Tracing your family tree

Tracing your family tree can be an interesting and addictive process.

This guide provides some pointers as to where to begin and general advice to help you along the way.

It is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to all the resources available at the Norfolk Record Office (NRO), Norfolk Heritage Centre (NHC) and beyond.

However, it does provide basic information about the most common records used in family research.

How to start

• Begin with what you know and work steadily backwards
• Gather as much information as possible from relatives
• Collect information from photographs, certificates, medals, family bibles and other family papers
• Try to verify everything that you are told or find on the internet against a primary source (such as an original document or image)
• Make copies of your documents and take these with you when carrying out research
• Make a note of everything you search, even if you found nothing relevant, to avoid repeating previous work

The General Register Office (GRO) indexes are the national indexes to births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales.

The system came into effect on 1 July 1837. There were no penalties for failing to register until 1874 however and significant numbers, particularly births, were not registered prior to this date.

Local registrars kept records for their local areas (registration districts), copies of which were sent to the Registrar General for inclusion on a national register.

Entries on the index are arranged by quarter (for example, January, February and March make up the March, or first, quarter) and then by surname. There is an online searchable index if you wish to search the indexes at home. This is not complete, but has good coverage up to about 1950.

Alternatively, you can take out a subscription to a website such as Find My Past, Ancestry or The Genealogist. You can access these sites free of charge at the NRO, NHC and King's Lynn Borough Archives.

The indexes supply limited information but provide the details necessary to order a birth, marriage or death certificate, including the quarter and year, the volume and page number and the district in which the event was registered. Each registration district covers many parishes.

Birth certificates usually show:

• Date and place of birth
• Name and sex
• Names of parents (including mother's maiden name)
• Father's occupation
• Name, description and address of informant
• Date of registration

Marriage certificates usually show:

• Date and place of marriage
• Forenames and surnames of bride and groom
• Ages of bride and groom ('full age' means 21 or over)
• Abode of bride and groom
• Father's name and occupation for both bride and groom
• Names of witnesses

Death certificates usually show:

• Date and place of death
• Full name
• Age at death
• Occupation
• Cause of death
• Name, description and address of informant
• Date of registration

You can apply for copies of Norfolk birth, marriage* and death certificates up to 31 March 2011 from the NRO. 

You can also apply to the GRO (opens new window) for certificates.

*Marriage register dates vary, please contact us for specific details

A census has been taken every 10 years since 1801. Until 1841 however, the records provided little more than statistical information.

Censuses are kept confidential for 100 years, so currently the most recent available census is from 1911.

Census returns are available to search and view at Find My Past, Ancestry and the Genealogist and on microfilm or fiche at the NRO and NHC.

The pre-1841 censuses survive for a few individual parishes, but often do not provide genealogical information. Most of those which survive for Norfolk have been transcribed and are available online (opens new window).

The 1911 census records are the original schedules, often completed in your ancestor's handwriting. However, the 1841-1901 censuses have been scanned from the enumerators' books. The enumerator was the person who collected completed forms from households and copied the entries into a volume.

The census has evolved over time. In 1841, relationships to the head of the household were not given, so you need to check inferred relationships with parish registers or other sources.

Birthplaces were not given beyond stating whether an individual was born "in County" or "in Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts".

Ages were usually rounded down to the nearest five years for all those over 15.

From 1851 to 1901, the census provides places of birth, relationships to the head of household and sometimes more details about an individual's address and occupation.

By 1911, it also includes:

• How many rooms are in the household
• The number of years each couple has been married
• How many children each woman has given birth to
• How many children are still living

While the census is very useful, bear in mind that it was a snapshot of each household on one night and does not always show those who usually lived there.

Some family members may be missing, while other people may have been visiting and so absent from their usual abode.

Ages may be inaccurate and places of birth are sometimes wrong or may have been misheard or misspelled by the enumerator.

Treat each piece of information with caution and gather more evidence where possible, as with all family sources.

Church registers have been kept since 1538, but not all churches have surviving records which stretch back this far.

There can also be gaps in their records, particularly during the Civil War and Commonwealth period, 1640-60.

Registers before 1754 usually combine baptisms, marriages and burials in one volume. Early entries are sometimes in Latin.

The amount of information given and the way it is arranged in the register varies according to the parish and the person making the entries.

Churches used registers with a pro forma from 1754 (for marriages) and 1813 (for baptisms and burials), requiring the inclusion of particular information.

Most registers after these dates do not give more information than that required, but occasionally you will find:

• Dates of birth
• Mothers' maiden names
• Names of reputed fathers of illegitimate children
• Causes of death
• Other comments listed alongside the entries

Most Norfolk parishes have deposited their registers with us and we also hold registers of about 20 Suffolk parishes in the deanery of Lothingland (the area around Lowestoft).

Many of the registers have been microfilmed to help preserve them for the future. You can see the microfilms and fiche at the NRO and most of them are also available at the NHC.

It is not usually possible to see the original document if it has been microfilmed, unless the microfilm or fiche is illegible. If you do have a problem reading a film or fiche, ask a member of staff for help.

Some registers are still held by the churches themselves, so always check before you visit that the registers you want to see are available.

See our Summary of Church of England Parish Registers and Transcripts for a list of parish registers held by us. The summary also shows if we have printed or typed transcripts of parish registers.

You need to know where to start your search, as there are more than 700 ancient parishes in Norfolk (more than 30 in Norwich alone). If you know where your family lived, you can look through the registers for that parish. 

There is no name index covering all Norfolk registers, but some indexes, transcripts and images of parish registers are available online:

• Many Norfolk parish registers have been indexed by name with links to images of the original registers on Ancestry, Find My Past and The Genealogist
• FamilySearch has images of many Norfolk parish registers 
• FreeReg has transcriptions of many Norfolk parish register entries
• The  Norfolk Family History Society has a members' only database of parish register transcriptions

Wills were proved (made legally valid) by church courts before 1858. The NRO holds:

• Wills (mainly registered copies) proved in Norfolk, from the 13th century to 1858
• Administrations granted in Norfolk, 1377-1858
• Inventories 1553-1849

You can see these records on microfilm at the NRO and NHC. There are also printed name indexes at NRO and NHC to:

• Wills proved in Norfolk, 1370-1858 
• Administrations granted in Norfolk, 1377-1858

There are printed indexes by date to inventories 1553-1849 and these are also included in our online catalogue.

Some pre-1858 wills (particularly those of wealthy people) were proved by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC). These wills, together with administrations granted by this court, are held by The National Archives (TNA). Here you can search indexes to them and the wills can be downloaded for a small fee.

Wills were proved by civil courts from 1858 onwards. We have registered copies of Norwich District Probate Registry wills, 1858-1941, which are available on microfilm at NRO and NHC, 1858-1925.

There are indexes on microfilm to both wills and administrations, 1858-1941, but we do not hold any administrations after 1858.

You can also search the National Probate Calendar (an index of wills and administrations for England and Wales) 1858-1966, on microfilm and in volumes at NHC or on the Ancestry website.

Copies of post-1857 wills can be ordered, for a fee, by post or online. We have produced a guide to wills and other probate records to explain these records and how to use them.

We also hold many other records which are of use to family historians. These include:

• Other parish records (such as settlement and bastardy papers, overseers' and churchwardens' accounts)
• Marriage licence bonds
• Archdeacons' and bishop's transcripts
• Electoral registers
• Trade directories
• Maps
• Rate and taxation records
• Manor court books
• Poor law and workhouse records
• Court books and gaol records
• Hospital records
• Title deeds

Staff are always on hand to help you find the records you need and to give advice.