Ancestry.co.uk

Ancestry.co.uk has the most complete set of censuses on the internet, complete from 1851 to 1901, with the 1841 census now online. Take advantage of a free fourteen day trial by clicking here.



Even though this UK-based offspring of an American parent, www.ancestry.com,has a considerably more restricted area of interest, it is much tidier to use. In fact, the homepage is so clear and uncluttered that it may conceal the actual riches this website has to offer.



It is worth noting that, although a subscription is required to get any deeper into the records, you can hop to the parent website before committing yourself, to see whether the data you wish to consult (which will also be hosted there) may be available as part of a fourteen-day free trial. You will still have to enter your payment details to go any further, but you will have the option to cancel before the free period expires.



Census Records and Images will attract many users but this is far from being the only interesting area. Some of the records here can be consulted free of charge.



The Births, Deaths and Marriages Index from 1837 can be accessed free of charge, with the ability to view images of the documents. Ancestry have improved this index recently and it is fully searchable by surname range.



Search Records contains a great deal of supplementary information. Scroll down below the search box and also down the right hand margin, for an all-areas browser to see how much is available. Each topic has a descriptive paragraph below the search box.



Ancestry have now added the 1841 Scottish census records to their site as well as many new features to construct your own family tree.