Return to
Homepage
Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths started on 1st July 1837 in England and Wales. This was later expanded in 1927 to also include still births, and adoptions. These records are held at:
You may not see the registers themselves, but you may look at the indexes for the events and having found the relevant reference you can then buy a certificate which hopefully contains the information you require. Prices for full certificates of birth, marriage or deaths are currently: - £6.00 If ordered in person at the GRO. The certificate will be posted or may be collected after four working days. £20.00 For a priority service, for collection next working day at St Catherine's House. £15.00 If ordered by post from Southport, or £12.00 if you supply the exact reference from the GRO. The certificate will be sent by post in around 4 weeks. £25.00 for a priority service from Southport, telephone orders accepted (with credit card) for dispatch next working day. £22.00 if the full index reference is supplied.
The postal address for St. Catherine's house certificates is different:
You can also buy copies of certificates from the local registration office, which originally recorded the event. You can find their address in the telephone directory under Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths. The charge here is a much more acceptable £5.50, even for a postal application. The disadvantage is that the local offices maintain their own indexes and so the St. Catherine's house index reference is no good to them. You usually have to supply more information. Some offices require the exact place of birth, for birth certificates. For a marriage certificate the place in which it took place, e.g. the name of the church, is essential as these are indexed by place. If there are 50 churches that a district covers then the staff cannot search 50 indexes for you.
The indexes contain the records of birth, marriage and death for England & Wales. Registration began in 1837 but it was another 60 years before it was made compulsory. The only information given in the birth, marriage and death indexes is as follows:
There are separate indexes for births, marriages and deaths, filed in date order. Each year is split into quarters with, for example, all events registered between 1st Jan and 31st Mar held in the index labelled March. It is when events were registered that is important, which for marriages is normally the same day as when the marriage took place. However births may be registered up to 6 weeks after they occur, so a December birth is likely to be indexed in the March volume for the following year. If you go to St. Catherine's house, you will be looking at the original index books. These are quite heavy, large and the older ones hand-written so don't go smartly dressed! Another option is to consult a microfilm copy of the index. The microfilm copies are held at a number of sites throughout the country, usually at libraries or local record offices, and at LDS Family History centres, however there is normally a heavy demand to consult them, and you will have to book well in advance. For example the waiting time at the Greater Manchester record Office is at least 8 weeks. Some sites do not have a complete set of indexes but they normally cover the 19th century.
Index Format The detail on the index records varies slightly, depending on whether it's a birth, marriage or death, for example a birth record looks like: - Surname Forenames District Vol. Page Sex
For example
You will normally find that when searching the indexes you are trying to find a number of different items of information, in a limited time and probably in cramped conditions. Once you have the index entry to gain more information you will then need to obtain a certificate, the only exceptions to this are: - Age at death from June 1866 Mother's maiden name in births from Sept 1911 Spouse's surname in marriages from March 1912 Age at death from 1969.
Census records record age, birthplace, occupation and relationship to the head of the household of all people resident or present on the day of the census. From 1801 onwards, by means of a census, information about the population has been collected every ten years. Although the information collected varied from census to census, the census (enumeration) returns taken together form a valuable source for genealogical, local, demographic and other studies. The Public Record Office, has open to public inspection the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 census returns for England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The office offers a limited paid search service for these records. Application forms are available on request. Many county record offices and local history libraries have bought microfilm or microfiche copies of the census returns for their local area. For more information see Census returns
1841-1881 on microfilm: a directory of local holdings by J S W Gibson (5th edition, Church Hanborough, 1988) In the USA, copies of all available census returns are held by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 50 East North Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150.
Later returns for England, Wales the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not open to the public. They are held by the
For the 1901 returns only, direct descendants or next of kin (if the person has died childless) may apply to the Registrar General for the age and place of birth of a named person. A precise address must be provided: a fee will be charged. In 2002 the 1901 census will be open to the public. Scottish census returns are held by the
Those for 1841 to 1891 are open to public inspection.
Census returns for all Ireland are held by the
Unfortunately, few 19th century Irish census returns have survived but the Irish returns for 1901 and 1911 are fairly complete, and are open to public inspection. The censuses of 10 March 1801, 27 May 1811, 28 May 1821 and 30 May 1831 were confined to the compilation of the totals (by parish) of houses habited and uninhabited; families; men and women; occupations (in broad categories), and various statistics of baptisms, marriages and burials. A partial enumeration of age was taken in 1821, and a more extensive investigation into occupations in 1831. The names of individuals were not recorded in the official returns. However, in the course of carrying out the censuses, some local enumerators did compile unofficial listings of named individuals. Those which survive in local record offices are referred to by C R Chapman in Pre-1841 Censuses and Population Listings" (Dursley, 1990). Most of the information in these records was published in Parliamentary Papers: by appointment an incomplete set is available for consultation in the Census Rooms. The original returns were destroyed in 1904, with the exception of the returns of numbers of baptisms, marriages and burials by parish, 1821-1830, which survive as HO 71: Home Office: 1831 Census: Clergymen's Return. They are kept at the
A reader's ticket is needed to consult them.
The names of individuals were first recorded in the census taken on 6 June1841. The information collected for each person included full name, age, sex, and occupation. For those under 15, ages were given exactly (if known): for people over 15, ages were rounded down to the nearest five years. For example, someone of 64 would appear as 60: another of 29 as 25.Some information relating to the place of birth was also given, but was restricted to whether or not a person was born in the county of residence (Y for Yes, N for No), and, if not, whether in Scotland (S), Ireland (I), or foreign parts (F). The 1841 census also gives the same kind of information as earlier censuses on housing. It indicates the individuals who lived in a particular house, and in the individual households with in it. The relationships between members of the same household are not recorded, but can often be inferred. The surviving records of the 1841 census for England and Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man form part of the record class HO 107:Census Returns. They are seen on microfilm at the Census Rooms, Public Record Office, and London, England. A reader's ticket is not needed.
The 1851 - 1891 censuses were taken on 30 March 1851, 7 April 1861, 2 April 1871, 3 April 1881 and 5 April 1891. They recorded for each person full name; exact age; relationship to head of household; sex; occupation; parish and county of birth; and various medical disabilities. The 1891 returns contain additional information on employment status, and, for Wales, on the language spoken. Individuals were recorded in the households and houses in which they lived. The surviving records of the 1851 census for England and Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man form part of the record class [HO107: Census Returns]. Those of 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 are in the record classes [RG 9], [RG 10], [RG 11] and [RG 12] respectively. They are seen on microfilm at the Census Rooms, Family Record Centre, Myddleton Street: the 1891 returns can also be seen on microfiche. A reader's ticket is not needed.
Arrangement of the records. The census returns are arranged in small books covering enumeration districts of usually a few hundred houses. Small towns, parishes and hamlets can readily be searched in their entirety. The returns for large towns and cities fill numerous books, and it is essential to know the address of any particular individual before beginning a search.
Further reading
E Higgs. "Making Sense of the Census: the manuscript returns for England and Wales, 1801-1901" (London, 1989)
R Lawton, ed. "The Census and Social Structure: an interpretative guide to the nineteenth century censuses for England and Wales" (London, 1978)
S Lumas. "Making Use of the Census" (London, 1992)
E A Wrigley, ed. "An Introduction to English Historical Demography" (Cambridge, 1966)
E A Wrigley, ed. "The Study of Nineteenth Century Society" (Cambridge, 1972)
W A Armstrong, The Interpretation of the Census Enumerators' Books for Victorian Towns, "The Study of Urban History 2, ed.
H J Dyos (London, 1968)
M W Beresford. The Unprinted Census Returns of 1841, 1851, and 1861 for England and Wales, "The Amateur Historian", vol.V (1963)
R Smith. Demography in the 19th Century, "Local Historian", vol. IX (1970-71)
P M Tillot. The Analysis of the Census Returns, "Local Historian", vol. VIII (1968-69)
The census returns may be seen at the
Disabled readers should ring 0181-876-3444 ext. 2602 well in advance. Closed on public holidays and for annual stocktaking
(Normally the first two full weeks in October)
Public Record Office, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond upon Thames London TW9 4DU England. Tel: +44 0181 876-3444 Opening hours: 9.30am - 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. Closed on public holidays and for annual Stocktaking (normally the first two full weeks in October). Admission is by reader's ticket, which will be issued on production of proof of identity, such as a (UK) driving licence or passport.
Probate before 12-01-1858 wills were proved in Ecclesiastical and Manorial Courts all over England and Wales. The public Record Office holds wills that were proved in the Prerogative Court Of Canterbury (P.C.C) the most important of over 300 probate courts. While a few original wills may be found among private papers, the most reliable place to search for a will is among the records of the court where probate was granted, i.e. where the will was given official approval empowering the executor to act. In cases where no will was made, letters of administration were granted to the next-of-kin, giving him or her the authority to distribute the intestate's estate. The Principal Probate Registry started functioning on 12-01-1858. From this date a copy of every will proved is to be found at the Principal Registry of the Family Division, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R-1LP. Prior to the Court of Probate Act of 1857 the proving of wills and the granting of administrations lay with the ecclesiastical courts and some manorial courts. There was an elaborate network of probate courts; the factors, which determined in which court a grant, should be made were the place of death and the size and distribution of the estate in question. The searcher for a pre-1858 probated will or grant of administration has two initial problems, namely to decide in which court the grant was made, and to ascertain where the records of that court are now kept. The estate of a person of few means was usually dealt with in the lowest permissible court, that of the Archdeacon. The will of a person with goods in more than one archdeaconry was proved in the diocesan court. There were also various "peculiar jurisdictions, such as those exercised by the deans and chapters of cathedrals. Those leaving goods in more than one diocese or peculiar, to the value of £5.00 (£10.00 in London) or more were deemed to be in possession of bona notabilia. As such, their estates came under the cognisance of one or other of the provincial courts, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) or the Prerogative Court of York. If goods were held in both provinces the grant could be made either solely in the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury, or in both the provincial courts. The records of the minor probate courts are deposited in county record offices or other local repositories. The location of the records is explained in A J Camp, Wills and their Whereabouts, (London 1974) and in J S W Gibson Wills and Where to Find Them (British Record Society, 1974). The problem of deciding on the right court is more complex, and it may be necessary to search the records of several.
Above information sourced from the internet and believed to be correct 21/05/1997