From: "Nivard Ovington" <ovington1@sky.com> > I think Phil has your answer, given Mansfields close proximately to > Yorkshire > > Best wishes Nivard Ovington, in Cornwall (UK) > > > Chris, > > This may well be an example of the Dade Parish > rtegisters, which idea started in Yorkshire. > > <http://www.pontefractfhs.org.uk/Dade_registers.htm> > > is a link which explains more. > I rather thought everyone knew about the famous Dade Registers. I have written about them enough times on many lists and in the family history magazines. The Rev William Dade was a far-sighted Yorkshire clergymen and incumbent of a number of Yorkshire parishes. He was one of very few clerics who actually foresaw that there was a time when ordinary people might want to trace their ancestry, so he instituted a system of record- keeping that gave much greater detail then the usual perfunctory entries, especially for baptismal entries. In a classic Dade entry you get a 3- generation family tree back to the grandfathers and I have even seen ones that give a 4-generation tree. If you come across a Dade entry, then they are an absolute goldmine! The Dade registers are principally found in Yorkshire but Dade's influence spread to several contiguous counties like Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. One or two are even found in Essex and Surrey. Dade registers exist from circa the mid-1770s up until 1812, when a new system was introduced under Rose's Act that, ironically, actually gave less information than Dade's entries did. There were similar registers in Durham and Northumberland from the mid-1790s called Barrington Registers after Bishop Shute Barrington who copied the Dade style. I can confirm from a list in my possession that Mansfield was one of eight Notts parishes that had Dade-style registers. The others were Beeston, Coddington, East Stoke, Finley, Sutton Bonnington, Syeston and Teversal. -- Roy Stockdill Professional genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE