The following resources illustrate the breadth of material that can assist with family history.
Births, deaths and marriages
The Register General's (formerly St.Catherine’s House) Indexes of births, deaths and marriages in England and Wales, 1837 - 2000 are available on microfilm and microfiche for consultation. You can buy copies of Leeds certificates from the Register Office in the Leeds Town Hall.
Ancestry.com and Origins.net
There is free internet access in all Leeds libraries to Ancestry.com. Ancestry includes census returns for England and Wales 1841 -1901, the births, marriages and deaths indexes for England and Wales, as well as the First World War British Army service, pension and medal records. Census returns for Yorkshire are also available on microfilm in the Local and Family History Library. We also sell Findmypast vouchers at £5 each, for use with the 1911 census.
Origins has some English, Welsh and Irish census returns, plus other resources such as Boyd's Marriage Index, London Apprenticeship Records, and Griffiths Valuation. It is only available in the Local and Family History Library. Please note you will need to bring your library card or proof of your name and address to access this resource.
Parish registers
The library holds a wide range of printed transcripts and microform copies of manuscript registers. Download the full list at the top of this page. Coverage is mainly centred on Leeds, but parish registers for some other parts of Yorkshire are held. There are also microfilm copies of the non-parochial (i.e. non-conformist) registers of Yorkshire taken from the originals in the Public Record Office, London, most of which end in 1837. The library also holds microfilmed burial registers from Lawnswood Cemetery. These registers are of the records in all 22 Leeds municipal cemeteries, and cover both burials and cremations.
Trade directories
Many Yorkshire trade directories are in stock but the collection is particularly strong in directories of Leeds and the West Riding dating from the 1780s. The last Kelly’s directory of Leeds was published in 1947 and the last Barrett’s in 1966. After this date telephone and other classified directories are available.
Voters lists (electoral rolls/registers)
There is an almost complete run of voters’ lists of Leeds, dating from 1832 and listing all those eligible to vote in local and national elections. We also hold the First World War Absent Voters List for Leeds, which lists all service men who were registered to vote in Leeds during the war. No lists were compiled during the World Wars. Before 1974 the lists cover the old Borough of Leeds and after that date the Leeds Metropolitan District.
Local newspapers and journals
The library holds microfilm copies of all the major Leeds newspapers back to the eighteenth century. Download the full list at the top of this page. A partial index to local newspapers can now be searched online at www.leedslocalindex.net.
Maps
An extensive collection of maps covering all of Yorkshire, but specialising in Leeds and the north part of the West Riding, is held in the library; maps date from around 1500. Ordnance survey maps are available from 1850 and continue to present day at various scales.
Please contact us here at the library if you have any queries about our resources or if you need any help with your research.