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Explore essential and exclusive Essex family history records online

Did your family tree take root in Essex? Make it bloom with stories and context you won’t get anywhere else. Our Essex family history records are packed with detail and date back centuries. Your discoveries begin with your family tree.

Learn a little about Essex history and heritage

Essex in the East of England is a largely rural county. It has three cities, with Southend being the most populated, followed by Colchester and Chelmsford.

Colchester is widely acknowledged as Britain’s oldest city. Founded by the Romans, it has been a significant military base since. 

The advent of the railways brought development to the county and strengthened a magnetic attraction to the City of London. Towns like Harlow and Basildon were built to solve a housing shortage in London and were expected to become economic entities. However, the pull of the capital has remained strong, and they mainly serve as dormitory towns. 

The first radio music broadcast was made in Chelmsford in 1920 from the Marconi factory. Essex has a 350-mile coastline, the longest in Britain. At 1,200 years old, the county’s Greensted Church is possibly the world’s oldest wooden church, and oldest wooden building still standing in part. 

Extending over two kilometres into the Thames Estuary, Southend Pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world.

Only at Findmypast

Unravel your family history through Essex records you won’t find anywhere else online.

Vintage photo of two men on a bicycle

The 1921 Census

Find out what your Essex relatives’ lives were really like a century ago in this detailed snapshot of a post-war nation.

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Essex Burial Index

Spanning over 460 years, this vast collection of burial records reveals essential information for your Essex family tree.

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The Essex Newsman newspaper

Essex Newsman

Search by name, year and place to discover family members mentioned in the small print of this Chelmsford newspaper.

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Millions of Essex family history records at your fingertips

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Extra! Extra! Your Essex family made the papers

Read all about Essex in newspaper archives dating back centuries. Find birth, marriage and death announcements to add to your family tree and see the stories your ancestors’ experienced.

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