This is not a ‘step-by-step’ guide but will give an idea of what to do and what information is available to help you in Derby Local Studies Library.

First of all, it may be helpful to do two things:

1.  Question your relatives.
Not only your own mother and father, but also aunts, uncles, cousins and so on.  Write down the information they give you and try to obtain dates and places of birth, marriage or death.  You may find your relatives have other useful items such as birth or marriage certificates, photographs or news cuttings.  Make photocopies of these if the owners wish to keep the originals.

The Local Studies Library has pre-printed pedigree charts for sale to help you fill in the information you have found.

2.  Buy or borrow from the library a good basic book on family tree research.  This will help you understand what resources are available to you.

3.  Use this link for online guides to tracing your family history 

What is available at Derby Local Studies Library? 
What you will use will depend upon what you know already, what you want to know, and where your family lived.  Although we have useful indexes for the whole country, most of the information is for Derby and Derbyshire.

GRO Index 
The General Register Office Index, previously called the St Catherine's House Index, is an index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales from 1837-1998.  it is on microfiche so it is best to book a machine before visiting us.

Name index  The Name index is only available in the Derby Local Studies Library.  It is arranged alphabetically by surname, then by first name within the same surname.  It has been compiled over a great many years and is also continually being added to.  The information is taken from all types of sources.  Not all of it is relevant to family tree research, but it includes parish register entries for baptisms, marriages and deaths, deeds, newspaper reports and obituaries, various types of biographical notes and manuscript material.

The Census  The library holds the Census returns for the whole of Derbyshire on microfilm for the year 1841 to 1901 inclusive.  The Census is one of the main sources of information on families as it gives details of names, addresses, ages, places of birth, and occupations arranged by place.  The Local Studies Library has an index to the villages and a street index to Derby.

An index to the 1881 Census arranged alphabetically by surname is available on microfiche and CD-ROM.

International Genealogical Index - IGI The IGI as it is known is compiled by the members of the genealogical society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Mormon Church and comprises lists of names largely derived from parish register entries. The names are arranged alphabetically by surname and by county. This index is available on microfiche and covers the whole of the British Isles.

Trade Directories 
These are available either in book form or on microfiche.  They contain one or all of these section:

1.  An alphabetical list of householders, often with addresses and trades.
2.  A Streets Section in which private householders or trades people are arranged in street order.
3.  A Trades Section in which people are grouped according to their trade or business.

Poll Books and Electoral Registers  Poll Books for Derby, earliest 1710, and a few for Derbyshire, earliest 1734, are available in Derby Local Studies library.

After 1832, Electoral Registers began to be compiled. The registers for Derby Borough and City are available from 1858 annually to the present day. There are a few gaps, such as World War II.  Most nineteenth century registers are arranged by electoral ward first, then street by street.  They are not arranged by name.

Parish Registers  Originals of Parish Registers are kept at Derbyshire Record Office at Matlock.  Many, however, have been microfilmed or transcribed and are available here.  Please ask staff what is available.

Phillimores Marriage Transcripts  The publications by Phillimore give brief marriage details, that is both names, date and place of marriage, for the period 1583 to 1837.  Arrangement is year by year for the 73 parishes in Derbyshire that have been covered.  Some of these entries have been indexed into the Name Index.

Newspapers  Derby local Studies Library has an extensive collection on microfilm of local newspapers, both daily and weekly, covering Derby and Derbyshire news as far back as 1732.  Apart from the regular births, marriages and deaths columns, you can search newspapers for more detailed reports of notable marriages and burials, court trial, inquests, accident reports and so on.

Cemetery Records  If your family has long-standing connection with a particular village in Derbyshire or a particular Derby parish, you might find memorials in the local churchyard. The Local Studies Library holds a number of transcripts.  Please ask staff what is available.  For Local Authority Burials we have cemetery records for Derby on microfilm.

These are some of the main sources of information available in the Derby Local Studies Library.  There are many others, for example, Boyds Marriage Index, Fair Books, Rate Books, Apprenticeship Deeds, Health Tax Returns and Land Tax Returns.  This is where a copy of a family tree reference book will serve as a useful reminder of other avenues of exploration.

Unless you are lucky enough to come from a local family with long-standing connections with a particular Derbyshire village, you may find that the information in this library soon dries up and you must be prepared to travel to other areas.  You may also find it helpful to join a Family History Society, especially if you are not used to carrying out research. Once started, you are likely to find this is a very addictive hobby. Some regular visitors to the library have been researching for over twenty years!

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