Family history frequently asked questions
How do I get started?
A really useful guide to beginning your family history is on the National Archives website. The BBC website also includes guides and useful links for genealogists. Links to these websites are provided on this page.
If you are visiting Shropshire Archives, you can talk to members of Shropshire Family History Society at their advice desk on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (10am-1pm). See below for more information about the society. For an overview of the sources we hold at Shropshire Archives, then why not book onto one of our introductory tours on Thursday mornings?
How can I obtain a birth, marriage or death certificate?
Shropshire Archives does not hold birth, marriage and death certificates. There are held by at the General Register Office. You can purchase birth, marriage and death certificates on the General Register Office’s website. Select the link to find out more.
Each certificate has a reference (volume and page number). It is cheaper to buy certificates from the General Register Office if you have the reference. Shropshire Archives holds an index to the birth, marriage and death certificates from 1837-1980 which can help you find this reference.
There are also some on-line indexes – please see our free short guide to the internet for family and local history (guide no. 20) for more information about these sites. Follow the link to what we hold or select the link for our free guides.
Certificates are also held by the relevant local registrar. Certificates for births, marriages and deaths in Shropshire (except Telford and Wrekin) can be purchased from:
Certificate Applications
Shropshire Registration Service
PO Box 4661
Shrewsbury
SY1 9AL
Tel: 0845 678 9016
Or you can purchase them online by using the link 'Copy certificates.
Certificates for birth, marriages and deaths in Telford and Wrekin can be purchased from:
Telford and Wrekin Register Office
The Beeches
29 Vineyard Road
Wellington
Telford
TF1 1HB
The Genuki website has a list of registration districts and shows the parishes in each district. Select the link to find out more.
If you apply for a certificate from the local registrar, you need to know the full names, date and place (as they have separate indexes for each sub-district).
The system of civil registration for births, marriages and deaths began in 1837. Before this date there are no certificates.
How do I find out about my ancestors before 1837?
The most useful source of information is likely to be the parish registers. These contain baptisms, marriages and burials. Shropshire Archives holds most Anglican parish registers for Shropshire and some Roman Catholic and non-conformist registers on microfiche. To see a full list of parish and non-conformist records, please select the link to What we hold.
If the registers aren’t deposited at Shropshire Archives, then they may still be at the church. For Anglican Churches, you will need to find out whether the church is in the Lichfield (mostly the northern half of the county) or Hereford Diocese (the southern part) and then check the diocesan websites to find out contact details for the relevant minister. Links to these websites are provided on this page.
If you don’t know what parish your ancestors came from, then the International Genealogical Index (IGI) on the Family Search website is worth checking. Do bear in mind that this isn’t complete and does contain some information which has not been verified.
For further sources of information, why not buy Shropshire Archives’ Guide to family history sources? This is available from our Shop.
Can I find anything about family history on the Internet?
There is a lot of useful information for family historians on the Internet. This includes background information as well as on-line indexes.
Our source guide no. 20 Guide to the Internet for family and local history is a good starting point. Follow the link to What we hold to see our free guides.
In particular, the GENUKI website is a great starting point for family history. It consists of links to hundreds of websites containing family history information. The National Archives website contains excellent information for beginners and experienced researchers alike.
The website Ancestry.com has a wealth of information - for example you can search all census returns for England and Wales from 1841-1901. There is a subscription fee for this site, but you can access the Ancestry Library Edition for free at Shropshire Archives and Shropshire libraries.
My family doesn't come from Shropshire. How can you help me?
Although most of the information at Shropshire Archives relates to Shropshire, we do have some material for nearby counties and we also hold some national sources.
The national sources include a microfiche copy of the General Register Office index to birth, marriage and death certificates, 1837-1980.
We also have free Internet Access as well as CD Roms containing some national indexes such as the 1881 Census, the International Genealogical Index, National Burials and Rolls of Honour for the First and Second World Wars. Shropshire Archives has a subscription to Ancestry Library Edition, providing customers with free access to the website. For more information about Ancestry Library Edition and our CD ROM collection, please select the link on this page.
Is there a local family history society?
Shropshire Family History Society has been running since 1979. It is a Registered Charity with over 2,000 members around the world and is a member of the Federation of Family History Societies.
The society holds regular meetings and produces indexes to many useful sources. Shropshire Family History Society also has an advice desk at Shropshire Archives on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (10am-1pm).
For more information, select the link to their website on this page.
