Ramsdale

Miscellaneous Parish & Probate Records

These databases are a collection of historical parish and probate registers from the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. More than 15 million names in this collection can range in date from the early 1500s to the mid- to late-1800s. Some non-parish records may be included from as early as the twelfth century. Parish records - primarily christenings, marriages, and burials - provide the best source of vital record information in the centuries before civil registration. The records include baptisms/christenings, burials, marriages, gravestone inscriptions, obituaries, tax lists, wills, and other miscellaneous types of records. Also included are some records from non-conformist churches. All of the data was converted as it was originally presented in various published registers and books. For this reason, you will find interesting phonetic spellings and large descriptive tables of contents.

What should I know about this collection to access the data?

Some of the records may be in Latin or even a Welsh or Scottish dialect depending on location. The spelling is archaic, and is transcribed as it was written. There are many spelling inconsistencies and non-standard grammar. Phonetic spelling is often used. Try using variant spellings if a search yields no results.

The individual files in this database may not include all dates and records for each parish/church. Use caution in assuming that any database is a complete set of records - even for the parishes and time period listed. Due to the legibility of the original sources, there may be gaps in the records, including partial sentences, cut-off words, and other omissions. Due to the nature of the records and because the records were originally compiled by a third party, it is difficult to absolutely verify the completeness and validity of the data. The information in this collection is as correct as it was when Ancestry.com received it, and has merely been reproduced in an electronic format.

What historical background should I know to use this data?

A large number of parish records date from the sixteenth century, when a series of mandates required clergy to compile records of christenings, marriages, and burials within the parish. Each country has faced certain challenges in keeping and maintaining copies of their records. Of the surviving records, many have since been transcribed and collected by genealogical societies. The records are a valuable resource for finding vital information of people of the time.

Civil registration of births, deaths, and marriage, often called General Registration, began in: 1837 for England and Wales; 1855 for Scotland; and 1864 for Ireland, with some non-catholic marriages starting in 1845. It provides national vital records indexes that simplify searches and includes people who may not have been associated with a church. The civil records are more readily available than parish records (parish records after civil registration often aren't filmed) and are easier to use. But many births went unrecorded in the early years of civil registration, so parish records are still extremely valuable.

How do I find copies of the originals?

These records are a finding aid that help researchers locate an ancestor in a particular time and place in history. With a location and an approximate date, the microfilm number of pertinent corroborating records can often be found on the LDS Church's FamilySearch site (www.familysearch.org) in the Family History Library Catalog. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA has the largest collection.

For unfilmed original parish records in England, Wales and Scotland go to The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, under the county of interest. This will direct you the County Record Office where the registers are housed. Also contact local genealogical societies or local parishes for information on viewing original records. See Crockford's Clerical Directory, a directory of the clergy from the various national churches. It is published annually.

There are other church records, and a search on Familysearch.org on the FHLC can provide you with listings of original parish records by doing a locality search for your county/parish, then look under "Church Record" type.

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