Stupid question - pre 1837 birth certificates

[warmnet]

Probably a stupid newbie question that has been answered a million times but....

Am I able to obtain bmd certificates for pre 1837 parish records?

regards
Diane:o

[ChrisKelly]

No, pre-1837, you can only obtain a copy of the parish register (whole or part) that includes the relevant bmd entry. Perhaps someone somewhere offers a service to copy an individual page or individual line of the register, and issue some sort of pseudo-certificate, but I'm not aware of it.
:)

[warmnet]

Thanks Chris,
So I assume that this is where the hard work begins. So do you get all the other amazing info like father's occupation, maiden name etc or just names?

[Peter Goodey]

As I understand it, Diocesan Record Offices, which in effect means County Record Offices, can issue certified copies of parish register entries.

I think think of any genealogical reason why anyone would want to avail themselves of the service.

What you need is simple access to parish registers which is well covered elsewhere on this site eg in the Church Registers forum.

[ChrisKelly]

Thanks Chris,
So I assume that this is where the hard work begins. So do you get all the other amazing info like father's occupation, maiden name etc or just names?
For a birth you often get the father's occupation, but not always; the mother's maiden name is rarely, if ever recorded (where we're talking about a married couple of course). A lot also depends on what information has been transcribed from the original register in the first place - it might not be everything, but for example have the names only. Why not have a browse through some of the on-line parish registers (http://www.genuki.org.uk/indexes/OPC.html) and see what they look like.
Good luck.
:)

[Alan Welsford]

Generally you will find that baptisms pre 1812 tend to be recorded in a register with blank pages, and the incumbent writes out the entry in full.

For example....

1800 Jany 1st - Thomas son of John & Ann Smith

if you are really unlucky you sometimes get

1800 Jul 7th - Frederick child of Paul Jackson

or if you are more lucky

1801 Feby 2nd - Martha daughter of William and Mary Jones, of Piddington, Bricklayer

only very very rarely

1802 Mar 3rd - Sarah daughter of Charles Brown and Elizabeth (late Williams).

These entries may be mixed up with burials, or, sometimes, marriages, making them a bit harder to read through, (or a lot harder if the ink has faded, or the writing poor).

From 1812, (or thereabouts), there was a requirement to use registers for baptisms with formatted "boxes" for the required information, which should have meant the information captured was more standard.

These boxes are for

When baptised
Childs Christian Name
Parents Names - Christian
Parents names - Surname
Abode
Quality Trade or Profession
By whom ceremony was performed.

Some incumbents ignored the form, and wrote it the old way on the blank page to the left |banghead|Others amended it's use, and wrote in extra information, (bless 'em!).
Sometimes abode or profession are omitted, with the boxes left blank.

Note that even the post 1812 form does not include a box for date of birth. Sometimes, if you are lucky both baptism date and birth date will be recorded in the "when baptised" box, but it's the exception rather than the norm, (although you will find periods in some parishes where it was added for all baptisms - it was largely at the whim of the person performing the baptism).

Even pre 1812, you may also get it, e.g.

1804 Decr 25 Joseph son of Robert and Ann Brown, born Sept 26th last.

but again only when you examine any particular register will you know how detailed (or basic) the recorded information is.

Note also, the baptism may have been carried out at any date between the day of birth and (unusually) close to death, and the fact that the birth may have been some, or many, years ago may not be recorded.

Usually if the person being baptised is adult some reference will be made, (or it may be obvious because, for example, no parents details are listed - but that's not a lot of use for family history research!...)

A good transcription of a register will carry over all the information in the original register. Many transcripts do not. Much of the IGI, for example, omits dates of birth, or ages recorded in original baptism records, vastly reducing the usefulness of the information. (However more recent IGI batches now appear to have started including these vital extras).

I hope that's all broadly correct, and of some help.

Alan

[arthurk]

If your ancestors had the good sense to come from Yorkshire, you might be lucky and find them in a Dade register (named after the person who devised them). These were in use in a number of parishes around the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and at a baptism, for example, will usually give the full names of the parents and the grandfathers. In fact I have some that name all the grandparents and two of the great grandfathers too. Similar registers ("Barrington registers") were in use in Co. Durham around the same time, and very occasionally these features are found in registers from other parts of the country.

Try googling for "Dade registers" and see what comes up - this (http://www.pontefractfhs.org.uk/Dade_registers.htm), from the Pontefract & District FHS, is one of the results.

Arthur

[suedent]

If your ancestors had the good sense to come from Yorkshire, you might be lucky and find them in a Dade register (named after the person who devised them). These were in use in a number of parishes around the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and at a baptism, for example, will usually give the full names of the parents and the grandfathers. In fact I have some that name all the grandparents and the two great grandfathers too. Similar registers ("Barrington registers") were in use in Co. Durham around the same time, and very occasionally these features are found in registers from other parts of the country.

Try googling for "Dade registers" and see what comes up - this (http://www.pontefractfhs.org.uk/Dade_registers.htm), from the Pontefract & District FHS, is one of the results.

Arthur

And aren't I glad that Haltwhistle in Northumberland was actually in Durham Diocese rather than Hexham :D The information from the "Barrington Registers" has proved invaluable and saved many hours of research.