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ParishRegister.co.uk - Trace your ancestors back to the 1500s using these old church records

Parish Registers: 1538 - 1837
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Parish Registers

Family History before 1837

Once you have got as far back as possible using BMD and census records, you will need to turn to Parish Registers for information. You will usually find parish registers at the local County Record office, or, if you have access to the Internet, at websites like TheGenealogist that offer Parish Register transcripts and other services (e.g. census, bmds, etc).

Free SearchAvailable Information on each Record

In general births were not recorded but children were normally baptised within 2 to 3 months of their birth. These baptism records will usually give the name of the child's parents and their 'abode'. Use this information to find the marriage record of the parents which hopefully are in the same parish or surrounding area. The marriage record will usually tell you the name of both parties and their parents names. Use that to then find the baptism records of the parents and so on. Burials records contain the name and date of burial. Incidentally after 1837 you will find that marriage records in a parish are the same as the records held by the Registrar and not nearly as difficult to obtain.

About the Website

On this website, there is a short history of how Parish Registers began and some information about them. We can also offer you information on finding these records on CD or online, show you how to search through the online records, and even search for available products on CD for you.

There is also a section of the site which offers reviews, where we will show you the latest reviews of Parish Register CDs & similar products. There is also the latest genealogy news, more information on genealogy, and links to related sources and websites.

Daily News & Information

A Short History of Parish Records
Parish Registers were first ordered to be kept by Thomas Cromwell, Vicar General of King Henry VIII in 1538.

 

Phillimore's Marriage Indexes on CD-ROM
Phillimore's Marriage Indexes can help you track your ancestors back to the 18th century.

 

Encouraging the Wool Trade
In 1678 an act was passed making it compulsory for all corpses to be buried in a shroud made of wool only. This was to encourage the wool trade.

 

New Registers added: 'Quaker' (Religious Society of Friends)
The pay-per-view site BMDRegisters.co.uk has added 'Quaker' (Religious Society of Friends) registers to the website.