Researching your family history

How to Begin

Firstly, gather as much evidence as you can by talking to older members of your family, or from family records you already have, such as birth or marriage certificates or a family bible.

Try to become familiar with the basic sources, such as census, IGI, GRO indexes and parish registers, the information they contain and their limitations. There a number of "how to do it" books on genealogy which will help. Ask at your local library.
Keep good notes from the beginning,listing information gained and full details of the source (i.e. for books, author, title, and class number if there is one, and manuscripts, any reference number and title).
Be prepared to travel for sources you require. Local records tend to be held locally.
Be prepared to have to buy certificates of birth, marriage and death (after 1837) from register offices, and to have to pay for any research you are not able to do yourself.
Before going to any record office or local studies library, telephone in advance. Many offices have a closed day each week or require bookings to be made.

Some Sources for Family History

General Register Office (GRO) Indexes

These are indexes of all registered births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales since 1837. We hold indexes up to 1960 on microfiche. Each of the three series is divided into quarter of a year, and arranged alphabetically within each quarter. The index gives enough information to apply for a certificate. We do not hold any certificates. These are held by local Register Offices, and also by the General Register Office. Some points to note;

Births: there was no penalty for non-registration until 1874. From 1911 mother's maiden name is given in the index.
Marriages: from 1912 name of spouse is given beside the one indexed.
Deaths: from 1866 age of deceased is given in the index.

Cremations and Cemeteries

You can search for people buried or cremated in the cemeteries that are under the control of Dudley Council these are Stourbridge Cemetery, Lye/Wollescote Cemetery, Cradley Cemetery, Halesowen Cemetery, Gornal Cemetery, Dudley Cemetery, Brierley Hill Cemetery, Stourbridge Crematorium and Gornal Wood Crematorium. Click here to search database.

Alternatively contact the following:-

Stourbridge can provide you with information on people who have been buried in Stourbridge, Lye/Wollescote, Cradley and Halesowen Cemeteries or cremated at the Crematorium.The Crematorium Office: Tel: 01384 813985 (Stourbridge)

Gornal Wood Crematorium Office can provide information for Dudley, Brierley Hill and Gornal Wood cemeteries or cremated at the crematorium. Tel: 01384 813970 (Gornal Wood)

Church of England / Anglican Parish Records

We hold the Anglican registers of baptism, marriage and burial, as well as other parish records, for those churches which are now in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough and for St. Luke's Church, Redall Hill and Holy Trinity, Old Hill. Most of the registers we hold have been microfilmed and where this is the case we do not produce the original to save it from wear and tear. Booking a microfilm reader is necessary to view this material.

Parish registers are the best source for family history research before civil registration began in 1837. A handlist of registers held is available in the related documents below.

A mandate of 1538 began the practice of recording all baptisms, marriages and burials which took place. These were often kept on loose sheets and very few now survive. In 1598 it was ordered that all baptisms, marriages and burials should be written into a parchment book. The earlier records, from 1538, were supposed to have been copied into these books, with particular emphasis from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, but this often did not happen. These early registers usually record baptisms, marriages and burials in the same book, and often mixed up on the same page.They give little information in most cases. 16th and 17th century registers are often written in Latin and the handwriting can be difficult to decipher.

From 1754 marriages had to be recorded in a separate book and to a prescribed form. Both bride and grooms full names are given, along with marital status, parish of residence and signature. Two witnesses also had to sign. This was intended to bring an end to clandestine marriages, and also laid down that all marriages had to take place in the Anglican church except for Quakers and Jews.

A further act of 1812 separated records of baptism and burial. They too now followed a prescribed form. Baptism entries gave the mother's Christian name, which was often omitted previously, the father's occupation and their abode (often not very specific). Burial entries gave the age at death and abode. While some baptism registers give date of birth and some burial records give date of death, there was no requirement to do this and it is far from being usual. In most cases, therefore, it is possible to discover these details before 1837.

It should be remembered that, while it was common for baptism to take place in fancy, there is no hard and fast rule. Some people were baptised later in childhood or as adults and this is not always noted in the registers. It is not uncommon to see a number of members of one family christened together.

We have very few graveyard plans. In most cases it will not be possible to discover whereabouts in a particular churchyard a person was buried. We do have monumental inscriptions for most graveyards in the borough, but obviously these only record headstones which were in place when the survey was carried out.

The survival of other records varies from parish to parish, but can include vestry and Parochial Church Council minutes, service registers, churchwardens accounts (mainly 20th century), faculties, correspondence,maps and plans, and, in some cases, charity and school records. We only hold poor law records, such as settlement and removal orders and apprenticeship papers for the parishes of Sedgley and Halesowen.

Not all classed of records survive for each parish. A list is available in the search room or please enquire for details.

Non-conformist Registers

We hold some records for non-conformist churches and chapels within the Dudley Borough area. These consist mainly of registers, usually of baptism, circuit plans and committee minute books.

It should be remembered that before 1837 marriage could only legally take place in the Anglican church, and between 1837 and 1898 the Superintendent Registrar had to be present for a marriage outside the church to be legal. Therefore, few marriage registers exist for individual non-conformist churches and chapels before 1898.

All pre 1837 non-conformist registers should have been deposited with the General Register Office when civil registration was introduced. Some were never handed over but the majority which survive for this date were, and are now held at The National Archives, Kew. We have microfilm copies of those which relate to Dudley Borough. Bear in mind also that some denominations, notably Baptists, do not baptise infants, making family history research in theses records more difficult.

Burial registers are also scare, since few chapels had their own burial grounds.

A handlist of non-conformist registers held is available in the related documents below

Census

The first census was taken in 1801 and they have been taken every 10 years since then, with the exception of 1941. No detailed returns were required to be kept until 1841, so this is the first census for which personal details are available. It is not as detailed as the later returns, giving only address, names, approximate ages, occupations and whether born in the country or outside. Ages of everyone over 15 years old are rounded down to the nearest 5 years. In common with the later censuses this was taken on one night, in this case 6th/7th June 1841. It is, therefore, a snapshot, and records people where they were staying on that particular night, not necessarily their permanent address.

The later censuses give more detail. Ages are more accurate, places of birth are more specific, they give relationships to the head of household and marital status.

Census returns are closed for 100 years, so the latest census currently available is 1901.

We hold microfilm copies of all census returns of the area of the present Dudley Metropolitan Borough and have some limited coverage of Rowley Regis and Tipton. 1841 - 1881 inclusive and 1901 are held on microfilm, while we have the 1891 census on microfiche. We hold an index to the 1851 census for Kingswinford in book form, and for Dudley, Halesowen, Stourbridge, Bromsgrove and part of Sedgley on microfiche. We also hold the 1881 index on microfiche for Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and the whole of Wales.

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

The International Genealogical Index was compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, mainly from parish registers which they have filmed but some information from other sources is also included. There is an index for each county of England and Wales, giving details of christenings and marriages in alphabetical order of name and then by date. Not every parish is included by any means, but coverage for the Dudley area is generally good. It is always a good idea to verify any information found in an index with the original source.

We hold the IGI for the whole of England and Wales on microfiche.

Printed Sources

Trade directories list, by parish, private residents (middle and upper classes) and tradespeople. This can help locate a family, or confirm the existence of a particular firm. Not everyone is listed in a trade directory.

Newspapers can obtain obituaries, details of funerals, notices of christenings, marriages, burials, details of coroners inquests, accidents and court proceedings. we only have indexes to 19th century newspapers.

It is also worth checking whether pedigrees, biographies and family trees have already been produced for the family in which you are interested.

The Surname Dudley

This originates from the place name Dudley, which derives from the Anglo-Saxon Dudda's leah, meaning a woodland clearing owned, or lived in, by Dudda.

The family names of the Norman barons of Dudley were Fitz Ansculf and Paganel. In the Middle Ages, the Sutton family inherited the estates and the title of Lord Dudley, and gradually dropped the Sutton in favour of Dudley as their surname. Other branches of the family appear to have used Dudley from the start.

By the Tudor period this practice was well established and notable figures from collateral branches of the family included John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who installed the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey (who was married to his son) as Queen of England and Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, one of Queen Elizabeth's court favourites.

In 1628 Frances Sutton, heiress to the Barony of Dudley, married Humble Ward, son of William Ward, jeweller and goldsmith to the court of King Charles I. In 1643 Frances became Baroness of Dudley in her own right, and soon after her husband was created Baron Ward of Birmingham. Their heirs combined these two titles and became Lords Dudley and Ward. In 1763, John Ward was created Viscount Dudley and Ward, and his grandson, John William Ward, became the first Earl of Dudley in 1827. When he died childless, the earldom became extinct but was revived in 1860, in favour of William Ward, who had inherited the estate. The Earldom of Dudley is still held by the Ward family.

It is possible that a person with the name Dudley is a descendant of the Sutton family or its branches, but it is more likely to have been adopted directly from the name of the town. In many cases this would have occurred when an individual left the town, so John from (or de) Dudley, eventually became just John Dudley. The earliest recorded uses of the name in this form are in nearby parts of Staffordshire and Worcestershire. This accounts for the fact that the name is not very common in Dudley itself.

Research Service

Dudley Archives and Local History Service operates a fee-paying research service for those who can not visit the archive. Our experienced staff can carry out searches in any records which we hold here. Payment should be sent in advance by cheque, payable to Dudley MBC draw on a British bank account. Please note that we are not able to accept payment in any other currency due to the high cost of conversion. Neither can we refund money, so it is advisable to send a small amount to begin with or to send an open cheque marked with a maximum amount.

The current charge is £17.00 per hour, up to a maximum of 2 hours work per letter. Photocopies are charged separately. Obviously we cannot guarantee success but we can promise the services of our experienced staff. If you do wish us to carry out a search for you, please write giving details and enclosing payment.