England Using Gazeteers

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Where Your Ancestor Lived
Once you have identified the name of a place where your ancestor lived, you should learn more about it. Knowing details about a place will help you find records about your ancestor. Sources that provide information about places include:


 * Gazetteers.
 * Topographical dictionaries.

What You Are Looking For
The information you find varies from source to source. In these sources you may find information about:


 * Location.
 * Jurisdictions. See England Jurisdictions and Gazetteers (National Institute) and England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Local religions. See England Church History
 * Geographical descriptions.
 * Manors or estates. See England Manors
 * Industries and manufacturing.See England Occupations and Category:England Occupations
 * Land use. See England Land and Property and England Land and Property, Part 2
 * Population.

These steps will help you find information about a place in England.

 * Choose a place where your ancestor lived.

Look at the information you have gathered and choose the name of a town or parish where your ancestor lived. If only the county or country is known, search for it..


 * Choose a gazetteer.

Choose a gazetteer to search. The following gazetteers are listed in order of the amount and value of the information they give. These gazetteers are available at the Family History Library.


 * Other gazetteers may be available at a library or on the internet. You may want to look at more than one gazetteer to gather details about the place you have chosen.

England, How to Find Information About the Place Where Your Ancestor LIved

 * 1870-72 Viewable on Line. Gives location, jurisdictions, geographical description, local religions, local manors or estates, industries and manufacturing, land use, and population. Also Wilson 1870-72 Descriptive Gazetteer Parish records plus Gazetteer
 * Viewable on line. Several editions Gives location, jurisdictions, geographical description, local religions, local manors or estates, industries and manufacturing, land use, and population.
 * Viewable on line. Gives location, jurisdictions, geographical description, local religions, local manors or estates, industries and manufacturing, land use, and population.
 * . Gives location, jurisdictions, geographical description, local religions, local manors or estates, industries and manufacturing, land use, and population.
 * 9th edition, 1943; reprinted 1966 Gives location and geographical description; also gives jurisdictions, industries and manufacturing, and population for larger cities.
 * . Gives location, jurisdictions, local religions, population, and date of earliest parish registers.
 * . Gives location, geographical description, and includes maps.

Obtain a copy of a gazetteer
You can find gazetteers at:


 * Family History Centers.
 * The Family History Library.
 * Other England Archives and Libraries.

Search the gazetteer for the place-name. Information in gazetteers is arranged alphabetically by the place-name. Copy the information and note the source. Copy the information about the place-name onto family group sheets, a pedigree chart, and in your notes. Some of the information may not seem helpful at this time but may be important in future research. You may want to make a photocopy of the information directly from the source. Be sure to write down the source of the information on a research log, including any library call numbers, links or Websites. Be specific when writing down this information. If you should ever need to look at the source again, your documentation will show where to find it. If anyone else should consult your research, they will also see where to find the source. Your research log will serve as a guide to your research.

Where else can I find information about a place?
Information about places can also be found in:


 * County histories.
 * Town or parish histories.
 * County directories.
 * Descriptive regional guides. Look for these other types of sources in the FamilySearch Catalog. Go to the Catalog and in the search enter the place-name. You may not find a place-name because it is:
 * Misspelled.
 * Known by another name.
 * Obsolete.
 * A farm or other property name.

Sources that may help you identify and locate your place-name

 * The Ordnance Survey Gazetteer of Great Britain. This is a good source for smaller localities if they still exist today. This gazetteer relates to the detailed, large scale Landranger maps published by the Ordnance Survey Office of Great Britain.
 * English Place Names Society publications. These books discuss the historical use of place names, name changes, disuse, and alternate spellings. This is an ongoing project and not all counties have been published yet. Those that have been are found in the Family History Library Catalog. Go to the catalog, and look for your county of interest and the topic of NAMES, GEOGRAPHICAL.

How can I find a map showing the place where my ancestor lived?
For information on how to find a map, see How To Find Maps England, How to Where to Find It Family History Centers Family History Centers have gazetteers for England on microfiche. Other place-name sources may be available on microfiche or microfilm. Centers can purchase microfiche or borrow microfilm from the Family History Library. There is a small fee to have a microfilm sent on loan to a center.Family History Centers are located throughout the United States and other areas of the world.

Find a Family History Center near you.

 * Family History Library

The Family History Library has several gazetteers and other place-name sources for England in book form as well as on microfilm or microfiche. There is no fee for using the library's collection in person. You may request photocopies of pages from a gazetteer or other source from the library for a small fee. You will need to fill out a Request for Photocopies form, which is available at all Family History Centers. Complete the form with the book, film, or fiche number you found in your search of the FamilySearch Catalog. Send the form and payment to the Family History Library.

Other Archives and Libraries
Addresses for archives and libraries can be found at The UK National Archives.

Websites

 * Gazetteers
 * 1870-72 Viewable on Line
 * Imperial_Gazetteer_of_England_and_Wales Wikipedia
 * Wilson 1870-72 Descriptive Gazetteer Parish records plus Gazetteer
 * The UK National Archives