The aim of this site is to provide you with access to various unpublished registries from 1534 to 1865, which can usually provide records of three generations of a family or more. Usually proving to be the only record of the event, these previously unpublished records are a fantastic resource for the family historian.
The advanced features on this site enable you to search for family members that may not have their own record - see our advanced features section for more information. You can also view our paleography/handwriting section for help with interpreting difficult writing.
Credits
For full details of the costs of credits and how the service uses credits please click here.
Viewing a full record costs credits the first time you view it; viewing a full record that you have already seen is FREE for 30 days.
Viewing a page image uses credits the first time you view it; viewing a page image that you have already seen is FREE for 30 days.
To help record the information you find it is useful to have a family history program such as RootsMagic, which will enable you to print trees and create a family history.
Birth, marriage and death records are the most important way of tracking down your ancestors. The trouble is the BMD records in the General Register Office civil registration index only go back as far as 1837. These records pre-date civil registration and form an invaluable tool.
The hidden birth, marriage and death records have been compiled from various unpublished registries and many unusually include records of three generations of a family. These are a fantastic resource for the family historian and often prove to be the only record of the events.
Genealogy Supplies recognised the importance of the records and applied and won the bid to make these available online as part of The National Archives LIA scheme. This new release of online records means that for the first time these additional BMD records can be searched with ease rather than looking through millions of images on thousands of reels of microfilm.
The National Archives Reference RG4 - what is RG4? |
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| Non-parochial registers 1567 to 1858 | General Register Office, 1836-1970 More material coming soon.... |
The National Archives Reference RG5 - what is RG5? |
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| Protestant Dissenters' Registry | The increased requirement to provide evidence of birth led the Dissenting Deputies (representing Baptists, Congregationalists & Presbyterians) to establish a births register of their children in 1743 at the Dissenters Library. Originally for parents living within 12 miles of London it subsequently became open to anyone, regardless of distance or denomination, provided a fee was paid. Contains details of three generations of a family (approximately 200,000 named individuals) Registered at Rev. Daniel Williams Library, Redcross Street, Cripplegate, London Start date April 6th 1743 - End date Dec 30th 1837 |
| Wesleyan Methodist Registers | The Wesleyan Methodist registry opened in Paternoster Row, London in 1818. The certificates and the register entry have the name and sex of the child, the name and address of the father, the name of the mother and of both her parents, the date and place of birth, and the name of the Wesleyan circuit, with the signature (or name, in the register) of the parents, the witnesses to the birth, and the baptising minister. Contains details of three generations of each family (about 50,000 named individuals). |
The National Archives Reference RG6- what is RG6? |
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| Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials ranging from 1578-1841. | Registers of births, deaths, burials and marriages of congregations of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in England and Wales. A number of original birth and burial notes and original marriage certificates are included. The documents in the series are arranged by Quarterly or Monthly Meetings, which consisted of a county or combinations of counties. |
If you are having difficulty in reading a name the first thing to do is look at other entries to get a guide to how the author writes various letters. It can take a while to “get your eye in” as to how a particular set of registers is written. First names are more readily recognised and so gives a basis as to what letter shapes are used.
When trying to interpret a line you should look at the line above and follow any descenders down and try to imagine the line without the clutter of other entries from the line above or below.
If a name is particularly difficult you will need to break it down into a range of names from the possible letters.
As a general guide the following rules apply:
Don’t forget: some material may show a different surname spelling to a later one; as literacy improved these variations reduced.
Search all names - Many of the records include the names of people other than the main subject of the record, e.g. parents and grandparents. By ticking this box your results list will also include any records where such people match your search criteria.
The Genealogist Research Guide by David TippeyContents |
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Census |
BMDsBirth, marriage & death records index
Other resources |