England Church Records: Difference between revisions

The table below includes mostly Anglican and some Nonconformist church records that are online at the following major genealogy sites: FamilySearch, Ancestry ($), FindMyPast ($), The Genealogist ($) and FreeReg. For each county these websites are ranked under the "Index Online" column according to their number of entries from largest to smallest (left to right).   

Many years ago FamilySearch created a major index called the International Genealogical Index (IGI). It contained at the time, both indexed/extracted church register name entries as well as patron submitted names of their ancestors. The records extracted from church records cover only a small fraction of what is presently available in the current [https://www.familysearch.org/hr/search FamilySearch.org search page], which now renders the old IGI as an antequated data-file. No images are included as the IGI was designed to help genealogists find the right original records to pursue. Batch numbers are still used by FamilySearch (to track indexing), and a key website, [http://www.archersoftware.co.uk/igi/ Archersoftware], has created an online search utility for each batch number created by FamilySearch. In most cases, the information is about 3-4 years outdated, yet is quite helpful. Pick a British Isles country, then choose a county and parish to find links to batches for numerous England counties. Once you click on a batch number it interfaces with and takes you directly to the FamilySearch.org website's search engine with all indexed name entries for that batch.   

There are two ways to access the IGI.  

# Go to the FamilySearch.org "search" page and click "Genealogies" at the top. Type the name of the ancestor and this search facility will return entries from the IGI submitted name entries (non-index/extracted entries), which there are 897 million entries 

# Search in the entire collection of IGI records for England. These are listed below:[https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1473014 England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975], index, incomplete. Also at [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9841 Ancestry.com],  [http://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-30042/england-births-christenings-1538-1975?s=218489221 MyHeritage], ($)  

* [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1770891 Great Britain Marriages, 1797-1988], index, incomplete . Also at [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9881 Ancestry] ($)

* [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1473016 England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991], index, incomplete. Also ar [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9840 Ancestry], ($), [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/england-deaths-and-burials-1538-1991 findmypast], ($), and [http://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-30044/england-deaths-burials-1538-1991?s=218489221 MyHeritage], ($)

* [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1770890 Great Britain Deaths and Burials, 1778-1988], index, incomplete. Also at  [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9880 Ancestry], ($)

* [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9880 Great Britain, Select Deaths and Burials, 1778-1988], ($), index

3. Another is to find the parish in the FamilySearch Catalog. Look under "church records" and find the religion, year and record type of interest. If an IGI or FamilySearch index is available for the parish, a magnifying glass symbol will appear. If a camera symbol also appears, the images are also accessible. A camera symbol with a key indicates the image is accessible at home. If a pop-up appears, it will indicate the image is accessible only at an FHC or Affliate Library. A microfilm symbol means that the images are not yet available online. If an eight-digit (digital image) number appears next to the microfilm number, it means that the image can be viewed, but only at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.