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England York

Guide to York ancestry, family history and genealogy parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



The city of York is very ancient, being originally, as far as documented history is concerned, a Roman Fort in 71 A.D. and was the capital of the region the Romans called Britannia Inferior. The Romans named it Eboracum.

It was listed in the Domesday book of 1086 A.D., as being under the control of the crown and the Archbishop of York. The first minster church was built in York for the baptism of Edwin, King of Northumbria, in 627. Around the year 1080 Archbishop Thomas started building the cathedral that in time became the current Minster. York Minster is considered to be one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the world, and is the largest example of this style in Northern Europe.

The modern history of the city started when the railway promoter George Hudson brought the railway to York in 1839. Although his career as a railway entrepreneur ended in disgrace and bankruptcy, the promotion of his own railway company, the York and North Midland Railway and of York over Leeds, helped establish York as a major railway center by the late 19th century.

The introduction of the railways established engineering in the city. At the turn of the 20th century, the railway accommodated the headquarters and works of the North Eastern Railway, which employed more than 5,500 people.

Lancashire as a county did not come into being until 1182, and so was not mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086 A.D.). Northern Lancashire was considered part of Yorkshire, and the portion of Lancashire south of the River Ribble was considered a poor relation of Cheshire.

The town and then city of Lancaster (anciently Loncastre) was probably not established as such until about 1182. It is located on the River Lune, and was once a large port until the river was silted up. It was named after a Roman camp, and is best known for its castle and Norman Keep.

Lancaster was granted city status in 1937 for its "long association with the crown" and because it was "the county town of the King's Duchy of Lancaster". It should be noted that Queen Elizabeth II also has the title of Duke of Lancaster.

The county and town were made famous during the Wars of the Roses, fought primarily between 1455 A.D. and 1487 A.D. The final victory went to a Lancastrian claimant, Henry Tudor at the battle of Bosworth Field.

After assuming the throne as Henry VII, Henry Tudor married Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV, thereby uniting the two houses. In an era leading to what is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age" of Elizabeth the First.

--Getting Started--

Useful links for Lancaster genealogical research follow:

http://forebears.co.uk/england/lancashire/lancaster.

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/browse?type=lcsubc&amp;key=Lancaster%20(England)%20--%20Genealogy&amp;c=x.

For graveyards, please see:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&amp;CRid=2198754.

http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/cemeteries/.