|
|
 |
 |
Library subscription programme
Introduction to The Origins Network

The Origins Network (formerly Origins.net), founded in 1997, pioneered the provision of genealogical database services on the web and offers access to some of the richest ancestral information available, via British Origins, Irish Origins and Scots Origins. Most of this information is not available online anywhere else. Based in the UK, we have partnerships with key content owners in the Britain and Ireland and are committed to being the leading online provider of British and Irish genealogical data. New and exclusive high quality data is regularly added to our databases and we are partnering with an increasing number of organizations who own high quality source records.
By offering access to The Origins Network, you will enable your visitors to:
- Find information that is available nowhere else on the Internet
- Complement other online genealogy subscriptions
- Access key UK and Irish source records
|
 |
| "Origins.net is becoming recognised as the ultimate Web resource [for genealogy] in the British Isles..." |
| PC Basics Family Tree magazine |
|
 |
|
Our main services are:
British Origins: The richest source of British genealogy records online. Datasets currently online contain over 70 million names covering events from the 13th to 20th centuries: censuses of England & Wales, the largest pre-1837 English marriage index on the web, an extensive set of wills & probate indexes, a unique and valuable collection of apprentice records, burial records, court records, passenger records, militia records, and other collections of exceptional value to the researcher. Most of our datasets are not available anywhere else in digital form. New datasets are added every few weeks, and several million new records are in the pipeline at any time.
Irish Origins: The best source for Irish genealogy online, including the definitive version of Griffith's Primary Valuation of Ireland, the most important 19th century database for Irish genealogical research along with digitised versions of the Ordnance Survey maps and Irish town plans which were used and marked-up by the Griffith’s Valuation team. Among other important Irish records available exclusively on Irish Origins are Index to Irish Wills 1484-1858, 1851 Dublin City Census, and 1749 Elphin Census.
|
 |
| "Origins.net brings English, Scottish and Irish genealogy in tune." |
| Family Tree Magazine |
|
 |
|
Unique Primary Data

The Origins Network is known for its commitment to providing access to high quality data. Our partnerships with leading archives and genealogical societies in the UK and Ireland, including the Society of Genealogists, the National Library of Ireland and the Borthwick Institute for Archives, allow us to provide exclusive online access to important primary sources, abstracts and index databases, including definitive versions of key Irish material (Griffith’s Valuation). For many source documents, users of The Origins Network services can place orders online for hard copies.
The only other way to access most of this material is by traveling to the repositories in the UK and Ireland.
Technology Leaders

The first company to put official genealogical vital records online, The Origins Network continues to pioneer the technology of online genealogical record search and retrieval. All of our services feature NameX™, the most powerful name-matching technology available. Vastly superior to the widely-used Soundex, NameX™ will locate a wider range of genuine variants of a person’s name than any other software, vitally important when many names have common historical variations in spelling or are spelled incorrectly on important records.
British Origins (www.britishorigins.com)

British Origins is the richest source of British genealogy records online, featuring access to the genealogical collections of the Society of Genealogists and the Borthwick Institute for Archives among others. The bulk of our data is not available online anywhere else. New data is added every few weeks.
|
 |
| "Origins.net is the only commercial website in the world offering the opportunity for users to view and order British primary source data online including births, marriages, deaths and wills, dating from the 1550's to 1925" |
| royvision.com |
|
 |
|
 |
BRITISH ORIGINS COLLECTIONS |
SOG DATASET HARD COPIES AVAILABLE |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| "British Origins is an essential online stop. It has unique resources and key index tools (apprenticeship records and Boyd's indexes are my favourites) as well as a real commitment to quality." |
| Sherry Irvine, past President of the Association of Genealogists |
|
 |
|
Irish Origins (www.irishorigins.com)

Irish Origins features key ancestral records from Ireland, a comprehensive placename database, tips and resources (including Irish source archives). Our partnerships with Irish organisations give us a unique capability to provide online access to key Irish material. New deatasets are added regularly.
|
 |
| “Now we can all trace our forebears with the launch of a new internet-based genealogy service called www.irishorigins.com…. It should also be hugely useful to the estimated 200 local history societies in Ireland and 11,000 family history societies in the US.” |
| Irish Independent |
|
 |
|
 |
IRISH ORIGINS COLLECTIONS |
HARD COPIES AVAILABLE |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| “Both sites [Scots & British Origins] are wonderful resources for those with Scottish or English ancestry… Kudos to Origins.net for offering family researchers these services.” |
| Dick Eastman |
|
 |
|
NameX™
|
 |
| “[Origins] is a truly unique service… when coupled with the powerful name comparison engine (NameX), it would be difficult to find a more complete service for genealogical data for the United Kingdom." |
| RWAP Genealogy Software Review |
|
 |
|
NameXtm, a key feature of all The Origins Network products, is a proprietary name-matching technology, one of the most powerful and sophisticated search tools available on the Web. NameX powered searches locate a wider range of genuine variants of a person’s name than any other software, which is important as many names have common historical variations in spelling or have been spelled incorrectly on some important records.
NameX is vastly superior to the widely used Soundex for finding name variants. For example, in a list of 55 million surnames, NameX identified 147 highly plausible variants for the name Wilson; Soundex identified 1185 "variants", of which nearly 90% are unlikely in the extreme (e.g. Wahlgamath, Whilesmith, Willigenburg).
NameX works with both forenames and surnames, and can be set to different levels so that the user can tailor each search.
More information on NameX
User Testimonials:
“Compliments to all concerned with the Origins system. It is the most efficient and useful tool I have found on the web so far. May it grow and grow” (L.T. – UK user)
“Thank you, thank you from all his Canadian relatives. We have been looking
to find this man my Great Great Uncle for 5 years!” (S.A – Canadian user)
“ I am just overwhelmed with the service rendered herein…it means so much to me to know where I came from ad infinitum. Thanks!” (M.D. UK user)
“…I have successfully used your Origins several times now. I would give it a resounding "two thumbs up." I do not have access to a LDS Center and I find it an indispensable tool.” (R.G., USA)
“The secure online ordering of the records cannot be easier, making this the model for all future records offices to use as they develop their online presence.” (Cyndi Howells, Cyndi's List, www.cyndislist.com)
“It is a terrific service and the certificates I ordered have aided me greatly in my family tree research - although it was rather a surprise to learn the family came originally from Ireland!!” (A.C., USA)
“By the way, I wanted to tell you how terrific your service is. Your website is very well set-up; easy to navigate, clear tutorials... what a boon to researchers... It would have taken me forever to learn what I have in a few short months. So congratulations to all of you. Thanks again” (J.B., USA)
“No problem, quite the reverse. I've been trying for about 3 years to find the birth place of my g.grandmother. This morning I found the marriage of her parents on your site and subsequently her birth in Mullingar!! Thank you sooooooooooo much.” (S. Waller, UK user)
“Just visited for the first time...awesome, awesome job...thank you so very much!”
(Amy, Florida, USA)
"You have a great web site.... Sites like yours are very helpful & extremely informative - thanks!" (Linda, MA, USA)
|
|