Guernsey Civil Registration

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Guernsey

Civil Registration

Online Databases

• Channel Islands Births & Baptisms 1820-1907
• The FamilySearch Catalog has digitized and made many of these records available online.

Introduction

Civil registration is the government record of births, marriages, and deaths. These records are an excellent source of names, dates, relationships, and places of births, marriages, and deaths. Since they are indexed and cover most of the population, these records are important resources for genealogical research.

Civil registration in Guernsey (and the islands of Herm and Jethou) began in 1840. Universal compliance for birth and death registration did not occur until the 1860s. The islands of Sark and Alderney (also part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey) began civil registration in 1925. Guernsey marriages solemnized by the Church of England were not registered until 1919 - so the coverage is incomplete prior to that date. Before 1919, use parish registers if marriage certificate not found. See www.priaulxlibrary.co.uk for more information about civil registration.

Understanding the Records

Births

Birth registers usually include: (recorded in French)

• Parish
• Birth date
• Child's name
• Sex
• Child's parents (including mother's maiden name)
• Birth place
• Rank or profession of father
• Date of registration
• Baptismal name (if given after birth registration)

Marriages

Marriage certificates usually include: (recorded in English)

• Marriage data and place
• Names of the bride and groom, their ages, their marital "condition" (single or widowed), their professions, and their residences at the time of the marriage
• Names and occupations of their fathers (and often whether they were deceased)
• Signatures or marks of the bride, groom, and witnesses
• Also notes whether the bride and groom were married in a church (with the denomination given) and, if so, whether they were married by banns or by license.

Deaths

Death registers usually include: (recorded in French)

• Date of death
• Name of deceased
• Names of parents
• Age
• Place of death
• Profession
• Cause of death
• Date of registration

Accessing the Records

Online

Many civil registration indexes and registers are available as digital images on the FamilySearch Catalog. Some of these records are only available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

Record Type	Indexes	Registers/Certificates
Birth Registers	1840-1966	1840-1907
Marriage Certificates	1841-1966	1841-1901
Death Registers	1840-1963	1840-1907

Original Records

Guernsey's original civil registration records are housed at Guernsey's Registry Office which is located at The Royal Court House:

Registrar General
The Royal Court House
St Peter Port
GY1 2NZ
Telephone: +44 (0) 1481 725277
Email: registrar@guernseyroyalcourt.gg

Certificates can either be ordered by phone or in person at The Royal Court House. Certificates cost £20.00. See Registration of Births, Registration of Marriages, and Registration of Deaths to learn more about how to order certificates. To learn more about the archive and research facilities, see Contact Us. The Priaulx Library also have the indexes on microfilm.

To learn more about how to find and access civil registration records for Guernsey, see:

• Backhurst, Marie-Louise. Tracing Your Channel Islands Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Family History, 2011.
• Gibson, Jeremy and Elizabeth Hampson. Marriage and Census Indexes for Family History Historians. Baltimore [Maryland]: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2001 WorldCat 46853206  FHL 942 D27gjh contains entries of where to find marriage registers in the Channel Islands.