Family History - Parish Registers

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From 1538 onwards, the baptisms, marriages and burials conducted in the more than 12,000 ancient parishes of England and Wales have been recorded in parish registers. Originally written on vellum or parchment, the later registers were made of paper. They are still kept today. Providing vital information about the parentage of children, dates and places of marriage and ages at death and burial, they are indispensible in the construction of a family tree. If the register, which records an important event in an individual's life, has been lost for some reason, such as neglect, fire or theft, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to overcome this loss. If the register is lost or if it contains a gap, then it may be possible to find the vital information by searching the bishops' transcripts. These are annual copies of the register entries which were sent to the bishop.

Parish registers have normally been placed in the appropriate county record office for safe keeping but sometimes they are still held by the incumbent of the parish. The bishops' transcripts are deposited in the relevant diocesan record office.

Many parish records have been transcribed and indexed over the years. These copies may be found in a local record office or library or in the library of the Society of Genealogists in Clerkenwell, London. Increasing numbers have been indexed.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons, has filmed many parish registers and bishops' transcripts over the past fifty years. These have been indexed and have been included in many databases. These can now be searched on-line. They provide a valuable way of finding a specific event when it is not known where this event took place.

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