Genealogy Chat

Having got beyond 1837 on some lines, I need to follow through with parish records. Howver, I have found quite a lot of indices online such as the IGI. I know the source has to be checked, but as there is such little information on parish records, how can I be sure of finding the correct record or event or person

Carol Don't necessarily assume that all PRs are the same - I have found some which barely give names and others which practically give a life history! Often there are other things in PRs, such as Church Seating Plans, lists of Sunday School Members (adults as well as children), Confirmation Lists, not to mention the notes which the Vicar wrote in the margin. If you are very lucky, as I was, he had even made 'Family Groups' at the back - absolutely priceless when faced with several couples of the same name. One PR I looked at recently even had a list of 15 women and one man, all excommunicated for Adultery - but it didnt say if it was one event or sixteen, if you get my drift! It also pays to get as near to the original copy as you can - I rarely bother with Printouts or even Bishops Transcripts. Sometimes you can't get definite info from the PRs, but I have generally found that once armed with the information, other clues come to light which mean you can count them in or out. Certainly worth a look, in my opinion. Good hunting Marjorie

Thank you very much Marjorie I have some printouts from Bishops Transcripts for another line, but the surname was quite rare so the information was adequate. On another line, although the surname does not seem common on the civil registration, the IGI threw up over 200 each of baptisms, marriages and burials all in the same area. Thank you once again for taking the time to reply.

You may be aware of the following - gives the P Rs church by church WHEN the vicar allowed info to be given to the LDS. Several churches in the Keynsham area did not give info so I hope your rellie was not in that particular region. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb(.)com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers/CountryEngland.htm#PageTitle You can switch the Country to England, Wales, Scotland etc., Remove the ( )

Carol There is another point to remember when using the IGI - anyone can offer anything and the IGI will not change or delete information once they have it. So 200 baptism entries on the IGI might in fact boil down to 20 individuals, each of whom has been entered by 10 different people. If the LDS havent filmed the particular PR, then it will probably be in the relevant County Records Office. Good luck! Marjorie