Leicestershire Family History

Archives

• Leicestershire Record Office
  See what collections and records they hold, where they’re located and how to view the archives.

BMDs & Parish Records

• Free BMD
  Has good coverage of Leicestershire for births, marriages and deaths after 1837.
• Leicestershire Parish Records
  For baptisms, marriages and burials from 1538 onwards.

Cemeteries

• Gartree Memorial Inscriptions
  Free digital downloads from the following places: Burton Overy, Carlton Curlieu, Evington, Gaulby, Great Glen, Great Stretton, King’s Norton, Little Stretton, Newton Harcourt, Oadby, Skeffington, Stoughton, Thurnby and Wistow.
• Sileby Cemetery Records (PDF)
  The Sileby Parish Council has provided Cemetery Records for the public to search for information on graves and deceased, at the Cemetery Road site.

Electoral Registers & Tax

• Leicestershire Electoral Registers 1836-1970
  Search more than 115,000 records of those eligible voters that can give you information about your ancestors’ address and residence situation.
• Leicestershire Hearth Tax 1662
  This is nearly a complete roll of the householders of Leicestershire in 1662, containing the number of fire hearths of which each was taxed.

Forums

• RootsChat Leicestershire
  Ask a question about your Leicestershire family history or meet people researching the same families.

Historical Directories

• History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Leicestershire
  A 700+ page book printed in 1846 with lots of information about the towns, villages and people.
• Historical Directories of Leicestershire
  A collection of 50 trade and street directories for Leicester and Leicestershire dating from 1790s to 1910s. Directories are an invaluable primary source for historians. They provide first hand data about local communities, their infrastructure and the individuals inhabiting those communities. Published more frequently than the census, directories can also help you fill in any missing gaps in your family history.
• Quorn
  Many directories from the 1800s and 1900s with just the Quorndon entries.

Local History

• My Leicestershire History
  My Leicestershire History is a free and fully searchable online resource containing photographs, films, sound recordings, and books about the history of Leicester and Leicestershire.
• GENUKI Leicestershire
  GENUKI Leicestershire is a free family history & genealogy resource which lists links and resources for the English county of Leicestershire.

Maps

• Old Leicestershire Maps
  Many old maps and plans from the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s.

Military Records

• Leicestershire and Rutland Soldiers Died 1914-1920
  Search nearly 14,000 records which include details such as name, soldier number, rank, regiment, date of death and age.
• The Royal Leicestershire Regiment
  The Royal Leicestershire Regiment gives you free access to over 65,000 records of people who served in the regiment including ranks, regimental numbers, photographs and biographies. You’ll also be able to see some medal information and some regimental journals.
• The Fifth Leicestershire
  A record of the 1/5th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment during the years 1914-1919.
• Leicestershire War Memorials
  Has a collection of over 3,000 memorials and 15,000 casualties in their database.
• Loughborough Roll of Honour
  Search the rolls from WWI, WWII and other wars before and after.

Miscellaneous

• Knights of Malta Lodge
  A list of members and officers of the lodge in Hinckley from 1803-1859.

Photos

• Image Leicestershire
  Find images of material from the collections of Leicestershire County Council’s Museums, Libraries and Archives services.
  You can discover the historical and cultural life of Leicestershire through this growing image library which includes a wonderful selection of photographs, paintings and objects from their collections.
• Vanished Leicester
  This collection of more than 1000 photographs allows you to view streets and individual buildings of Leicester that were demolished between 1955-1975.
  Most of the buildings were demolished as part of the postwar slum clearance programme. All of the images are viewable in alphabetical order of street names, with relevant district noted.

School Records

• School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870-1914
  There are over 43,000 results for Leicestershire which can give you information about the students and their parents.

Societies

• Leicestershire & Rutland FHS
  The Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society helps members with their research, holds meetings and has a surname interests database.

Wills

• Leicestershire Wills 1495-1649
  An searchable online book containing the calendars of wills and administrations relating to the county of Leicester.
• Leicestershire Wills and Probate Records 1500-1939
  Search over 173,000 wills, administrations, inventories and probate records.