Ancestors lost in the crowd?
New to family history research?
Perhaps these articles on our website may help:
Census 1841 - 1911

Birth, Death and Marriage Registration

The London Gazette

Newspaper archives

Trade Directories

History of Birch

Road to Birch with St Peter's Church in the distance
©Robert Edward and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
contributor to the Geograph Project

White's Directory of Essex 1848

BIRCH (GREAT and LITTLE) now form one parish, with a straggling village, on a pleasant acclivity, >>more.

White's Directory of Essex 1848 - list of inhabitants.

White's Directory of Essex 1863

White's Directory of Essex 1863 - list of inhabitants.

Post Office Directory of Essex 1874

Post Office Directory of Essex 1874 - list of inhabitants.

My Birch Ancestors

Are your ancestors from Birch? Why not tell us their story: My Ancestors.

More local history sources

Ebay is now a great source for old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these. Link already formatted for Essex. Browse through or type the name of the location in the Ebay search box. >>

Also on Ebay are legal documents on vellum. This link is formatted for Essex. (Sometimes I think these should be in an archive.) >>

Books featuring Birch from Abebooks. Just click the logo. The search terms are already formatted for Birch.

Search for Birch census returns at ancestry.co.uk.

1841 England Census | 1851 England Census | 1861 England Census
1871 England Census | 1881 England Census | 1891 England Census
1901 England Census

The Essex Record Office: an excellent starting point for research. The ERO has an online catalogue by the name of SEAX and a database of Parish Records held in the ERO. Access to both via their home page.

Excellent detailed information on the history of Birch appears in the Victorian Counties History on the British History Online web site: Birch, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 10: Lexden Hundred (Part) including Dedham, Earls Colne and Wivenhoe (2001).

Web site on the history of the the village and churches of Birch. Documents and articles to view.

1881 Ordnance Survey Map from the British History Online web site (Essex: 036, Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1.0).

Ordnance Survey - type the place name in the gazetteer search box to view detailed map of Birch.

Heritage Gateway. Database of national and local records of England's historic sites and buildings. Includes records and photographs of all listed buildings, and historical and archaeological information on locations throughout England.