Genealogy Chat

can anyone explain in simple terms......... where they are kept (as in is it the town, church, county etc) can i look at them (paying or not) will they help me or be a nightmare becuase they are hard to understand thank you

Parish records are useful. Every church records it's baptisms, marriages and burials, thats what the parish records are. When each book is finished with often (but not always) they are handed over to the county record office in the county where the church is for filming. You can view parish records at the county record office of the county you're interested in. They are especially useful for events that occur before civil registration started (1837 in England and Wales and 1855 in Scotland). They are the only place you will find baptism (and sometimes birth) information, marriage details and burial (and sometimes death) information before civil registration.

They will be kept at the county records office of the county where the church is located. Mostly they have been filmed onto microfische and aren't indexed (except in rare cases) so its a long process looking through them all. They are free to look at

They were also copied out as 'Bishop's Transcripts', so if the particular page of the parish register that you want to look at is missing or unreadable, you may be able to find what you're looking for in the Bishop's Transcripts, which are often available in the same places as the parish records. You may well find copies in a local studies library as well as the record office. Kate.

Some parish records have been transcribed so it is worth searching for them on search engines. Some have been added to the IGI (international genealogical index) which is online at http://www.familysearch.org . When using the IGI you should always check the source of the information, to make sure it comes from the parish records and is not a patron submission. You should also try and look up any parish records you find on the IGI because they don't always include extra pieces of information that might help, for example I've found baptism records that say which parishes the parents are orignally from and what the father's occupation is.

so i need to know the church the event occured in and then go to (in this case Devon) the county records office and spend the day looking up people and events.........sounds ok to me thank you everyone for all explanations and for keeping them simple for me by the way i think the devon family history site is fab (even tho i dont quite understand it all) and even has a map where you can pinpoint each town you want and you can see how near or far they are from each other making it clear to see how far your relatives travelled when married etc

Devon records are scattered around the county, so check whether you need to go to Exeter or Plymouth, or the North Devon Record Office (I can't remember whether that's at Bideford or Barnstaple. Exeter is the best ever place to go, if you plan in advance. The West Country Studies Library (you have to pay, but it's worth it) has masses of transcriptions. They are not indexed, but the Mormons have filmed many of the records and put the transcripts onto the IGI. I haven't been to the new Record Office in Exeter, but it will be wonderful, believe me. And finally, if you think the Devon Family History Society site is good, visit the Tree House in Exeter. You have to join the society to use it, but it is staffed by some amazing people. They have all sorts of records, including data bases for marriages, burials etc, family trees that other people have deposited. It's really great.

Sox, You said, ''so i need to know the church the event occured in '' Yes, that's right, but it's easier to think of it as where the people lived. Most people would have conducted their baptisms and burials in the Parish Church of the Parish in which they lived. Weddings would often be conducted in the ''home parish'' of the bride. Even in large towns and cities the area would be divided up into parishes and in Victorian times these pretty much still only had one Church of England church per parish. The only trouble with towns and cities is that - lets say you find your rellie on the 1851 census and he says he was born in 1800 in Southampton, you cannot instantly know which parish in Southampton he would mean! Most villages would consist of one parish. These tend to be known just by the village name, though the church will have a saints name. In Large towns the parishes will be more readily known by their saints name, in order to identify them. So, the parish of Romsey or of Lymington, but the parishes of St Mary's or of All Saints, Southampton. (This is assuming your family were Church of England, which was the majority of the population, but not everyone, by any means.) Merry

If your ancestors are coming from the Plymouth area of Devon I would recommend the Plymouth Coxside Record Office over the Exeter one as they also have records relating to any possible Torpoint(Cornwall) ancestors and many crossed the Tamar from Cornwall into Devon and did not go any further than Plymouth. Also parts of the Cawsand area of Cornwall were in Devon about 100 years ago and these records are also at Coxside. If your ancestors are coming from the country areas of South Devon then the Exeter RO would be better and if they are coming from North Devon then the North Devon RO would be better. Not everything is at the Exeter RO. Janet

What a fantastic bunch of answers from people who really know their stuff........ i didnt have a clue what it was all about before but i know what im going to be doing this summer.......... thank you thank you thank you ALL

You can also order the films through your local LDS family history centre. I think its a couple of pounds per film and they keep the film for you for about 3 weeks, you can go and look at it as often as you like in that time. If you live some distance away from Devon, this may be a better or faster arrangement for you. Jay

It probably won't in this instance, Jay, unless you check the details very carefully. The local bishop disapproved of the Mormons, so the early entries on the IGI are from transcripts, not the original parish registers. They are very good transcripts, but it's not the same as looking at a register.

Thankyou for pointing that out Phoenix - I have no connections at all with the West Country, so wasn't aware of that point. Good job you posted that as it would have been awful to provide misinformation!! Jay

Saving - I've got some pre 1837 Devonians to find soon. Pam

This site might help you: http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/community/the_county/record_office/north_record_office/which_office_visit-north.htm Grant

Thanks for that succinct explanation of the different Devon Offices. I'm hoping to get to the Plymouth one sometime soon, because chunks my husband's family came from that area: Devonport, Plymouth and East Cornwall. We'll be in the area because of some family gatherings. But are you saying that, if I want info about (say) Holsworthy area, I need to go to Exeter (or North Devon) as well? And I can be sure Ugborough/Totnes will be Exeter, I suppose! It's a bit of a trek to get to Exeter (or N Devon) from SW Herts unless I'm going there for a particular reason (as well, I mean!). cheers Christine

All the Devon Records are now in the new office at Sowton and they do not charge for looking any more all they charge you for is photocopying

Don't forget if you are going to a County Records Office to make an appointment first. They usually have a limited number of microfiche readers and these have to be booked in advance. If you are going for the first time you will need proof of identity because you will need to get a reader's ticket like a library ticket. Ask when you book what they want. Take a note book and pencils.......pens are not allowed in my local Records Office. If you are going all day you might find there is a room where you can eat sandwiches......but ask. You will also not be allowed to take bags into the search rooms. My local office has lockers you can put coats and bags into. You will also need money for donations to funds plus cash to buy all the photocopies you want. Sue

One of the great advantages of Parish Registers is that they will often give extra information such as ' of Barton Farm' and so on that will help you distinguish between people bearing the same names. If you are very lucky, PRs may record a mother's maiden name and her residence as well. In my view, they are are essential part of research. Good luck!

You should check out the GENUKI pages for Devon. they contain a wealth of information and some details of transcriptions available. Links are also found to some Online Parish Clerks (OPC) who may be able to assist you. http://genuki*cs*ncl*ac*uk/DEV/ - replace the * with . dot Also the Devon FHS have produced severals transcriptions, now available on CD. Plymouth marriages post 1837 Three Towns CD (bapt 1812 -1839, marriages 1754-1837and burials 1813 - 1837) for the parishes in and around Plymouth. I have both of these and have found them really useful for my Plymouth-based ancestors. The DFHS also have a web board for questions which is very useful (and open to all). http://members*boardhost*com/devonfhs/ It may be worth posting questions there too. Pete