Derbyshire Family History

Find your Derbyshire ancestors and relatives with this list of links and resources to family history, genealogy and local history records.

Archives

• Derbyshire Record Office
  Search the Derbyshire Record Office online catalogue to see what records and archives are available. The search will also bring up some results that contain the whole record.

Births, Marriages & Deaths

• Belper Genealogical Data
  Belper Research has some free records of interest to people researching their Belper ancestors. The records include census, parish records, military records, baptisms, marriages, burials and other documents.
• Derbyshire Parish Records
• FreeBMD
• South Derbyshire BDM

Burials & Cemeteries

• Derbyshire Cemetery Records
• Brampton, St. Thomas, Burial Records
• Find a Grave
  Has records from over 100 Derbyshire cemeteries.

Census Records

• Census 1841-1921
  Search the census records from 1841-1921, plus the 1939 Register all at once.
• FreeCen
  Has a good, but not complete, selection of free records to search and view.

Criminals and Convicts

• Criminal Ancestor Records
• Derbyshire Petty and Quarter Sessions 1770-1828
• Derbyshire Prisoner Records 1729-1913
• Executed Prisoners of Derby Gaol
• History of Three Derby Gaols
• Derby Uncovered
  Has details of executions, gaols and punishments

Heraldry

• Derbyshire Visitation 1662
• Derbyshire Visitation Pedigrees 1569 & 1611

Historical Directories

These directories will provide details of people, their address and occupation. They’re from various sources; some cover the whole county, others specific towns.

• Ashover Directories Archived
  Extracted from various Derbyshire directories.
• Chesterfield Directory 1845
• Derbyshire Historical Directories
• Kelly’s Directory of Derbyshire 1891
• Pigot’s Derbyshire Directory 1835
• White’s 1857 Directory of Derbyshire
• Directory of Derbyshire 1846
• Derbyshire Directory, History and Topography 1895

Local History

• Clay Cross Genealogy
  Clay Cross Genealogy and Local History is a great resource for tracing your Clay Cross ancestors. The site includes free access to census records, trade directories, maps, local history, baptisms, marriages and much more. You can also view White’s 1857 Directory of Derbyshire for free.
• Derbyshire Place Name Index
• Domesday Book Derbyshire
• Genuki Derbyshire
• History of Derbyshire Book 1886
• Matlock Genealogy
  The complete web site for Matlock and Matlock Bath genealogy and local history.
• Memorials of Old Derbyshire 1907

Maps

• Derbyshire Tithe Maps
• Historic Derbyshire Maps

Miscellaneous

• Electoral Registers 1832-1932
  These registers tell you if your ancestor was registered to vote and their property details.
• RootsChat Derbyshire
  Find others who are researching the same families as you, get or offer help with research.
• Derbyshire Hospital Admissions and Deaths 1892-1913
• Derbyshire Newspaper Collection 1710-1953
• Derbyshire Surnames 1881

Military Records

• British Military Records
• Derbyshire Roll of Honour
• Military Deserters 1828-1840

Occupations

• British Apprentices 1710-1808
• Derbyshire Apprentices
  Has records from many Parishes and Townships in the county.
  Indentures record the name of the Apprentice, age, parish, parents in some cases, master and trade.
• Derbyshire Police Roll of Honour
• Derbyshire Trademen’s Tokens 17th Century
• Lost Pubs of Derbyshire
• Peak District Mines Historical Society
  A great resource for finding mining ancestors in and around Derbyshire. There are lists of miners, mines, accidents, miners from the census. You’ll also find some photos and news clippings.
• Photographers and Photographic Studios

Photos and Postcards

• Old Derbyshire Postcards
• Picture the Past

School Records

• Derbyshire Schools & Pupils
• Derby School Register 1570-1901
  The history of Derby School from the earliest times.

Societies and Groups

• Chesterfield Family History Society
• Derbyshire Family History Society
  The Derbyshire Family History Society helps to link people who are searching for their Derbyshire roots together. There is an extensive library and a team of expert volunteers to help with your research.
• Derbyshire Ancestral Research Group
  The Derbyshire Ancestral Research Group has many family history records which are not available online. The group will assist with research by post. Their website has the details of which records they hold.

Wills and Probate

• Derbyshire Wills & Administrations
• Lichfield Wills Database (1516-1652)
• South Derbyshire Wills Collection
• Wills of Derbyshire
  The Wills of Derbyshire website has abstracts of Derbyshire Probate Records which are viewable by searching for a name or browsing the surname lists.

Workhouses & Poor Law

• Derbyshire Workhouses and Records
• Derbyshire Workhouse Records