Trace and Tell your Family's Empire Stories
Research guide
Many websites contain message boards and surname indexes of people trying to trace their family history in Singapore. These are worth looking at to see if anyone is researching the same areas as you, and you can also post messages and join mailing lists specific to your research.
'Rootsweb' gives a good overview of what is available, as well as surname indexes.
http://boards.rootsweb.com/lo
calities.asia.singapore.genera
l/mb.ashx
'Genforum' has a message board where you can post and answer questions about any areas of Singapore research.
http://genforum.genealogy.com
/singapore/
Newspapers are a great resource for tracing your ancestors, as not only will they provide you with a rich picture of life at the time, but in most cases will contain notices of births, marriages and deaths. It can be a lengthy search, but if you know dates of events then they can be very useful and reliable. ABZ Newspapers has links to newspapers from around the world, and although these mainly cover more recent history, some sites include archived stories too.
http://www.abyznewslinks.com/
singa.htm
There are also a number of physical collections of records which can help you in your search. You will need to visit these in person. Some of them are in Singapore.
The British Library Newspaper Collection: Colindale Avenue, London, NW9 5HE Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7353
The British Library Newspaper Library has over 52,000 British and overseas newspaper and periodical titles, including an extensive holding of colonial newspapers from Singapore.
http://www.bl.uk/collections/
newspapers.html
Government Gazettes for Singapore hold important genealogical information that is not always found in newspapers. The Gazette is essentially a newspaper and one was published by the government of each colony. It can provide a wide range of information on civil servants such as notification of appointments, promotions, transfers, leave, resumption of duty, and retirement. They may also give lists of public servants such as parish constables, doctors and midwives. The amount of information available in the Gazette can vary according to the date and some time periods don't hold as much information as others.
Unfortunately the Gazette is not available on the web. For much of the nineteenth century, Gazettes had no contents page and are not indexed, so be prepared to spend some time looking through these records. The National Archives reference is CO 932 for Gazettes from 1945 to 1970.
http://www.nationalarchives.g
ov.uk/searchthearchives/
The School of Oriental and African Studies: Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG. Telephone +44 (0)20 7637 2388
The SOAS library contains records relating to all aspects of Southeast Asian study, including Singapore, and as a college of the University of London, has impressive secondary sources and collections which may be of interest. If you wish to use the collections, you need to contact the SOAS before you go.
http://www.soas.ac.uk/library
/index.cfm?navid=1481
The National Archives of Singapore: 1 Canning Rise, Singapore 179868
The National Archives of Singapore holds private records and oral testimonies about the nation's past.
The National Archives of Singapore also has an extensive picture library, which has a collection from both government and private sources. This will help you build up a picture of Singapore's cultural and social history through visual sources. Some of the collection can be accessed at:
Browser by chapter
Family Records Centre, Islington
As in many countries, the birth, marriage and death records for Singapore aren't complete, as not everyone completed the returns. To trace civil registration documents in Singapore, the best thing to do is contact the National Archives of Singapore directly. Most records of births, marriages and deaths are held locally, in the National Archives of Singapore.
http://www.nhb.gov.sg/NAS/OurCollections/AQuickPe
ek.htm
If your ancestors were of British origin but were born in Singapore, the civil registration documents may possibly be available in the UK. The National Archives, Kew holds some of the records kept by British consulates abroad and at sea. From the nineteenth century they were obliged to send their records to the General Register Office of England and Wales. The army also kept its own registers for personnel at home and abroad.
The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) has microfilmed copies of surviving birth, christening, marriage and death records for many countries. Search the online database to locate the records. The LDS have many family history libraries all over the world, and you can order in copies of the microfilms to view in your nearest LDS family history centre. Use the website to locate your nearest centre.
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frame
set_fhc.asp
If your ancestors were born in the UK, you can trace their birth, marriage and death records using the General Register Office website.
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
You can also search in person at the Family Records Centre, Islington, London. However, copies of certificates need to be ordered and there are fees involved. It costs 23 pounds for a certificate to be delivered to the Family Records Centre in 24 hours, or 7 pounds for a four-day delivery time.
If you pay the subscription fee you can search the indexes online at 'Ancestry.com'. 'Free Births Marriages and Deaths' also has some of these records. They aren't yet complete but are being constantly updated.
The National Archives or Registrar General's Office may hold an index of wills of your ancestors, if they were proved in England.
For Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) wills proved between 1384 and 1858, use The National Archives, Kew, documents online. You need to know the approximate year of death and the parish to use it efficiently.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonlin
e/
For wills proved after 1858, you need to visit the Probate Search Rooms: First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6NP.
