Essex, England Genealogy

Guide to Essex ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.
 * This article is about the county in England. For other uses, see Essex (disambiguation).

County Information
In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Essex like this:

Essex, maritime co. in SE. of England; is bounded N. by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, E. by the North Sea, S. by the river Thames, and W. by Middlesex and Herts; greatest length, N. and S., 44 miles; greatest breadth, E. and W., 57 miles; 987,032 ac.; pop. 576,434. On the coast are several marshy islands, such as Canvey, Foulness, Wallasea, Mersea, &c. Essex is one of the Metropolitan shires, or "Six Home Counties, " and took its name from the East Saxons. It rests upon the London clay, and is watered by the Stour, Colne, Chelmer, Crouch, Thames, Roding, and Lea; the surface, flat near the coast and the rivers, is undulating and sometimes hilly towards the NW.; the soil is generally fertile. ...

Parishes
Use an interactive mapto find jurisdictions for each parish in Essex.

Church Records

 * 1538-1997 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1613-1971 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil Registration Districts
List of Essex Civil Registration Districts.

Websites

 * Essex Resources and help pages on RootsChat Essex Resources and help pages. (Free).
 * History House - the history of Essex. Dips into the history of its towns, villages, parishes, and its people; includes White's 1848 and 1863 Directories and 1874 Post Office Directory. www.historyhouse.co.uk
 * 1930 - at FamilySearch — index