Non-conformist records, that is of those not belonging to the Church of England, can make excellent reading and yield much useful information, particularly since various other denominations were a great deal more astute in their approach to record keeping than were the majority of parish clerks. Appropriate details of Roman Catholics, Jews, Non-conformist Protestants and Huguenots, might be available from religious registers, many of them held in followers' meeting places in nearby large towns and cities. Alternatively societies operate to provide access to appropriate information. The readers' attention  is drawn to the reources section at the end of this book, from which sources he or she might often find invaluable records available for consultation.
Census Returns

Such documents with which we are all familiar today, provide a more than useful insight into a variety of general and often highly personal pieces of information, including the names of all people residing in the household at the time of the census, their ages, relationship to the householder (from 1851), their occupations (from 1851), and the place of birth of all members of the family or household.

Returns can be consulted in various ways, usually from Public Record Offices and local County Record Offices, as well as from Mormon Genealogical Libraries. From the latter source one can usually gain immediate access to local returns, or else can, for a fee, be provided with a copy of a return available from any part of the world.

Census returns are provided on microfilm for which reading facilities are available on special machines, which can unfortunately prove more than a little strain on the eyes of the viewer.

As more detailed information became required from the household, censuses eventually provided the following information: Name of place in which household resided, including details as to whether it was a hamlet, village, town or borough; full address; names of all present the house on the night of the census; relationship to head of household; matrimonial status; age; sex; occupation; birthplace; and various other information including whether any person was blind, deaf or dumb

Wills and Administrations

Wills can prove an excellent source of material for the genealogist and, in addition to the relative recently deceased, can usually be relied upon to provide information also regarding numerous other relatives, whether beneficiaries or not.

It must be remembered that not all people made a will; it wasn't always necessary since most people had nothing worth leaving to others anyway. Consequently, unless the your ancestors were engaged in trade or the professions there might be no information here of use to you.

Other Sources of Information

It isn't just to official sources that one might direct time and energy to uncovering facts about one's own family tree. A host of other useful sources are available from family members, friends and relatives, as well as commercial and other concerns. Family bibles, letters, books, certificates and photograph albums can of course provide much reliable information, as can word of mouth - usually - the latter especially so if supported by other people or sources.

Newspaper articles and announcements can also provide useful information not always available from any other source. Announcements of births, marriages, divorces and deaths were often placed in the personal columns of local and county newspapers, or national newspapers where prominent families are concerned. Most families would extract the printed material relating to their relatives, usually keeping the same safe in bibles, photograph albums, shoe boxes along with other documents of one sort or another, or sometimes the more organised family might have its own personal scrapbook in which such documented pieces of evidence might be available for reference.

If cuttings are not available from the family, then most main reference libraries and newspaper publishers' archives are able to produce back copies often extending over several decades for reference by interested individuals. Some County Record Offices are also able to provide reference facilities to old newspapers and periodicals, usually covering the area in which they themselves operate.

In some places, where you might find a complete collection of the  newspaper available on microfilm.

Microfilm incidentally comes on a reel which fits into the spindle of a special viewing machine. The film runs between this and another spindle, both of which have handles for the viewer to move around the film in order to select those segments of particular interest.

It's all well and good talking of looking for newspapers through which to probe for a few hours or so, but what exactly are we hoping to find in the course of our endeavours? Perhaps first and foremost we might seek straightforward announcements of births, deaths and marriages, from which other information will almost certainly ensue.

The names, and possibly the address, of the new-born’s parents might perhaps be contained in the announcement; a death notice might give an indication as to where burial took place (if you don't know from other sources); a death notice might also indicate cause of death and disclose any suspicious circumstances or inquests that might have arisen; an obituary might also be enclosed in respect of prominent citizens who have lived in the locality.