Birth Certificates in Red  

A full English birth certificate records the date and place of birth of the child, the name and occupation of the father, and the first name and maiden name of the mother. The name and address of the person who registered the birth, usually a parent, is also given. From this information it is possible to seek the marriage certificate of the child's parents.

Marriage Certificates in green 

A marriage certificate records the date and place of the ceremony, the names, ages, occupations and residence of the bride and groom, and the names and occupations of their fathers. At least two witnesses are recorded on each marriage certificate and these often prove to be relatives.

Death Certificates in black  

Death certificates give the date and place of death, describe the age, occupation and in some cases marital status of the deceased and record the cause of death. If the death occurred in unusual or violent circumstances, or if an autopsy was performed, this information can often lead to a newspaper report of the event.

Census Returns  

Census returns are particularly valuable as they record information on all members of a family in residence at that time, this may show the Parents but also children and sometimes aunts, uncles or even grandparents. The information obtained from census returns and birth, marriage and death certificates can often lead researchers to earlier records of the family.

Parish Registers

Parish registers, records of baptisms, marriages and burials were kept by churches and date back in some cases to 1538, in the reign of Henry VIII. They are now kept at local libraries.  

The amount of information recorded in these registers varies tremendously, as it was generally left to the discretion of the individual minister what details to record and on many occasions ministers ‘forgot’ who actually lived in their parish and ‘who’ had married and ‘who’ died. The passing of time and undue care and attention have also meant that some registers have not survived at all, or have gaps, especially during the period of the English Civil War. It is generally thought that if you can get back to 1800 you have done well and on occasion around 1700-1750 is possible with fairly good corroboration