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Researching your ancestors from Great Britain and Ireland

A guide to researching your ancestors in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, using resources at State Library Victoria.

Channel Islands & Isle of Man

Channel Islands

  • Contact the Greffier, Royal Court House, Guernsey for information on obtaining copies of Wills of Personalty and Wills of Realty.
  • The Jersey Archive Researcb Centre holds all wills and testaments of movable property from 1660 – 1985. Search their online catalogue for records.
  • An index to UK, Jersey, Channel Islands, Wills and Testaments, 1663-1948 is available on the Ancestry Library Edition database (access only available in the library).

Isle of Man

  • Index to Wills 1628 - transcriptions of a selection of wills from 1628 onwards

For both the Channel Island and the Isle of Man, use the FamilySearch database to identify what records are held in the Family History Library. Go to  the Family History Library Catalog and do a Place Search to find a list of the records that have been filmed. You can then order and view the record at one of the Australian LDS Family History Centres.