RootsUK.com is a new and easy to use pay-per-view site launched by S&N Genealogy Supplies. It offers full census transcripts with images, births, marriages and death (BMD) indexes and other useful material.

RootsUK.com is particularly aimed at the new family history researcher who needs access to only a few records. It will also appeal to more experienced researchers, perhaps with limited time, who want occasional access to a wide variety of census and civil registration records, but don’t want to commit themselves to expensive subscriptions.

Subscriptions are great for heavy site users, but pay-per-view can work out to be more economical.

Essential records
The RootsUK.com site is accessed using a well designed interface, so can be easily used without resorting to FAQs and help files. The data on RootsUK.com is the same high quality material that we have come to expect from S&N Genealogy Supplies. Most of the data is already available from them in other forms – such as census transcript and image CDs, or via the online service, www.thegenealogist.co.uk.

TheGenealogist.co.uk has a wider range of material than RootsUK.com and offers all-in-one subscriptions and individual subscriptions. RootsUK.com offers family historians the most popular records that are essential for starting family history research: census and BMD data, plus some modern electoral roll data. The electoral roll is not available on TheGenealogist.co.uk and could be useful for finding living relatives.

Make a search
Try the free search box on the home page, which will give you an indication of the number of entries you can find before you sign up. You need to register as a user and buy credits to view the records or gain access to more advanced search functions. Credits cost £5 for 100 credits (five pence each) and are even cheaper if you buy 400 credits, which cost £14.95 (less than four pence each).

The basic searches and results are free on all the databases. The viewing costs vary depending on the data you view. You can view again the full records or page images you have previously seen and paid for at no additional cost.

Your credits can be used to view any of the data on offer and have a life of 30 days.

A typical search result from using the advanced search. This provides all the necessary information to decide which records to view.

Births, marriages and deaths
The civil registration indexes are similar to those on TheGenealogist.co.uk subscription service, offering complete coverage of the General Register Office (GRO) indexes 1837-2004. The entries 1984-2004 are fully searchable, with the free standard search form allowing the forename, surname and data range to be entered.

The free basic search results show the full recorded name and the year of registration. To reveal the registration district costs one credit.

With an advanced search the registration district is already shown in the search results.

The advanced search allows you to narrow down the results by adding extra information such as a second forename; initials; registration district; mother’s maiden name; spouse’s surname; or the date of birth. It costs one credit to use the advanced search or the Smart Search. The Smart Search can automatically perform various reverse searches to find the full name of a spouse for instance.

To view the full entry, complete with all the additional details, such as the name of the mother or spouse and the full reference needed to order a copy of a certificate, costs two credits per entry.

Images of the original GRO index pages are used to search the BMD indexes 1837-1983. These are indexed by the surname range that each page covers. You will normally have to view up to four pages per year, one for each quarter, unless the name is very common. The search is free. The index page images you select to view then appear in PDF (portable document format). This allows you to print or save the image. Viewing each index page image costs two credits.

The pre-1984 BMD indexes are viewed as PDF images of the original GRO indexes. These images can be saved and printed. You can also view the census images.

The census
The results for the basic census search indicate how many matches there are in each county. You then have a choice of viewing all of them or selecting the advanced search (five credits) to refine your search results.

With the advanced search you can specify the county, occupation and the age (or year of birth) to narrow down the search. You can just decide to view the basic details (no credits required). If you view the full set of results from the free basic search you will then need to pay five credits to reveal the additional details of age, occupation and place of birth.

Viewing the full transcript of a census entry costs five credits and for a further five credits you can view the original census page image and print or save it for your records.

You also have the option to use the SmartSearch to find the index details of other family members at the same address.

Accurate transcripts of the full census entry are supplied. You can also choose to view the original census image to see the entire household and their neighbours.

Finding the addresses of living relatives to contact is one of the first things to do when you start your research. Use the electoral roll to help you.

Electoral roll
If you are trying to trace living relatives, the telephone directory is one of the first things you would try, but a larger proportion of telephone subscribers are ex-directory these days or use mobile phones.

The electoral roll is a useful source that includes everyone of voting age who is registered to vote. Like the telephone directory there is an ‘opt out’ from the public access version of the electoral rolls but they still offer better coverage than phone listings.

If your basic search provides several possible matches you can reveal the district information column for 10 credits. Revealing the full details for an individual including their address also costs 10 credits.

Maps
An excellent feature that has migrated from TheGenealogist.co.uk to RootsUK.com is the surname mapping.

The surname mapping allows you to see the distribution of a family name plotted by county on a map of England and Wales.

If you have an unusual surname this can be particularly useful. The data is derived from the birth, marriage and death records indexes and covers various periods 1880-2002. Maps cost 10 credits each.

Surname distribution maps based on the BMD statistics can show how your family name is concentrated county by county.

Your credits
As mentioned above, credits cost £5 for 100 credits (five pence each) – or £14.95 for 400 credits (under four pence each).

Priced in credits, it can be difficult to keep track of your spend, using a few credits here and there. The charges are quite reasonable and competitive, however.

A search for a BMD indexes costs from four pence, plus eight pence for every pre-1984 page image or complete entry that you view. An advanced search of the census plus viewing the transcript for an entry costs from 40 pence and for an extra 20 pence you can view the page image, which will provide details of the complete household and surrounding properties.