General Chat

what info do you get from parish records??? is the only way to get parents names is to order a certificate???? many thansk

You nearly always get parents names with a baptism entry - it depends when it happened though.

Hi Deb, I looked about but you weren't here. If the people you are seeking were after 1837 you would need to get the Certificates as that was when they started. Before that there were the Parish Registers. These were started in the 1500s although every Parish was not as diligent as some. The Parish Clerk was instructed to keep a book recording all the Baptisms Marriages and Burials which took place in the Parish Church. Some clerks kept one book, wrote in it anywhere, upside down, at the back, in the margins, you name it! Other Parishes kept three books and kept them up to date and in order. There can be difficulty in deciphering the handwriting, and you will see it change from Clerk to Clerk and through the centuries. Here also you will sometimes need a great leap of Lateral Thinking to identify an ancestor if the name sounded at all unusual. As our ancestors could not read the Clerk had to enter the name as he heard it. Imagine that with a Cleft Pallette, a dose of Catarrh and a name like Weatherall. Also for a time Clerks liked to show off their skill at Latin by putting the names in the records as Dog Latin. Maria for Mary, Guilielmus for William etc. Also the amount of information gleaned from these records varies according to the time period and the zeal of the Clerk. A baptismal entry may only give the name of the child. End of the line. Or it may give the full names of the Parents and Grandparents. Either way, I wish you happy hunting and Good Luck. Jim

many thanks for all your help to both of you. much appciated deb

Jim Parish records aren't just of of any use before 1837. You can use them to the present day. Most before 1900 are in the county record offices, but if you contact the church concerned very few will not allow access to them. Why pay £7 for a certificate when you can look up the whole family for the price of a donation to church funds. I have looked at parish registers with dates as late as 1990. That date is because I have not attempted to look at any since then. Parish registers are a lot more helpful than people think. Dont be frightened of them. Just ask the vicar concerned. You may get more help than you thought. Margaret

I second all that - some PRs are truly dreadful, some are absolutely wonderful. Ive just been looking for Ancestors on the Isle of Man, not only did I get the full details of baptisms INCLUDING the mothers maiden name (seems always to be given on IOM baptism regs) but there were several pages at the end of the reg which recorded Sunday School Attendance, the childs full name, date of baptism, the parents name AND ADDRESS, the father's occupation, the number of times the child was absent and why, and the names of the childs godparents! Also a similar list of people attending confirmation classes, some adults here - wonderful! On the other hand, I have recently seen a baptismal reg where the Clerk recorded simply the name of the child, not even the surname, no date, nothing! (He disappeared shortly after that, thank goodness I say)

Whilst agreeing with everything above, its worth also noting that records of baptisms before (say) 1700 quite often only list the father name, not the mother.... not much use when you have two generations of Robert that married a Mary.... grrrr

Hi Deb i went to lewes record office on friday, its the first time i had been to look at parish records and i found a wealth of information, and would recommend going, i even saw the original 1868 record for my gr gr grandmothers marriage with her signature . The staff were really helpful and they had census, maps, books as well, so it was very informative, and they also sell census cds, fiche and books. I also found alot of children i didn't know of as they died between census dates, and it confirmed i was on the right track for gr gr gr grandparents. Happy Hunting Sandra

PAUL, try seven JETHROS all OCCUPATION Coachsmith It is a nightmare trying to sort out the children. Rose

How I wish all my ancestors came from Norfolk. Mother's maiden name on baptisms, burials could give not only age but the full names of both parents: brilliant for old men born seventy years earlier. Rose's registers were a definite retrograde step and some vicars continued to squeeze as much information as they could into the boxes. It came as a horrid shock to realise that record keeping was not taken so seriously in some other counties. Brenda