newbie - have i got this right?

[mystraightroad]

ok, the last time I tracked someone down you had to visit St
Catherine's House in London and wade through stacks of paper. Well, St
Catherine's House seems to have disappeared and it's now the "Family
Records Centre". Does this hold details of all birth/mariage/death
certificates up to the present time? If so - can I search this online
or do I have to visit in person? Am I right in thinking that the
freeBDM site is actually the online version of the "Family Records
Centre", but it's still a work-in-progress?

Do local libraries have copies of the BDM records held at the "Family
Records Centre"? If so, is it just local info rather than the full
nationwide set?

Also, uk info disc xx - just census info, nothing else.

so many questions I know, but so many sites offering certificate
searches that it's hard to know which are genuine.

thanks

[john]

mystraightroad wrote:

ok, the last time I tracked someone down you had to visit St
Catherine's House in London and wade through stacks of paper. Well, St
Catherine's House seems to have disappeared and it's now the "Family
Records Centre". Does this hold details of all birth/mariage/death
certificates up to the present time? If so - can I search this online
or do I have to visit in person? Am I right in thinking that the
freeBDM site is actually the online version of the "Family Records
Centre", but it's still a work-in-progress?

Do local libraries have copies of the BDM records held at the "Family
Records Centre"? If so, is it just local info rather than the full
nationwide set?

Also, uk info disc xx - just census info, nothing else.

so many questions I know, but so many sites offering certificate
searches that it's hard to know which are genuine.

thanks

The web site of The Family Records Centre (FRC) gives you all the
information you want about the centre and services
http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/partner ... artner.htm

FreeBMD is a separate initiative. Ancestry has a copy (usually a bit
behind the FReeBMD updates)
1837Online has all the BMD indexes available.

Look at the FAQ http://homepage.ntlworld.com/barry.ruck/

[CWatters]

"mystraightroad" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

ok, the last time I tracked someone down you had to visit St
Catherine's House in London and wade through stacks of paper. Well, St
Catherine's House seems to have disappeared and it's now the "Family
Records Centre". Does this hold details of all birth/mariage/death
certificates up to the present time? If so - can I search this online
or do I have to visit in person? Am I right in thinking that the
freeBDM site is actually the online version of the "Family Records
Centre", but it's still a work-in-progress?

No FreeBMD is an independant effort by volenteers. They haven't transcribed
all the records yet so check the coverage charts to see what the probability
is for each year.

This site has "all" the records from 1837 but it's not free..
http://www.1837online.com/Trace2web/LogonServlet

For pre 1900 you can also find some extractions from the BMD records here
free
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ ... search.asp
Home..
http://www.familysearch.org
About us..
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp
...but when you find a record note that "member" submissions are a lot less
reliable/accurate than "extractions from local records". It's also possible
to order copies of microfilm records from LDS centers.

Pre 1837 you will need to start looking at Parish records and these are
typically found in County Records offices.

Get to know yoyr way around this site
http://www.genuki.org.uk/
Hint: Click on the map...
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/

so many questions I know, but so many sites offering certificate
searches that it's hard to know which are genuine.

I think it's fair to say that many are a con. Let me explain...

The GRO will search about a year or so either side of a date you give for
around £11.50. or if you have the GRO reference from FreeBMD then its about
£7.50 and you can order online. Their site is here:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
or for births..
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/birth ... /index.asp

There are several companies on the web that will charge you £20 or £30 for
EXACTLY the same thing! I believe that all they do is pass your request onto
the GRO and keep the extra for themselves.. You should go direct to the GRO
or the local records office.

Colin

[cecilia]

"mystraightroad" wrote:

[...] Do local libraries have copies of the BDM records held at the "Family
Records Centre"? If so, is it just local info rather than the full
nationwide set? [...]

Some central local libraries might have them, or they might be at the
County Record Office. To find out the local situation, telephone.

But for an index, you may need FreeBMD to get to the records you want
(though some local areas are doing their own local indexing).