09 Oct 07
Search the BMD index online FreeBMD
Twenty or so years ago, my Mother would go to the local Central Library to search for the births, marriages and deaths of her ancestors. This involved searching a microfiche copy of the index by surname, within quarter, within year. So for example, if she was searching for the birth of John Louis Rigby, born in the Liverpool are in approximately 1870, she would have to search the following quarters,
Mar 1870
Jun 1870
Sep 1870
Dec 1870
Add a couple of quarters either side and that’s 6 pages to be searched. Make the surname more common, such as Thomas and the number of pages can be doubled.
For marriages, the index is even more difficult to search. John Louis married someone called Ann Elizabeth in about 1891 - 1895. A search of the index gives us a reference; Jun 1893, district West Derby, vol 8b, page 501. It gives no indication of his wifes name. The only solution was to look at every page of the index for the Jun quarter of 1893, and find an Ann Elizabeth with the same reference. Obviously, quite a big job.
The problem with the original BMD index, is how the data is ordered. You have to know an approximate year and then quarter before you can start to search. The FreeBMD project was started to make the data easier to search. A group of volunteers transcribe the entries, which are then uploaded to a database. This database can then be searched by surname, by year, by district and so on.
This simple, but extremely effective database has revolutionized the ability to find information on ancestors vital records.
The home page gives a little introduction to the project, with the caveat ‘WE HAVE NOT YET TRANSCRIBED THE WHOLE INDEX’. It’s vital to understand this. For the years 1837 to 1911, the database is about 90% complete. The information link on the home page gives detailed coverage information. For example, the March quarter of 1843 is only 50% complete for births. If you are searching for a birth around this time, make sure of your facts by checking the complete image for this quarter. Many of the images are also on Ancestry and don’t require subscription. Alternatively, check them out for pennies at findmypast. If you are thinking of going to the expense of ordering a certificate, it makes sense to make sure that you are ordering the correct one.
Once you have decided what you want to search, (births, marriages or deaths), you are faced with a screen to input the data that you want to search on.
The ‘All Types’ search is useful for unusual names. For example, a search for Almond Houghton between 1838 and 1895 gives the following results.
This actually lists Almond Houghton’s death in 1861, his son’s (also Almond’s) marriage and death, and his great grandson’s death in 1892. Interestingly, there’s no birth registration for the last Almond Houghton. But I’ll come back to that……
