Parish Registers - Family History before 1837
Parish Registers are records of baptisms, marriages, and burials made by the Church. They are a valuable resource for researching your family tree because the census and official records of birth, marriage and death do not go back further than 1837. They can extend your research back to the time of King Henry VIII, with many records going back to the 1600s.
Tracing your family tree 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 at websites like TheGenealogist that offer searchable transcripts and original images.
Available Information on each Record
Although births and deaths weren't usually recorded, you will find baptisms, marriages and burials. Baptism records usually give the name of the child's parents and where they lived. You can then use this information to find their marriage, which will can you the name of both parties and sometimes their parent's names. Burials contain the name and date of burial, and sometimes where the person was buried.
About the Website
On this website, you can find out about Parish Registers, and read a history of how Parish Registers began. There is a list of available Parish Registers on CD, and you can see what Parish Registers are available to search online. 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.