Genealogy
Nelson Public Libraries have historical resources which are useful for genealogists, plus guides to genealogical research in the general non fiction collection. The Library also produces Bloodline, a listing of local and relevant national organisations and online services which have resources for family historians. Resources are listed by organisation and by type of information (eg wills, passenger lists), It does not have a specialist genealogy collection, or offer specialist genealogy services.
Resources for researching whakapapa are listed on our Maori Research pages.
Elma Turner Library resources
- The Nelson Heritage Collection - holds a rich collection of published items about the wider Nelson region of relevance to genealogists.
These include local and family histories, local directories and electoral rolls. - Newspapers - Nelson region newspapers are held from 1842. Click here for a full description of the print, archival and online news sources.
Online resources
(Also see the online resources in the list of Heritage sites)
Library databases
- Ancestry Library Edition * (remote access extended to 31 December 2021)
Trace your family history across more than 1.5 billion names from over 4,000 collections (mainly US and UK census and BMD records). New - additional NZ resources on Ancestry! - FamilySearch
Nelson Public Library is an Affiliate Library. Create a personal logon and use this resource in the Library to access a wide range of the digitised microfilm collection, plus the other collections of family history resources which are freely available outside the Library. The database is created by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Nelson and region
- Bloodline
Directory of local sources of information for genealogists. The NZ Society of Genealogists Nelson Branch have also compiled a listing of Top of the South Regional Repositories (567KB PDF) (2022). - Early Settlers Database
Early ship records for Nelson immigrants - Nelson & Bays GenWeb
A community generated list of resources, including indexes of births, names, passenger lists, regional cemetery records etc. - Papers Past
Searchable historical national and regional newspapers - Tasman Cemetery records
New Zealand Resources
General information
- Auckland City Libraries - family history pages
Includes general information about how to research family history and useful NZ resources - some, but not all, accessible only to library members - Bibliography of Published New Zealand Family Histories - available through FindNZ Articles.
- Christchurch City Libraries family history pages
Resources and information about finding your family history - The Community Archive
NZ National Register of Archives and Manuscripts. An index of collections in museums, institutions and personal archives. - ConnectionsNZL - a site with information and resources to help NZ people separated by adoption to reconnect.
- Family Search
Family history, family tree, and genealogy records and resources from around the world provided by the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Important NZ resources are: New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973 and New Zealand, Probate Records, 1843-1998, New Zealand, Civil Records Indexes, 1800-1966 - Geneaological Links
A collection of the best websites for family historians provided by nzhistory.net. From nzhistory.net - New Zealand Cemeteries
Websites of NZ Cemeteries - New Zealand telephone books - current
- NZMuseums
Find Museums around the country - Public Record Office (UK) - New Zealand Company records (Australian Joint Copying Project)
This project has digitised the New Zealand Company: Original Correspondence, etc., 1837 – 1861, which includes emigration records:- Register of emigrant labourers applying for free passages, 1839 - 1842 (File 272. AJCP Reel No: 1480) -
- Register of emigrant labourers applying for free passages, 1842 - 1850 (File 273. AJCP Reel No: 1480) -
- Original applications for free passage and list of emigrants (File 274. AJCP Reel No: 1480-1481) -
- Alphabetical list of applications for passage and embarkation orders (Index to 272 and 273) (File 275. AJCP Reel No: 2569) -
Births, Marriages and Deaths
- Births Marriages and Deaths Online - see the Historical Records section for births more than 100 years ago, marriages more than 80 years ago and deaths more than 50 years ago.
- Cenotaph database
A database of over 33,000 New Zealanders who served in war and conflict from the South African War to the present day, and who are now deceased. It is primarily a roll of honour of those who died as a result of war service, but also includes some personnel who have died since. - A Memory Tree
A commercial site for people to record remembrances, which includes a free database of all the names published in NZ newspaper death notices since December 2006. - New Zealand Herald Bereavements
Death notices and obituaries published in the New Zealand Herald over the last few year.
Census
For information about current and historic census data and reports and the fate of census returns from individuals, see Census section of our research guide to Central & local Government information.
Despite the fact that Census forms were not officially kept until recently, some returns have been kept in regional repositories.
Alternative sources that list the names and details of large sections of the population ("census substitutes") include:
- jury and militia lists, which name adult males of qualifying age in the 1840s and 1850s (see Ancestry Library)
- electoral rolls, which name those registered to vote since 1853 (see Ancestry Library)
- postal directories, which name householders from the 1860s to the 1950s, and in the main cities until about 1980 (see Wises Directory on Ancestry Library)
- school admission and attendance registers, which name children of school age since the 1870s (occasionally earlier) (see Archway, Ancestors Attic Library, Church archives as relevant)
- telephone directories, which name subscribers since the 1880s (although most households didn’t have a phone before the 1950s) (held Nelson Public Libraries)
NZ Digital collections of interest to Genealogists
- National Library Digital collections
Access the National Library's digital collections of text, pictures, objects and manuscripts - Digital New Zealand
Find NZ digital content from a wide range of collections and sites - Early New Zealand Books
- New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
Genealogical resources from other countries
General
- Cyndi's Huge List of genealogy websites
- Family Search
Family history, family tree, and genealogy records and resources from around the world provided by the Church of the Latter Day Saints. - RootsWeb
Information on family research and lists of web sites
Public and civil records
- Births, deaths and marriages - New South Wales
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour register
- FindmyPast.com
UK family history records ("pay as you go" search) and available at Tasman District Libraries - Free BMD (UK)
An ongoing project to provide free access to the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. - General Register Office - Ireland
- General Register Office - Northern Ireland
- The National Archives (UK)
Births, Marriages and Deaths, Census etc. - UK 1901 Census Online
Free search of this census