Bring out your dead
Ancestry.co.uk’s recent announcement that it is making British army pensions records available online is evidence of the explosion of interest in family history research, and the power of the internet to penetrate all levels of society. Further proof is the success of the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? series, which recently transferred from BBC2 to BBC1, ITV’s recent purchase of the Genes Reunited website, and various petitions on the 10 Downing Street website relating to the release of the 1911 census.
The Internet has undoubtedly played a leading role in encouraging people to research their roots. Before the Internet age genealogy involved visiting local libraries, the National Archive (or the Public Records Office as it was once known) or county records offices around the country and spending hours scouring numerous dusty records, often fruitlessly. Now it is possible to research your heritage back to around 1800 without even leaving your desk.
Ancestry.co.uk has become the first port of call for many budding genealogists. In addition to the new army pensions records it also features all the English and Welsh censuses from 1841-1901, birth, marriage and deaths records from 1837-2004, phone directories and much more. It has even recruited popular TV host Tony Robinson to act as a spokesperson.
The drawback with Ancestry.co.uk is that you have to pay to access the records, but there are some free alternatives, notably FreeBMD, where most English and Welsh birth, marriage and deaths records from 1837 to around 1920 are available, and FamilySearch, the website of the Mormons.
The interest that the Internet has generated in family history was demonstrated when the 1901 census was made available online in January 2002. Around 1.2m people attempted to access it every hour, resulting in the website crashing. The site was withdrawn and relaunched seven months later (source BBC.co.uk 14 Nov 2003: “Census website was 'overwhelmed'”).
The nations’ interest in researching their family tree shows no sign of abating, and those of us who have been bitten by the genealogy bug look forward to finding out what records will appear online next.
The Internet has undoubtedly played a leading role in encouraging people to research their roots. Before the Internet age genealogy involved visiting local libraries, the National Archive (or the Public Records Office as it was once known) or county records offices around the country and spending hours scouring numerous dusty records, often fruitlessly. Now it is possible to research your heritage back to around 1800 without even leaving your desk.
Ancestry.co.uk has become the first port of call for many budding genealogists. In addition to the new army pensions records it also features all the English and Welsh censuses from 1841-1901, birth, marriage and deaths records from 1837-2004, phone directories and much more. It has even recruited popular TV host Tony Robinson to act as a spokesperson.
The drawback with Ancestry.co.uk is that you have to pay to access the records, but there are some free alternatives, notably FreeBMD, where most English and Welsh birth, marriage and deaths records from 1837 to around 1920 are available, and FamilySearch, the website of the Mormons.
The interest that the Internet has generated in family history was demonstrated when the 1901 census was made available online in January 2002. Around 1.2m people attempted to access it every hour, resulting in the website crashing. The site was withdrawn and relaunched seven months later (source BBC.co.uk 14 Nov 2003: “Census website was 'overwhelmed'”).
The nations’ interest in researching their family tree shows no sign of abating, and those of us who have been bitten by the genealogy bug look forward to finding out what records will appear online next.
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