ENGLISH RESEARCH Barbara Meyers English Ancestral Research Procedure The first criteria is to definitely establish the place of origin for your ancestors in England. When you have determined the place, try to find out something about its history, geography and jurisdictions, then base your research on the following time considerations. There will be some overlapping of records, but basically when your problem falls into one of these time groups, the records given below should be searched roughly in the order indicated. A. If your problem is pre-1538 search: 1. Probates (1400-present) 2. Feet of Fines (1182-1834) 3. Manor Court Rolls (1400-1850) 4. Quarter Sessions (1350-present) 5. Chancery (1386-1875) 6. Apprenticeship (1500-1850) 7. Lay Subsidies (1216-1800) 8. University (1150-present) 9. Inquisition post mortems (1216-1642) 10. Visitations (1500-1650) dpeending on the circumstances. Be alert for the other records which may be more specialized or yet to be advanced as general research tools. B. For the period between 1538 and 1700, search: 1. Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts (1538, 1598-?) of the last known place where the ancestry was established and perhaps very close ones - say within one or two miles - and parishes famous in the areas as "honey-moon" chapels for missing marriages. 2. Known marriage indexes for the area and marriage licenses for missing marriages (1500-?). The marriage licenses should be used not only as a general search tool, but also one should search their accompanying allegations and bonds for possible additional data if it is known that an ancestral couple married by license. 3. Probates 4. Perhaps, although rarely, some non-conformist (1640, 1689-?), civil parish (1662-?), and military (1660-?) records if circumstances so dictate and they go early enough for your particular problem, and if they are available. 5. If probates, marriage licenses and any specialized items for "A" fail to give direct evidence then consider five-mile radius searches for at least 35 years (if you want to tabulate, or 10 years if used just as a general search tool) from parish registers around the area where the last known ancestor was established. Let the search be guided byeconomic and social history plus the geography of the area and what you know of your ancestor's social and occupational background. C. For the period between 1700-1857, search: 1. The parish registers and "BT'S" as in B1 above. 2. Non-conformists - all denominations for a large period within approximately 10 miles. 3. Probates 4. Known marriage indexes and marriage licenses for any missing marriages. (If marriage is found always check banns or marriage license allegations and bonds for additional data.) 5. Military - if known that he served - or if it was a time of war urgency. 6. Civil parish records (1662-1834) if it is a problem of internal migration or illegitimacy. 7. Any of "A" above which may apply. 8. If all else fails do "B5" above. D. For the period between 1837 and present, search: 1. Civil registration (1837-?) 2. Census records, 1851, 1861, 1871 and every 10 years thereafter, if applicable. 3. These first two sources in cycles and should be fairly well exhausted. One supplies clues to where to go next in the other, and vice versa. If they should fail you then try probate records, if you know the approximate time of death. Keep in mind that probates came under civil jurisdiction after 1858 and are all located in one jurisdiction. One could also search parish registers and "BT's" for baptisms when civil registration fails to reveal the pertinent birth records. (BT'Send in 1812, 1850, and 1870). 4. Use any of "A" which is appropriate, perhaps non-conformist records (end in 1837 with a few in 1850). Try Chaplains Returns (1796-1880) military records, and Reginmental Registers (1790-1924) for birthindexes. 5. If all else fails, you might try "B5" but only if you are sure you have tried all other approaches and have done a thorough job on Civil Registration and Census. Territorial Jurisdictions CIVIL: 1. Nation A. England: 40 counties, excluding Wales, including Monmouthshire B. Wales: 12 counties, excluding Monmouthshire, though Welsh are there. C. Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland D. The United Kingdom: since 1921; Great Britain and Northern Ireland; 1801-1921; Great Britain and all of Ireland. . County A. --shire only: Berkshire, Shropshire, and Wiltshire. B. County -- only: Cornwall, Cumberland, Durham, Essex, Kent, London, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northumberland, Rutland, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Westmorland, and Anglesey. C. Hundred" a division of county, also called wapentake, lathe, or rape. D. Civil parish: the local non-church unit of government, whose boundaries often but not necessarily, councided with the church parish. E. Sub-units of a parish include village, hamlet, township, and tything. ECCLESIASTICAL (CHURCH): 1. Province: England and Wales were divided into two provinces, each headed by an archbishop: York (Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, Westmorland, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Nottinghamshire) and Caterbury (all other English counties; Welsh counties until recent times. 2. Diocese: a division of a province, headed by a bishop. 3. Archdeaconry: a division of a diocese, headed by a archdeacon. 4. Rural Deanery: a division of an archdeaconry, headed by one of the parish ministers, called the rural dean. 5. Parish: the basic unit of geanlogical research; headed by a minister (called a rector or vicar) and forming with other parishes a rural deanery; sometimes divided into chapelries, headed by curates. 6. Extra parochial places: without the jurisdiction of any parish. 7. Non-conformists: religious organizations and their members not conforming to the established church (the Church ofEngland or Anglican Church). Source Materials Basic Background Material Genealogical Research in England and Wales" by Smith and Gardner. Research Papers" in most LDS Genealogical libraries. Major genealogical sources in England and Wales. Population Movement in England and Wales by canal & River, Welsh Patronymics & Place Names in Wales and Monmouthshire, English-Welsh Genealogical Research Procedures-Flow charts, The Social, Economic, Religious & Historical Background of England as it affects genealogical research, Population movements to England & Wales during the Industrial Revolution. Place Finding Helps "Topographical Dictionary of England" by Lewis. Gives background for place as of 1847 including civil and ecclesiastical parishes. "The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales". Like Lewis' but gives registration district and other post-1837 information. "Gazetteer of British Isles" by Bartholomew. A more modern gazetter often necessary for finding places in other sources listed above. "A Genealogical Gazetteer of England" by Smith. A very brief listing of each place. Often lists the very small places not listed in others. Maps and Atlases "A Series of Parish Outline Maps for the Counties of England and Wales".Gives parish boundaries, probate jurisdition and the beginning date of the parish registers. "Genealogical Atlas of England and Wales" by Gardner, Harland and Smith. Shows great detail, roads, rivers & small places. Civil Registrations "Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates" Write to: General Register Office, St. Catherine's House; 10 Kingsway; London WC2B 6JP, England. Price for each certificate (6 pounds 1979) payable in international money order or bank draft drawn on English based bank, with the amount expressed in pounds Sterling, not dollars. The LDS Microfilm Card Catalog "Great Britain General" vital records for births 1847-1906, marriages 1837-1903, and deaths 1837-1903. Parish Registers "Parish and Vital Record Listing" LDS Genealogical Library. Lists over 4000 English parish registers processed under the controlled extraction program. Gives microfilm call number for parish printouts. "Computer File Index" LDS Genealogical Library. Lists individually identified names arranged by place, then alphabetically by surname for those names processed under the controlled extraction program and individual patron submission since 1969. "National Index of Parish Registers" LDS Genealogical Library. Lists where parish registers are held including if Salt Lake City has a copy. "Crockford's Clerical Directory". Use this book to find addresses of parish churches in England. First find the parish in the parish index, noting the priest's name. Then to the clergy listing for the priest. Address correspondence to the office - to the priest by name. "Boyd's Marriage Index" 3 series #1: 16 counties and arranged by county. #2 same 16 counties plus others, arranged alphabetically (one Grooms - one Brides) in 25 year periods. #3 Covers many counties, arranged alphabetically 25 year periods. Census Records "Alphabetical Index to 1841-71 Census of England, Wales, Isle of Man & Channel Islands". LDS Genealogical Libraries. Lists alphabetically places in England, etc. with the microfilm call number for all census years 1841-71 on one line. For later census records write: Registrar General, ST. Catherines House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP, England. Send money same as for birth certificates. "1851 Civil Registration and Census Jurisdictional Lines". Use to find families on the census when they do not appear where they should be. Check next adjoining district. Probate Pre-1858 English Probate Jurisdictions (1 for each county). Research papers prepared by LDS GEnealogical Department show which ecclesiastical court had jurisdiction of the area needed. All branch LDS Genealogical Libraries Microfilm Card Catalog for call number for actual court records on film and in printed form under ENGLAND, County, Ecclesiastical Court. "Probate Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury" 1559-1857. A microfilmed copy of the register listing the call # for each film in this series is available in LDS Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City. "Register of Great Britain Principal Probate Registry" Calendar of Wills and Administrations 1858-1957. Register listing each year and corresponding call number needed to order the actual microfilm of the calendars of this massive probate series from LDS Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City. To obtain copies of the actual probate records write to" Department of Literary Enquiry (Record Keeper, Correspondence Department), Principal Registry, Family Division of the High Court, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R L LP, England. Warning: One must make imaginative searches based on a thorough knowledge of the jurisdictions and sources, grounded in the rules of analysis and tempered by a background knowledge of geography and history. No two problems are the same! Analysis depends on source knowledge and pedigree situations. The best way to approach a problem soon disintegrates from one right way to several ways; which to do next may then depend on what is most practical in time and money, (or one can elect to do them all at once). There is also a matter of efficiency and willingness to gamble on instinct, and solid knowledge, much of which comes from experience. Don't be afraid to get out on the firing line, but know why you have decided to be there. **** ************************************************************************* *** This information has been provided by ROOTS-BBS (415)-584-0697. *** *** For more public domain genealogical software, data, and queries, *** *** set your modem to 8/N/1 300 or 1200 and call ROOTS-BBS! *** ************************************************************************* This information is posted on Dynasty BBS with the permission of Brian Mavrogeorge, the System Operator of Roots Bulletin Board