Find family records from cradle to grave
In the latest in her family history series, Nicola Lisle turns her attention to records relating to birth, marriage and death
AMONG the most useful records for family historians are birth, marriage and death certificates, which can give you key details about your ancestors and their family connections. These certificates can be ordered from the General Register Office ( GRO), once you have identified your ancestors from the GRO indexes.
On July 1, 1837, it became compulsory in England and Wales to register all births, marriages and deaths, with Scotland following in 1855 and Ireland in 1864.
Local registrars were responsible for compiling indexes of births, marriages and deaths and sending quarterly returns to the GRO, which then created its own set of indexes, arranged as three separate lists and compiled quarterly until 1984 and annual thereafter.
Each entry in the index has a unique reference number, which you will need to quote when ordering copies of certificates from the GRO.
These currently cost £ 11 (or £ 35 if you want next day delivery).
For more information, and to order certificates, visit www. gov. uk/ research- family- history
The GRO indexes can be searched online free of charge at www. freebmd. org. uk and www. familysearch. org. Subscription sites such as www. ancestry. co. uk and www. findmypast. com also have searchable indexes, which may be available to search free of charge at your local library.
Some major libraries and archives, including the British Library, have complete sets of the indexes on microfiche, while some local record offices and libraries in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland have incomplete sets. The GRO website www. gov. uk/ general- register- office has a detailed listing.
Cross- referencing
Be aware, when searching the indexes, that inaccuracies inevitably crept in, usually in the spellings of names, so try cross- referencing details with other ancestors or other records, if possible, to save yourself the expense of ordering a certificate only to find you have the wrong person!
So, having identified your ancestor from the GRO index and obtained a certificate, what details can you expect? A birth certificate will give you your ancestor’s full name, date and place of birth, sex, father’s full name and occupation, mother’s maiden name, residence, date of registration and the name and address of the person who registered the birth.
A marriage certificate will give you the full names and occupations of the bride and bridegroom, their residence( s) at the time of marriage, date and place of marriage, full name and occupation of the fathers of the bride and bridegroom, and names of witnesses.
A death certificate gives the deceased’s occupation, age and residence at the time of death, date of death, cause of death, date the death was registered and the name and address of the person who registered the death.
For records before 1837, you will have to search the parish registers. From 1538 in England and Wales ( 1558 in Scotland), baptisms, marriages and deaths had to be recorded in every parish, but the efficiency of the system varied greatly and there are inevitably gaps and errors in the records, particularly before 1600.
Bishops’ transcripts
Duplicates of the registers were sent to diocesan bishops, who created their own set of records, known as bishops’ transcripts, which again were prone to errors but are nevertheless useful as they often contain information not found in the parish registers.
Between them, the parish registers and bishops’ transcripts can help you discover more details about your ancestors and take your family tree back a few more generations.
Early parish registers are not as detailed as the civil registers, but the amount of information gradually increased over time to form a vast and invaluable resource for family historians.
Parish registers
Surviving parish registers are held by local record offices, so it is helpful if you know the parish where your ancestor lived and worked. If you are not sure, you may need to search different parishes along canal routes.
If you know or suspect your ancestor lived and/or worked along the Oxford Canal, for example, you may find the records you need at the Oxford History Centre.
Other useful resources include the Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk), which has the UK’s largest collection of parish register copies and transcripts for England and Wales, while family history societies often have transcripts of parish registers available to buy on CD-ROM.
If you still have gaps or uncertainties in your family tree after searching the GRO indexes, parish registers and bishops’ transcripts, don’t despair – there are plenty of other records, including wills and probate, burial records, monumental inscriptions and non- conformist records to explore – all to be covered later in this series.