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Where to find genealogy records

Once family memory runs out, records take over. This guide covers the main record types genealogists use — what each one tells you, what years it typically covers, and where to search, starting with free sources.

Census records

A census lists everyone living in a household on a particular night, so a single page can show a whole family together. Depending on the year and country, entries can include names, ages, relationship to the head of household, birthplace, occupation and more. Following a family census by census is the backbone of most research.

• United States: a federal census has been taken every 10 years since 1790. Records are released to the public after 72 years, so the 1950 census (released in 2022) is the most recent available. Before 1850 only the head of household is named. Most of the 1890 census was destroyed by fire in 1921.
• England and Wales: censuses have been taken every 10 years since 1801 (except 1941), but 1841 is the first that names everyone. Returns are closed for 100 years; the 1921 census was released in 2022. The 1939 Register, taken at the start of the Second World War, fills the gap left by the missing 1931 (destroyed) and 1941 censuses.
• Other countries have their own schedules and closure periods; the national archive's website will explain them.

Civil registration: birth, marriage and death records

Government registration of births, marriages and deaths — often called vital records — gives the most precise dates and usually names parents. A birth record typically names both parents, including the mother's maiden name; a marriage record often names the fathers of the bride and groom; a death record gives age and sometimes parents or the informant.

• England and Wales: civil registration began on 1 July 1837. The national indexes are searchable, and certificates can be ordered from the General Register Office.
• Scotland began in 1855 and Ireland in 1864 (non-Catholic marriages from 1845).
• United States: vital records are kept by individual states and counties, and statewide registration started at very different times — some states in the 1800s, others not until the early 1900s. Check the state's vital records office or archive.

Indexes help you find a record; the certificate or register entry contains the details. Order the original when the index alone is not enough to be sure you have the right person.

Church and parish registers

Before civil registration, churches recorded baptisms, marriages and burials. These registers are the main route back into the 1700s and earlier. In England, parish registers were required from 1538, though many early ones have not survived. Baptism entries give the date of baptism rather than birth, and early entries can be brief — sometimes just the child's and father's names.

Registers are usually held by county or diocesan record offices or national archives, and many have been filmed, indexed or transcribed by FamilySearch and volunteer projects.

Immigration, passenger lists and naturalisation

If your family moved countries, passenger lists (ship manifests) can show the date of arrival, the port, and — in later years — the town of origin and a relative left behind. Naturalisation records, the papers by which an immigrant became a citizen, often record birth date, birthplace and arrival details.

For the United States, the National Archives (NARA) holds many arrival and naturalisation records, and the Ellis Island arrivals (1892–1924) are searchable through the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation. Departure lists, emigration registers and alien registrations exist in many other countries too.

Military records

Service records, draft registrations, pension files and casualty lists can contain physical descriptions, next of kin, addresses and birth details. Pension files are especially rich because widows had to prove their marriage. In the US, the World War I and World War II draft registrations cover millions of men who never served. In the UK, many First World War service records were damaged or destroyed by bombing in 1940, but medal cards and pension records survive. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists Commonwealth service personnel who died in the two world wars.

Cemeteries and gravestones

Gravestones give names, dates and sometimes relationships ("beloved wife of…"), and family members are often buried together. Cemetery and burial registers may record people with no surviving stone. Volunteer projects such as Find a Grave and BillionGraves have photographed and transcribed millions of memorials — treat the transcriptions as clues and check the photo.

Newspapers and obituaries

Obituaries, death notices, birth and marriage announcements and local news reports are full of names — an obituary frequently lists the surviving children, siblings and where they live. Free collections include Chronicling America (US Library of Congress) and national library newspaper archives in many countries; large paid archives cover far more titles.

Wills and probate

A will names the people a person cared about — children, married daughters under their new surnames, grandchildren and in-laws — and can prove relationships no other record states. Probate records (the court process of settling an estate) exist even for some people who left no will. In England and Wales, the national probate calendar indexes grants from 1858 onwards; earlier wills were proved in church courts. In the US, look for county probate court records.

DNA testing

A consumer autosomal DNA test compares your DNA with other testers and lists likely relatives, with an estimate of how closely related you are. It is most useful for confirming relationships, identifying unknown parents or grandparents, and connecting with cousins who may hold family papers. Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA tests follow a single direct paternal or maternal line. Remember that results can reveal unexpected family information, and read the company's privacy terms before testing.

Where to search: free and paid sites

As you find people, add them to your family tree and note the source in each person's notes. If you later move to a subscription service, you can export your tree as a GEDCOM file.

Frequently asked questions