The easiest way to start researching your family history is to begin with who you know. If possible, speak to older relatives and gather together as much information as possible, especially:
- ancestors' names and addresses
- dates of family births, marriages and deaths
And any other details of their lives, such as occupations and schools attended.
Having collected all the information you can from relatives, you can then start to delve deeper, using: the records held in the archives, the library service and on-line resources.
Denbighshire Record Office
Here is a list of the types of records, held at Denbighshire Record Office, which are most commonly used for family history:
- Census returns
- Parish church registers
- Nonconformist/chapel registers
- Civil registration
- Newspapers
- Wills and probate records
- Trade directories
- Electoral registers/voters' lists
Follow the links on this page to find out more about each of these sources and to see which are available at the Record Office.
Many other records held at the Denbighshire Record Office contain valuable information for the family history researcher; records that date from the seventeeth to the twentieth century. Examples include: school records (including admission registers), tithe records, land tax assessments, rate books, licensing and court records, deeds to property, wages books, landlords' records, old photographs and maps. Record Office staff will be happy to advise you on your family history research and there is a personal names index to the records held, which can be searched online (follow the link from the homepage).
Library Service
History books held by Denbighshire Library Service can help the family historian better understand what it was like to live as his/her ancestors did, as much has been written on local places and daily lives in the past, including about jobs, diets, public health, education, clothing, transport, and much more. Follow the link to the online catalogue to search the books that are available from Denbighshire libraries.
