England Civil Registration: Difference between revisions

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Before 1837 only churches recorded birth, marriage, and death information in England (see [[England Church Records]]). In the early 1800s, Parliament recognized the need for accurate records for voting, planning, taxation, and defense purposes. Legislation was passed to create a civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for England and Wales and, for registering the same for British subjects abroad. England and Wales registration began on 1 July 1837, and covered births, marriages, divorces and deaths. However one problem with English civil registration is that coverage was not universal, especially in the earlier years before tougher laws in 1874.  Use Church Records in these cases.  

It is thus important to realize the two distinct types of Civil Registration that are referred to throughout this article:  

:

A birth certificate usually gives:  

*when registered and the name of the registrar

The father, mother, neighbor, or other person present at the birth must register a birth within 42 days. The 1874 act imposed a fee for late registration (43 days to 6 months). This penalty may have persuaded some parents to "adjust" their child's birth date to avoid paying the fee. After six months the birth could not be registered.  

No provision was made for registering stillbirths until 1874, when a new law required a death certificate before burying stillborn children. Since 1927, all stillbirths (any birth where the child never took a breath) are recorded in the Register of Stillbirths, which is not available to the public.  

Civil registration adoption certificates began in 1927, giving the child’s new name, birth date, court, entry date and reference number, and district and subdistrict of birth as well as the adoptive parents’ names, addresses, and occupation(s). Adoption records may be consulted only by arrangement with the Office for National Statistics.  

*Stafford, Georgina. ''Where to Find Adoption Records: A Guide for Counsellors''. London, England: British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, 1993. (Family History Library {{FHL|647592|title-id|disp=book Ref 942 D27sgw}}.)

Since 1977 the births of abandoned babies, whose parentage is unknown have been recorded in the Abandoned Children Register. Before this, these births were registered at the register office in the district where the child was found. 

Trafalgar Road, Southport, PR8 2HH.

A marriage certificate gives:  

*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.

Because the marriage information found in the civil certificates of marriage, are an exact replica of the church registers of marriage, there is no need to consult civil records(for which payment is requirement) if the Anglican Church records are more freely available elsewhere.   

Divorce records contain information on family members, their marital history (including marriage date and place), property, residences, and sometimes dates of events such as children’s births. To search an index to Divorce Records, see "Key Websites" below.  

Before 1858, a divorce required an Act of Parliament, restricting it to the aristocratic and wealthy whose marital lives were of concern to Parliament. Divorces were a type of "Private Act",  lists in chronological order are available on the [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/changes/chron-tables/private Private and Personal Acts] page of legislation.gov.uk. Information may also be available at the [http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/parliamentary-archives/explore-guides-to-documentary-archive-/familyhistory/ Parliamentary Archives]  

Civil divorce registration began in 1858. These divorce records are confidential for 75 years. The National Archives has a useful [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/divorces/ Help Page for Divorces]. Records up to 1916 can be searched on Ancestry in the collection [http://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=2465&geo_a=r&o_iid=41021&o_lid=41021&o_sch=Web+Property England and Wales, Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1916].   

*{{FHL|695681|title-id|disp=Index to divorces (as listed in Palmer's Indexes to "The Times" newspaper, London) 1788-1910}}.

A death certificate usually gives:  

*date registered and the name of the registrar.<br>

On certificates for adults, the names of parents are never given. In considering whether to order a death certificate, remember that the information on the certificate may be limited or inaccurate because it is based on the <u>informant’s</u> knowledge. It can be helpful for those looking for clues about persons born or married before July 1837.  

Parliament passed legislation creating a civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for English, Scots, Irish and Welsh subjects living abroad, or also known as British subjects abroad. Where registration in England and Wales began 1 July 1837, for those British and Irish subjects living overseas, registration began at differing time periods in different countries. <br>  

For a brief list of the several register series of births, marriages and deaths affecting British subjects abroad, consider the various records cited below. Some of these records are held at the General Register Office (sometimes known as The Registrar General) at:<br>  

::Ruskin Avenue

::Surrey,

::United Kingdom

::Tel: +44 (0) 20 8876 3444

And some registers are held at:<br>  

::United Kingdom

::Tel 0151 471 4801

   

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1.  Military Records (including Merchant ships) of personnel abroad:

::- [http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk/#bmd Merchant Marine Births, marriages and deaths 1854-1891]

2.  The Registrar General also had custody of non-statutory registers of births, marriages, deaths and burials overseas from 1826-1951 which originally were sent to the Bishop of London's diocesan office. These registers are now held at The National Archives, and some copies at FamilySearch include''':'''  

::- Indexes to all the above "Miscellaneous" series from 1826-1945 are found in RG43<br>

Indexes for Deaths at sea are also located on [http://www.findmypast.co.uk/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp findmypast], these indexes cover 1854-1890.  

Locating England Civil Registration Records is a two-step process:

There are two forms of the GRO Index:

'''Traditional Indexes'''. Formerly known as "St Catherine's Registers" Alphabetically-arranged indexes were created by the GRO at the end of each quarter, for births, marriages and deaths. Images and searchable indexes of these appear on several sites. Coverage may not be 100%. Maiden name of mothers are not included before 1911.  

See below for how to order the original once you have the index entry.  

If you cannot locate an index entry, consider the following reasons:  

*Some children were registered as "male" or "female" if a name had not been selected before registration.

''Tip for Marriages: If your ancestors married in the Anglican church after 1837, there is no need to pay £9.25, as the Church marriage register will be an exact duplicate of the civil marriage.''  

*[http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ Certificate Ordering Service]

All events in civil registration are arranged by Registration District. These districts usually lump many rural villages together and divide a city very finely.   

*''A Guide to the Arrangement of the Registration Districts Listed in the Indexes to the Civil Registration of England and Wales''. Second Edition. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Family History Library, 1977. (Family History Library book {{FHL|942 V2icr |disp=942 V2icr 1977}}; {{FHL|37604|title-id|disp=film 990269 items 4–5; fiche 6020287}}

*[https://familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/74 '''England Beginning Research Series Lesson 3: Understanding Civil Registration''']