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Discover Your Family History
Getting Started
Tower Hamlets Local Studies and Archives has many resources you can use to study your family history though it is by no means the only place where you can find out about ancestors who came from the Tower Hamlets area. This information gives you advice on how to begin your family history research. There are many books on how to research family history including some about how to begin. Some of these are listed below.
Before visiting, gather as much information together as you can. Speak to surviving elderly relatives (information may not always be accurate!). See if there are any old copies of birth, marriage and death certificates held by family members.
Once you have done this, if you don't have copies of birth, marriage or death certificates, the next step is to try to track some down. If you know the dates, this can be done at Tower Hamlets' Register Office or at the Family Record Centre in London. Copies of the indexes (on microfiche) are held at many major libraries such as Romford and Ilford, but are not available at Tower Hamlets Local Studies & Archives.
If you are researching people in the nineteenth century, census returns can be used (every ten years, 1841-1901) all available at Tower Hamlets Local Studies & Archives. These list the people in every household. Information given includes, name, age, occupation and place of birth. Some are indexed by surname, others by address only.
Before the introdution of civil registration of births, deaths and marriages in 1837, parish registers are the crucial source. Those for Tower Hamlets parishes are held at the London Metropolitan Archives though microfilm copies of many are held at Tower Hamlets Local Studies & Archives. The service also has access to the International Genealogical Index (IGI) on microfiche and on the Internet, which contains many entries from local church registers.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
You can use the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography to search for biographies.
For free access to this subscription service, just enter the prefix 'TH' followed by your library card number.
Main sources at Tower Hamlets Local Studies & Archives
This is a list of the most widely-used sources:
Census returns
The 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 census for districts within Tower Hamlets are all available on microfilm. Originals are held by the Public Record Office. Street indexes and some name indexes are available. We also hold manuscript volumes of the 1821 and 1831 census for All Saints Poplar.
Registers of Places of Worship
Most local Anglican parish registers have been deposited in the London Metropolitan Archives but we hold microfilm copies of some. We also hold the original records of a number of local non-conformist churches together with microfilm copies of many registers held at the Public Record Office.
International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.)
We hold the index to baptisms and marriages in London and Middlesex on microfiche.This includes some Tower Hamlets parishes.
London Commercial Directories
We hold original copies, mostly from 1790-1875 and from 1919 to the late 1980s, plus microfilm copies from 1667 to 1889 of the collection in Guildhall Library. We also hold small local directories from Bow, Stratford and Mile End Road, 1866; Poplar, Limehouse and Stepney, 1866; Bow, Bromley and Old Ford, 1867; and, Hackney (including part of Bethnal Green) 1872 and 1888.
Electoral registers
Tower Hamlets Parliamentary Borough 1901-1915
Bethnal Green Metropolitan Borough 1901-1964
Poplar Metropolitan Borough 1918-1964
Stepney Metropolitan Borough 1918-1964
London Borough of Tower Hamlets 1965 to date
Earlier registers are held at the London Metropolitan Archives but the property qualification ensured that few residents of Tower Hamlets were entitled to vote in the nineteenth century.
Rate books, land tax books etc.
Poplar, Bow, Bromley and Bethnal Green are covered from the mid-18th century to the 20th century with considerable gaps in the sequence. Very few rate books have survived locally for the Stepney area. Sewer rate books can be consulted in the London Metropolitan Archives and some land tax books are held by the Guildhall Library.
Archive collections
These include over 7,000 property deeds and other documents indexed by the names and places mentioned in them.
Local Newspapers.
East London Observer 1857-1944
East London Advertiser 1866 to date
East End News 1869-1963
Eastern Argus 1877-1912
Hackney Standard 1877-1907
These are mostly held on microfilm. The originals are held in the British Library Newspaper Library.
Useful Websites
Useful Books
