Researching your family tree As a response to regular public inquiries requesting help to find out more about family ties to the Ouseburn, we have put together this page of useful resources. Even if your family's history doesn't find itself in Ouseburn Valley, we hope a lot of the resources may be of some help to you. Getting started with researching your family tree For those new to genealogy (history of decent of families) taking a short course could be a good starting point. Genealogy: Researching your family tree is an online course written by Strathclyde University and available through Future Learn. The course lasts 6 weeks and requires 4 hours per week of study. The course is free. Free genealogy research resources BBC's guide to researching your family history The National Archives guide to looking for census records FreeBMD - basic information on births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales The Family Search website, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (or commonly known as either LDS Church or Mormon Church), offers international records Search the Commonwealth War Graves site You have probably watched Who Do You Think You Are on TV but there is also a monthly magazine of the same title full of tips and features. These three guides produced by the magazine on how to read birth, marriage, and death certificates are also very useful Guide to birth certificates Guide to death certificates Guide to marriage certificates Genealogy research resources with a cost There are several subscription sites so here are a few of the most popular. Often there is a free trial period for subscription sites so you can decide if it really is for you. Some will also have different subscription levels, so you need to think about the extent of searches you wish to undertake. Perhaps the most well-known is Ancestry with a very user-friendly interface for searching births, marriages, deaths, census records, and much more. It also allows you to link up with other people researching the same people and to upload photographs for sharing. A much cheaper alternative, particularly if searching just in England and Wales is Family Relatives. The National Records of Scotland have a comprehensive site that includes being able to search for images. Records such as birth, marriages, and deaths are purchased through an inexpensive credits system. Find My Past contains birth, marriage, and death certificates, census returns and much more for England and Wales. The General Registry Office enables you to order copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates directly at a much cheaper rate than through Ancestry. While it may be interesting to trace your ancestors in terms of births, marriages, and deaths, it is worth thinking about the wider context of social history and learning about the times and places they lived in. One way to do this is through local newspaper articles. The British Newspaper Archive is digitised and can be searched online. It also gives you access to obituaries, family notices and public inquests. Ouseburn Families The Ouseburn valley now has a burgeoning new wave of residents following the widespread removal of families from the 1930’s to 1960s by slum clearances. In the 19th Century, however, the Ouseburn valley was a thriving community of densely packed tenement housing occupied by large families in poor living conditions. There were many more streets in the Ouseburn than there are today. If you think you might have Ouseburn family connections try searching these spreadsheets compiled by Lawrence, one of our heritage research volunteers. It covers the period 1841-1963. Ouseburn East Ouseburn West Manage Cookie Preferences