Find your Yorkshire ancestors, local history, and details of their lives using these links to online genealogy resources. Dedicated pages are also available for Leeds and Sheffield.
Archives
- Barnsley Archives
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East Riding Archives
Located in Beverley, with a dedicated family history section. A research service is available for those unable to visit in person.
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Leeds Diocesan Archives
Records covering the history of the Diocese and the development of the Catholic Church in the north of England over the past two hundred years.
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North Yorkshire Archives
Located in Northallerton. A research service is available for those unable to visit in person.
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West Yorkshire Archives
Preserves the historical records of West Yorkshire and helps members of the public make use of them. Offices in Wakefield, Bradford, Calderdale (Halifax), Kirklees (Huddersfield), and Leeds.
Births, Marriages & Deaths
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Halifax BMD 1832–1921
Birth, marriage, and death records from the Halifax Guardian newspaper, free to view as PDF files.
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Yorkshire BMD
Free access to births, marriages, and deaths registered in Yorkshire's registration offices since records began in 1837. Updated regularly with new transcriptions.
- Yorkshire Parish Records
Burials & Cemeteries
- Doncaster Cemetery Burials 1856–1937
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Hull General Cemetery
Searchable burial database for Hull General Cemetery.
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Wakefield Burial Records
Free to search and view. Covers many cemeteries across the Wakefield area, searchable by cemetery or individual name.
Wakefield cemeteries included
- Altofts 2000–present
- Alverthorpe 1955–present
- Castleford (All) 1979–present
- Castleford (New Extension) 1929–present
- Castleford (New) 1884–present
- Castleford (Old) 1857–present
- Crigglestone 1882–present
- Featherstone 1905–present
- Ferrybridge 1924–present
- Hemsworth 1896–present
- Horbury 1897–present
- Knottingley 1883–present
- Normanton 1876–present
- Outwood 1873–present
- Pontefract 1859–present
- Stanley 1886–present
- Wakefield 1859–present
Census Records
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Census 1841–1921
Search census records from 1841–1921 plus the 1939 Register, all at once.
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FreeCen
A good, though not complete, selection of free census records to search and view.
Criminals & Convicts
- Criminal Ancestor Records
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York Assizes 1785–1851 Archived
An index of over 8,000 names divided into alphabetical sections. A valuable source for tracing early criminal ancestors.
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Criminal Chronology of York Castle
A register of those convicted and executed at York Castle from 1379 to 1868.
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City of York Calendar of Prisoners 1739–1851
Nearly 25,000 records detailing each criminal's crime, victims, sentence, and sometimes occupation.
Electoral Registers
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City of York Electoral Registers 1848–1938
Nearly 1.8 million records giving name, place, district, and address.
- Yorkshire Electoral Registers 1832–1932
Forums
Historical Directories
A list of online trade and residential directories that, in most cases, provide names, addresses and occupations for the year of publication.
- Yorkshire Directories
The University of Leicester has a large collection for Yorkshire.
- East Riding of Yorkshire 1822
- North Riding of Yorkshire 1822
The list below is for specific towns and cities in the county.
- Barnsley 1837
- Bradford 1837
- Calverley 1817, 1822, 1829, 1834 and 1847
- Dewsbury 1837
- Doncaster 1837
- Halifax 1822
Transcript of the entries of trades and professions.
- Halifax 1837
- Halifax 1858
- Huddersfield 1837
- Leeds 1837
- Leeds 1858
- Pontefract 1837
- Rotherham 1837
- Rotherham 1845
- Sheffield 1828
- Sheffield 1837
- Sheffield 1845
- Wakefield Directory of Trades and Professions for 1822
- Wakefield (Pigot's) 1829
- Wakefield 1837
- Wakefield 1858
- York 1822
- City of York Trade Directories 1781–1955
Find out information about what your ancestors did for a living and where they traded.
Local History
- Domesday Book — East Riding
- Domesday Book — North Riding
- Domesday Book — West Riding
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GENUKI Yorkshire
A free genealogy resource listing links and records for the county of Yorkshire.
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Hunslet Remembered Archived
Celebrates Hunslet up to the 1970s using maps, photos, and personal memories. A useful resource for local social history.
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Wakefield Family History Sharing
Resources for researching ancestors and local history in Wakefield, including strays, old photographs, census records, and parish records.
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Yorkshire Gazetteer 1828
Details of cities, towns, and villages across Yorkshire, including history and population figures.
Maps
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John Speed's Proof Map of Yorkshire
Made between 1603 and 1611. Held in the Cambridge Digital Library.
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Old Yorkshire Maps
Ordnance Survey six-inch maps of Yorkshire via the National Library of Scotland map collection.
Military Records
- British Military Records
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Coley War Memorial PDF
The names and details of those from Coley who fell in the First World War.
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Doncaster 1914–1918
Read and contribute stories from the First World War connected to Doncaster — people, places, subjects, and timelines.
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We Will Remember Them
A digital war memorial with stories of people from the Wakefield district who served in the major conflicts of the twentieth century.
- West Yorkshire Regiment
- West Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War
- The Yorkshire Regiment — First World War Remembrance
- Yorkshire Roll of Honour
- Cenotaphs in the Wakefield Area
Occupations
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Hull Lost Trawlermen Archived
Lists Hull-born fishermen and those serving on Hull-registered vessels who were lost at sea, from the 1860s to 2000.
- Lost Pubs of Yorkshire
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Miners of Silverwood Archived
An A–Z list of miners who worked at Silverwood colliery in South Yorkshire between 1900 and 1994, with a history of the mine and the people who worked there.
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York Apprentices 1272–1930
Discover whether your ancestor was an apprentice or freeman in the city of York.
Photos & Postcards
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Leeds and Bradford Photographic Studios
The history of photographic studios and photographers in Leeds and Bradford, with examples of their work.
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Kirklees Image Archive
Old and historical photographs of Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Batley, and surrounding towns including Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Mirfield, Meltham, and Holmfirth.
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Twixt Aire and Calder Archive
An online archive for the Wakefield district containing over 12,000 photographs, maps, postcards, and prints.
School Records
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Mirfield Schoolchildren 1953
School registers from the first term of 1953.
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School Admission Registers 1870–1914
Records of pupils and teachers from 63 schools in the West Riding of Yorkshire, covering 1862 to 1959.
Societies & Groups
- Bradford Family History Society
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Doncaster & District Family History Society
Covers research in and around Doncaster (South Yorkshire), though the society's records are not limited to the district.
- East Yorkshire Family History Society
- Huddersfield Family History Society
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Wakefield & District Family History Society
Promotes genealogy and family history across the Wakefield Metropolitan District. Publications and tithe maps of the local area available on the website.
- York Family History Society
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Yorkshire Parishes A–Z
Search by place name to find which society covers it — useful for identifying the record-holding organisation for a specific town or village.
Surnames
- Pulleyns of Yorkshire
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Yorkshire Surname List
Almost 25,000 names listed alphabetically. You can also submit your own surname to the list.
Wills & Probate
- Barnsley Will & Probate Index PDF
- Rotherham Wills & Probate Archived
- York Peculiars Probate Index 1383–1883
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York Probate Index 1688–1858
Search the Prerogative and Exchequer index to find a will and establish where a person lived and died.
Inquisitions Post Mortem
An inquisition post mortem is a medieval English record of the death, estate, and heir of one of the king's tenants-in-chief, compiled by royal escheators for fiscal purposes in each county where the deceased held land.