
'People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors' Edmund Burke
Last month Who Do You Think You Are? returned to our TV screens, with both Rupert Everett and Rupert Penry-Jones filming sections of their episodes at The National Archives.
If the series has inspired you to look into your own family history, then make a start by searching for your ancestors in census records. The census research signpost on the TNA website will help you to get started, explaining what information you'll need before you begin and what you can hope to find out.
All census records at The National Archives (1841-1911) are available online from these websites*:
ancestry.co.uk (1841 to 1891 census)
1901censusonline.com (1901 census), and
1911census.co.uk (1911 census)
There are plenty of other family history resources on our website. Go to our looking for a person web pages to find out more.
PS - If you are planning to visit The National Archives by car on or after 31st August, please check the website first, as you will need to book and pay for car parking in advance.
Researching wills
There are lots of records at The National Archives that can help you build up a more complete picture of your family's past. One way to do this is to research wills. Go to the research signposts for pre-1858 and post-1858 wills to find out what records are available and where you can view them. You can start your research from the comfort of your own home - more than one million wills proved before 1858 are available to download from DocumentsOnline*.
This month in history
The first German bombs to hit central London in the Second World War fell on 24th August, 1940. Find out about the Blitz in our Hope and Glory video , part of our War on Film series.
Listen online to podcasts.
Go to the TNA website, click on 'podcasts' and sit back and enjoy listening to:
Census returns
Tracing marriages in 18th century England and Wales
Identity and identity theft, and
The pub and the people
Please note: Items above marked with an sterick(*) indicates that searching the records is free, but a small charge may apply to download records.
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Did you know that The National Archives has its own Twitter feed? Follow @UKNatArchives
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