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=== '''Civil Registration: in England and Wales'''<br> === | === '''Civil Registration: in England and Wales'''<br> === | ||
*The jurisdictional basis of civil registration is the Registration District. Registration districts were based on the Poor Law Unions that were formed in 1834 | *The jurisdictional basis of civil registration is the Registration District. Registration districts were based on the Poor Law Unions that were formed in 1834. | ||
*Each quarter, superintendent registrars forwarded copies of their district’s registrations to the Registrar General in London. The registration districts hold the original birth and death records, and the General Register Office holds copies. | *Each quarter, superintendent registrars forwarded copies of their district’s registrations to the Registrar General in London. The registration districts hold the original birth and death records, and the General Register Office holds copies. | ||
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*Ordained clergy of the Church of England, the established church, were automatically entitled to perform and register marriages. Clergy of other denominations could not perform legally valid marriages until 1898, when they could apply to become 'Authorised Persons'. Prior to that date, a Registrar of Marriages had to be present. Civil marriages could be performed in the register office, but these were rare until the 20th century. | *Ordained clergy of the Church of England, the established church, were automatically entitled to perform and register marriages. Clergy of other denominations could not perform legally valid marriages until 1898, when they could apply to become 'Authorised Persons'. Prior to that date, a Registrar of Marriages had to be present. Civil marriages could be performed in the register office, but these were rare until the 20th century. | ||
* | *Quaker and Jewish marriages were performed by Registering Officers and Secretaries of Synagogues, respectively. They were also required to deposit completed registers at the Register Office, and to forward quarterly copies to the Registrar General. | ||
{{Wikipedia|General Register Office}} One problem with England Civil Registration is non-universal coverage. An estimated 90 to 95 percent of births and nearly all deaths and marriages were reported. A new registration Act in 1874 placed the responsibility on parents to inform the registrar of all births, but this made no discernible difference to the rate of registration, which by 1875 was around 99 percent. If you cannot find a birth, marriage, or death record in civil registration, search church records. | |||
It is thus important to realize the two distinct types of Civil Registration that are referred to throughout this article: | |||
* '''Indexes''' are the alphabetical lists of birth, marriages and deaths drawn up by the General Register Office(GRO) for each quarter. | |||
* '''Certificates''' refer to the original documents that recorded the information. You need to have the index entry for a record to be able to find the certificate. | |||
{{see also|General Register Office for England and Wales}} | {{see also|General Register Office for England and Wales}} | ||
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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. | 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. | ||
''' | ===== Stillbirths ===== | ||
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. | |||
===== Adoptions ===== | |||
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. | |||
Pre-1927 adoption records are kept by the agency or institution which handled the adoption and are very difficult to locate. Many no longer exist. For more information, see: | |||
*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}}.) | |||
===== '''Abandoned Children''' ===== | |||
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. | |||
Application for certificates can be made in writing to: | |||
General Register Office, Adoptions, | |||
Trafalgar Road, Southport, PR8 2HH. | |||
==== Marriages ==== | ==== Marriages ==== | ||
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*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. | *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. | ||
The law required all marriages to be recorded in a civil register immediately after the ceremony. Marriages were often performed at the bride’s parish | The law required all marriages to be recorded in a civil register immediately after the ceremony. Marriages were often performed at the bride’s parish | ||
Because the marriage information found in the civil certificates of marriage, are an exact replica of the church registers of marriage, the records of the churches represent an original copy of each marriage certificate sent to the General Register Office. | |||
==== Divorces ==== | ==== Divorces ==== | ||
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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. | 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. | ||
== Merchant Shipping Act == | == Merchant Shipping Act == | ||
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Indexes for Deaths at sea are also located on [http://www.findmypast.co.uk/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp findmypast], these indexes cover 1854-1890. | Indexes for Deaths at sea are also located on [http://www.findmypast.co.uk/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp findmypast], these indexes cover 1854-1890. | ||
== | == Finding England Civil Registration Records == | ||
Locating England Civil Registration Records is a two-step process: | |||
# Find the GRO Index Entry | |||
# Order the Certificate | |||
=== Indexes === | |||
There are two forms of the GRO Index: | |||
'''GRO Searchable Index'''. For free, anyone can register at the site of the [http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ GRO], and search the indexes for Births and Deaths only. These indexes contain the names of the people involved, but not parents or spouses, as well as Age of the deceased (Death Records) and Maiden Name of the Mother (Birth Records) | |||
'''Traditional Indexes'''. 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. | |||
* [http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl FreeBMD]. An ongoing project, accessible for free. A useful feature for marriages lists all the possible spouses. | |||
* [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/ UKBMD website] lists many local BMD websites (e.g. [http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/ LancashireBMD]). Some of these sites may include more information than FreeBMD, including Mother's Maiden Name before 1911. | |||
* [http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/nameindex/ai_content.php The Genealogist website] , [http://www.findmypast.co.uk Findmypast] & [http://www.ancestry.co.uk/ Ancestry.co.uk], [http://worldvitalrecords.com WorldVitalRecords.com] All these subscription sites also include the GRO Indexes. There may be value in searching multiple sites, due to occasional mis-transcriptions. | |||
=== Search Tips === | |||
If you cannot locate an index entry, consider the following reasons: | |||
* | *Surnames are often found under unexpected spellings. | ||
*Events are filed by the date registered, not the date they occurred (for example, a birth on 20 March which was registered on 6 April will be in the April-May-June quarter). | |||
*Indexes were prepared by hand and may contain copying errors (for example, "T" for "F") or omissions. | |||
*A person may have been registered under a different name than he or she used later in life. | |||
*Some marriages were indexed by the name of only one spouse. | |||
*A woman’s surname in the marriage index may be her surname from a previous marriage. | |||
*Family information (particularly age at death) is often misleading. | |||
*Persons with common names may be difficult to identify in the index. | |||
*Some deaths were registered as "unknown." | |||
*A child born before the parents’ marriage may be registered under the mother’s maiden name. | |||
*Some children were registered as "male" or "female" if a name had not been selected before registration. | |||
== Locating and Ordering Civil Registration Records == | == Locating and Ordering Civil Registration Records == | ||