Sources
Family history research requires the use of many different sources including...
Census Records:
One of the most valuable sources for any family historian – a record of the details of pretty much everyone who lived in every house in the country at ten year intervals from 1841. Please note, the records for Dowlais in 1841 are missing. Also note that we have to wait 100 years before the files are released, so the latest census records are for 1901 and the next census is not due for release until 2011 (1911 Census). The 1901 Census is online, but you need a special voucher to get a copy of the records. We sell vouchers at the standard price of £5 each.
Registers:
These include Parish Registers, Poll books, Rate Books, Electoral Registers, etc. Electoral Registers can be of mixed value, but can be very useful in filling gaps between the censuses.
I.G.I.:
The International Genealogical Index is a useful way of finding people as are an increasing number of CD-ROM and Internet based sources.
Directories:
Trade, Business, Street or Telephone can be useful – especially if your family were in business or “professionals”
Newspapers:
These can be invaluable, but the older newspapers do not have the personal columns or content that you may expect from the modern editions.
We have all available local papers on microfilm and can print sections. There are two main sets, the Merthyr and Cardiff Guardian from 1832 and the Merthyr Express from 1864.
Official Records including:
GRO Records (formerly St Catherine's Index and Civil Registration Records) and the local registry office cannot give information, but they provide a very valuable service to any family historian by providing copies of official certificates of birth, marriages and deaths at a fixed charge.
Church records
Transcriptions of Epitaphs
Wills (there is a new website allowing you to download and print copies of wills and other documents at a fee. Click here for details)
Burial Records can also be very useful, as can a trip to the relevant cemetery to look at surviving headstones. Merthyr Tydfil’s Bereavement Service can an do offer very useful assistance to researchers.
On-Line sources:
Genuki tries to bring a lot of links and lists together.
Others worth visiting are:
Family Search
Ancestry
Free births marriages and deaths information
Glamorgan Family History
Genes Reunited
Private family sites can also be very valuable, and can usually be found by entering surnames into a general search engine like "Google". You might find new relatives, but watch out for false trails on the Internet by assuming that the people are related to you without actually proving it.