Help with researching your family tree in Southend. Details on how to check the census records, phone books and parish records, to track down local ancestors
Getting Started with Family Tree Research
Thanks to the Internet, famil history research is now easier than ever before, and there’s a host of information available online for tracking down family members who lived in Southend at some point. This page gives you some tips on getting started. If you’d like to comment on this page, please post a message in the forum
If you want a flavour of the sort of thing available, try entering a family name in the box below to see what records are at the huge site Ancestry:
Census information
Census information from 1841 to 1911 is publicly available for households in the Southend area, often containing names of family members, occupations and years of birth.
One of the most useful is the 1901 census, which you can access online. Using the 1901 census, you can get reports like this::
1901 Census Sheet, listing all occupiers of a property
The census really can be your best source of information, giving you details of all of the family, with ages, places of birth, and occupations.
For access to the census, not only for Southend, but for the entire UK, we recommend: Ancestry.co.uk, who provide online access to the UK 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 census – and you can search by surname.
Handy Family Tree Links
- FreeBMD – Search this free database of UK births, marriages and deaths
- Ancestry.co.uk – Offering access to FreeBMD, plus scanned copies of the GRO indexes
- FindMyPast.com – Chargeable database to allow retrieval of Births, Deaths & Marriages
references (needed for certificate ordering) - General Register Office (GRO) – Order Births, Marriage and Death certificates online (£7 per certificate,
posted to you) - FamilySearch – Massive worldwide genealogy site
- Lost Cousins – Enter details of your relatives on the 1881 census, and see if there are
any matches - The UK Gazette – Searchable UK list of public announcements & war medals
- Historical Directories – Collection of old Kellys and other directories
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I am struggling to find my Great Great Grandfather James Monte on the 1901 Cenus. His address on his death certificate in 1902 is The Old Brewery, Southend.
His wife was Elizabeth ( do not think they were actually married)
They were photographers doing mostly Cartes de visited for people.
Elizabeth’s last address was 46 Burnaby Road in Southend.
Hope you might be able to help.
Have tried ancestry.co.uk but to no success.