can someone help a complete newbie from Manchester research there family tree?

[jakdillonsaunders]

hi im jack im 22 from Manchester england i have just joined the forum today , i am looking to research my family history and background , literally i have no idea where to start , i Have info upto my great grandmother on my mothers side im only intrested in looking up my mothers side for the minute so could anyone help me and give me some pointers on where to start , my family is from the salfod area of manchester as far as i know and there is a lot of us , my grandmothers maiden name was cowell , any help or info i would really be greatfull for

[angelina]

I suggest you read this from the reference library on here first
http://www.familytreeforum.com/conte...etting-Started
and then go and talk to everyone who you think you might be related to and copy any birth marriage or death certificates they let you borrow. then you know you are on the right track. if the relatives wont talk about themselves then ask them about any other relatives eg birth dates, jobs, nicknames, marriages, children etc. as they may be prepared to do that instead.
draw your first tree on back of old wall paper and ask everyone if they think its right and write down what they say is wrong or right.
i found lancashire online parish clerk very useful and also lancashire bmd - both free sites, as is family search.org but you have to prove each person with a certificate otherwise you can go off on a wrong tangent. if you get stuck come back and ask and I am sure someone will help you. but you cant name living people on this site so you will have to word your questions carefully.

good luck and be glad they came from lancashire as there are a lot of records online now for that area.

[AlanC]

Welcome to the Forum Jack.
We can't research living relations, well we can, but cant publish it. Assuming Gt Grand parents are no longer with us, I'm sure that if you show their full names with dates and places of birth, you will be flooded with help on this Site.
Good luck.

[JBee]

Make sure you have the certificates to prove each step starting with yourself. (ask your parents etc for the certificates for your records) You'd be amazed at how many people find discrepancies (second marriages, no fathers etc etc) even in their most recent family history. Talk to your family about their relatives and make sure you confirm it.

I made a mistake in my own tree - followed a line back through decades certificates, parish records, spent loads of time, money travelling, certificates etc. - only to find that when I eventually got grandfather's marriage certificate the father's name was different (there were 2 families with the same name in the town (no relation to each other that I can see) but my relative had died young so I'd jumped on the other name in the census. I'm still waiting to see if anyone is researching the other family so I can pass on what I have.

[Guy]

hi im jack im 22 from Manchester england i have just joined the forum today , i am looking to research my family history and background , literally i have no idea where to start , i Have info upto my great grandmother on my mothers side im only intrested in looking up my mothers side for the minute so could anyone help me and give me some pointers on where to start , my family is from the salfod area of manchester as far as i know and there is a lot of us , my grandmothers maiden name was cowell , any help or info i would really be greatfull for [IMG]file:///C:\Users\Anguline\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\c lip_image002.gif[/IMG]

Let me start with a big proviso.
Assuming you know accurately your mother’s family back to your great grandmother you have got a good start as you have now reached a point where records are open and available to research.
Rough and ready timescales would be you born cir 1994, parents 50s to 70s grandparents 20s to 40s g,grandparents around the late 19^th, beginning of the 20^th century.

This gives you access to not only all the available census plus the 1939 national Registration but also civil registers and parish registers which can be used in conjunction to qualify your results.

I would therefore suggest a different course than I would normally suggest in that you look for your grandparents or even your great grandparents and their families on the 1911 census and work back from there. (This is assuming (never a good thing to do) your research to that point is correct).
This will give family groupings and may quickly help you back through other census to earlier generations (never forgetting to check for births, marriages & deaths in the civil registers and baptisms, marriages & burials in the parish registers)

Cheers
Guy

[Olde Crone Holden]

I did exactly the same as JBee, went on information given to me by my father, who knew his grandmother and her family history very well. Years later (and many £££s and hours) I discovered she was actually his STEP grandmother and not a blood relation at all.

So, even though it might seem an unnecessary expense, I would get the certs. May save you many hours of wasted effort and money.

OC

[angelina]

Jack - when you start asking around your relatives see if they have any old photos you can copy and then write on the back of the copied photos who the people are - this makes it more real than just 'name collecting'. Also it helps to know if they were of any particular religion for searching online sources eg RC CofE or nonconformists like Wesleyans
I hope you realise that once you start this hobby it is amazingly addictive but completely legal and usually you can search ancestry at the library for free

[Janet H.]

Have sent Jack a private message to let him know he has replies,

[margaretmarch]

You will need to pay for this research.

Findmypast or Ancestry offer much the same in terms of census and births deaths and marriages but then differ in terms of other information, see which one you like the look of. You can have a free trial to either or both for 14 days and then there are offers for cheap access.

Certificates need to be purchased from www.gro.gov.uk for £9.25 each not though any other site that will charge a premium rate.

Good luck.
Margaret