Who do you think you are?

If, like me, you have watched any of the BBC programmes on ancestry, you will probably have gone through the whole range of reactions from fascination to boredom. While the programmes have been worth watching, if only to see Jeremy Paxman being put in his place and later on crying, you may have got the idea that finding one's antecedents is only possible with the full weight of the BBC behind you and a first class rail ticket. Not so. Anyone with access to the Internet, at home or in the Public Library say, can find out a great deal about their families. Be warned! This is not for the faint hearted as it can take time but it is totally absorbing, at least to me.

The first thing to do is to get a notebook and draw up a rough family tree, however sketchy, with approximate dates. It is a good idea to quiz all known relatives as they may have different memories as to who's who. I personally wished I had listened with more attention to my late father. In a village like Audlem, talking to the more senior residents will also help to both draw up a picture of the village and to provide a starting point for family research. Being an incomer of only 23 years this option is only of use to me in researching the history of the village in general and our house in particular.

Google will provide a plethora of sites for genealogists. The public library also put on help-courses from time to time. For personal history the 1837online.com site is the first place I would start. This holds all the births, deaths and marriages since 1837, with exceptions for military personnel who died abroad, who are on a separate register. There is a charge, much smaller now than initially, for using the register but the thrill when you hit upon an entry that is your great grandmother is tremendous. Obtaining birth and marriage (if any) certificates yields more information, in my case that none of my female ancestors, with the exception of my mother, were able to sign the register but made a cross.

The various censuses are useful, and absolutely fascinating. You can look up either a person or a place, for example one house in the village had a solicitor living in it in 1901 as well as today.

If any of you are inspired to delve into the past, start with local resources if relevant, and make a note of everything so it can be ruled in or out at a later date and avoid going over the same ground twice. There is a book of the series (when is there not!) for the BBC programme and a good local history society in Audlem. The National Archives have all the Death Duty Registers way back, not of use to those of us whose ancestors left nothing, and Ancestry.co.uk is one of many good sites. Most sites have help on getting started and recording information. Happy detecting!

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