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Coventry Archives

Family History Resources

The General Register Office Index to Births, Deaths and Marriages of England and Wales from July 1837 to 2004 is available on microfiche.

There are public computers freely available for family history research and these can be booked. These provide free access to the library edition of the family history website which covers the census for the whole of the UK up to 1911, civil registration records of births, marriages and deaths and many other resources including passenger ship lists and many American records.

The Coventry Family History Society have also provided two PCs for searching the indexes to the Coventry census for the years 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891 and 1901. Census records are also available on CD and microfiche.  They also provide free drop-in sessions which may help you sort out your family tree dead ends.

The International Genealogical Index (IGI) compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints contains records of marriages and births prior to 1875.

Parish registers are available on microfilm for Coventry and some surrounding areas. These include records of baptisms, marriages, deaths and some banns but the periods covered vary from parish to parish. These records are also available at Warwick Country Record Office and many are now available on Ancestry.

London Road cemetery records are available on CD from 1848 to 1972 and also on microfilm. There are also plans of the cemetery available to help with locating particular grave sites and photocopies can be provided.

Electoral registers are available from 1931 to the present day. Earlier registers are available as are poll books. We have the full registers up to 2004 and edited registers from 2005 onwards. If you require access to the full registers from 2005 onwards then you need to go to Coventry Council House.

Trade directories also include private residences and we also hold Coventry’s telephone directories.

There are also books about family history and how to undertake research as well as books on specific aspects of family history such as Irish ancestry, deciphering handwriting, identifying old photographs, occupations and wills