Tracing family roots in England and Wales has been relatively straightforward from the 19th century thanks to the introduction of national birth, marriage and death registrations in 1837 and from census returns dating from 1841. Some births before 1875 were not registered due to the belief that births did not have to be registered if a child had been baptised. Records pre-dating 1837 are only found in parish registers which were introduced by an Act of Parliament in 1597. Beyond 1597 it is extremely difficult although there are a few registers going back as far as 1538.

The birth, marriage and death certificates that mark our life stages are the starting point for any research. What they reveal about your family members can take you back to when civil records began in 1837. Another good source for information can be found in family bibles. Armed with names and addresses you can then search the census records, a decade-by-decade population count, which from 1841 lists the names, age, occupation and other details of everyone on census night. Tracking down members of broken families, such as orphans or foster children, is a tougher challenge. But documents such as parish registers, orphan hospital records and adoption papers can provide vital clues.