Family Tree Forum - Research Guides

Newspapers

Newspapers and Journals are normally archived locally and offer a rich, detailed resource of information unavailable elsewhere. Original publications will exist but most will have been copied onto microfiche or microfilm.

Without specific dates to work with, and sometimes a lack of a detailed indexing system (i.e. they will be mainly filed by year and the researcher will have to trawl through each issue manually) this element of research can be very time consuming but ultimately very rewarding.
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Court Sessions and Victuallers' Licences

As there was no national licensing system until the mid 16th century, it is not possible to trace the history of the Public House fully before that time.

It is, however, believed that the Public House, otherwise known as alehouse, has been a feature of English life since Roman times.

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Poor Law, Workhouses and Orphanages

These records often contain biographical detail, such as the number and names of children and often the parish of birth, or most recent settlement, enabling you to identify possible parishes of research.

The Poor Laws generally cover the period between 1536 and 1834 when the Union of Workhouses came into being under the Poor Law Amendment Act of that year.
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Taxation Records

A taxation record may be the only proof that your ancestor was in a particular place at a particular time.

Looking at land tax records over time, you can see when men died, moved or sold property and who took over from them. Where other records do not survive, this may be the only method of distinguishing between two men of the same name.
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Hospital, Asylum and other Medical Records

Records of patients and their treatment are closed for 100 years. Similarly with Asylum and/or workhouse records, although entry and discharge dates may be available.

Hospital and Asylums should appear on census records, with the names of the people that worked there.

Patients or inmates are sometimes only listed by initials.
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School Records

The most common type of school records available are Admission Registers and Log Books.

Admission Registers usually include the name of the child, date of birth, details of parents/guardians and the date of admission.

Sometimes, a discharge date can be found alongside the admission details, although generally, there are separate Discharge Registers, recording the date for leaving and the reason.
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Coroners' Records

Sudden deaths are usually reported to a coroner by the police or a doctor.

The coroner will seek to establish a medical cause of death, sometimes by conducting a post mortem. The coroner may decide the death was of natural causes, if not he will order an inquest. An Inquest is a fact finding enquiry; who died, where and when, and how the death arose.
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Photographs

Joseph Nicephore Niepce changed the world when he produced the very first photograph back in 1827. Ever since, people have used photography in various forms to make a record of the things, places, people and events important to their lives.

Before the invention of photographs, people had to rely on another person’s interpretation, as shown in drawings, illustrations and paintings.
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Divorce and Annulments

Divorce is the ending of a marriage before either of the partners have died. After a divorce people are allowed to marry again.

Before either party involved in a bigamous marriage could remarry, they had to apply for a declaration of nullity (i.e. have a court decide that they were indeed correct that the marriage had been bigamous). Obviously any guilty party might have to do more than this to free themselves for another marriage, but that's not the issue here!
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Searching for the Deceased

Once you have a death certificate for your ancestor you may want to find out what happened to their body. This will mean investigating burial records and, if the death was in the last few decades, cremation records.

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