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Five easy ways to find your Ancestors
Our MasterSearch can help you quickly find the information you’re looking for by narrowing down your search to a particular type of data, and further filtering the results to only include certain record sets, years or spellings.
1
Address
Search for a specific address by county and street name, e.g. Park Avenue
2
Keywords
Search for a person using keywords such as their occupation, e.g. farmer
3
Family
Search for a family by forename and surname, e.g. John, Emma and Mark Smith
4
Map
Explorer
Pinpoint your Ancestors’ records using georeferenced historic maps
5
Related Records
SmartSearch finds related records for you, e.g. children from a marriage record
Start building your
family tree today
TreeView is our powerful family tree builder. Whether you're an experienced family historian or just starting out, you'll find TreeView easy to use and an essential tool in your research. Record your family's history and view details of your ancestors in a number of different and attractive ways. Create beautiful charts and detailed reports to present your family tree.
Genealogy’s Best
Mapping Website
Our exclusive Map Explorer adds a rich functionality to our ever-growing collection of map-based records. This great tool uses georeferenced historic maps that overlay several modern background maps including Ordnance Survey, Open Street Map or Bing road and satellite views.
The tools panel allows you to search for Modern and Historic Places, County and Parish Boundary Indicators, and offers the ability to manipulate the map layers, making it easier to pin-point the information you require.
Map Layers
The maps are divided into three types of layer that can be viewed on top of each other like sheets of paper. You can then change the transparency of a layer to view the layers below, allowing you to see how the area changed over time.
The Base Layer
This is the modern layer, which can be used to select a modern OS Map, Open Street Map or a Bing Satellite Image.
The Historic Layer
The historic layer can be used to select a range of Ordnance Survey maps from the 1890s to the 1960s.
The Record Set Layer
This layer provides access to the map-based record sets such as the 1910 Lloyd George Domesday Survey, or our georeferenced Tithe Maps. The map markers link directly to records for the individual properties beneath, so you can see who was living there when the record was taken.
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Find exactly what you’re looking for by refining your search with event filters and keywords.
Records from 1127–2005
Our vast collection spans more than 870 years of record transcripts and images.
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Census transcripts and Images 1841 to 1911
Access to all transcripts and images from 1841–1911 for England and Wales and 1841–1901 for Scotland.
Military Records – WW1, WW2, Casualty Lists, PoWs, and more
Ancestors who served in the forces may be hard to find. We have many military lists ranging from 1661–1944.
Extensive Collection of Parish Records
Search parish register transcripts and images from 43 counties, which can take your family back as far as 1538.
Extensive Collection of Trade and TelepPhone Directories
A collection of over 400 Directories provides insights into the lives of ancestors who had their own businesses.
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anywhere else. Thank you and please keep up the good work!
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News and Events
Latest News
Over Half a Million Irish Parish Records Released
15th September 2023
Another whole county's worth of Irish parish records now bolsters our record collections, with over 510,000 individuals from County Laois added to our easily searchable records.
County Laois, once known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922, is a double landlocked county in the Eastern and Midland …
New Legal Ancestors' Records
25th August 2023
Finding that an ancestor belongs to a profession or occupation can be a great way in to researching a family tree. Many of them will be recorded in specially produced lists or directories, such as those lawyer lists that have been released online today.
For researchers with forebears that belonged to the legal …
Over 1,000 square miles of land tax records released
11th August 2023
New Major Release!
Today sees the launch of a superb new resource for family historians, providing a great way to discover what type of property our ancestors once occupied. We have just added records covering every head of household and property owner in Oxfordshire around the period 1910-1915, …
New Wartime British Jewish Newspapers
28th July 2023
We have just released a significant batch of The Jewish Chronicles from the First World War and The Jewish Echo (Scotland and Ireland?s only Jewish paper from the time) covering years during the build up to World War 2.
These newspapers offer the opportunity to traverse through time and witness the pivotal …
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Featured Article
Searching for ancestors in the Laois parish records
15th September 2023
Laois takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom once ruled by a tribe of this name. In its past it has also been known as County Leix and as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. As the Irish diaspora has spread out across the globe, especially during the Great Famine of 1845–49 which devastated the county, many people will be able to trace their roots back to this part of Ireland.
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