Books on Family Histories
Use the following resources to look up a family name. Consider consulting a published family history if there is one that applies to your research.
Oxford dictionary of national biography : in association with the British Academy : from the earliest times to the year 2000 by Call Number: DA28 .D5 2004 (LC)ISBN: 019861411XPublication Date: 2004See the bibliography, if there is one, for additional resources.- Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentryCall Number: CS425 B873 (LC)+ OversizePublication Date: 1837:1-1972:3
- A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland enjoying territorial possessions or high official rank, but uninvested with heritable honours byCall Number: CS425 B78 1977 (LC) v.1-v.4ISBN: 0806307420Publication Date: 1977
- The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom byCall Number: CS421 C65 1910 (LC)+ OversizePublication Date: 1910-1959
Finding Articles
Try searching Yale's databases of historical periodicals for family or individual names.
Jennnings's Albums
- The Jennings's albums : British portrait collection of prints, photographs, newspaper clippings and other reproductions byCall Number: Jennings'sPublication Date: 1924-1986[v.1]-[v.72]
Volumes are organized by reigns of monarchs from Egbert to Elizabeth II. A handwritten card index is available to use with the volumes.
Search for images of British monarchs, members of parliament, artists, etc.
Looking for a Person?
United States and United Kingdom genealogical resources, including census, military, court, land, and probate, vital and church records, directories, passenger lists and more.
The National Archives hold many records which can help you find out about individual's lives, deaths and careers. Guides also can point you to useful records in other archives and organisations, and reveal which records are available online.
Family Archives
- Researching the country house : a guide for local historians byCall Number: DA566.4 E57 1992 (LC)Publication Date: 1992Contains a select list of country houses and associated gardens open to the public together with the name of the family most closely identified with them and the main location of their estate archive.
Family papers may include deeds, architect's plans, building accounts, letters from architects, room-by-room inventories, and photographs. Such archives may remain in private hands (see Castle Howard Archives as an example), or be deposited in the British Library or the local record office. Large private archives may have a catalogue published by the Historical Manuscripts Commission or the owner.
A family with a large country house generally also owned a large estate with many other buildings on it such as lodges, houses, farms, pubs, mills, forges. One family could own several villages or a city suburb. Their estate records are often held in the same archive as the more personal family papers, but some may be retained by an estate office.
Search the National Register of Archives Family and Estate Index for a guide to family estate papers and archives.
Manorial Documents
This guide was designed to provide some useful resources, mainly for those tracing medieval English genealogy. The dates covered extend up to about 1600.
The National Archives Manorial Documents Register
The Manorial Documents Register identifies the nature and location of manorial records. The MDR is partially computerized – Wales, the Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, the three Ridings of Yorkshire, Shropshire, Surrey, Middlesex, Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire North of the Sands (the Furness area, part of Cumbria since 1974), Dorset, Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire are available online. However the majority of the counties have not yet been computerized.
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