Hi Rod, From the: LDS England Research Outline: Before 1837 only churches recorded birth, marriage, and death information in England. Civil Registration for England and Wales began on 1 July 1837. Civil Registration Information Recorded in Civil Registers - Marriages Marriage certificates give the marriage date, place, and denomination (if a church marriage); the names of the bride and groom, whether they were single or widowed, and their ages, occupations, and residences at the time of marriage; the names and occupations of their fathers (and often whether they were deceased); and the signatures of the bride, groom, and witnesses. The law required all marriages to be recorded in a civil register immediately after the ceremony. Marriages were often performed at the bride’s parish. ------------------ Church records are an excellent source for accurate information on names and dates and on places of births, marriages, and deaths. Most people who lived in England have information recorded about them in a church record. Since civil authorities did not begin registering vital statistics until July 1837, church records are the best source for family information before that date. Some church records were destroyed by fire, lost, stolen, defaced, or damaged by dampness or aging. To protect their records, most parishes have deposited their early registers in county record offices. Parish maps can help you determine which parish to search. Maps will reveal neighboring parishes to search if your ancestor is not listed in the parish where you expected him or her to be. The amount of information recorded varies from parish to parish. Later records are usually more complete than earlier ones. However, content often changed when a new minister began keeping the records. Church records - Marriages Parish registers often record only the marriage date and the names of the bride and groom. The records may also include the marital status and the parish of residence of both parties, the groom’s occupation, signatures of witnesses, and the minister’s name especially after 1754. Starting 1 July 1837 all parishes were required to use a new form. This form called for the bride and groom’s ages, residences, and occupations and the names and occupations of their fathers. Couples usually married in the bride’s parish. Typically, the English married in their 20s. Locating Church Records To find an ancestor in church records, you should know his religion and the parish where he lived. Once you know your ancestors religion and the parish where they lived, you might want to check the LDS Family History Library to see if they have those parish records microfilmed....you can check their catalog at their on-line web site. If they are not microfilmed you would have to write to the parish or the repository that holds those records. For further information concerning England's marriage records, how to locate a parish, etc., see the LDS Family History Library web site: http://www.familysearch.org/ Look under "Research Helps" Look under "England".....England Research Outline. Hope the above is helpful to you :-) Kind Regards, Karen from Ohio, USA

Karen, Thank you very much for going to the trouble of explaining it clearly for me. Best regards Rod... ----- Original Message ----- From: "BSchrode" <bschode@neo.rr.com> To: <CLANBOYD-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 3:36 PM Subject: [Boyd] Re: Boyd's in Northumberland England > Hi Rod, > > From the: LDS England Research Outline: > > Before 1837 only churches recorded birth, marriage, and death > information in England. > Civil Registration for England and Wales began on 1 July 1837. > > Civil Registration > Information Recorded in Civil Registers - Marriages > Marriage certificates give the marriage date, place, and denomination > (if a church marriage); the names of the bride and groom, whether they > were single or widowed, and their ages, occupations, and residences at > the time of marriage; the names and occupations of their fathers (and > often whether they were deceased); and the signatures of the bride, > groom, and witnesses. > > The law required all marriages to be recorded in a civil register > immediately after the ceremony. Marriages were often performed at the > bride’s parish. > > ------------------ > > Church records are an excellent source for accurate information on names > and dates and on places of births, marriages, and deaths. Most people > who lived in England have information recorded about them in a church > record. Since civil authorities did not begin registering vital > statistics until July 1837, church records are the best source for > family information before that date. > > Some church records were destroyed by fire, lost, stolen, defaced, or > damaged by dampness or aging. To protect their records, most parishes > have deposited their early registers in county record offices. Parish > maps can help you determine which parish to search. Maps will reveal > neighboring parishes to search if your ancestor is not listed in the > parish where you expected him or her to be. > > The amount of information recorded varies from parish to parish. Later > records are usually more complete than earlier ones. However, content > often changed when a new minister began keeping the records. > > Church records - Marriages > Parish registers often record only the marriage date and the names of > the bride and groom. The records may also include the marital status and > the parish of residence of both parties, the groom’s occupation, > signatures of witnesses, and the minister’s name especially after 1754. > > Starting 1 July 1837 all parishes were required to use a new form. This > form called for the bride and groom’s ages, residences, and occupations > and the names and occupations of their fathers. > > Couples usually married in the bride’s parish. Typically, the English > married in their 20s. > > > Locating Church Records > To find an ancestor in church records, you should know his religion and > the parish where he lived. > > Once you know your ancestors religion and the parish where they lived, > you might want to check the LDS Family History Library to see if they > have those parish records microfilmed....you can check their catalog at > their on-line web site. If they are not microfilmed you would have to > write to the parish or the repository that holds those records. > > For further information concerning England's marriage records, how to > locate a parish, etc., see the LDS Family History Library web site: > http://www.familysearch.org/ > > Look under "Research Helps" > Look under "England".....England Research Outline. > > Hope the above is helpful to you :-) > > Kind Regards, > Karen from Ohio, USA > > > > > ==== CLANBOYD Mailing List ==== > RING OF BOYDS http://k.webring.com/wrman?ring=clanboydwebring&addsite > > http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=boyd-trees > >