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This guide should help those with little or no experience in family history research as well as those who have done some research. Much of the information given is general although where possible some of it relates specifically to Abertillery area research where tips are given. The section is split into the following parts, all of which are found on this page:
• STARTING OUT
• OBTAINING AND USING BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGE RECORDS
• USING CENSUS RECORDS
• OTHER USEFUL RECORDS
• USEFUL LINKS
STARTING OUT
1) The first step should be to draw up a family tree as best as you can. This should
include full names (or nicknames) and dates of birth, marriage and deaths, addresses
where they lived, occupation etc -
Go back as far as you can. This will probably be grandparents or great-
Take care though, do not believe everything you hear as many people's folk memories are notoriously unreliable. Very few people's great grandfathers were related to that rich ancestor or duke that Great Auntie Mabel swore they were.
2) Once you have drawn up your initial tree, you should decide how you wish to proceed.
Some people select one surname, usually, though not always, their own maiden name
and go back along that route. Others will decide to follow as many of the lines back
as possible. In terms of what you wish to know about your ancestors, then naturally
that is an individual choice. However, I would advise against what I term a 'stamp
collecting' exercise, i.e. just gathering as many names and dates as possible to
create the largest tree they can. Family history research is only truly rewarding
if you put it into the historical and social context of the times in which your ancestors
lived. So try to discover how each of them they lived -
3) You will almost inevitably find that if you are researching your ancestors in the Abertillery area, they or their forebears will have migrated to the town.
Abertillery did not really exist as a village/town other than for a few isolated farmhouses in the early part of the 1800s (see the history section of the site). Some individuals I know can trace some of their ancestors to those 'original' families in the area, but this is unlikely to be the case for the vast majority of researchers. People started to move into the area in the late 1800s and very early 1900s. The upshot of this is that you will almost certainly be searching records in other counties/localities at sometime in the early and mid 1800s.
4) Specific records naturally exist for the Abertillery area such as burial records, though these can be sometimes sketchy.
The best way to work back to the early part of the 1800s (circa 1840) will be through national records that cover the period (see below). Essentially these are records or births, deaths and marriage and census returns. Again, I suggest that new researchers look at genuki to gain more advice.
Once you come to the period before 1837, you will need to look at parish records
and other types of records since official ones only really started with registration
in July 1837, which did not become compulsory until 1875 -
OBTAINING AND USING BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES RECORDS
Certificates of birth, marriage and death are extremely useful in helping you trace your line back. The information will aid in working out relationships, places of abode, occupations etc
What details do births, deaths and marriage certificates contain?
The details contained on a full birth certificate include:
Name, date and place of
birth
Father's name (if given at time of registration), occupation and place of birth,
Mother's name, place of birth, maiden surname and, after 1984, occupation.
Important -
The details contained on a marriage certificate include:
Date and place of marriage
Name, age and marital status of man and woman
Occupation and usual address
Name and occupation of each party's father
Names of the witnesses
Name of the person who solemnised the marriage.
The details contained on a death certificate include:
Name, date and place of death
Date and place of birth (before 1969 a certificate only showed age of deceased)
Occupation and usual address
Cause of death
The person who gave information for the death registration
What do the certificates look like?
RESEARCHING YOUR ABERTILLERY FAMILY HISTORY
This page is intended to help those people who are looking for more information on ancestors from the Abertillery area.
The Cybertyleri group meets most Tuesday mornings in St Michael’s on the Streets in Church Street, Abertillery where you can join other researchers who have specialist knowledge on the Abertillery area and family history research.
The group also has digital archives of the South Wales Gazette (1888-
You can find out more about the group or leave family history
queries on the Abertillery Online message board (click here)
SOME USEFUL LINKS
• Abertillery Online message board -
• Cwmtillery online -
To continue to part 2 -