England Record Finder
This table can help you decide which records to search. It is most helpful for research from 1800 to the present.
- Step 1. Choose an ancestor you would like to know more about. Decide what information you would like to learn about that person. This new information is your research goal.
- Step 2. In column 1 of this table, find the goal you selected.
- Step 3. In column 2 of this table, find the types of records most likely to have the information you need; then read the sections in this outline about those types of records.
- Step 4. Look in the Family History Library Catalog and choose a specific record to search.
- Step 5. Look at the record.
- Step 6. If you do not find the information you need, return to column 3 and search those record types. Note:Records of previous research (Genealogy, Biography, History, Periodicals, and Societies) are useful for most goals, but they are not listed unless they are especially helpful.
| 1. If You Need | 2. Search These Record Types First | 3. Search These Record Types Next |
| Age | Census, Civil Registration, Church Records | Cemeteries, Obituaries, Military Records |
| Birth date | Civil Registration, Church Records | Obituaries, Newspapers, Military Records, Occupations |
| Birthplace | Census, Civil Registration, Church Records | Obituaries, Newspapers, Occupations, Military Records |
| Place of foreign birth (not England) | Church Records, Census | Emigration and Immigration, Military Records |
| Parish, district, and county boundaries | Gazetteers | Maps, History |
| Death | Civil Registration, Church Records, Obituaries, Newspapers, Cemeteries | Probate Records, Court Records, Land and Property, Military Records |
| Historical background | History, Genealogy | Church History |
| Immigration date | See research outline for country to which ancestor immigrated | Emigration and Immigration, Church Records |
| Living relatives | Directories, Civil Registration | Societies, Newspapers, Periodicals |
| Maiden name | Civil Registration, Church Records | Obituaries, Newspapers, Cemeteries |
| Marriage | Church Records, Civil Registration, Genealogy, Periodicals | Newspapers, Biography, Nobility, Cemeteries |
| Occupation | Church Records, Census, Directories, Civil Registration, Occupations, Probate Records | Court Records, Obituaries, Officials and Employees, Military Records, Taxation |
| Parents, children, and other family members | Census, Obituaries, Probate Records | Church Records, Newspapers, Civil Registration |
| Physical description | Military Records, Court Records | Church Records, Newspapers, Civil Registration |
| Place-finding aids | Gazetteers, Directories, Maps | History, Taxation, Land and Property, Periodicals |
| Places of residence | Census, Church Records, Directories | Land and Property, Probate Records, Taxation |
| Place of residence when you know only the county | Directories, Census, Probate Records, Civil Registration | Church Records, Taxation |
| Previous research (compiled genealogy) | Biography, Genealogy, Societies | Nobility, Periodicals |
| Record-finding aids | Archives and Libraries, Genealogy | Societies, Periodicals |
| Religion | Church Records, Biography, Obituaries, Civil Registration | Cemeteries, Genealogy, History, Probate Records |