Advanced Research

Once you've searched through the censi and found information about your ancestors available on the internet, you can take your research one step further.

CERTIFICATES

If you searched through GRO indexes on freebmd site and identified your ancestors' certificates you can order them from the General Records Office (GRO). When deciding which certificate to order one of the factors you have to consider is the cost as each copy costs £7. Order those which could give you new clues.

Birth certificates include the date and place of birth - some of them even state the address where the child was born, so you can actually go and see the house where your ancestor was born - first name of the child and its sex, the name of the father and mother (sometimes can include mother's maiden name), occupation of the father and name and address of the person who registered the birth (usually child's mother) and the date when the birth was registered. When the child was born before the mother got married, the father's name is usually left blank so if you are in doubt who the father is when the mother is listed as singlewoman at the time of baptism, birth certificate will probably not answer your question.

Marriage certificates include the date and the place of the marriage, the names of both bride and groom and their age, whether they were bachelors/ spinsters or widowed, their profession (usually only man's profession is stated) and where they lived at the time of marriage. There are also the names of both fathers (with a note if any of them were deceased at the time of marriage) and their professions. The names of the witnesses might sometimes be useful to note as usually they were part of the family. In cases where you are not sure who the father was, the person who is listed as father on the marriage certificate is not necessarily the one. It is only based on what the couple said to the registrar and sometimes people listed the man who brought them up as the father or even made one up completely.

Death certificates include the date and place of death, the name, sex, age and the occupation of the deceased, the cause of death, the name and address of the person who registered the death and the date when the death was registered. With death certificates it is usually the name of the informant (usually the widow/er or son/daughter) which can give you the clue whether it is the right certificate.

If you find the GRO index of the certificate you would like (or the certificate is younger than 1900) you can request the certificate online. It is the cheapest option which costs you £7. However, the certificates arrives in a large unpadded A4 envelope and is liable to get damaged on the way. When you apply for a certificate by post, you have to pay £8.50 but the certificate is folded into a smaller envelope so it doesn't get crumpled in the post. Forms are available online for you to print out.

PARISH RECORDS

To trace your ancestors before 1837 you will need to look at the parish records. The Anglican Church began keeping records of baptisms, marriages and burials in 1538 in England and Wales, however, the earliest surviving registers date from around 1611 for England and 1541 for Wales. The information you can find in parish registers is very variable. Names may have been spelled phonetically and entries prior to 1733, when English became the official language, might have been written in Latin.

Baptisms records are usually short only listing the date of baptism, the first name of the child and his/ her parents (sometimes occupation of the father). Marriages list similar information to marriage certificate but usually not the fathers. If you ancestor could write, his/ her signature will be in the parish register. Burials usually include the date, name of the deceased and where he lived.

Parish records can be accessed in the county archives - parish registers for Cheltenham and surrounding areas are deposited in Gloucestershire Archives. They have been microfilmed/ fiched so you can browse through them on a film/ fiche reader. They can be also ordered to your nearest LDS family history centre.

Apart from parish registers, Bishops Transcripts (BTs), annual copies of the parish registers, exist. The BTs do not usually give as much information as the parish registers and as they are transcriptions of the original documents can contain errors, however, sometimes when the parish records didn't survive, BTs can be a vital source for your research.

MILITARY & NAVY

During your research you might find out that your ancestor served in the army or navy. You are virtually guaranteed that someone in your extended family served in the First World War. If you know that some of your ancestors died in WWI, you can search the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website which can help you identify his regiment and number. The entry tells you the date of death and which memorial his name is listed on. If you are lucky additional information is provided, such as where he lived or the names of his parents so you can confirm he is your ancestor.

Each man serving in WWI received campaign medals to which index cards were issued. These cards can be downloaded for a small fee from the National Archives website. To be absolutely sure you are downloading the right card you really need to know the regimental number. The amount of information on the card varies. It can contain the date when your ancestor disembarked, the date of his death (if killed), the campaigns he took part in and the medals he recieved. Most men received three medals (known as the Trio): 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

To get most of your medal index card or any old WWI photos you happen to posses it is good to visit Great War Forum, which has many knowledgeable members. If you upload your card to the Interpreting medal index cards section, experts will be able to advise you on what information it contains. Any photos of your ancestors in army uniforms can be uploaded to the Uniforms section, where members will be able to help you with identifying the regiment your ancestor served in.

If your ancestor served in the navy it is worth searching through the National Archives Royal Navy Seamen database which contains the service registers of more than 500,000 seamen who joined the Royal Navy between 1873 and 1923. For a small fee you can download the naval card which contains the list of all ships your ancestor served on. Searching through and putting a query on The Royal Navy message board can give you some answers to how to interpret the card.

DIRECTORIES & NEWSPAPERS

If you ancestor was a tradesmen, teacher, vicar, owned a shop or belong to local gentry then you'll be able to find his name in the local directory. You can find many relevant directories in your local library. Some of the directories of Cheltenham are available to search in our databases.

Another great way of finding out about your ancestors are the local newspapers where obituaries, marriage announcements, court cases, inquests etc. can be found. For information about Cheltenham newspapers visit our Old newspapers section, for information on which newspapers are available in Cheltenham library, visit our Local resources section.