Start with one person and one question. Perhaps you want to know where your grandmother lived before she married. Perhaps an unfamiliar surname appears on a photograph. A useful first result is a record you can find again, with a clear note about what it tells you.
You can follow this route with paper and a pencil. If you want AI to help organise your notes, complete step 1 first. It remains optional throughout. You do not need to install the kit, which is still in development.
The examples below start in England and Wales. FreeBMD and the GRO index cover those countries, rather than the whole UK. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate certificate services. GOV.UK explains the distinction . Record the country beside your question before choosing a source.
Step 1. Turn off training before using AI.
On your Anthropic account, open Settings, then Privacy. Turn off “Help Improve our AI models” before entering any family information. If you need an account, create it without adding family material. Anthropic describes the setting .
Then read the privacy guide . It explains what to leave out of your first task. Turning off training does not make an online conversation local to your computer.
For now, keep your full tree and original documents in your own folders. Choose a deceased relative for this exercise. Leave living relatives out of the material you prepare for AI.
Step 2. Write down what you already have.
Take a fresh page and write your question at the top. Under it, record the name, approximate date and place you remember. Write who supplied each detail. Keep their words when you can.
Give a memory the label UNCONFIRMED. That label describes its present evidential position. It does not suggest that the person who told you was careless. A memory can be a good starting point without proving every detail.
Make separate notes for separate claims. “She married in Wigan” and “she lived with her uncle” need different checks. Do not let a confirmed marriage location make the household story look confirmed too.
Before searching, choose a stopping point. For a first session, aim to find one plausible record and save its reference. There is no need to add a generation today.
Step 3. Choose the record that can answer the question.
An index points you towards an entry. A transcript copies text from a record. An image lets you inspect the writing yourself. Keep those forms separate in your notes. An index result and a transcript of the same entry are not two independent witnesses.
Use this table to choose your first search. Check the linked coverage page for your place and period.
| Your question | Start here | What to check first |
|---|---|---|
| Was a birth, marriage or death registered in England or Wales? | FreeBMD . | The event and year may have gaps. |
| Who appears in a household? | FreeCEN . | Its stated years are 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1891 only. |
| Is there a baptism, marriage or burial entry? | FreeREG . | Check the church, register and dates. |
| Is another collection available for this place? | FamilySearch . | A free account and sign-in are required for historical record searches. |
Keep a short search log beside this table. Record your search terms, the date and the result. If the search produces nothing, write “no result with these terms”. Save “no record exists” for a conclusion that the evidence can support.
Step 4. Find a civil registration reference.
Open FreeBMD’s search form . Choose one event type. Enter the surname, first name and a short date range. Add a district only when you have a reason to expect it.
If there are too many candidates, narrow the dates. If there are none, remove one restriction at a time. Keep both versions in your search log. This makes it possible to see which assumption excluded a useful result.
For older entries, save the year, quarter, district, volume and page. The quarter records registration, which can follow the event. A birth near a quarter’s end may appear in the next quarter. FreeBMD’s search help explains these fields .
Write a cautious result: “VERIFIED: this index entry exists under this name.” Keep “this is my relative” as a separate identification question. A matching name alone cannot carry that second claim.
Step 5. Compare the official index.
The General Register Office, usually shortened to GRO, provides a free historical birth and death index. You need to register to use its online service. Start through GOV.UK’s family-history page .
Compare your candidate with what you already know. Keep the reference exactly as displayed by each service. If two entries disagree, save both readings. Do not repair one silently because the other looks more familiar.
Ask what information would distinguish the candidates. You may need an address or a named parent. Write that missing detail down before considering a purchase. Our certificate guide helps you decide whether the next record justifies its cost.
Step 6. Place the person in a household.
FreeCEN offers free census transcripts for its stated five years. Coverage varies by place and year. Use its Records menu to check the relevant area before searching. FreeCEN explains how to inspect coverage .
Search for the household you expect, then consider other candidates. Compare the people around your relative. A sibling or an unusual occupation can help distinguish two people with the same name. Keep those comparisons as reasoning, with references to the entries you used.
Read each relationship as a relationship to the household head. The census questions changed over time. The 1841 return did not include the later relationship column. The National Archives explains the census fields .
Do not turn an age into an exact birthday. Keep the recorded age, the census date and your estimated birth year in separate spaces. This preserves the route from the record to your estimate.
Step 7. Search parish registers.
FreeREG holds transcriptions of baptisms, marriages and burials. Its coverage pages break these down by county, place, church and register. Some pages explain gaps or restrictions. Check FreeREG’s contents .
Choose the event you need before entering a name. Record a baptism as a baptism. Record a burial as a burial. If an entry also supplies a birth or death date, copy that as a separate detail.
If your first parish produces nothing, make a list of nearby places worth checking. Give each place a reason: a later address, another child’s entry or a family memory. Avoid widening the search so far that any matching name starts to look useful.
For a fuller search lesson, read the three free databases explained . It includes ways to change your search without losing track of what you have tried.
Step 8. Use another collection when the first has a gap.
FamilySearch has no subscription charge. Some links lead to other providers whose images require payment. FamilySearch explains its free access .
An image restriction may require a visit to a FamilySearch centre or an affiliate library. The message beside the image explains the available route. Some images remain unavailable there too. Read FamilySearch’s image restrictions .
Save the collection title and entry reference before arranging a visit. Ask the centre or library about that particular collection. A general promise of family-history access cannot tell you whether your image is available.
If the record remains inaccessible, keep it on a future-search list. You can work on another question while it waits. A gap in access does not need a guessed answer.
Step 9. Prepare a library visit.
Library access can provide another free search route. For example, Dorset offers Ancestry Library Edition on its public library computers. Dorset publishes its access arrangements .
Plan for on-site use, usually on a library PC. Ask your own service about availability, booking and saving records before travelling. Provision is not universal. Do not assume that a library card provides access from home.
Library Edition is a reduced product. It lacks personal tree-building tools and some content found in the consumer service. ProQuest’s comparison, hosted by the State Library of Queensland, explains the differences .
Bring a short list of questions and references. Ask about any computer or printing charges. Keep your research notes with you, so you can record a finding without relying on a saved browser session.
Step 10. Write one checked conclusion.
Give each statement one of these labels:
- VERIFIED: you inspected the cited source and checked that it supports this exact statement.
- INFERRED: you reached a conclusion from evidence, with the reasoning and alternatives recorded.
- UNCONFIRMED: a memory, suggestion or unresolved candidate still needs checking.
A verified transcription can still contain an error made in the original record. The label does not remove the need to compare evidence. State “the register says” when that is all you have established.
Ed’s archive provides a useful example. Elizabeth Halliwell, later Thomas, lived apart from her parents in 1880s Wigan. An early theory treated her as the eldest child. Later work identified an older brother, George, registered under his mother’s surname, Sharples. The earlier theory stayed beside its correction.
The evidence trail names a census entry and a birth registration. The original records were not reopened for this guide.
The lesson is practical. Correcting one family arrangement does not explain why the arrangement existed. Keep the motive UNCONFIRMED until evidence addresses it.
Step 11. Save a useful stopping point.
Before closing your notebook or computer, write four things:
- State the question you investigated.
- List the records you inspected and where to find them.
- Explain your present conclusion and any contradiction.
- Name the next record that could change your mind.
Then use the publication checklist before adding anything to a shared tree. Keep doubtful parent links out of a settled pedigree. A note about a possible connection can wait in your private working file.
Free research has limits. An untranscribed register, an inaccessible image or an unresolved identity may stop this branch. Travel, copies and certificates can still cost money. Decide against your question and budget, rather than the wish to fill an empty box.
If you would like one step at a time, take the free email course .