Gareth wrote: > Hi List A question - otp on a wedding certificate means of this > parish, but how does one become eligable to be regarded as of this > parish ? Presumably you had to be living there when the banns were > read ie on the three sundays before the wedding and when the > marriage took place. So roughly a month ? Would this be enough ? In some parishes, yes. In others it might be a year. In the big cities, London or Manchester for example, a suitcase (or equiv) in the hall of a residence would be enough to qualify. The Banns would have been read on three consecutive Sundays, but the marriage didn't have to follow immediately although it usually did. I've even see a marriage recorded as the day after the banns were read for the third time. Banns were valid for six months. If the couple hadn't married within that time, the banns would have needed to have been read again. -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, SOM

Hi: > In some parishes, yes. In others it might be a year. In the big > cities, London or Manchester for example, a suitcase (or equiv) in the > hall of a residence would be enough to qualify. Not even that in the big cities. All that was necessary was that when the bride and groom told the church authorities where they claimed to live they were believed. No checks were carried out, and it was quite impossible for the vicar of a big city parish to know who was in his parish and who wasn't. It would change every day, anyway. Most of the big city parish registers have far more people marrying there than could ever have lived there. They came in from the surrounding countryside, told a white lie, had a great day out, and went home again afterwards. Best wishes Paul Prescott

Can anyone tell me how to find hearth tax records (from the USA) or Boyds Marriage Index? ANY help would be greatly appreciated. Sheri