Find your Cornish ancestors and relatives with this list of links and resources to family history, genealogy and local history records.
Archives
- Cornwall Archives
Kresen Kernow (‘Cornwall Centre’) is home to the world’s largest collection of documents, books, maps and photographs related to Cornwall’s history. Everyone is welcome to visit and explore these amazing collections.
Kresen Kernow is a state-of-the-art new archive centre built in the shell of the former Redruth Brewery. As well as 14 miles of shelving to store over 1.5 million of Cornwall’s treasured archives, the centre has exhibition spaces, learning rooms and a digitisation suite. Visitors can carry out research, pop in and browse, or take part in our varied activity programme featuring workshops, courses and fun family events.
Births, Marriages & Deaths
Burials & Cemeteries
Census Records
- Census 1841-1921
Search the census records from 1841-1921, plus the 1939 Register with over 276,000 Cornwall residents in this great census substitute. - FreeCen
Has a good, but not complete, selection of free records to search and view.
Criminals and Convicts
Electoral Registers
Forums
Heraldry
Historical Directories
Local History
- Cornish Characters & Strange Events
- Cornish Memory
Cornish life as captured on camera and recorded on reel. Find photos, watch films, and listen to the stories of Cornwall’s rich history from Victorian times to the present day. 32852 items and growing. - Domesday Book Cornwall
- History of Cornwall from Earliest Times
- Genuki Cornwall
A free family history & genealogy resource which lists links and resources for the English county of Cornwall. - Mediaeval Cornwall 1066-1485
- Rhymes of Cornwall
- The Cornwall Register
Maps
Military Records
- British Military Records
- Historical Records of the 32nd (Cornwall) Light Infantry
- Cornwall Roll of Honour
- Cornwall’s War History
Newspaper Archives
- Cornish Newspaper Collection 1710-1953
Search the Cornwall & Devon Advertiser, Launceston Weekly News, The Cornish Telegraph, The Cornish Guardian and many more. - The West Briton 1836-1887
Occupations
- Cornwall Apprentices 1710-1808
Was your ancestor an apprentice? There are more than 6,000 Cornish records. - Cornwall Constabulary Index
- Cornwall: its Mines and Miners
- Cornwall Police Roll of Honour
- Mines and Miners of Cornwall
- Lost Pubs of Cornwall
Societies and Groups
- Cornwall Family History Society
A good place to start or continue your Cornwall family history research. There are monthly events and meetings plus a quarterly journal.
Surnames
- Cornwall Surnames 1881
- Glossary of Cornish Names
- Patronymica Cornu-Britannica
The etymology of Cornish surnames.