Here are some essential local web sites.
 

Cleveland Family History Society http://www.clevelandfhs.org.uk/
The Society is more formally known as The Cleveland, North Yorkshire and South Durham Family History Society. The long title more accurately describes the area of coverage of the Society, which is rather larger than that of the county of its title. The aims are to promote the study of genealogy and family history and to educate the public therein by holding meetings, sharing information, encouraging research, giving assistance, and producing publications for the public benefit.
Four journals (the Cleveland Family History Journal) are produced each year. Paid-up members are entitled to receive journals starting with those published in the year of joining the Society. A complete run of the Journals is available in Middlesbrough Reference Library.

Cleveland & Teesside Local History Society http://www.ctlhs.org.uk/
The Society, which was formed in 1968, takes an active part in preserving the local heritage. It promotes various projects in local history and offers advice. It maintains links with local archives, libraries, museums and groups connected with archaeology, family history and industrial archaeology. The Society’s Bulletin, 'Cleveland History', is issued free to members twice a year.
A complete run of the Bulletin, together with the Society’s Newsletter, is available in Middlesbrough Reference Library.

Middlesbrough Reference Library http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk
The major hub of of local and family history information service provision in Middlesbrough Libraries.

Tees Archaeology http://www.teesarchaeology.com/home.html
The Tees Valley lies on the north-east coast of England, roughly mid-way between Newcastle and York. The Tees Valley consists administratively of the four unitary local authorities of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. Tees Archaeology is a joint service of these four authorities.
The area has an abundance of archaeological remains. Its varied local landscapes including its high moors, river valleys, coast and its associated mineral wealth have proved attractive to many past peoples. There is plentiful evidence for prehistoric settlers, Roman traders, Anglo-Saxon migrants, Viking invaders, conquering Normans, medieval farmers and pioneering Victorian industrialists.
The Tees Archaeology Newsletter contains updates and information on the latest projects, news and photos from the excavations and finds in the local area. It is available in electronic format on the web site or via email.

Teesside Archives http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk
Teesside Archives is responsible for collecting and preserving archival material from official and private sources in the areas served by the councils of Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, Stockton and Hartlepool.

North East Births, Marriages & Deaths http://www.nebmd.co.uk/
This site is funded by a partnership of Register Offices based in the North East of England and provided to help users gain fast access to the wealth of websites and organisations devoted to records and family history.

Middlesbrough Registration Service http://www.middlesbrough-indexes.co.uk/
The Middlesbrough Registration Service exists to authorise marriage, and to register births, deaths and marriage, keeping those records safe for future use. It holds the records from Middlesbrough from 1837.

Durham County Council Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/pws/Registrar+-+Searching+Your+Family+History
Available for searching all marriage indexes, many of the birth indexes but death indexes only after 1981.

Durham Records Online http://www.durhamrecordsonline.com
“Durham Records Online is intended to help genealogists find their ancestors in eastern County Durham, England.
Durham Records Online is an international partnership of Tony Whitehead of the Seaham Super Index, and Holly Cochran of Hollyhock Press, a publisher of genealogical records. Tony has been researching and transcribing census data and parish records for years, but his collection was not widely known. Holly, with a computer science & genealogical publishing background, saw an opportunity to make Tony's massive data collection more easily accessible by creating a flexible & powerful search engine and online payment system. After an immense indexing & programming effort, we launched this site on 7 November 2003. Our next tasks are to bring online the rest of the censuses that have been transcribed by Tony, and to keep adding to our searchable collection. We wish everyone luck in finding their ancestors!We are not affiliated with the Durham Record Office or any other government Office”.

Northumberland and Durham Family History Society http://www.ndfhs.fsnet.co.uk/index.html
Founded in 1975,the NDFHS is dedicated to helping its members, from beginners to experienced researchers alike, to learn more about their ancestors, with special emphasis on the Northumberland and Durham areas. There are lots of excellent links on this site including the NDFHS databases of 190,000+ Baptisms, 270,000+ Marriages and 96,000 entries in the 1871 Census for Tynemouth Registration district on the FFHS pay-per-view site www.familyhistoryonline.net/; and Newcastle Register Office Birth and Marriage Indexes http://www.ndfhs.fsnet.co.uk/RegIndex.html