Firstly, go to the newsgroup soc.genealogy.britain and read Barry Rucks
Frequently asked Questions
These will give you an idea of what you are looking for.
Go to a large library and hire a book on genealogy.
Sites that are in frequent use are familysearch.com freebmd which is a
huge database of births deaths and marriages.
Your question is so hard to answer, it is much easier if you read a
beginners website such as http://www.woodgate.org/FAQs/archive.html
If you need more help please post back here.
Also, if you need a lookup on the 1881 census, just post here and I will
give you all the lookups you want (free)
Regards
Joe
As regards web sites, go to GENUKI and read the "getting started" section.
This is the central site for british genealogy. If you need ot concetrate on
one site, this is it.
> Could anyone spare a bit of time to help getting me started. It would be
> appreciated.
> Thankyou.
As you're in the UK, head for your local library - they should not only have
a few "how to" books, they'll also be able to tell you where your nearest
Family History groups meets. You don't say whether you'll be searching the
area you live in (if so, also ask your librarian where the local archives
are), or whether your main field of interest is Scotland or England/Wales
(makes a difference as to what records are available and where they are).
The first steps are the simplest. Start with yourself, and your own birth
cert, then move back to your parents' wedding and birth certs, their
parents, and so on. Talk to relatives NOW, get names, dates, etc, and if
they have any photos, ask to borrow them for copying (or photocopy them) and
write the names on them while the owner is still around. I've just inherited
a shoe box full of photos, so 100 years old, at least, and very few of which
are labelled...
Read the newsgroup soc.genealogy.britain.
Above all, enjoy what will fast become and addiction,
Lesley Robertson