Trace a family name??

ELLA

I wanted to trace my partners and my family name's but dont know where to start.
My partners name is McFarland and his family is from india so god knows where his name has come from!!! I could find something they dont want me to find but my partner wants me to try and have ago.
Any ideas??

Skint_Catt

https://www.google.co.uk is always a good start although maybe a narrower term than 'McFarland' would be better - relatives names etc.

Also there is Genes Reunited if you want to go down that route - see if there are any other McFarlands looking for you/him.

S_C

rchddap1

Usually the first port of call is relatives. Ask them what they know and slowly build up a picture yourself. After that its tracing any birth, marriage, death certificates. They will have the next step backwards...not sure about India though. I have my family back to 1811 using this method....and possibly back to around 1780-90 (still to confirm). Always double check things though...we nearly ended up down the wrong path due to a missing birth certificate.

As you go backwards you will get a feel for where people have come from and where the names have come from.

Not everything that is generally held as 'true' by a family is in fact true. My grandad was certain that we were miners from the north...turned out that we came from the East of England, and a couple of my ancestors brothers decided to move north to become miners.

payless

http://www.ancestors.co.uk/home.html

offers a paid service,( appears alot less if you only need a bit of info- like certificates) but site appears to have some free advice as well

trinnylilac

As far as I am aware, Mc's originate from Ireland and Mac's from Scotland

ELLA

trinnylilac wrote:

As far as I am aware, Mc's originate from Ireland and Mac's from Scotland

I know but we are puzzled as both his grandparents are from india!!
Well my surname is HARDY mmm I wonder if a thomas will come up

rchddap1

Possibly an emigration took place from the Uk to India (empire & all that) ...and then back again? Or perhaps in the long distant past someone's name was changed. Sounds like it could be a very interesting quest.

ELLA

Yes it does sound quite good, his nan was not so keen on giving any information which does make me wonder whats hidden in the closet??

bluedog

I've come across quite a few useful sites for both just basic info and for getting certificates (usually some kind of payment required though for those.) I haven't been to some of these for a while and some I've picked out from a recent book on tracing your family tree, but hopefully these addresses will work. It may not be helpful to you with the tracing of your relatives from India, but here goes.

https://www.freebmd.co.uk
https://www.scotsorigins.com
https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
https://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk
https://www.nationalarchives.ie (National Archives of Ireland)
https://www.irishorigins.com
https://www.irishgen.com

https://www.pro.gov.uk/about/frc (The Family Records Centre, London)
https://www.genuki.org.uk
https://www.cyndislist.com
https://www.rootsweb.com
https://www.genmarket.com
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
https://www.censusdiggins.com
https://www.1837online.com

Some of these sites provide links to other useful sites. Best of luck with your searching!

Can I add a question to your question by asking if anyone knows of good up to date programmes for recording all the findings please?

Colcoops

Ella
Try the Morman site 1st you can put in names and location and it will find loads
http://www.familysearch.org/

Ancestry.com have good message boards for surnames and locations. Its free and you can search and post messaged for family members. I have found many family members through this site.
I've linked to Mcfarland for you
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/an/surnames.mcfarland

bethom

You can get some good magazines at the newsagents that are quite helpful on family research.
It is also advisable to always go by birth certificates. I went on my Grandads marriage certificate, and his name on there is Harry. Turns out his birth name is Henry and he put Harry as he didn't like henry.