Family History Stumbling Blocks with the English Parish Records

Author: Nick Thorne

Sometimes our research can become bogged down as we work on our family history. Not the least of which is in the area of Parish Records. Some time back, when I was starting out on this quest to find my ancestors, I was introduced to this list of twelve stumbling blocks while I was doing an on-line course with Pharos Tutors. Some of the hurdles below can be got around, while others are not so easy to get past!

1. Handwriting - It can be fiendishly difficult to decipher and it may vary enormously from parish to parish depending on the vicar or clerk writing it. The art of reading old handwriting is called palaeography and you may find various books available to purchase from bookshops. There are guides on-line at The National Archives website http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/Palaeography/ and another one at Scotland's Peoples website http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/. This latter site is worth a look even if you don't have Scottish ancestors as their guide is really useful to family historians.

2. Mistakes in the documents - the registers are often no more than copies of the original daily memorandum book. These may have been written up once a year and so the possibility of mistakes creeping in or entries being left out becomes a real possibility. If this has happened to the records you need to use there is no real work around here other than finding an alternate data sources.

3. Gaps in the registers or they are missing altogether is another frustrating problem with no real remedy.

4. Details may be lacking in the records as there was no standard applied as to what should be recorded.

5. Before 1733 most legal documents would be written in Latin although surnames, at least, would not be translated into Latin. My solution here is to do a search on the Internet for a Latin to English translation page, where by entering the Latin into the box an English translation is produced.

6. Spelling of surnames may vary from the norm. Stop and think of likely spellings for the way a name may have sounded to the writer. Remember also to consider the local accent when doing this.

7. Can't find baptismal records? Perhaps the children were not baptised at all or were christened when they were older? In one of my branches four or five were all baptised together on the same day! Remember to keep looking for several years.

8. Periods of non-conformity. Again, in my same paternal line, I find several children christened in the established church and then several more in the Presbyterian chapel, before they return to the Church of England. The lesson I learnt from this was not to assume that they were C of E from cradle to grave.

9. Illegitimacy - Have you an ancestor whose parentage is in doubt? Make a search of the local poor law records such as Bastardy bonds if you are unable to find your ancestor in the Parish Records.

10. A person giving their details to the minister may have been mistaken and not know where they were born. The solution here is to widen your search to other parishes.

11. People moved about more than many expect so be prepared to look at surrounding Parishes from the one you assume your ancestors hailed from.

Similarly the family may have moved into the area from a different parish. Here you should do a search of parishes on the IGI or the County Record Office for a ten mile radius. A great piece of software to help find the names of the neighbouring parishes is the Parish Locator free from this website: http://www.yorksgen.co.uk/

12. The change of the calendar in 1752 may be a pitfall for you to tumble into if you are not aware of it. England and Wales adopted the Gregorian calendar in September 1752.

- 11 days were omitted - the day after 2nd September 1752 became the 14th September.

- The first day of the year, or Supputation of the Year became the 1st of January.

- Prior to this in England and Wales, the year began on Lady Day, or the 25th March. This would mean that the 24th of March 1750 would be the last day of 1750 and the next day was the 25th of March 1751, and a new year.

The Calendar Act 1750 changed this situation, so that the day after 31 December 1751 was 1 January 1752. As a consequence, 1751 was a very short year - it ran only from 25 March to 31 December.

The year had previously been broken up into quarters, still in use for some legal practices, Lady Day (25th March), Midsummers Day (24th June), Michaelmas Day (29th September) and Christmas day 25th December).

To throw even more confusion into this situation, Scotland had already changed the first day of the year to 1 January in 1600 and so 1599 was a short year there ( remember that in 1600, Scotland was a completely separate kingdom from England as the United Kingdom had not come into being yet).

What has to be recognised is that when King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England in 1603, the possibilities of date confusion must have been very large indeed across his two kingdoms.

So remember that there are stumbling blocks just waiting to trip you up. Some you can do little about but others need the application of a little effort to get around. Good luck as you research your ancestors.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/family-history-stumbling-blocks-with-the-english-parish-records-1590370.html

About the Author

Nick Thorne, alias: The Nosey Genealogist, shares the secret tips and tricks, learnt from professional family historians, so that you can break down your brickwalls in family history. Nick provides reports, podcasts and screencast videos to help you succeed in your online search for your ancestors. Want to learn more about Beginning Family History Online? Claim Nick's free weekly tips and tricks, available at:=>
http://www.NoseyGenealogist.com