Trace your Devon family history and ancestors from the 1500s onwards with this list of genealogy and local history records, links and resources.
Archives
Births, Marriages and Deaths
- Devon Parish Records
Baptisms, marriages and burials from 1538-1900s. - England BMDs
- Exeter Marriage Licenses 1523-1631
Marriage licenses from the Diocese of Exeter 1523-1631. - FreeBMD
Burials & Cemeteries
- Appledore Burials 1844-1970
- Billion Graves
- Devon Cemetery Photos
- Devon Headstones
- Exeter Burial Records
Over 100,000 individuals are interred in the three cemeteries managed by Exeter City Council. Scanned alphabetical index cards are available to you.
Records from Exwick, Higher and Topsham are indexed and available in PDF format. - South Hams Memorial Inscriptions
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
- Devon Calendars of Prisoners
The Devon Calendars of Prisoners 1655-1837 include the details of names, crimes and sentences of those convicted at quarter sessions held by the sheriff of the county or his deputy. - Devon Convicts Transported to Australia 1782-1821
- Devon Prisons (Archived)
- Plymouth Borough Records 1519-1905
This collection includes records such as suppliers for the Plymouth alms-house, jury lists, keepers of hogs, orphans in need, and more. - Plymouth Prison Records 1832-1919
Details of convicts and their crimes. Also includes prison officers, where they served and their rank.
Electoral Registers
- Electoral Registers 1832-1932
- Plymouth & West Devon Electoral Registers 1780-1973
With these records you can see where ancestors lived at a certain time. In some cases, you can even see which party they voted for.
Forums
Heraldry
Historical Directories
Local History
- A History of Devonshire
- Devon Heritage
- Devonia 1907
- Devonshire Characters and Strange Events
- Domesday Book Devon
- Exeter Memories
- History Of Freemasonry In Devonshire
- Genuki Devon
- Torquay History 1920
Maps
- East Devon Tithe Maps 1840
- Old Devon Maps
Ordnance Survey maps of Devon from the 19th century.
Medical and Hospital Records
Migration & Passenger Lists
Military Records
- British Military Records
- Devonshire Regiment Index
- Devon Roll of Honour
- Devon WWI Roll of Honour
- Plymouth Militia Records 1625-1831
- Plymouth World War II Records 1939-1945
- Torquay War Dead WWII
Newspaper Archives
Occupations
- Devon Apprentices 1710-1808
Find out your ancestor’s trade with these 20,000+ apprentice records. - Devon Constabulary Roll of Honour
- High Sheriffs of Devon
- Lost Pubs of Devon
- Plymouth & West Devon Apprentices 1570-1910
Find your ancestor’s address, parent’s names, master’s name and date of indenture.
Photos and Postcards
School Records
- Devon school Admission Registers 1870-1914
Search your ancestors’s school records and discover their birth date, admission year, parents’ names and occupation.
Societies and Groups
- Devon Family History Society
The Devon Family History Society is a great place for researching your Devon ancestors. There are many indexes online and members get access.
Surnames
Wills and Probate
- Devon Wills Index 1163-1999
This index contains nearly 300,000 wills of people who were born or died in Devon. - Devon Wills Project
The Devon Wills Project is an index of wills and where they can be found. It’s not a searchable index, but a list of links to different transcriptions. However, there’s a consolidated index of names at the bottom of the page where individual names can be browsed.
At the moment there are details of about 280,000 wills from almost 500 different sources. - Devonshire Wills 1546-1800s