Devon County Council

Welcome to the Devon Record Office's pages for family historians.  These pages are designed to assist you whether you are just beginning your family history, or are already an experienced researcher wishing to know more about the sources available for family history in Devon.

If you are new to family history and want to know how and where to start, the following guides will help you:

• Your Family Tree - where and how to start
• Family history - starting off on original documents
• Family history -moving on to other documents
• Courses for family historians
• Links to Family History Society websites

If you wish to know more about the basic sources used by family historians, and where to find these in Devon or elsewhere, the following guides and notes will help you:

• Civil Registration - records of births, marriages and deaths
• Censuses
• Parish Registers - records of baptisms, marriages and burials
• Non-conformist Registers- records of baptisms, marriages and burials
• Bishops Transcripts- records of baptism, marriage and burial
• Cemetery Registers - records of burials in non-parochial cemeteries
• International Genealogical Index [I.G.I.]
• Using the Internet for Family History
• Indexes for family history
• Local parish censuses

If you wish to know more about other sources used by family historians, and where to find these in Devon or elsewhere, the following guides and notes will help you:

• Wills and Probate Records
• Poor Relief - Overseers of the Poor records
• Poor Law Union and workhouse records
• Land Tax Assessments
• Local tax records - Rates
• Local tax records - Hearth Tax
• Tithe maps and records
• Protestation Returns
• Letters and Diaries
• School records
• Electoral Registers
• Marriage Licences

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