Absolutely Free Ancestry Search – UKBMD - an Absolutely Free Ancestry Search

There are major databases of genealogical records available online which you can use to conduct an absolutely free ancestry search. Since the beginning of the new millennium, a rising number of Family History Societies have been at work in conjunction with local Register Offices to make ancestry records available online. Many of these records include valuable birth, death and marriage certificates, commonly known as BMD records. We’re going to take a look at a website maintained by genealogists for genealogists where these records can be found – UKBMD, a genuinely, absolutely free ancestry search.

Conducting an Absolutely Free Ancestry Search at UKBMD

The United Kingdom Birth Marriage Death website, was designed to be a cornerstone of genealogical research. One goal was to make finding websites that offer an absolutely free ancestry search easier for family historians, and they have indeed accomplished that goal. They provide access to a plethora of online data which includes; baptisms, wills, and war memorials as well as BMD data. If you open their homepage in another window, you will notice the toolbar on the left. This displays a list of all the original BMD Indexes that are available online for anyone looking for a free ancestry search. This toolbar is the first area you should investigate if you’re looking for vital records in the dates encompassing civil registration.

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Areas Covered by the UKBMD Absolutely Free Ancestry Search

Many areas throughout England and Wales are included in this absolutely free ancestry search, some by county and others by even smaller geographical division such as villages and towns. The majority of the sites linked to do genuinely offer an absolutely free ancestry search, while some will allow you to search for free but charge a small fee to access the data. Keep in mind also that this is a growing site; indexes are being transcribed and added on a daily basis, so you should bookmark this internet address and refer to it frequently.

Using the UKBMD Search Engine in your Absolutely Free Ancestry Search

The first step in your absolutely free ancestry search at UKBMD is to select "Local BMD" from the toolbar; it’s the second button. This automatically takes you to a list of websites where BMD records for specific English counties are listed. If you don’t know the county where your ancestor was from, don’t panic, we’ll tell you how to do that too. If you do know the location however, you can go straight to that county or town’s individual site.

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The regions and towns currently include; Bath, Berkshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Staffordshire, North Wales, West Midlands, North East, Wiltshire, Yorkshire, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Isle of Man , Kingston upon Thames Historical Indexes, Newcastle Register Offices, North Lincolnshire, North Tyneside Council, South Tyneside Register Office Indexes, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield City Council, Stockton-on-Tees BMD and Burials, Sunderland City Council, Warwickshire County, Wrexham County Borough Council BMD Indexes, and West Sussex County Council. I’m sure by the time you’ve finished reading this article, the database of free records will have increased even more.

What if You Don’t Know Where Your Ancestors Were From?

For those of you who don’t know which area your ancestor came from, your absolutely free ancestry search is made quite simple by the option they offer to search all the areas at once. It’s the very first selection on the list of database pages, and clicking on that will allow you to enter options of date range, whether you want to search births, marriages or deaths, a surname, first name, spouse’s name and whether you want an exact match or vague match. The same applies when you search ancestors in specific areas.

If it’s an absolutely free ancestry search you’re looking for, there is no better place than UKBMD. The fact that it is an ongoing project makes it even more exciting, as the databases will continue to grow. If you have British ancestors, as many of us do, UKBMD offers you the best chance of finding your ancestors with an absolutely free ancestry search.