England and Wales
The system whereby each parish in England and Wales kept a register of baptisms, marriages and burials dates back to 1538 when it was ordered by Thomas Cromwell. The records were kept on loose sheets many of which were subsequently lost or destroyed. Only a minority of parishes have records as far back as 1538; many parishes began their copies in 1558 when Elizabeth 1st came to the throne. An act of 1597 decreed that from the coming year each parish was to maintain a bound register and that a copy of all the events registered should be sent to the bishop’s office. These copies constitute the bishop’s transcripts and these sometimes fill gaps left by the destruction of the original registers.
Parish Registers for Teesside and immediately adjoining areas are held
by Teesside Archives; Middlesbrough Reference has a selection of transcriptions
of parish registers for England and Wales. Family historians will also
need to use the North Yorkshire Record Office (http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/archives
Durham Record Office (http://www.durham.gov.uk)
and the Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, York (http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/bihr/);
and archives offices for other areas. Addresses for all these are available
in the Reference Library or on the A2A (Access to Archives web site (http://www.a2a.org.uk).
Scotland
Parish Registration goes back to 1552 when the Church ordered baptisms
and banns of marriage to be entered in a register, an order that was extended
in 1565 to burials. All 4,000 surviving registers are in the Scottish General
Register Office ( http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/;
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php)
Ireland
Predating civil registration which began in 1864, the earlier records of almost 1,000 parishes were destroyed by fire in 1922. Some transcripts survive and some original volumes which were not deposited centrally. The age of these records varies. In the wealthy towns, a few go back to the 17th century. In the poor rural districts most date only from the 19th century. Microfilms of most Catholic Registers are in the National Library of Ireland (http://www.nli.ie/)
Fuller details of all these together with non-conformist, Catholic and
Jewish Registers are written up on the web site of the Family Record Centre
at http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/topics/religious.htm
Others:
Returns of baptisms, marriages and burials, relating mainly to European
and Eurasian Christians in India, Burma and other areas administrated by
the East India Company and the Government of India are held by the British
Library. The dates covered are: Bengal 1713-1948; Madras 1698-1948, and
Bombay, 1709-1948. There are also returns for St Helena (1767-1835), Fort
Marlborough (1759-1825), Penang (1799-1829), Macao and Whampoa (1820-1833),
Burma (1937-1957), India and Pakistan (1949-1968), Kuwait (1937-1961),
and Aden (1840-1969)-see http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/topics/religious-1.htm
and http://www.bl.uk/collections/oiocfamilyhistory/familyeccles.html
Note also that the Overseas Section of the General Register Office
for England and Wales (http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/research/searchingforoverseasrecords/index.asp#0)holds
the volumes containing overseas records at the GRO's Southport head office,
the vast majority of which are indexed and on view to the public at the
Family Records Centre (FRC).
Enquiries to either location should be able to help you find details
of births, marriages and deaths of British citizens that have taken place
abroad since the late 18th century, including regimental registers 1761-1924,
including British Regiments in the UK, Ireland and overseas covering births/baptisms,
deaths and marriages from 1761 to 1880. Please note, the Overseas division
does hold some records of regimental marriages taking place between 1761
and 1924 which have never been indexed ;chaplains' returns compiled by
chaplains to the forces (these maybe duplicated in the Regimental registers)
covering births/baptisms, deaths and marriages from 1971 – 1924; war deaths,
including World Wars I and II, and the Boer War.
In May 2005, the Middlesbrough Reference Library acquired on microfiche
a complete set of the GRO Overseas Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths
as referred to above. A detailed list of holdings is given below. Please
book a microfiche machine in the Reference Library if you wish to consult
these indexes.
See also Family History in India web site at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~clday
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GRO INDEXES OF
OVERSEAS BIRTHS, MARRIAGES & DEATHS
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GRO INDEXES OF OVERSEAS BIRTHS.htm
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GRO INDEXES OF OVERSEAS BIRTHS, MARRIAGES & DEATHS
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