What are genealogy records?
Researcher
Fri Sep 05 2025
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< 5 minutes read
Genealogy is the study of your family, from the distant past right up to the present day. Genealogy records are the historical sources that make this study possible, providing key details about your ancestry which allow you to piece together stories of past generations.
Genealogy records explained
There are many different types of genealogy records – each type contains different information, so it's best to use them together to gain a deeper understanding of your ancestors.
These are some key genealogy records used in family history research.
Birth, marriage and death records
Known as BMDs, these form the building blocks of your family tree. For hundreds of years, the government and the church have recorded when someone is born, when a couple is wed, and when someone passes away or is buried. These records were preserved. Today, we can use them to trace the milestones of our ancestors' lives.
Census records
In Britain and Ireland, censuses have been recorded every ten years since 1801. The 1841 Census is the first fully-surviving census that we have access to today – only fragments of pre-1841 censuses survive.
As a survey of the entire population, census data reveals key information about every household, including the names, ages and occupations of all family members. This makes them a valuable resource for genealogy research.
Military records
If your ancestor served in the military, their service was likely documented at multiple points, including when they joined, if they were injured, or if they were awarded medals or honours. Military records allow you to build up a detailed picture of a person’s experience in the armed forces, from conscription to discharge.
Historical newspapers
Old newspapers reported on all aspects of life years ago, from community fundraisers to scandalous court cases. Digitised newspaper pages can reveal detail that other genealogy records lack – you may be able to find an article on an ancestor’s wedding, for example, or a touching obituary or death notice.
Electoral records, directories and more
There are genealogy records relevant to practically every aspect of your ancestors’ lives. If they were in a trade union, if they sailed overseas or if they left money in their will, you may be able to uncover it in family history records.
Where can I find genealogy records?
Thanks to modern technology, you can now research your family history from the comfort of your home. Billions of genealogy records and old newspapers have been digitised and made available on family history websites.
Used in conjunction with online family tree builder tools, it’s easy to search and explore relevant records. You’ll find genealogy records grouped together in ‘record sets’ - these are collections of records from the same original source, e.g. English civil birth records, all taken from the English government’s birth register.
How do I search for my family in genealogy records?
Making exciting discoveries with genealogy records starts with a simple search. Start by searching a name within online family history records, and add any other information you know to narrow down your search results.
Search all records
If you’re not looking for a particular fact but would like to learn some general information about a relative, try searching ‘All records’ on your chosen family history website. From parish marriages to military records, you may be surprised what you can discover.
Search by category
If you know the type of record that you’d like to search - e.g. burial records – find where this category sits on your chosen family history website. From there, input all information you know, like name, birth date or location and hit search to look for your ancestors’ records.
Search by record set
To narrow down your search further, you can try searching a specific record set. If you know your ancestor was baptised in 1920 in Norwich, for example, you can head straight to Norwich Baptisms to hunt for their record.
What can I discover about my ancestors from genealogy records?
The amount of information you’ll find varies between different record types. As all family historians will know, it also depends on how far back you're going and the area that you're looking at.
With genealogy records, you may uncover the following about your ancestors:
- The milestones of their lives – their births, marriages and deaths
- Where they lived, and when. From census records you may be able to discover how many rooms their home had, and what living conditions were like
- Their wartime experiences, whether they fought courageously on the Front or volunteered with the Women’s Land Army
- What they looked like, as some collections including crime and military records contain images and physical descriptions
Ancestry records offer a vivid insight into the highs and lows of your relatives' lives. From information scribbled in the margins of a census return to immigration records that chart dangerous journeys, these precious sources are key to understanding their experiences.
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