Records Information Leaflet No. 14
The pursuit of family history demands a step by step approach, beginning with family tradition and papers and passing on to main and then to supplementary record sources. This leaflet describes in outline some of the available record sources which are kept in the Public Record Office and elsewhere. It is not exhaustive. The experienced family historian can find useful information in a wide range of sources, some well-known, others obscure.
General Guides
A number of general guides to the study of genealogy are available in print. Beginners will save themselves time lost in fruitless searches by reading one of the available guides.
Work In Progress or Completed
Histories of many surnames in various parts of the country and for many periods have already been compiled or are in process of compilation. There are many local family history societies whose members are well informed about such histories. Alternatively, guides to some or most of these histories are available, including:
M J Burchall, ed., National Genealogical Directory (Sussex Genealogical Centre, 33 Sussex Square, Brighton BN2 5AB, annually).
Approach To Record Sources
The most fruitful way to use records is to consult the main sources first, working backwards in time from the most recent, to establish a framework which can be filled in from supplementary sources. While the Public Record Office has a wealth of material useful for family history, it is not the best place to begin a new study.
Main Sources
Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages from 1837
Civil registration of births, deaths and marriages began in 1837.
A birth certificate contains:
date and place of birth;Copies of all registers of births, deaths and marriages are in the custody of the Registrar General and all have been indexed. The indexes are arranged alphabetically in quarterly volumes and are available for public inspection free of charge at:forename(s) of the child;
normally the full name and occupation of the father;
the name(s) and maiden surname of the mother;
the usual residence, if the birth took place elsewhere; and
the name and address of the informant for registration.
A marriage certificate contains:
names and, usually, the ages of the contracting parties;
their addresses;
names and occupations of their fathers;
date of place of marriage; and
names of witnesses.
A death certificate contains:
name of deceased;
date and place of death;
age;
cause of death;
occupation;
residence, if different from the place of death; and
name and address of the informant for registration.
The Family History Centre
Family Records Centre
1 Myddelton Street
Islington
London EC1R 1UW
Certified copies of entries in the registers themselves can be purchased by personal callers or by post. All postal applications for certificates should be made to:
The General Register Office
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Southport
Merseyside PR8 2HH
Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages earlier than 1837
These are to be found in the registers kept by clergymen of baptisms, marriages and burials conducted in their churches and chapels. The local county or district record office will normally be able to advise on the whereabouts of surviving registers of all denominations. The addresses of these offices are given in:
Record Repositories of Great Britain: A Topographical Directory (HMSO for the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, 1982); and
J S W Gibson and P Peskett, Record Offices: How to Find Them (Federation of Family History Societies, 1982).
A few parish registers compiled for the Church of England may still be retained in the parish. More usually, they have been deposited in the diocesan record office, normally the county record office, which may also hold transcripts of registers not in its custody. Similar registers compiled for the Church in Wales may be retained in the parish or deposited either at the local record office or
National Library of Wales
ABERYSTWYTH
Dyfed
SY23 3BU
Telephone: 01970-3816/9
Many Non-Conformist registers for the period 1567-1970 are in the Public Record Office in the classes RG 4-RG 8, however, very few registers date later than 1837. They are predominantly the records of Protestant congregations, but a few Roman Catholic registers from the north of England are included. Other registers remain with the congregations and clergy or are deposited at local or denominational record offices.
Registers of births, deaths and marriages of British Nationals abroad are held by the Public Record Office in the classes RG 32-36, with indexes in RG 43 (microfilm). Few entries are earlier in date than the 1830s. Registers of births, deaths and marriages at sea of British and other nationals for the years 1854-1891 are in the classes BT 158-BT 160.
The Genealogical Society of Utah has compiled an index of many of the surviving registers of baptisms and marriages including the Non-Conformist registers in the Public Record Office. The index, on microfiche, can be consulted free of charge at:
The Genealogical Society of Utah
50 East North Temple
SALT LAKE CITY
Utah 84150.
And in the United Kingdom at the Public Record Office and at various Latter-day Saints Chapels, including:
Hyde Park Family History Centre
Latter-day Saints Chapel
64/68 Exhibition Road
LONDON SW7 2PA
Telephone: 0171-589-8561
Details of the registers included in the index are given in:
Parish and Vital Records Listings (Salt Lake City, 1984).
Copies of this publication are available in the various chapels and in the Public Record Office, Kew.
The registers of the Society of Friends held in the Public Record Office in the class RG 6 which include some from the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, have been indexed. The Indexes are in the custody of:
Society of Friends
Friends' House
Euston Road
LONDON NW1 2BJ
Telephone: 0171-388-1977.
Censuses of Population 1841-1891
These cover the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man as well as England and Wales. The records of the census contain:
name;
age (rounded down to the nearest 5 years in 1841);
occupation;
relationship to the head of the household; and
place of birth (in the 1841 returns only in general terms).
The surviving returns are available for public inspection, on microfilm only, at the Family Records Centre, 1 Myddelton Place, Islington, London, EC1R 1UW.
As the returns are arranged topographically, it is desirable, and in the case of larger towns almost essential, to have an address or addresses upon which to base a search.
Many local libraries and record offices hold copies of the census microfilms relating to their locality. The whereabouts of such copies is given in:
J W S Gibson, Census Returns on Microfilm: A Directory to
Local Holdings (Federation of Family History Societies, 1983).
Census of Population 1901
The records of this census are in the custody of the Registrar General. Direct descendants can obtain information from them in return for a fee. Applications should be addressed to:
Office for National Statistics
Room 4324
Segensworth Road
Titchfield
Hants PO15 5KR
Wills from 1858
Registered copies of all wills proved after 12 January 1858 are available for public inspection at:
Principal Registry of the Family Division
Somerset House
Strand
LONDON WC2R 1LA
Telephone: 0171-936 6948.
The Search room is open from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm on weekdays. Provided that the date of death is known, photocopies of registered wills can be ordered by post from the Record Keeper, Correspondence Department, at the address given above.
Wills before 1858
Before the introduction of central registration, wills were proved in a wide variety of church and other courts. Where they were proved was dependent on a variety of factors, including the place of residence of the deceased, the value and the location of the estate. The two major sources are the records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on microfilm at The Family History Centre, Myddelton Street, mainly concerned, until the nineteenth century, with men, unmarried women and widows of wealth dying in the south of England or abroad, and the records of the Prerogative Court of York held in:
Borthwick Institute of Historical Research
St Anthony's Hall
Peasholme Green
YORK YO1 2PW
Telephone: 01904-642315.
The surviving records of other probate jurisdictions, where the wills of those generally of lesser means were proved, are now to be found in local record offices. The locations of various collections are given in:
A J Camp, Wills and Their Whereabouts (published by the
author, 4th ed., 1974); and
J W S Gibson, Wills and Where to Find Them (Phillimore for
the British Record Society, 1974).
Supplementary Sources Kept Locally
Local record offices and some libraries have in their custody many types of record useful for the study of family history, for example the records of local courts, estates and landed families, solicitors, industries and commerce. Once a framework has been established, many details can be filled in from such sources.
Supplementary Sources In The Public Record Office
A large proportion of the classes of records held in the Public Record Office contains information useful to the pursuit of some aspect of family history. These are described in:
J M Cox and T R Padfield, Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Record Office, revised edition by Amanda Bevan and Andrea Duncan. (HMSO, 1990).
The most commonly used records are:
Chancery Proceedings (C 1-C 16). The records of the court of Chancery, which begin in the latter part of the fourteenth century, are written in English and are concerned with disputes over wills, marriage settlements, and landed estates and other matters, and are thus of great value to the family historian. The Bernau Index, which provides a means of reference to eighteenth century proceedings, is held by the Society of Genealogists.
Close rolls (C 54) Private deeds enrolled, for better security, on the Close Roll from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century are relatively easy to search as they have been indexed by both grantor and grantee.
Hearth Tax Returns (E 179) These, covering the years 1662-1674, record the
taxation of every hearth and provide:
name of the householder; and number of hearths for which he was responsible.
The records are arranged topographically. The tax was unpopular and widespread evasion resulted in the omission of many names. Some returns have been published by local record societies.
Death Duty Registers and Indexes (IR 26, IR 27) From 1796 onwards many estates were liable to duty. The registers contain details of legacies and legatees and give the name of the court in which probate was granted, along with other matters. Together they constitute a central index to all dutiable wills and letters of administration of the period. Death duties to 1858 are available on microfilm at the Family Records Centre, 1 Myddelton Street, Islington, London, EC1R 1UW and for after 1858 at the PRO Kew. Indexes are available at both sites.
Unauthenticated Registers: Fleet Prison etc. (RG 7) During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, clandestine marriage ceremonies were conducted in and around London. The registers, of which some are forgeries, may provide information about a marriage which is known to have taken place in London but which is not recorded in parish material.
Board of Stamps - Apprenticeship Books and Indexes (IR 1, IR 17) Between 1710 and 1811, stamp duty was payable on indentures of apprenticeship. The entries in the registers provide:
name of master;
address of master;
trade;
name of apprentice; and
name of the apprentice's father (until 1752).
The indexes to the Apprenticeship books are in IR 17 which end in 1774.
Land Tax Redemption Office Quotas and Assessments (IR 23) These registers list all owners of property liable to the land tax in 1798, and Roman Catholics appealing against the double charge after 1828. They are arranged topographically.
Other Leaflets
Other leaflets, which are useful to family historians interested in particular groups of people, are available from the Public Record Office at Kew.
PRO Services
The staff of the Public Record Office will give guidance to those who visit any of its Reading Rooms. In return for a fee of £16 sterling (plus £2.80 sterling VAT for UK and European Union enquirers), an official search can be made for an entry in the censuses of population among no more than 5000 entries. Paid search facilities are also available for wills, change of names, death-duty registers and non-conformist records (RGA). The staff cannot undertake any other prolonged searches on behalf of members of the public.
Additional Addresses
1) Society of Genealogists
14 Charterhouse Buildings
Goswell Road
LONDON EC1M 7BA
Telephone: 0171-251-8799
Membership of the Society is by annual subscription. It maintains a library which is open to non-members on payment of a fee. Amongst other material, the Society publishes a quarterly journal The Genealogist's Magazine.
2) Federation of Family History Societies
Administrator: Mrs P Saul
c/o Benson Room
Birmingham & Midland Institute
Margaret Street
BIRMINGHAM B3 3BS
The Federation is able to provide information about local family history societies, but does not keep files of names being researched or copies of specific pedigrees. Most regional Family History Societies have on sale a directory of members' interests or will consult their index of members' interests in return for a donation to society funds. It also publishes pamphlets, among them, Beginning Your Family Tree.
3) Scottish Record Office
HM General Register House
EDINBURGH EH1 3YY
Telephone: 0131-535 1314
The Office has a wide range of official and private collections, including wills.
4) Registrar General of Scotland
New Register House
EDINBURGH EH1 3YT
Telephone: 0131-334 0380
The Registrar General holds the records of civil registration of births, deaths and marriages from 1855 onwards, together with many parish registers and the records of Scottish censuses of population 1841-1891.
5) National Library of Wales
ABERYSTWYTH
Dyfed SY23 3BU
Telephone: 01970-623816
The Library contains, in addition to private collections, the originals, or copies, of many parish registers.
6) Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
66 Balmoral Avenue
BELFAST BT9 6NY
Telephone: 01232-251318
The Office has copies of many Ulster wills amongst its collections. The Ulster Historical Foundation at the same address will undertake genealogical research in return for a fee.
7) Registrar General of Northern Ireland
Fermanagh House
Ormeau Avenue
BELFAST BT1 6DU
Telephone: 01232 250000
The Registrar General holds the registers of births, deaths and marriages in Ulster from 1921 onwards.
8) National Archives of Ireland
Bishop Street
Dublin 8
Republic of Ireland
Telephone 003531 478 3711
The National Archives has among its collections the Irish censuses of 1901 and 1911, which are open to public inspection, and some transcripts of Irish Wills: the majority of wills have been destroyed.
9) Register General of Ireland
Joyce House
8-11 Lombard Street
DUBLIN L2
Republic of Ireland
The Registrar General holds the surviving records of births, deaths and marriages for the whole of Ireland from 1864 to 1921 and for the Republic of Ireland only from 1921 onwards, together with those of Church of Ireland marriages from 1845.
10) General Registry
Finch Road
DOUGLAS
Isle of Man
The registry has the civil registers of marriages from 1849 onwards and those of births and deaths from 1878.
11) Manx Museum Library
Kingswood Road
DOUGLAS
Isle of Man
The Library is able to advise on aspects of Manx genealogy.
12) The Superintendent Registrar
States Offices
Royal Square
ST HELIER
Jersey C.I.
holds registers of births, deaths and marriages from 1 August 1842
The Judicial Greffe
10 Hill Street
St HELIER
Jersey C.I.
holds copies of wills.
The Registrar General
The Greffe
Royal Court House
ST PETER PORT
Guernsey C.I.
The Greffe holds registers of births and deaths from 1840 and of marriages from 1919, together with copies of wills. Although the Islands of Sark and Alderney keep their own records, enquiries should in the first instance be made to the Registrar General at Guernsey.
© Crown Copyright, April 1997
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© Crown Copyright June 1997