Free genealogy resources in Sheffield?

zerocool · 22-01-2006, 20:38

ive started my family tree and to be honest im sick of money hungry websites feeeding of people like they do, ancestry.com wants £200 for a year memebership. Ive already paid them £70!

I keep hearing about free resources that librarys should have including all the census records on CD-ROM.

Does anybody know where i could access any free resources within sheffield???

the ZC

retep · 22-01-2006, 21:14

Latter Day Saints, Wheel Lane

Sheffield Archives

Central Library

1841 census is on line http://sheff-indexers.thewholeshebang.org/index.html

1881 census is on line
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Sear...rch_census.asp

Greybeard · 22-01-2006, 21:19

There's Sheffield Archives at the town end of Shoreham Street, and the Local Studies section at the Central Library. Both have a wealth of genealogical material freely available.

You could also join up with the Sheffield and District Family History Society for a modest £8.00 annual subscription.

I believe some of the Sheffield census returns have been put on-line by a local group, but they're not now at the URL I have for them.

And I forgot Free BMD http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/

And I see there is much more than just the 1841 census available from Sheffield Indexers these days - a good place to start by the lookof it

Cynthia · 23-01-2006, 04:32

Hi Zerocool. go on to the Sheffield genalogy web site, to post enquiries you will have to subscribe, the term does not mean that you have to pay it is free, go on to the first page it gives you lots of options and help.
I started on that site and have gone back with my ancestors to the 1500s and my husbands to the 1600s.
Go on to the page "Browse archives' or 'Search archives'. at the top of the page is 'Maling lists' click on there, when the page comes up scroll down to ENGLAND and there you will find loads of different sites for all counties of England etc. DO NOT go to SURNAMES as most of them are American.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~engsheffield/

Please ask if you want anymore help, I had a lot of it when I first started searching.
Cynthia, Ontario, Canada.

HughW · 23-01-2006, 10:38

You can get a long way without paying out large sums if you find out where the people with a similar interests hang out and join them

Like Cynthia I would recommend the ENG-Sheffield mailing list. Here is a direct llink to the subscription instructions http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl...SHEFFIELD.html. The site Cynthia quotes is the list owner's own site which supports the Rootsweb mailing list.

Another active place is the message board on the Sheff & Distr FHS site (you don't have to be a member) http://www.sheffieldfhs.org.uk

The Sheffield Indexers site listed above also has a forum where you can ask questions and request look-ups.

I also visit the Rootschat Site http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php

Hugh

mega_monty · 23-01-2006, 21:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerocool

ancestry.com wants £200 for a year memebership. Ive already paid them £70!

Why do they want £200 ?

Bookmaster · 25-01-2006, 10:13

Your local public library should have a copy of a new leaflet on Looking for Local & Family History in South Yorkshire. It has contact details for the libraries and archives and a list of web sites - some free and others which charge.

Ant · 22-05-2007, 16:40

I've compiled a list of links you should need to get you started researching your family tree.
Please pm me additional links, and I'll add them to this post -
we can then keep the main thread free for general genealogy discussions.

NEW TO GENEALOGY?
GO Newbies’ Guide - A newcomers’ guide to researching your family tree, by Roy Stockdill
GO The BBC’s Family History Webpages

GENERAL SITES
GO Familia - A directory of family history resources held in public libraries in the UK and Ireland
GO Ancestry - A huge website, offering occasional free trials. Costs £6.66 pm, £79.95 pa, or pay-per-view. Many features are free.
GO Find My Past.com - An alternative to Ancestry. Prices from £65 to £125 pa
GO Historical Directories - A wonderful free digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales
GO Genes Reunited - Build an online family tree. Price unclear on their FAQ (“9.95 for .“)
GO The National Archives - UK government records, inc. passenger lists and military records
GO Access To Archives (A2A) - English strand of the UK Archives Database. Useful free search tool
GO International Genealogical Index - Another free search tool
GO General Registry Office (GRO) – Official information on births, marriages and deaths
GO UK Parish Register Look-Up Exchange - Post your information request, and wait for a reply from parish register enthusiasts

SHEFFIELD & YORKSHIRE RESOURCES
GO Sheffield Archives - Information on Sheffield City Council's magnificent free service on Shoreham Street
GO Sheffield Archives – additional information
GO Sheffield Indexers - An excellent resource for Sheffield genealogists.
GO Sheffield Records Online (SRO) - An excellent resource for Sheffield genealogists. Free registration necessary
GO Sheffield & District Family History Society – An excellent resource for Sheffield genealogists.
GO Sheffield Genealogy
GO Sheffield Registry Office – Searchable births, marriages and deaths index
GO Trade Directories – Sheffield Indexers' trade database – was your Great-Grandfather a chimney sweep?
GO Sheffield Flood Claims Archive - Sheffield Hallam University database
GO Sheffield Baptisms - Sheffield Indexers database
GO Marriages and Banns - Sheffield Indexers database
GO Marriages and Baptisms - Sheffield Indexers database
GO Hallamshire Cutlers Apprentices - Database of SRO. Free registration required
GO School Admission Registers - Sheffield Indexers database
GO Picture Sheffield - An excellent - if incomplete - collection of images from the Local Studies Library
GO Free Births, Marriages & Deaths (FreeBMD) - Excellent free (if incomplete) searchable database
GO Sheffield Genealogy Mailing List - A service of the RootsWeb.com website
GO Yorkshire Births, Marriages And Deaths - A very promising site that currently doesn't include Sheffield

FREE CENSUS INDEXES
GO 1841 - Search the 1841 database of Sheffield Indexers
GO 1851 - Search the 1851 incomplete database of SRO. Registration required
GO 1851 – “Strays” index from the SFHS website (ie those not born locally)
GO 1861 - Search the 1861 incomplete database of SRO. Registration required
GO 1881 - Search the 1881 database of Family Search.org
GO 1901 - Search the 1901 database of 1901 Census Online

CEMETERY DATABASES
GO Commonwealth War Graves Commission - WWI/WWII casualties from cemeteries and memorial records
GO City Road/Intake Road and St Michael's Roman Catholic, Rivelin - Sheffield Indexers database

LINKS, LINKS, MORE LINKS
GO Cyndi’s List – More links than you could shake a stick at

PRIVATE GENEALOGY RESEARCH SERVICES
None of these groups, obviously, are endorsed by SF
GO Researching Relatives - A family based business run by Phillip and Janet Ford

Very few of these links are mine.
Thankyou to everyone who has supplied the links in other threads, and anyone who pm's me links in the future.
I won't give a long list of credits to save space, but thanks.

I have deliberately avoided linking to other forums.

Camrat78 · 23-05-2007, 06:59

Thanks for this. Been looking into my family tree for a short while now and its facinating. Managed to trace one strand of my tree back to 1803, but have started to draw blanks on some others, so hopefully these links will help.

algy · 23-05-2007, 09:52

Thanks very much for that Ant, I've been thinking of starting for a while, and you've spurred me into action!

Ant · 23-05-2007, 10:36

So how far has everyone got with their research, and do any of us share common ancesters? - Unlikely, but it's possible.

The names I'm researching are (in order of significance) -

Atkin
Burn
Deakin
Dawson
Duffy

And these names crop up way back in the tree -

Smedley
Hutchinson
Meahan
Fisher
Bailey
Kendill / Kendall

The earliest I have pinned a relative down to is 1786. All my research has been on my mother's side (the Deakins/Burns) - I've hit an immediate brick wall on my father's side (the Atkins).

My mother's family were grocers, photographers (one of whom had a claim for the damage sustained to his photography shop due to the Sheffield Flood), combmakers and, almost inevitably at some point, cutlers. Oh, and publicans.

hennypenny · 23-05-2007, 10:43

Why not post details of your brick walls, then see if anyone can come up with ideas to help?

summer1955 · 23-05-2007, 19:12

the names i am researching at the moment are

sykes in shefield
nicholson in sheffield and doncaster
foster in sheffield, beighton
hunter in sheffiled
warrington in sheffield
goulder/goulding/goulden in sheffield
sorby in sheffield
wilson in sheffield mostly norton
dalton in sheffield mostly norton and in derbyshire
dunster in sheffield and lancashire
damms in sheffield and rotherham
marriott in sheffield and rotherham

mine have been in pit,cutlery trade and steel,farmers, some shoe and clogg makers one started of as a policeman but left to take up making cloggs.

hennypenny · 23-05-2007, 19:26

Quote:

one started of as a policeman but left to take up making cloggs.

If he was a policeman in Sheffield then you could possibly find his service records at Sheffield Archives and see why he left. It is a little complicated as you need to first get permission to view the records from South Yorkshire Police:-

Copied from A2A

[Access Conditions]
Police records may not be made available to research workers unless permission has been sought in each case.
This is done by sending a letter to
PR Officer
Press and PR Office
Police Headquarters
Snig Hill
Sheffield
S3 8LY
Tel: 0114 220 2020 ext 3848
Fax: 0114 252 3154

Tuppie · 23-05-2007, 20:39

Hi.

www.sheffieldfhs.org.uk
Sheffield & District Family History Society, with a message board for posting your queries. Also inline indexes to 1851 census and stray marriages at the cathedral.

http://libplugins.sheffield.gov.uk/bmd/home.aspx

Sheffield Register Office with the facility to search Births Marriages and Deaths registered in the Sheffield, Ecclesall Bierlow and Ecclesfield registration districts.
This is an ongoing project between the register office and Sheffield Family History Society so keep checking back.

Tuppie

Rivelin6 · 23-05-2007, 20:46

Hi Ant,
I have Fishers in my family but some generations back. I have a lot of contact with other Fisher families from around Sheffield so you never know. The number of people I have found a distant contact with is quite high so never say never. My main names are
Lincoln,
Turner
Garrett
Riley,
Norburn
Norton.
Kitson
Fisher
Robinson,
Green
Grayson

Ant · 23-05-2007, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rivelin6

Hi Ant,
I have Fishers in my family but some generations back. I have a lot of contact with other Fisher families from around Sheffield so you never know.

My Fishers look like this:

James FISHER..........Mary A. ?
...1809 -...........=......1808
(Master Tailor)....\
........................\
........................\
................Miriam FISHER........William Henry BURN
..................1847-1885......=..........1831 -
............................................(Photographer)

==================================================

I've just downloaded the Woodhouse section of the 1901 White's Trade Directory to browse through the businesses. This entry caught my eye:

Name: Turner, William
Occupation: Builder, joiner, plumber, painter, gasfitter, undertaker.

Talk about a jack of all trades.

summer1955 · 24-05-2007, 07:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by hennypenny

If he was a policeman in Sheffield then you could possibly find his service records at Sheffield Archives and see why he left. It is a little complicated as you need to first get permission to view the records from South Yorkshire Police:-

Copied from A2A

[Access Conditions]
Police records may not be made available to research workers unless permission has been sought in each case.
This is done by sending a letter to
PR Officer
Press and PR Office
Police Headquarters
Snig Hill
Sheffield
S3 8LY
Tel: 0114 220 2020 ext 3848
Fax: 0114 252 3154

no he was a policeman in lancashire i can get his records if i pay but not got round to it yet, dont know if he got into making cloggs as his father in law was a shoe maker or his brother was a clogg maker and with what i have found one of his realtives and one of his wifes brother came to live in sheffield and putting two and two together think thats why he came to sheffield.

hennypenny · 24-05-2007, 07:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by summer1955

no he was a policeman in lancashire i can get his records if i pay but not got round to it yet, dont know if he got into making cloggs as his father in law was a shoe maker or his brother was a clogg maker and with what i have found one of his realtives and one of his wifes brother came to live in sheffield and putting two and two together think thats why he came to sheffield.

The Traditional Heritage museum on Ecclesall rd is an interesting place to visit, they have preserved old workshops and shops, and recreated them in the museum. One of them is a clog makers workshop with all the tools and workbenches etc in place to give you an idea of how they worked.

It has open days on the last Saturday of each month, and on bank holiday Mondays. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museumstudies/websites04/davison/

LoopyLou · 25-05-2007, 15:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by hennypenny

The Traditional Heritage museum on Ecclesall rd is an interesting place to visit, they have preserved old workshops and shops, and recreated them in the museum. One of them is a clog makers workshop with all the tools and workbenches etc in place to give you an idea of how they worked.

It has open days on the last Saturday of each month, and on bank holiday Mondays. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museumstudies/websites04/davison/

My uncle helped build the replica shop - in fact he did most of the carpentry in that place.

Glad to see it get a mention.