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20 England<br>Census Indexes<br>1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901<br>Use Census Indexes To:<br>• Quickly find your ancestor in a census.<br>Online Indexes<br>Name indexes exist on the Internet for every census from 1841 to 1901. The following Web sites have indexes:<br>• www.ancestry.co.uk (for the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901 censuses; fee required)<br>• www.englishorigins.com (for the 1841 and 1871 censuses; fee required)<br>• www.findmypast.com (for the 1841, 1861, 1871, and 1891 censuses; fee required)<br>• www.thegenealogist.co.uk (for the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, and 1901 censuses; fee required)<br>• http://213.161.80.228/ (for the 1901 census; fee required)<br>• www.familysearch.org (for the 1881 census; no charge)<br>• www.census-online.com/links/England (links for many online census records)<br>• www.freecen.org.uk (free database of online census transcriptions)<br>You can also use a search engine such as Google to look for a census index for a particular place. (For example: Bishop’s Cleeve 1851 Census Index.)<br>• Check for variant spellings of the surname.<br>• If you can’t find your ancestor’s full name in an index, search using only the given name and other identifying information, such as age and place. Or search for only a surname with the other identifying information.<br>• Indexes can have errors and omissions, which will affect what results appear for a search.<br>• Read the information provided about the index before searching so that you will better understand what is indexed and how to search it.<br>Tips<br>Searching Census Indexes<br>Before searching, you must know:<br>• Your ancestor’s name.<br>• An approximate age for your ancestor.<br>It can also be helpful to know:<br>• Where your ancestor lived at the time of the census.<br>• Names of other family members.  

<br>22 England<br>Church Records: christening<br>1538 to the Present<br>Use Christening (Baptism) Records To:<br>• Find christening information for the majority of the people who were born in England.<br>• Verify your ancestor’s christening date and place.<br>• Establish a time and place of a family's residence.<br>• Verify parents’ names.<br>Content<br>• Child's name<br>• Parents' names, and in some time periods, occupation and residence<br>• Christening date<br>• Birth date (on some records)<br>• Residence and father’s occupation (on some records)<br>Indexes<br>International Genealogical Index (IGI)<br>The International Genealogical Index includes many christenings extracted from Church of England (and other) registers. Not all church records are included in the IGI.<br>This index is available on the Internet at www.familysearch.org.<br>Vital Records Index—British Isles<br>2nd Edition (50126)<br>The Vital Records Index—British Isles includes many christenings extracted from Church of England (and other) registers that were not included in the IGI. It is available on compact disc and can be purchased for use<br>at home (See “How to Order FamilySearch Library Publications,” page 29.) It is also available at the FamilySearch Library and FamilySearch centers.<br>Internet Search engines<br>Numerous Web sites contain indexes to church records in England. Online data may be found by using a search engine such as Google.<br>• In this publication, the term church records refers to records of the Church of England. Records for other churches do exist and can be used. You should know the denomination your ancestor belonged to.<br>• The christening date can be used as an approximate birth date if the birth took place before 1837, because children were usually christened within a few weeks of birth.<br>• When searching christening (baptism) records, look a few years before the time you think the actual birth or christening took place, and continue for several years after the actual birth. Some people were not christened as children, but as adults.<br>• If you don’t find your ancestor’s birth (christening) record in one parish, look in nearby parishes. (See<br>“Finding Places” on pages 14–16.)<br>• Copies of parish registers (the original record), known as Bishops’ Transcripts, and in some counties, Archdeacons’ Transcripts exist from about 1598 to about 1875. These transcripts can be searched if the parish registers are not available or if the parish registers are unreadable. Be aware that the information given for a particular entry can vary between parish registers, Bishops’ Transcripts, and Archdeacons’ Transcripts.<br>• If you don’t find the christening in Church of England registers, look at the records of other churches. (See Research Outline: England [34037]<br>“Nonconformist Church Records.”)