Wales Church Records: Difference between revisions

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|[[Image:Margam Abbey, Glamorgan, Wales.jpg|thumb|float|315x236px|<center>Margam Abbey, Glamorgan, Wales<center>]]

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Church records are an excellent source for accurate information on names, dates, and places of birth, marriage, and burial. Most people who lived in Wales before the mid-nineteenth century are in a church record. Since civil authorities did not begin registering vital records until July 1837, church records are the best source of family information before this date.  

The parish is the most basic unit of church administration, although the parish was often divided into townships or tithings. Large parishes had small chapels of ease, or chapelries, for those who lived too far away to attend the parish church. Gazetteers can help you locate parishes and townships. See [[Wales Gazetteers]] for more information.  

The Family History Library has copies of this information on the following films:  

*Monmouth, Family History Library {{FHL|397652|title-id|disp=film 104178}}

===Types of Records and the Information They Contain===

Children were usually christened (baptized) within a few weeks of birth. Christening records give at least the infant’s name and the christening (baptismal) date. You may also find the father’s name and occupation, the mother’s first name, the child’s birth date and legitimacy, and the family’s place of residence or street address. Sometimes a later entry will record the child’s acceptance into the congregation.  

Couples usually married in the bride’s parish. Typically, the Welsh married in their mid-20s.  

A couple applied to the proper church authority, usually the bishop, for a license when:  

*A couple preferred not to subject themselves to publication of banns (common among upper classes and nonconformists).

'''''Online Records'''''

*'''1650-1900''' - {{RecordSearch|2761121|Wales, Marriage Bonds, 1650-1900}} at [https://familysearch.org/search FamilySearch] — index

Before-1813 burial records give the deceased name and burial date and sometimes the age, place of residence, cause of death, or occupation. The husband’s or father’s name is sometimes given. Post-1813 records have the name, age, residence, burial date, and minister’s signature. Burial registers may mention infant children who were not christened, including stillbirths. Christening records never record stillbirths. A married woman in Wales whose husband had died might have reverted to her maiden name and eventually be buried under that name.  

Church records were kept in a chest (or strongbox), known as the parish chest. Records kept by the parish other than the parish registers were called parish chest records. Some of these records exist from the sixteenth century, but many do not begin until the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.  

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For further information on parish chest material, see:  

*Tate, W. E. ''The Parish Chest''. 3rd ed. Chichester, Sussex, England: Phillimore, 1969. (Family History Library {{FHL|942 K2t|disp=book 942 K2t.)}}

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Many parish chest records are available at county record offices. These records include:  

A vestry is a parish’s presiding council. Minutes of vestry meetings often mention individuals, appointments of parish officers, and other affairs, such as agreements for the care of illegitimate children and lists of apprentices, parish newcomers, officials, and men eligible to serve as parish officers.

Parishes recorded payments made to the poor and rates, or taxes, assessed to meet welfare needs. Parishes charged rates for such costs as night watch, lighting, highway, pest control, constable expenses, sewer, and victim’s or soldier’s relief. They kept records of assessment, receipt, and disbursement.

When an unmarried woman was expecting a child, parish officials pressured her to reveal the father’s name, so the father, not the parish, had financial responsibility for the child. A bond of indemnification, also known as a bastardy bond, guaranteed that the father was responsible for the child. Bastardy bonds or records of the mother’s examination before the parish authorities may exist in the parish chest records or among quarter session records (see [[Wales Court Records]]). Churchwardens (church officials) sometimes bypassed the bond with a gentlemen agreement, records of which are among churchwardens’ accounts or vestry minutes.

Churchwardens, generally appointed at the Easter vestry meetings, were responsible to the bishop or the magistrate to present any wrongdoings at quarter sessions, including failure to provide for the poor, failure to attend church, drunkenness, or other undesirable behavior. They were to report misbehavior of the vicar or other vestry members as well. Churchwarden’s records often list men qualified to serve as churchwardens.

Before 1834 every individual had a place of legal settlement or residence. The parish of settlement was responsible for the welfare of family members, including elderly family members. A removal order was a document that directed a constable to transport the family back to their parish of settlement. Some settlement and removal records can be found among the quarter session records (see [[Wales Court Records]] for more information.)  

A child’s father often arranged his apprenticeship, but sometimes the parish arranged a child’s apprenticeship since it was cheaper for the parish to pay for an apprenticeship than to support a poor child. Apprenticeship records often list the apprentice’s father, his master, the length of apprenticeship, and the occupation. The child’s name may also be in vestry minutes where the vestry decided to put the child out as an apprentice. You may also find apprenticeship information in other sources; see [[Wales Occupations]].

Record of the general business of the church courts.  These courts deal with the following:  presentments, naming individuals who committed offenses such as adultery, fornication, swearing, failure to attend church, heresy, drunkenness and those refusing to have their children christened.<br>

Contents:  Act Books:  Day by day actions of the court serves as an index to other records.  Ecclesiastical Cause papers:  Examination of those giving testimony for the court.  Gives names, ages, birthplaces, and other residences, and length of time in the community plus information on problem in question.

Each year, beginning in 1598, a copy of the parish register was made and sent to the bishop of the diocese. These copies are called bishop’s transcripts. Bishop’s transcripts were meant to be exact, but entries were sometimes abbreviated and may contain additional or variant information from that found in the parish registers. If the original register has been lost, the transcript may be invaluable as the only source of information. In Wales these transcripts survive from about 1662. Most begin in the eighteenth century and have many years missing. Search both bishop’s transcripts and parish registers, when available, because of the differences that may exist between them.

[[Image:Baran Chapel, Llangyfelach.JPG|thumb|right|<center>Baran Chapel, Llangyfelach<center>]] An act passed in 1662 required everyone to conform to the Church of England. Those who did not were called nonconformists. Quakers, Baptists, and Independents (Presbyterians) were the first Welsh nonconformist groups.  

From early times, denominational magazines were published. These contain invaluable references to members, including often lengthy notices of baptisms, marriages, and obituaries. See [[Wales Periodicals]] for more information on how to locate journals in the FamilySearch Catalog.  

Many nonconformist religions evolved from sixteenth-century Puritanism. The Independent Church is also known as the Congregational Church. The records of these religions are similar to those of the Church of England. Baptists did not christen children; they baptized people who had reached a mature decision to be members. The person could have been as young as 14. The records may only contain the members’ names and baptism dates. They do not usually give the parents’ names. Some congregations kept a register of the births of members’ children, but this was rare.  

For information and history about Baptists, contact:  

For a history of the Welsh Baptists, see:  

*Breed, Geoffrey R. ''My Ancestors Were Baptists: How Can I Find Out More About Them?'' London, England: Society of Genealogists, 1988. (Family History Library {{FHL|942 K23bg|disp=book 942 K23bg 1988}}.)

The Independents baptized infants. The registers contain information similar to that recorded in Church of England christening registers. The Welsh Independents [Annibynwyr Cymraeg] are a very strong nonconformist sect. Their history is in:  

*Clifford, D. J. H. ''My Ancestors Were Congregationalists in England &amp; Wales: With a List of Registers.'' London, England: Society of Genealogists, 1992. (Family History Library {{FHL|942 K23cd|disp=book 942 K23cd}}.)

For information on Presbyterians, see:  

*'''Dr. Williams’ Library.''' Many congregations did not keep consistent records. In January 1743 officials formed a central birth registry for Independents, Baptists, and Presbyterians called Dr. Williams’ Library.

;DR. WILLIAMS’ LIBRARY (LONDON)

There are several groups of Methodists in Wales: Wesleyan, Primitive, New Connexion, and so on. The Wesleyan group is the largest. Some groups recorded their baptisms and burials in the Church of England until the nineteenth century.  

Rawson Williams, Alun.''Obituaries in "Y Drysorfa"''&nbsp;&nbsp; A list of Calvinistic Methodists whose biographies were published in "Y Drysorf" in 1868 and 1869. Article in journal Hel Achau, no.9. 1983, pages 15-16, Family History Library Ref. 942.93 D25.  

The Calvinistic Methodists began in the late 1730s. Their leaders advocated reforming the Church of England but not separating from it. Societies were formed, and weekday meetings were held for preaching and singing. On Sunday, members attended their local parish church for communion. This changed in 1811 when the Calvinistic Methodists began ordaining their own ministers and keeping their own records. Today, this sect is known as the Presbyterian Church of Wales. The National Library of Wales is the official repository for this sect’s records, however; many before-1837 registers were turned into the Registrar General in 1837.  

Also known as Quakers, the Society of Friends did not have appointed clergy to perform baptisms. The Society recorded births instead. Burial registers usually include the date of death. Quakers also recorded marriages to ensure their validity.  

The organization of Quaker religious groups follows:  

*'''The yearly meeting,''' includes representatives from the quarterly meetings and Friends from other countries.

*Milligan, Edward H., and Malcolm J. Thomas. ''My Ancestors Were Quakers: How Can I Find Out More About Them?'' London, England: Society of Genealogists, 1983. (Family History Library {{FHL|942 D27m|disp=book 942 D27m}}.)

[[Image:Neath Abbey, Glamorgan, Wales.jpg|thumb|right|200x230px|<center>Neath Abbey, Glamorgan, Wales<center>]]Copies of parish registers may be available in manuscript or published form. These copies include transcripts and abstracts, some of which may have errors or omissions. Compare the transcript to the original parish register, if available.

Individuals and societies collect and compile copies of parish registers. Both the Society of Genealogists in London and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah have major collections of such records.

*'''1678-2001''' - {{RecordSearch|2737047|Wales, Parish Registers, 1678-2001}} at [https://familysearch.org/search FamilySearch] — index

*The [http://www.findmypast '''FindMyPast'''] website has indexed most of the parish registers for Wales.

::WALES, [COUNTY] - CHURCH RECORDS - INDEXES

*The International Genealogical Index is a major index for Welsh parish records. See [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/igi nternational Genealogical Index (IGI)].

====Marriage Indexes====

*The [http://cat.llgc.org.uk/cgi-bin/gw/chameleon?skin=fh&lng=en '''National Library of Wales'''] has original marriage bonds and allegations for marriages in Wales and a  surname index ]to them for the years 1616 through 1837. The Marriage Bond Index covers about 90,000 marriages by license in Wales. Write to the National Library to have the index searched. When writing, send as much information as possible, such as the names of the couple, their home parishes, the date of marriage, and the name of the church where they married.

*If you find information in an index, check the original record. There may be more information, or the index may contain an error.

*[https://www.llgc.org.uk/en/information-for/family-historians/records/church-in-wales-records/ Church in Wales Records] - The National Library of Wales

*[http://www.freereg.org.uk FreeReg]

*[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CGN/Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn/#ChurchRecords Genuki Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn Church Records]

'''Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:'''  

*[[Wales Glamorgan Church of Wales Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records]]<br>

The Family History Library has some parish registers, parish register transcripts, bishop’s transcripts, and parish chest materials from the Church of Wales on film. These are gradually all being digitized and placed online.To find the film numbers by county and parish, use:  

The library also has microfilm copies of the nonconformist records deposited with the Public Record Office (see the "[[Wales Archives and Libraries|Archives and Libraries]]" section for the address). In addition, some of the nonconformist records at the National Library of Wales have been filmed.<ref>The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ''Research Outline: Wales'' (Salt Lake City: Corporation of the President, 2000), 18-25.</ref>

Wales has no single repository of church records although the records are usually available at a county record office or the National Library of Wales. Some sources describing the location or survival of church records are:  

*Ifans, Dafydd, ed. ''Cofrestri Anghydffurfiol Cymru (Nonconformist Registers of Wales).'' Aberystwith, Wales: National Library of Wales and Welsh County Archivists’ Group, 1994. (Family History Library {{FHL|709745|title-id|disp=book 942.9 K23c}}.)

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{{Place|Wales}}