Parish registers Lookups

[emmabines]

Just found out that my local library has the parish records on microfiche for Hemel Hempstead/Watford and surroundings.

If you want a look up I'm happy to pop over there at lunch some days.

And if you can offer an Essex look up in exchange even better!! All my relatives seem to come from there so far!

[Ken Boyce]

Hi Emma(?)
Thanks for your kind offer to do some look-ups at your local library

I have an interest in that general area as my paternal grandfathers family may have come from SW Herts

Would it be possible for you to check to see if the records are of the actual parish registers or are they someones transcripts and if so who's and are they indexed

Rough dates would also be of interest

Thanks

[emmabines]

The are actual parish registers.

Rough idea of dates - some as far back as 16something. Some upto 1992!

Areas: Sarratt, Chipperfield, Kings Langely, Abbots Langley, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead to name a few.

Emma

[Ken Boyce]

Hi Emma
Thanks for your reply which prompted me to revisit (online) the Herts Archives which sadly I haven’t done for some considerable time as I’m a Barnetonian by birth and as a result over the years have had to stagger to and fro across the county line between Middlesex and Herts depending upon the whim of the Agency involved. Combining this oddity with the fact that I know very little about my (WW2 casualty) father’s Hertfordshire side of the family has allowed me to concentrate on my maternal Middlesex/London connections at the expense of Herts

I should have known better - the Web Site for the Herts Archive is now much superior to the old County Hall Site

You may not be aware that the Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS} is now the official repository for Hertfordshire parish registers and they hold numerous original parish and a number of non-conformist registers, Public access to most of these records is by microfilm only. However, it is likely that films of the earlier registers can be viewed at any LDS Family History Centre

HALS also has many other Hertfordshire parish documents and holds a copy of the National BMD Index,. It also holds many Hertfordshire wills and has an extensive collection of documents relating to Hertfordshire, many of interest to the family historian

A list of the Archive holdings is available online at www.hertsdirect.org/hals

The online listing includes downloadable pdf files of the register listings with dates covered, a listing of indexed registers, and a very good section on how to set about locating a Hertfordshire Will. The listing also includes HALS’s comprehensive holdings of local newspapers including those held in Hertfordshire local libraries.

Now if I could only find the time .........
Regards