Family History

Cornwall County Council provide a range of services to those researching their family history. If you are visiting the county and hope to make use of these resources, contact the places that you are intending to visit: 

• to arrange an appointment if necessary
• to confirm opening hours, and where the service is located
• to doublecheck that they hold the material you want to use
• to ensure that there is nowhere else you could include in your visit

Materials you may wish to use

• If you have details of an ancestor's name, a date later than 1840 and a place, you might find Census Returns useful
• Registers such as the Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts, or the Registers of Births, Deaths & Marriages may supplement information found in the Censuses
• If you have no specific details - the General Register Office indexes are available
• If the GRO Indexes prove unsuccessful,  view the International Genealogical Index
• Catalogues of Cornwall's Quarter Sessions records 1736-1836 are now available on the internet in a format searchable by personal name, place name or subject. Quarter Sessions records are an essential source for study of the administrative and legal history of Cornwall. See the listings at http://www.a2a.org.uk/
• 'E' Records available from 2003 - see Cornwall County Council's press release 'Cornwall Record Office Continues Massive Conversion To 'E'-Records'

Places to visit

• Cornwall Centre
• Cornwall Record Office
• Cornwall Registration Service
• Royal Cornwall Museum
• Cornwall Family History Society