The Hampshire Family Historian | Volume 49 No.4 | March 2023

Local Group Programmes

(January) C of E records for genealogy – Ann McKenzie The Andover group welcomed back its previous leader, Ann McKenzie, to tell us how old Church of England records could help modern-day genealogists. Having researched her own family for 30 years and been a priest for over 20, Ann is very well qualified. Parishes existed in Saxon times but by the late 13th century they had increased in importance. A wooden ‘parish chest’ was used for the secure storage of an increasing number of important documents. When, in 1538, Thomas Cromwell introduced the recording of parish baptisms, marriages and burials, the volumes dramatically increased. These records provided early population estimates. When the dissolution of the monasteries occurred, each parish became responsible for ‘The Relief of the Poor’, which led to the creation of many documents including financial ones detailing taxes paid, alms, charities, payments to the poor and church accounts. Other documents related to the church buildings, vestry minutes, apprenticeship indentures, vagrants, bastardy records and settlements. However, a wooden chest was not the best container to safely store such valuable records and did not protect them from water or insect damage. Many documents were subsequently lost or damaged and by 1813, wood was no longer used. So where are all these records to be found now? Subscription and free websites present many baptisms, marriages and burials (some with images); the National Archives, county archives and local record offices hold many records in digital format but the vast majority of documents are stored in local record offices in their original format for viewing in person on microfiche. Ann described the indexing and records available at the Hampshire Records Office as exemplary and recommends a visit to the record office of interest, having first used the online catalogue. The way in which information was recorded altered and improved throughout the years. Initially, baptisms, marriages and burials might only record the scantest of detail – so a baptism may only include the father’s name and ignore the mother. A marriage might only record the names of the bride and groom and burials could give just the name of the deceased. The parish priest was not obliged to note additional information. In addition, until 1754, they were all recorded in one book and not necessarily in an obvious order, other than by year. But of course, these records were not written for the benefit of genealogists hundreds of years later! Other interesting documents might include the payment and arrangement for church pews, vaccination records, reports of local events and 20th century parish magazines. Many laws brought about changes in the way parish records were completed and maintained. From 1598, copies of subsequent parish records were made, called the Bishops’ Transcripts. These were backdated to 1558 and may contain additional information. A number of Acts of Parliament proved very significant, not only for the people concerned, but for us now trying to piece together our own family history. The Acts themselves generated new documents, providing a rich source of additional information. These included the 1601 Poor Relief Laws (showing named individual payments gifted); the 1701 Settlement Act and the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act (replacing the ancient system of payment of tithes in kind with monetary payments).

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