FreeBMD and how to use it A short walk with Val through one of her favourite websites

FreeBMD Home Page FreeBMD is the longest running website in a group which includes FreeCEN and FreeREG. These can be accessed from this page. To enter the site click on one of the red boxes.

Less is MORE Start with very limited input and if the results are too big - add more information until you arrive at a reasonable number of matches. This method can produce instant results.

Potential results Margaret lived all her adult life on Tyneside – BUT – she had a twin sister.

Click on the page number This will show the likelihood of a multiple birth.

Modern County searches Tyne and Wear did not exist when the event took place. However, using this county search allows us to quickly look at both Durham and Northumberland without resorting to multiple searches.

Date ranges Search between the year when the person is 16 and a couple of years after the birth of the first child – be aware that the end date may need to be seriously modified!!!!

Checking for spouse Click the page number to see all the people on that page. Usually a page consists of two certificates – BUT – in large places such as Manchester Cathedral, one page could consist of five certificates. Do a head count before you go any further.

Date of death and phonetic search This search is between the month of conception of the last child and the second marriage of the widow. Names are often miss-spelled, therefore a phonetic search needs to be conducted. BEWARE THE WORKHOUSE……

After 1850s age at death given This is a great help. However, my great grandfather was born in 1843 and was only 56 when he died in It says so on both his death certificate and his gravestone. At least it sorts children from adults.

Clicking on ‘Info’ On the results page, click on the word Info (written in red). This brings you to the names of the transcribers and a very long page of other background information which might prove useful.

Click on transcribers name This gives extra details of the transcriber. In this instance it tells us how many individual records this person has transcribed.

Click on name of district This takes you to a sequence of pages which tell you about the areas, villages, hamlets etc. covered by the Registration District that you are looking at.

Relevant dates and volume numbers These are constantly changing. Your family may have lived in the same house for many generations, but their events are recorded in several different districts. Notice this link takes you to Genuki at the top of the page.

District Boundary Changes It also takes you to UKBMD at the bottom of the page.

Citations and Postems The majority of Family Historians will rarely, if ever, need to use the Citations.

Very long and comprehensive section on Postems You can add information, make comments and advertise your interests. Please read this page if this activity appeals to you.

Clicking on the spectacles icon This brings you to the page where you can choose to view the original page from St Catherine’s House Registers in whichever format you want. Clicking on ‘View the Original’ should be sufficient.

Whole page view You can zoom into the area of the page that you want to read.

Zoom view McDougal is listed alphabetically before McDougall. The person searched for was wrongly listed as having one ‘l’ instead of two.

Using two surnames After 1912 you can search for births using the surnames of both parents. Notice that there is no end date entered.

Whole family identified We do not always know the number of children or the order of birth. This simple search gives us both.

Thank you for walking through FreeBMD with me. Happy Hunting!!!