NOTE: Friday’s Family History Finds is on a short hiatus because I have no reliable internet connection right now.
Given the huge number of Americans who have British Isles ancestry, I decided it was time to compile a list of mostly free websites to help with that research.
The Federation of Family History Societies – subscription membership, but there are almost 200 local family history societies that belong to FFHS. If you know the ancestral home of your family, membership in a society might provide access to local records.
GENUKI – a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland
Society of Genealogists
Be aware that for colonial American ties to Britain, many early parish registers have been indexed and are available on FamilySearch.
However, for more recent vital records, there are indexes available online, but birth, marriage and death records must be purchased.
England
FreeBMD – Civil registration began in 1837 and records are indexed.
General Register Office – Certificates can be ordered here.
FreeReg – Parish registers can be searched here. Be aware that not all parishes are included, nor are all date ranges.
Prerogative Court of Canterbury – Probate records (wills) can be downloaded directly from the website, but it is a pay site.
Church of England Clergy – covers 1540-1835
Old Bailey – criminal trial records from 1674-1913
Historical Directories of England and Wales – digital directories from 1750-1919
Post-1858 Wills for England and Wales – searchable index
Northern Ireland
North of Ireland Family History Society
General Register Office of Northern Ireland
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
Scotland
Scottish Association of Family History Societies
ScotlandsPeople – This is the government website to use for Scottish records. However, it is a pay site.
National Records of Scotland: Besides access to ScotlandsPeople, this site has many other databases:
The Scottish Archive Network
Wales
FamilySearch Wiki – Wales Genealogy, lots of links
Archives Network Wales – Includes collections from 21 archives in Wales
FreeBMD – Civil registration began in 1837 and records are indexed.
General Register Office – Certificates can be ordered here.
Historical Directories of England and Wales – digital directories from 1750-1919
A Topographical Dictionary of Wales
FamilySearch Wales Probate Abstracts, 1544-1858 – As of December 2017, patrons must sign up for a free account to log in and access collections on FamilySearch
Ireland
IrishGenealogy – Search vital records for Ireland
United Kingdom
UK GenWeb – managed by volunteers so some sites might be chock full of information, while others have little, but well worth checking
The Genealogist – membership website, but you can search for free.
International Society for British Genealogy and Family History – based in the US
Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England Family History Society
Quaker Family History Society
Forces War Records – search military records for free, but fee to access
Catholic Family History Society – covers England, Wales and Scotland, but not Ireland
Home Children, 1869-1932 – British Home Children in Canada
British Home Children in Canada
British Home Child Group International
Deceased Online – search British burial records for free, but fee to access
British Postal Museum and Archive
Army Museums Ogilby Trust – Regimental museums in the U.K.
Borthwick Institute for Archives – U.K. repository of regional and national archives
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Gazette – UK government notices on a variety of topics
FreeCEN – Search U.K. Censuses
Gazetteer of British Place Names
University Research Libraries – catalogs of 24 of the largest UK and Ireland research libraries
National Maritime Museum
Railway, Work, Life & Death – spreadsheet with details about UK rail accidents
Roll of Honour – war memorials in the UK
Western Front Association – remembering those who served in The Great War (WWI)
The Workhouse – Learn about the poorhouses of their times
UKBMD Project – local society initiatives to publish local records online