Births recorded
No story left behind
Pinpoint the important events in your relatives’ lives with our free civil birth and marriage records, covering England, Wales and Ireland. Discover essential details in these free family history records.
Births recorded
Marriages recorded
Years covered
Find your family’s colourful history in black and white. Enrich your family history with our free British and Irish newspaper collections, including many stories from diverse and previously underrepresented communities.
Free newspaper pages
Free publications
Years covered*
Find an article:
These free Irish Roman Catholic Parish Baptism records cover all of Ireland and date as far back as the 1700s, revealing vital information about your ancestors, including names, birth and baptism dates, parents' names and residences.
Cork county records
Dublin county records
Galway county records
Discover your ancestors' addresses, occupations and more in the 1881 Census of England, Wales and Scotland. Search and view transcripts of the census for free to uncover the details of your ancestors’ lives in 1881.
People recorded
Free publications
Years covered*
Search for your relatives in millions of free passenger lists and travel records and uncover the stories behind their migration. Find out where they embarked, their travel companions and final destinations.
63,023,468 records
Search a uniquely wide variety of records from the United States and Canada. Each record identifies a British or Irish emigrant who came to North America.
5,954 records
These passenger list records contain the names of thousands who travelled on board the Royal African Company’s ships to and from Africa.
4916 records
Search the names of those who left western Scotland for Australia with assistance from the Highlands and Islands Emigration Society.
30,000 records
Search names of Dutch, French, German, Swiss and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776.
12,190 records
If your ancestors immigrated to Queensland, find out whether they became British subjects through naturalisation.
Search for your family heroes in our free British military records – from rolls of honour to army, navy and air force lists. Discover your ancestors’ ranks, regiments and medals in records covering World War I, World War II and the years in between.
British Army, De Ruvigny's Roll Of Honour 1914-1918
Scotland, Rolls Of Honour 1914-1920
British Army, Army Lists 1839-1946
Britain, Royal Navy, Navy Lists 1827-1945
Royal Air Force Lists 1919-1945
You can use free family history records on sites like Findmypast to trace your ancestors back through the generations - it's free to start a family tree, and you can even access the vast record collection at no charge with a free trial.
Findmypast offers a portion of its historical records and newspapers for free, but you'll need a paid subscription to access everything that's on offer. With a free trial, you can search and save billions of records and newspaper pages.
It's free to create and save your family tree with Findmypast. You can access free civil birth, marriage and burial records, as well as censuses, travel, and military records at no cost whatsoever.
The most important first step is to start your family tree. Input your details first, then build out the branches with details about your parents and grandparents. You can fill in the gaps using historical records and newspapers.
While FamilySearch is the only completely free ancestry website, you can also discover your family's past for free with Findmypast. Browse our free records and use them to start your family tree.