Hi Listers, While we are all looking at the latest challenge of Henry Glanville Bogg marriage I found on the below link which states: Register searches You cannot search the register. The law does not allow the registers themselves to be searched. We are happy to make a search of the indexes on your behalf, but only for specific entries - we cannot undertake extensive research for family history. http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200111/records_and_archives/250/registry_records_and_certificates I left feedback on this page with the below question: Comments: You state the Law does not allow the registers to be searched. In light of the growing interest in family research and people searching parish registers all over the UK and beyond as well as subscription paid index searches as standard enquiry I am wondering and would appreciate clarification in what context you actually mean. I've received a response this morning saying that they have forwarded my question to the Registry Office and I can't wait for the answer !! I'm sure there would be many of us that would be hung, drawn and quartered by now if this were true. Any Lister comments? Thanks. Kind regards, Linda

On Mon, 30 Sep 2013 10:40:05 +0100 "Linda Staunton" <stauntonlinda@googlemail.com> wrote: Hello Linda, >You cannot search the register. The law does not allow the registers >themselves to be {etc.} You're confusing Register Office Registers with Parish Registers. The two things are quite, quite different. -- Regards _ / ) "The blindingly obvious is / _)rad never immediately apparent" Tired of doing day jobs with no thanks for what I do Do Anything You Wanna Do - Eddie & The Hotrods

Hi Linda I am afraid you have got in a bit of a muddle here. Parish registers are records of baptisms, marriages and burials conducted in Church of England churches. As we have an Established Church, the compilation and retention of these records are governed by statute (unlike the records which other denominations may choose to make and keep of events which take place on their premises). Parishes are obliged to meet strict conditions about the preservation of and access to their registers and, for the vast majority, this is satisfied by the deposit of the registers at the "diocesan record office" - i.e. the local county archives. The record office has a duty to ensure that the registers are available for personal searching though, for conservation reasons, this will normally be via microfilm. Any indexes will normally have been compiled by volunteers (such as the local Family History Society) or, under licence, by commercial organisations such as Ancestry. All this is entirely separate from the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths, the administration of which is handled, at its primary level by local registrars (and secondarily by the GRO). It is the Registrar for Greenwich to whom you have written and the answer you received is correct: the local indices are not available for public searching, though the GRO index (which is a compilation of all the different local indices) is. Although not obliged to do so, some local registration departments are making arrangements (sometimes with the aid of local volunteers) to make the local indices available. It is true that clerical errors in transmission from local registrar to GRO have resulted in some registered events failing to make it into the GRO index and it has, in the past, been seen as sound genealogical practice to apply to local registrars for a certificate where no reference can be found in the GRO index. The popularity of family history (combined with savage cuts to local authority funding) has meant that many authorities are unable to provide this "non-essential" service, though they are obliged to provide a copy certificate if you knows the details on it. Hope this clarifies things Caroline Sent from my iPad > On 30 Sep 2013, at 10:40, "Linda Staunton" <stauntonlinda@googlemail.com> wrote: > > Hi Listers, > > While we are all looking at the latest challenge of Henry Glanville Bogg marriage I found on the below link which states: > Register searches > You cannot search the register. The law does not allow the registers themselves to be searched. We are happy to make a search of the indexes on your behalf, but only for specific entries - we cannot undertake extensive research for family history. > > http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200111/records_and_archives/250/registry_records_and_certificates > > I left feedback on this page with the below question: > Comments: You state the Law does not allow the registers to be searched. In light of the growing interest in family research and people searching parish registers all over the UK and beyond as well as subscription paid index searches as standard enquiry I am wondering and would appreciate clarification in what context you actually mean. > > I've received a response this morning saying that they have forwarded my question to the Registry Office and I can't wait for the answer !! > > I'm sure there would be many of us that would be hung, drawn and quartered by now if this were true. > > Any Lister comments? Thanks. > > Kind regards, > > Linda > >

Thanks for all the replies. I just wanted to make sure I'm legal and my eyesight problems are not giving duff information but just shows the wording is open to misinterpretation. Regards, Linda ----- Original Message ----- From: "Caroline Bradford" <caroline.bradford@btinternet.com> To: <kent-eng@rootsweb.com> Cc: <KENT-ENG@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, September 30, 2013 11:26 AM Subject: Re: [KENT-ENG] Parish Register Search is Breaking the Law !!! > Hi Linda > > I am afraid you have got in a bit of a muddle here. Parish registers are > records of baptisms, marriages and burials conducted in Church of England > churches. As we have an Established Church, the compilation and retention > of these records are governed by statute (unlike the records which other > denominations may choose to make and keep of events which take place on > their premises). Parishes are obliged to meet strict conditions about the > preservation of and access to their registers and, for the vast majority, > this is satisfied by the deposit of the registers at the "diocesan record > office" - i.e. the local county archives. The record office has a duty to > ensure that the registers are available for personal searching though, for > conservation reasons, this will normally be via microfilm. Any indexes > will normally have been compiled by volunteers (such as the local Family > History Society) or, under licence, by commercial organisations such as > Ancestry. > > All this is entirely separate from the civil registration of births, > marriages and deaths, the administration of which is handled, at its > primary level by local registrars (and secondarily by the GRO). It is the > Registrar for Greenwich to whom you have written and the answer you > received is correct: the local indices are not available for public > searching, though the GRO index (which is a compilation of all the > different local indices) is. Although not obliged to do so, some local > registration departments are making arrangements (sometimes with the aid > of local volunteers) to make the local indices available. > > It is true that clerical errors in transmission from local registrar to > GRO have resulted in some registered events failing to make it into the > GRO index and it has, in the past, been seen as sound genealogical > practice to apply to local registrars for a certificate where no reference > can be found in the GRO index. The popularity of family history (combined > with savage cuts to local authority funding) has meant that many > authorities are unable to provide this "non-essential" service, though > they are obliged to provide a copy certificate if you knows the details on > it. > > Hope this clarifies things > > Caroline > > Sent from my iPad > >> On 30 Sep 2013, at 10:40, "Linda Staunton" <stauntonlinda@googlemail.com> >> wrote: >> >> Hi Listers, >> >> While we are all looking at the latest challenge of Henry Glanville Bogg >> marriage I found on the below link which states: >> Register searches >> You cannot search the register. The law does not allow the registers >> themselves to be searched. We are happy to make a search of the indexes >> on your behalf, but only for specific entries - we cannot undertake >> extensive research for family history. >> >> http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200111/records_and_archives/250/registry_records_and_certificates >> >> I left feedback on this page with the below question: >> Comments: You state the Law does not allow the registers to be searched. >> In light of the growing interest in family research and people searching >> parish registers all over the UK and beyond as well as subscription paid >> index searches as standard enquiry I am wondering and would appreciate >> clarification in what context you actually mean. >> >> I've received a response this morning saying that they have forwarded my >> question to the Registry Office and I can't wait for the answer !! >> >> I'm sure there would be many of us that would be hung, drawn and >> quartered by now if this were true. >> >> Any Lister comments? Thanks. >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Linda >> >> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > KENT-ENG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Just a thought. I wonder if the "in the public domain" argument might apply. Recording births, marriages and deaths is a legal requirement with laws setting out the information required and penalties for failure to comply. Within limits, the information provided is a matter of public record. Baptisms, on the other hand, are a matter of personal choice and, as such, might well fall into the field of data protection. Unrestricted access to a baptism register with entries relating to living individuals would possibly be in breach of that Act. Charles charles.henrywood@btinternet.com (FH interests include Honeywood and Wanmer) -----Original Message----- From: kent-eng-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:kent-eng-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Linda Staunton Sent: 30 September 2013 10:40 To: KENT-ENG@rootsweb.com Subject: [KENT-ENG] Parish Register Search is Breaking the Law !!! Hi Listers, While we are all looking at the latest challenge of Henry Glanville Bogg marriage I found on the below link which states: Register searches You cannot search the register. The law does not allow the registers themselves to be searched. We are happy to make a search of the indexes on your behalf, but only for specific entries - we cannot undertake extensive research for family history. http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200111/records_and_archives/250/regist ry_records_and_certificates I left feedback on this page with the below question: Comments: You state the Law does not allow the registers to be searched. In light of the growing interest in family research and people searching parish registers all over the UK and beyond as well as subscription paid index searches as standard enquiry I am wondering and would appreciate clarification in what context you actually mean. I've received a response this morning saying that they have forwarded my question to the Registry Office and I can't wait for the answer !! I'm sure there would be many of us that would be hung, drawn and quartered by now if this were true. Any Lister comments? Thanks. Kind regards, Linda ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to KENT-ENG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message