Family Ancestry

Family History

The genealogy of Waltham Abbey. Our Research is not only based in Essex we extend to many parts of the country including neighbouring Hertfordshire, London, Sussex and even as far as Scotland.

Tracing back your family starts with your living relatives such as your parents, siblings, uncles, aunts,cousins and grand parents. These are the people that will hold the important information in unlocking your family history and where you came from. Advice to anyone who is new to family history and is starting out, record and write down all what you know about each of your living relatives and obtain their birth and marriage certificates for these are the factual evidence that proves what their full names and details are. Family members will have plenty of stories and family rumours that will give you a guide to who and where to search for, but always have in mind sometimes family stories can be like chinese whispers, which may prove to be far from the trueth in the end.

Another good tip to have in mind when searching for an ancestor is that our ancestors like some of us today,sometimes shortened their names or used nicknames and middle names to be referred to as and this can cause problems and great confusion when you research. "Great grandfather was always known as Bob, but when i found his birth certificate his name was Robert and aunt Milly was recorded as Millicent on her marriage certificate". 

Record Office Contact Information

Filling in the Gap's
Click to read this article on ways to fill in the gaps in our research.

Family History Tools

Old Money Currency Convertor
Find out what your ancestors wage is worth in todays money.

Latin for beginners
Read them old documents written in Latin with this helpful tutorial