Getting started

9. Summary and checklist

1. Speak to older family members -make sure you record the conversations, or note down what they tell you
2. Check the family home for photographs, letters, videos, certificates, and other material likely to offer clues
3. Start to build your family tree with our free online software, Family Tree Explorer - begin with what you already know
4. Use the birth, marriage and death records on findmypast.co.uk to fill in the gaps, and document the events that you have so far
5. Order birth, marriage and death certificates to obtain more information and to progress further back in time
6. Consider joining a family history society, visit libraries and family history fairs, and sign up to our newsletter
7. Start to explore the census records on findmypast.co.uk to see a day in the life of your ancestors, find their siblings, addresses and more
8. Explore the millions of other historical records on findmypast.co.uk: search for parish records, military, migration, occupation, and living relative information.

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