Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths Civil Registration
England and Wales from 1 July 1837 Scotland from 1 January 1855 Ireland from 1 January 1864 (Protestant Marriages from 1 April 1845) England and Wales
619 Registration Districts - based on the Poor Law Unions (groups of parishes)
Registration Districts
Each registration district the responsibility of a superintendant registrar Each divided into sub-districts, the responsibility of local registrars E.g. Teesdale registration district (until replaced1938 by Durham South Western) ◦ Covered parts of Durham and North Riding ◦ Sub-districts Barnard Castle Middleton Staindrop
Teesdale Registration District
Parishes ◦ Barforth, Barnard Castle, Barningham, Boldron , Bowes, Brignall, Cleatlam, Cockfield, Cotherstone, Eggleston, Egglestone Abbey, Forest & Frith, Gainford, Gilmonby, Headlam, Hilton, Holwick, Hope, Hunderthwaite, Hutton Magna, Ingleton, Langleydale with Shotton, Langton, Lartington, Lunedale, Marwood, Marwood, Mickleton, Middleton in Teesdale, Morton Tinmouth, Newbiggin, Ovington, Raby with Keverstone, Rokeby, Romaldkirk, Scargill, Staindrop, Startforth, Streatlam & Stainton, Wackerfield, Westwick, Whorlton, Winston, Woodland, Wycliffe with Thorpe Teesdale Registration District
General Register Office Volumes ◦ XXIV (1837 to 1851) ◦ 10a (1852-1938) To find the registration district - use Google
or http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/reg/distri cts/index.html Documentation Flow - Marriage
Anglican or Quaker or Jewish or – after 1898 – ‘authorised’
Superintendant Local Registrar Registrar Registrar General
Kept at church Signed When full
Copied
Marriage Every 3 months Certificate
Copied Indexed
Marriage Collated Certificate Copied Copied and bound Documentation Flow - Marriage Non-conformist service or register office
Local Registrar Superintendant attends service Registrar Registrar General
Signed
Every 3 months Copied
Marriage Copied Indexed Certificate
Marriage Collated Certificate Copied Copied and bound Documentation Flow - Death
Informant Local Registrar Superintendant GRO Registrar Registrar General
Copied Every 3 months
Death Copied Indexed Certificate
Burial Death Collated Certificate Copied Copied and bound Documentation Flow - Birth
Informant Local Registrar Superintendant Registrar Registrar General
Copied Every 3 months
Birth Copied Indexed Certificate
Birth Collated Certificate Copied Copied and bound Birth Certificate
Red Legal obligation on informant to report a birth only from 1875 Births have to registered within 42 days Late registration penalty resulted in incorrect date in some cases Birth Certificate Birth Certificate A Birth Certificate will contain the following information: Date of birth (and time for twins) Birthplace (street address, farm, village) Name of child Gender of child Forename and surname of the father (blank for illegitimate) Forename, surname, and maiden name of the mother Occupation of the father Signature; a description (mother) and address of the informant Date of registration Signature of registrar
Death Certificate
Black (or grey) Legal obligation to report a death within 8 days (now 5 days) Burial not permitted without a death certificate (or coroner’s certificate) After 1 April 1969, the date and place of birth of the deceased and the maiden name (in the case of a married woman) are also given. Death Certificate Death Certificate
A death certificate will contain the following information: Place and date of death Name and Surname of the deceased Sex Age at death Occupation of the deceased Cause of death Signature, name and address of informant (and sometimes relationship to the deceased) Date of registration Signature of registrar
Marriage Certificate
Green The marriage certificate at the wedding is a certified copy. If one of the fathers were deceased or retired, the registrar was supposed to note that, but it was a practice not uniformly followed. Some widows remarried in the church only, not recording the marriage with the Civil Registrar. This protected her widow's pension from the first husband. Marriage certificate Marriage Certificate
A Marriage Certificate will contain the following information: Date and place of the event Names of the bride and groom Ages of the bride and groom (see above) Each spouse's "condition" (bachelor, spinster, widow, etc.) Each person's rank or profession The bride and groom's respective residences The bride and groom's respective fathers' names The fathers' ranks or professions An indication of the form of the ceremony "after banns", etc. The signatures (or marks) of the couple the signatures (or marks) of two witnesses Signature of officiating minister or registrar
Important Dates in Registration 1st July 1837 Civil Registration in England and Wales begins 1852 GRO References change from Roman Numerals (XVI) to Arabic numbers and letters (6d) 1866 GRO indexes include age at death 1875 Birth and Death Act 1874: ◦ a) Compulsory registration of births (parents/guardians responsible for registration), b) Fines for non-registration of births/penalties for late registration (42 days to register), c) For illegitimate births, father must be present at the birth registration for his name to appear on a birth entry in the register, d) Deaths to be registered within 5 days, instead of 8 as previous, e) Medical certification in respect of cause of death required. 1898 Non Conformist and Catholic Churches can appoint an "Authorised Person" to register marriages, removing the need for a Registrar to be present. Sept Qtr. 1911 GRO Indexes include Mothers Maiden Name Mar Qtr. 1912 GRO Marriage Indexes include Spouses Surname
Important dates (cont)
1st July 1927 Introduction of the Register of Stillbirths 1927 ◦ a) Introduction of the Adopted Children’s Register, b) Re-registration of illegitimate births allowed if parents subsequently marry each other, c) Registrar’s certificate / coroner’s order required before a burial / cremation of a body. 1929 ◦ a) Legal age for marriage increased from 14 (males) and 12 (females) to 16 for both (parental consent still required up to age 21), b) Functions of civil registration transferred to Local Authorities, c) Newly appointed Registration Officers paid salaries. 1946 GRO Volume Numbers re-organised (6d became 9c). 1947 Short Birth Certificates introduced. 1969 ◦ a) Format of Birth and Death Certificates changed, to portrait instead of landscape, b) Age of majority reduced from 21 to 18, c) Re-registration of births of illegitimate children to include name of father allowed, irrespective of whether the parents marry. June Qtr.1969 Death Indexes show ‘Date of Birth’ instead of ‘Age at Death’. 1974 GRO Volume Numbers re-organised (9c became 32). 1975 Adult adopted people allowed access to information on original birth entry. 1984 GRO Indexes changed to annual compilations. How to obtain a certificate
Either from the GRO ◦ https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage- certificate Or from your local register office ◦ You need to find the Register Office that is relevant to the birth, marriage or death you are interested in. This can be found at http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/reg/ where you can look up the registration district which then has a link (Registers now in...) to details of the local Register Office. In order to obtain the actual certificate it is best to ring the office and find out what their process is for ordering certificates, as it does vary from office to office. ◦ Note that the GRO reference, in particular the volume and page number, is not relevant to ordering from a local office. How to obtain a certificate
You’ll need to register on the General Register Office (GRO) website to order a copy of a birth, adoption, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate in England and Wales. Certificates cost £9.25. You can use this service to help you research your family tree. Start now on the General Register Office ordering service https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate The GRO Indexes
Original registers cannot be inspected by the public – but the indexes used to be available. The physical indexes used to be at Somerset House, London then moved to St Catherine’s House, London, then moved to the Family Record Centre (Myddelton House) – which then closed in 2008. Now public access not possible to the physical indexes BUT ….. GRO Indexes
Indexes filmed Published as microfiche and microfilm Available in record offices and many public libraries and family history societies Available via FreeBMD, Family Search, Ancestry etc as computerised indexes with links to online copies of the original indexes. Births registered in April, May, and June 1866: HIT - HOD Births registered in April, May, and June 1866: HIT - HOD
HODGSON, Philip. Teesdale 10a 268
Normally referenced as June 1866 or Q2 1866 Marriage index Q31853 Marriage index Q31853
COFFEE Mary Teesdale 10a 193 CONNOLLY Patrick Teesdale10a 193 HODGSON John Teesdale10a 193 WATSON Mary Teesdale10a 193 FreeBMD
www.freebmd.org.uk Transcription of the GRO Indexes by volunteers 1837 – 1983 but not yet complete ◦ Births to 1962 plus some to 1974 (a few missing 1940, 1943) ◦ Marriages to 1962 plus some to 1975 ◦ Deaths to June 1973
GRO Indexes on Microfiche
You can also search for index reference numbers for free at: Library of Birmingham Bridgend Reference and Information Library City of Westminster Archives Centre Manchester Central Library Newcastle City Library Plymouth Central Library The British Library (you’ll need to register first) These are the only complete copies of the full sets of index reference numbers. They’re on microfiche.
Local Indexes
GRO Index (via FreeBMD)
Local Index (via UKBMD) UKBMD
Index to the local registers. More information but as yet incomplete transcription Bath, Berkshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, North Wales, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Wiltshire, Yorkshire Also multi-region search http://www.ukbmdsearch.org.uk/ Cambridgeshire, Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Isle of Man, Newcastle, North Lincolnshire, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Sheffield, South Tyneside, Stockton- on-Tees, Sunderland, Tees Valley, Warwickshire, Wrexham
UKBMD
Tees Valley only covers Hartlepool, Middlesborough, Redcar & Cleveland Darlington is not Teesdale Yorkshire ◦ Bradford, Doncaster, East Riding, Harrogate, Hull, Leeds, York ◦ Harrogate – Claro, Easingwold, Ewcross, Northallerton, Ripon, Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby, Staincliffe, Whitby UKBMD Durham
Only Durham (city) registration sub-district Marriage indexes: 1837-2012 Death indexes: 1991-2012 Birth indexes: many of the indexes are available No additional information beyond that in GRO index except that event was registered in Durham sub-district Useful to order (local) certificate on-line Summary
Civil Registration Certificates provide ◦ Names ◦ Relationships ◦ Occupations ◦ Dates ◦ Addresses GRO Indexes provide ◦ Name ◦ Approximate date ◦ Location ◦ Spouse (in marriages, via UKBMD) ◦ Mother’s maiden name (births after July 1911)