R 1UW.
 
The index covers the period from 1, July 1837 up to approximately 12 months ago. The indexes (or part of the indexes) are also available at County Record Offices and a list of these is held at Peterborough Register Office. Peterborough Central Library holds the GRO index from 1837 to 1901.
 
Certificates for births, deaths and marriages after 1837 can be obtained from either General Register Office or from the Register Office for the district in which the event occurred. You can download application forms for use at local register offices.
 
Where a place of worship has its own marriage register, that register is deposited at the Register Office only after it is completed. Therefore if the required certificate is from a current register, the local register office will offer advice as to whom to contact.
 
Prior to 1837 births, deaths and marriages were recorded in the parish registers which are now kept at County Record Offices. The parish registers for the area south of the river in Peterborough are held at Huntingdon Register Office (Tel: 01480 375842). The parish records for Thorney are kept at Cambridge Record Office (Tel: 01223 717282) and the parish registers for the old Soke of Peterborough area are kept at Northampton Record Office (Tel: 01604 762129).
 
However, the records for the parishes of Longthorpe, Werrington and Peterborough St Paul have not been deposited at Northampton Record Office and it is presumed that they are kept at the respective churches.
 

Other useful sites

 

 
Peterborough City Council. Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough, PE1 1QT - (01733) 747474 - DX12310 Peterborough 1