Durham Family History

Durham Family History Clubs, Societies and Archives, including Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees

This page of the local family history section of our website is designed to help family historians and those individuals researching ancestors and relatives who lived or died in in the county of Durham, England, UK. These are some of the local resources available:

Northumberland and Durham Family History Society

The Northumberland and Durham Family History Society is a very popular society with many branches throughout the Northumberland and Durham region, including Alnwick, Belford, Blyth, Belmont (Durham), Hexham, Newcastle, Pegswood (Morpeth), North Shields and South Shields. For those researchers who are not local to this region, there is also a branch in London.

Formed in 1975, the society provides many services and produces a quarterly journal. The society provides research assistance, and holds a wide range of publications both for consultation and sale. Facilities include a Research Centre and Library at Percy House which (at the time of writing) provides free access to family history records held by the subscription websites Findmypast and Ancestry.

Over 1200 family trees have been donated to the society and these can be viewed at the Percy House library. (They can also be digitised on request). The society’s why join ndfhs web page lists the resources available to members.


Durham Record Office

Established in 1961, the Durham Record Office holds records for both the present county of Durham and the historical county of Durham pre-1974 that was located between the Rivers Tyne and Tees. The archives date back to around 1122.

Durham University – Family Records Website

The Durham University – Family Records Website has a well resourced website with records dating back to the 1500s. In addition, the University Library’s North East Inheritance project has digitised over 150,000 probate records covering the regions of County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.

Arrangements can be made with Durham University to visit and consult the University’s Palace Green Library.

Births, marriages and burials

The family history website FindMyPast(£) holds the following local family history records for County Durham and Northumberland:

Northumberland and Durham Baptisms
Baptismal records include not only Anglican parish records, but also Independent, Methodist, Presbyterian and Wesleyan baptism records.
Northumberland and Durham Marriages
Search pre-civil registration (i.e. pre-1837) marriage records.
Northumberland and Durham Burials
Find out where your ancestor was buried in County Durham or Northumberland. You can also uncover details of other relatives.
Northumberland and Durham Memorial Inscriptions
This database includes a detailed inscription on your ancestor’s burial monument, including any names and dates.


Durham Newspaper Archives

Local newspaper archives and other historical journals can help ‘colour in’ your family history research. These archives can also help fill in any missing information that could not be gleaned from BMD records, parish records or census records. This is because a newspaper announcement can give a much needed clue regarding the location or date of a birth, marriage or death.

Here is the link to the Durham Newspaper Archives held by British Newspaper Archive. The British Newspaper Archive is a subscription based website that is continuously digitising old newspaper records and journals so it is well worth visiting on a regular basis.

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