Channel 4's guide to genealogy
Census returns
If you know where an ancestor lived, census returns contain lots more interesting information. For example, you can also find out who else was living in the house, their relationship to the head of the household, their age, their birthplace and their occupation.
The census has been held in England and Wales every ten years since 1801, except for 1941, when the Second World War took precedence. Only the census returns from 1841 and later are much use to genealogists – the earlier censuses were the responsibility of the clergy and overseers of the poor, and record few details. Because of privacy laws, 100 years has to elapse before the census data is made available to the public. The most recent census to be released to the public was that of 1901. Some census returns can be viewed on microfilm in larger local libraries and at Family History Centres and more censuses are becoming available on CD-Rom and online.
The 1901 census website was officially launched on 2 January 2002 by the Public Record Office, but immediately crashed because of high demand. It now seems to be working smoothly, and eventually all census records will be available online.
The 1881 census can be explored for free at www.familysearch.org. The 1861,1871,1881 and 1891 censuses can be searched online at www.ancestry.co.uk for a fee of £6.99 for 20 record pages during a seven day period. The 1841 and 1871 returns for certain counties can be accessed at www.originsnetwork.com and the 1861 census can be accessed at 1837 Online.com. Scottish records for 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 are available from Scotland's People.
Wills
A will is a statement by the deceased person of how they wished their worldly goods to be disposed of among family and friends. Wills are a valuable source of information, not only about the status and occupation of your ancestor, but also in providing links with other family members, friends and executors.
For a will to be legal, it has to be 'proved' by a judge. This process is called probate. If someone died intestate (without leaving a will), the next of kin could apply for a grant of administration to gain control of the estate. You can find information on wills where probate was granted later than 1 January 1858 at the Court Service website. They have a section on Probate Records and Family History. Copies of the index to wills from 1858 to 1943 are available on microfiche at The National Archives and the Family Records Centre.
The National Library of Wales holds volumes of copy wills after 1858 and up to 1940.
In Scotland, a testament is the collective term used to describe all the documents relating to an inventory of the dead person's property. Some testaments include a will. Where there is a will, the document was known as a 'testament testamentar' (the equivalent of English probate). If there was no will, it was called a 'testament dative' (the equivalent of English letters of administration).
PRONI holds all original wills and letters of administration granted in the six counties that make up Northern Ireland from 1900 onwards.
DNA testing
Mitochondrial DNA (or mtDNA, for short) is inherited solely down the maternal line. Your mtDNA is inherited exclusively from your mother, who inherited it from her mother (your grandmother), who inherited it from her mother (your great grandmother), and so on back to the clans of the 'Seven daughters of Eve'. A person's paternal ancestry can be traced by DNA on the Y-Chromosome or yDNA for short. Only men have a Y-Chromosome, which they inherited from their fathers and will pass on to their sons. Men sharing the same surname can explore and share their genetic connections by DNA testing from a company such as Oxford Ancestors.