English Parish Registers

Civil registration didn't begin in England until 1837. To find ancestors before that date, you'll need to rely on church records -- particularly parish registers.

Starting in 1538, each parish was required to register all baptisms, marriages, and burials. Parishes governed church affairs within their boundaries. The library owns a copy of A Genealogical Gazetteer of England which can help you find your ancestors' parish.

Registers can provide an incredible amount of useful information. Each parish decided what to include in their records so you may find that information varies parish to parish but here are some examples of items that might be included in the registers:

• Baptisms: parents' names, address, father's occupation, mother's maiden name, godparents, and date of baptism. (Remember this is not the date of birth! Sometimes parents waited until the children were older to baptize them as well.)
• Marriages: home parishes for both the bride and groom, marital status (bachelor, widow, etc), ages, witnesses, and groom's occupation. Sometimes marriages did not occur at parish churches; therefore, marriage records may not always exist.   
• Burials: date, age, occupation, address, spouse or parents' names, and sometimes the cause of death.

The Church of England has acted as the primary religious institution in England since the 16th century so it is likely that you will find your ancestors in their records. However, dissenters and nonconformist religious organizations also kept records of births, marriages, and deaths so don't give up hope if your ancestor didn't belong to the Church of England.

You can find parish registers on FamilySearch. You should also visit FreeReg. FreeReg has made it their mission to transcribe and index parish registers and nonconformist records from 1538-1837. It is an excellent resource for English genealogy research!

If records are not available online, you will need to contact the appropriate County Record Office to research parish registers in person.

Catholic Church Records

Roman Catholic Churches have traditionally kept extensive records about their members. These
records are particularly useful when civil records are unavailable. If you're researching Roman Catholic ancestors, here are some of the major records you should be looking for:


Registers
These are usually kept at the local church and contain records of sacraments such as baptism and marriage. Baptismal records generally include the date of baptism, the child's full name, the parents' names (along with the mother's maiden name), and the godparents' names. Marriage records include the marriage date and the names of the bride and groom (with the bride's maiden name). Marriage records may also include the parents' names (and mothers' maiden names), and information about residences and occupations. Marriages often occurred in bride's parish so look for marriage records there.

Deaths, Burials, and Cemetery Records
Some parishes kept records of deaths and burials. Especially look for death records in the church had its own cemetery. These records contain the date of death, date of burial, and sometimes the place of birth.

Marriage Banns, Dispensations, and Validations
Banns were announcements made in the parishes of a bride and groom three consecutive Sundays before a wedding was to take place. They only state an intention to marry and not that the marriage actually took place. Banns were used to help uncover any information about the why the couple may be ineligible to be married. A dispensation would be needed if an individual was not catholic or was a recent convert, or if the couple were closely related by blood or marriage, or if the bride was pregnant. Dispensation or validations of a marriage can be found at the diocese or sometimes at the church.

Status of the Souls or status animarum
Some churches created parish family books which include marriage, birth and death dates as well as migration information for family members.

Church Histories
Church and local histories, anniversary booklets, catholic newspapers and organization meeting minutes may all include information about your family.

Religious Order Records
If you have an ancestor who joined a religious order, there may be records of your ancestor and the family at the order's headquarters.

You can find Roman Catholic Church records at the local parish or the diocese. FamilySearch also has a large digital collection available for browsing online as well as many church records on microfilm.

Catholic Church records for Chicago from 1833-1925 are available online. You can browse this collection by parish and date.